Creative Business Associates vs Union of India — WP/3352/2025

Case Summary: WP/3352/2025 Case Name: Creative Business Associates v. Union of India & Additional Commissioner CGST Court: High Court of Bombay Date: 17 April 2026 Outcome: Petition dismissed and referred to larger bench for reconsideration Key Issue Whether consolidated show-cause notices covering multiple financial years issued under Sections 73/74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) are valid or constitute a jurisdictional overreach. Court's Decision The Division Bench (Judges G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe) dismissed all petitions but referred the matter to a larger bench, finding significant legal issues requiring reconsideration despite being bound by a co-ordinate bench's earlier decision in *Milroc Good Earth Developers v. Union of India*. Main Holdings 1. Consolidated notices are permissible - On plain reading of Sections 73 and 74, the court found no legislative bar against issuing consolidated show-cause notices for multiple financial years. 2. Limitation provisions don't restrict notice issuance - Sub-section (10) prescribes limitation for passing orders, not for issuing notices. These are independent statutory concepts. 3. Supreme Court precedent favors the Department - The Supreme Court's dismissal of the Special Leave Petition in *Mathur Polymers v. Union of India* (7 November 2025) by speaking order supports consolidated notices, particularly in ITC fraud cases. 4. Assessment vs. Adjudication distinction - The court noted that Sections 73/74 are adjudication (dispute-based) provisions, not return-based assessment provisions, allowing broader scope. Larger Bench Reference The court referred five critical questions to a larger bench: 1. Whether sub-section (10) controls sub-section (1) and (3) to prevent consolidated notices 2. Whether sub-section (10) *per se* prohibits consolidated notices for multiple years 3. Effect of Section 160 on consolidated proceedings 4. Correctness of the *Milroc* decision 5. Legal implications of the Supreme Court's *Mathur Polymers* order under Article 141 Interim Relief All interim orders previously passed remain in effect pending the larger bench's decision. This case analysis is maintained by casestatus.in based on publicly available court records.