Order Date - 09 July 2025 

Parties: Abdur Rouf Khan Vs Superintendent of Central Tax, Kolkata Audit-II Commissionerate, Group 31, Circle-V & ors.

Facts -

• The Petitioner, Abdur Rouf Khan, challenged fresh audit and proceedings by Central authorities for FYs 2017–18 to 2022–23, arguing they duplicated earlier audits and orders already passed by State authorities under Section 73 for the same issues, violating Section 6(2)(b) of the CGST Act.

Issue -

• Whether Central GST authorities can initiate a fresh audit under Section 65 for periods already audited and finalized by State GST authorities?

Order -

• The Division Bench of the Hon’ble High Court held that the Section 6(2)(B) of the said Act, inter alia, provides that where the proper officer under the State and the service tax or the Union territory goods and the service tax Act, have initiated any proceedings on the subject matter, no proceedings shall be initiated by the proper officer under the said act on the same subject matter.
• The Court found that notwithstanding the aforesaid audit observation and the consequential adjudication under Section 73 by falling back on Section 65(7) of the said Act, the respondents had once again chosen to initiate a fresh audit in respect of the financial year 2017-2018 to 2022-2023.
• In view thereof, there being little scope for the respondents to reopen the audit afresh for the periods which have already been covered by the previous audit, the aforesaid audit should be restricted to the periods 2017-2018 and 2022-2023.