Upholding an audit concluded in 2024 after notices issued from 2022, the Court nonetheless held that officers must tell the taxpayer within a reasonable time which documents remain outstanding.
The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a challenge to a GST audit for FYs 2017-18 to 2019-20 and the eight Section 74 show cause notices that followed, holding that the audit was completed within three months of its “commencement” as defined in the Explanation to Section 65(4) [Hubergroup India Pvt. Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors.].
The bench of Justices A.S. Supehia and Vaibhavi D. Nanavati noted that the petitioner, a manufacturer of pigments and printing ink, received notices in Form ADT-01 on 27.06.2022, 02.11.2022 and 09.02.2024, and contended that it had furnished all records by August 2022. The audit was actually conducted at its premises on 19.06.2024 and the report in Form ADT-02 issued on 02.08.2024.
The Court held that the Explanation defines commencement of audit as the date on which records are made available or the date of actual institution of audit at the place of business, “whichever is later”. Since there was a factual dispute over whether all documents were furnished, the date of actual institution provided an alternative basis, and the audit was within time.
At the same time, the Court observed that where some documents remain outstanding, tax authorities are required to inform the registered person of the missing documents within a reasonable time so the audit can be completed early. It noted that the three notices here never identified what was missing, which contributed to the delay, but held that this alone could not invalidate the audit. The petitioner was left to reply to the notices on merits or pursue an appeal under Section 107.
2026-juristway.com-3120-HC(Gujarat)-GST
