Duplicate Assessment for Same Defect and Year Invalid under GST: Madras HC Quashes Order [Read Order]

The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has quashed a duplicate assessment order issued under the GST ( Goods and Services Tax ) Act, holding that two assessments cannot be passed for the same defect and assessment year.

A writ petition filed by Tvl. Dhanalakshmi Srinivasan Sugars (P) Ltd., challenging the assessment order dated May 16, 2025, issued by the State Tax Officer, Nanguneri Assessment Circle, Tirunelveli.

The petitioner contended that an earlier assessment order had already been issued on February 2, 2024, for the same assessment year 2021-2022 on the ground of delayed filing of GSTR-3B returns. The said defect had already been rectified by the petitioner.

Despite this, the department proceeded to issue another assessment order for the same defect and year, prompting the company to challenge the second order as arbitrary and without jurisdiction.

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Justice G.R. Swaminathan, after hearing both sides, observed that the second order constituted a clear duplication of assessment.

The Court said that for a given assessment year and a specific defect, only one valid assessment order can exist. Passing another order for the same cause amounts to duplication and is unsustainable in law.

Accordingly, the Court set aside the impugned order dated May 16, 2025, and allowed the writ petition, noting that the issuance of a second assessment for the same year and defect was contrary to established legal principles.

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