Single consolidated appeal permitted under Section 107 CGST Act for multi-year GST demand; deadline extended to 20 December 2025

HC held that, despite the demand covering multiple financial years and being raised through a consolidated SCN (DRC-07), the assessee may file a single consolidated appeal against the common order dated 3 February 2025 under Section 107 of the CGST Act. The court extended the time for making the statutory pre-deposit and filing the appeal until 20 December 2025. It directed that, if the appeal is filed by that date, it shall not be rejected as time-barred and must be decided on merits. Petition was accordingly disposed of.

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1. ISSUES PRESENTED AND CONSIDERED

(i) Whether issuance of a single Form DRC-07 covering multiple financial years, pursuant to a common Order-in-Original, vitiates the demand.

(ii) Whether the challenge to invocation of Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, on the ground that the show cause notice was based only on data available on the GST portal, should be entertained in writ jurisdiction or relegated to the statutory appellate remedy.

(iii) Whether, in the facts, the Petitioner can be permitted to file a consolidated appeal under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and whether the period for pre-deposit and limitation for filing such appeal deserves extension/condonation.

2. ISSUE-WISE DETAILED ANALYSIS

Issue (i): Single Form DRC-07 for multiple financial years

Interpretation and reasoning

The Court noted that the impugned Form DRC-07 reflects a total demand of Rs. 40,82,014/-, inclusive of interest and penalty. The corresponding Order-in-Original contains, in paragraph 3, audit sub-paragraphs (Nos. 1 to 7) under distinct heads such as short payment of tax due to reconciliation of GSTR-3B, GSTR-9 and balance sheet; excess availment of input tax credit; non-payment of tax on other income; interest on late filing of GSTR-3B; non-payment of interest on payments beyond 180 days; reversal of blocked credit under Section 17(5); and non-payment of tax on profit on sale of fixed assets. For each head, the amounts demanded are clearly set out and "clearly decipherable" from the impugned order. Although the demands pertain to multiple financial years, the Court observed that the Order-in-Original itself is a single, common order dated 3 February 2025, and the DRC-07 merely combines the quantified amounts arising from the various audit paragraphs into one composite demand corresponding to that single order.

Conclusions

The existence of a single Form DRC-07, covering multiple financial years but relatable to one common Order-in-Original in which the demands are separately quantified and decipherable, does not by itself invalidate the demand. The structure of the DRC-07 does not preclude the assessee from taking recourse to the statutory appellate remedy.

Issue (ii): Challenge to invocation of Section 74 of the CGST Act in writ proceedings

Legal framework (as discussed)

The Petitioner contended that Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, could not have been invoked because the show cause notice dated 26 July 2025 was based solely on GSTR-3B, GSTR-9 and the balance sheet, all of which were already available on the GST portal. The Respondent's counsel submitted that the legality of invoking Section 74 is a matter to be agitated in appeal.

Interpretation and reasoning

The Court, while recording the rival contentions, did not undertake an adjudication on whether the preconditions for invoking Section 74 were satisfied in the facts. Instead, it accepted the position that issues such as the correctness of invoking Section 74 and all other substantive grievances flowing from the show cause notice and the Order-in-Original are amenable to scrutiny in the statutory appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act.

Conclusions

The question whether Section 74 of the CGST Act was validly invoked, including the contention that the show cause notice is grounded only on material already available on the portal, is to be urged before and decided by the Appellate Authority. The Court declined to adjudicate this issue in writ jurisdiction at this stage, in view of the efficacious statutory appellate remedy.

Issue (iii): Entitlement to file consolidated appeal and extension of time/condonation of limitation

Legal framework (as discussed)

The Court proceeded on the basis of the appellate remedy under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which provides for an appeal against an Order-in-Original, accompanied by a pre-deposit within the prescribed period.

Interpretation and reasoning

Given that the impugned Order-in-Original is "common and single in nature" and dated 3 February 2025, notwithstanding that the underlying demands relate to multiple financial years, the Court held that the Petitioner may pursue a single consolidated appeal "qua the impugned order" before the Appellate Authority. Recognising that the Petitioner had approached the Court under Articles 226 and 227 and that the limitation period and pre-deposit timelines could otherwise impede the statutory appeal, the Court expressly extended the time for pre-deposit till 20 December 2025 and directed that, if the appeal is filed by that date, it shall not be dismissed on the ground of limitation and shall be adjudicated on merits.

Conclusions

(a) The Petitioner is permitted to file one consolidated appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act against the common Order-in-Original, even though the underlying demands pertain to multiple financial years.

(b) Time for pre-deposit is extended till 20 December 2025.

(c) If the appeal is filed on or before 20 December 2025, it shall not be rejected on limitation and shall be decided on merits by the Appellate Authority.

(d) In view of the above directions regarding the appellate remedy, the writ petition is disposed of without further interference with the impugned order or Form DRC-07.

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