2026:APHC:18111 APHC010098772026 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ANDHRA PRADESH AT AMARAVATI [3529]

(Special Original Jurisdiction)

WEDNESDAY, THE TWENTY FIFTH DAY OF FEBRUARY TWO THOUSAND AND TWENTY SIX PRESENT THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE R RAGHUNANDAN RAO THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE T.C.D.SEKHAR WRIT PETITION NO: 5412/2026 Between:

1. M /S. MECHINENI CONSTRUCTIONS, HAVING THEIR REGD.

PREMISES AT 8/50, MAIN ROAD, MUSTABADA, KRISHNA DISTRICT REPRESENTED BY ITS PROPRIETOR MR. MECHINENI VENKATA SAI RAVITEJA ...PETITIONER AND

1. T HE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER OF CENTRAL TAX, VIJAYAWADA CGST DIVISION, STALIN CORPORATE, ROAD NO. 2, INDUSTRIAL ESTATE, AUTO NAGAR VIJAYAWADA - 520 007

2. T HE UNION OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY MINISTRY OF FINANCE, NORTH BLOCK, CENTRAL SECRETARIAT NEW DELHI - 110 001 ...RESPONDENT(S):

Petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed therewith, the High Court may be pleased topleased to issue an appropriate Writ, Order or Direction, more particularly one in the nature of WRIT OFMANDAMUS declaring the impugned Assessment Order passed by the 1st Respondent inORDER IN ORIGINAL NO. 20/VIJ/HAN/DC-AC/2026 Dt. 22.01.2026 for the tax periods 2019-20 and 2020-21 U/s. 74 of the COST Act, 2017 in Consolidated manner and without issuance of Intimation for payment of tax in DRC - 01A as illegal, arbitrary, violative of GST Act, 2017 and Set Aside the same or to pass IA NO: 1 OF 2026 Petition under Section 151 CPC praying that in the circumstances stated in the affidavit filed in support of the petition, the High Court may be pleased pleased to SUSPEND the operation of impugned Assessment Order passed by the 1st Respondent in ORDER IN ORIGINAL NO. 20/VIJ/HAN/DC- AC/2026 Dt. 22.01.2026 for the tax periods 2019-20 & 2020- 21 including collection of dues pending disposal of the present Writ Petition to pass Counsel for the Petitioner:

1. PEDDIBHOTLA VENKATA SAI RAJESH Counsel for the Respondent(S):

1.

The Court made the following Order:

(per Hon’ble Sri Justice R. Raghunandan Rao)

Heard Sri P.V. Sai Rajesh, learned counsel for the petitioner and Smt. Santhi Chandra, learned Standing Counsel appearing for the respondents.

2. The petitioner is a registered Company, which has been served with an order of assessment, dated 22.01.2026, passed by the 1^st respondent.

This order of assessment covers the period from 2019-20 & 2020-21.

3. The petitioner, after having raised various grounds of challenge, has pressed the ground that, a single order of assessment, issued for more than one financial year, would be violative of the provisions of Section 73 and Section 74 of the GST Act, 2017, and consequently, set aside the impugned order of assessment.

4. A Division Bench of this Court, in W.P.No.11028 of 2025 & batch, after considering the said question, had held that, a single show-cause notice or a single composite assessment order, cannot be passed, in relation to more than one tax period of either a month if the assessment is taken up before the due date for filing of the annual return or for more than one year if the due date for filing of annual return has been reached.

5. The petitioner has raised various grounds of challenge. However, the petitioner is pressing the primary ground of the order of assessment being a composite order of assessment. In that view of the matter, the present Writ Petition is being disposed of, on this ground of challenge, leaving open the other grounds of challenge.

6. Accordingly, this Writ Petition is disposed of, setting aside the impugned order of assessment, dated 22.01.2026 and remand back to the respondents, leaving it open to the respondents to initiate fresh proceedings, for each assessment year separately. Needless to say, the period from the date of issuance of the impugned order of assessment till the date of receipt of this order shall be excluded for the purposes of limitation. There shall be no order as to costs.

As a sequel, pending mis