GST limitation for show cause notices is mandatory; notice issued after the prescribed date was quashed as time-barred.

Under the GST limitation scheme, a show cause notice issued beyond the prescribed period under section 73(2) was held time-barred. The Court applied the rule that a period stated in months expires on the corresponding date in the relevant month, and found that the last permissible date was 28.11.2024 while the notice was issued on 30.11.2024. It further held that the time limit for initiating proceedings was mandatory, not directory, and that the statutory safeguards under section 75 did not permit condonation of delay. The notice was therefore invalid and was quashed on the ground of limitation.

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Issues: Whether the show cause notice issued under section 73(2) of the GST law was time-barred and whether the limitation prescribed for issuing such notice was mandatory.

Analysis: The period prescribed for initiating assessment proceedings by notice was construed in the light of the rule that a period expressed in months expires on the corresponding date in the relevant month. Applying that principle, the last date for issuance of notice for the assessment year in question was held to be 28.11.2024, while the notice was issued on 30.11.2024. The Court also held that the limitation for issuing the notice was not merely directory. The statutory scheme under section 73 and the safeguards under section 75 were treated as protecting the taxpayer against belated initiation of proceedings, and a breach of the prescribed time limit was held not capable of condonation.

Conclusion: The show cause notice was barred by limitation, the requirement under section 73(2) was mandatory, and the notice was invalid.

Final Conclusion: The writ petition succeeded and the impugned show cause notice was quashed on the ground of limitation.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute prescribes a time limit for issuing a notice in months, the period expires on the corresponding date in the relevant month, and if the notice is issued beyond that date the limitation is mandatory and the notice is void.

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