The Andhra Pradesh High Court has held that a best judgment assessment issued under Section 62 of the GST Act shall be deemed withdrawn once the taxpayer files the pending GSTR-3B return along with the applicable tax, interest, and late fee.
The ruling provides important clarity for taxpayers regarding the treatment of assessments in cases involving delayed return filings.
The ruling came in a writ petition submitted via SHAH AND SHAHI FOREIGN TRADE (OPC) PRIVATE LIMITED, contesting recovery proceedings initiated even after forthcoming compliance with GST return filing provisions.
A division bench including Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar stated that the taxpayer had submitted the due returns on August 20, 2024, including tax dues, interest, and late fee, after the assessment order dated May 30, 2024, was passed.
The Court said that Section 62(2) of the CGST Act includes a deeming provision under which assessment orders passed for not filing the returns automatically stand withdrawn once valid returns are filed within the specified framework.
As per the Government Pleaders’ submission confirming that no dues remained pending against the taxpayer, the High Court specified that both the assessment order and the GST DRC-07 summary stood withdrawn by operation of law.
Also, the bench held that recovery proceedings and garnishee attachment orders issued against the bank account of the applicant cannot survive afterwards.
| Case Title | M/S Shah and Shahi Foreign Trade (OPC) Private Limited vs. The Deputy Assistant Ommissioner |
| GSTIN of the Applicant | NO: 13466/2026 |
| Counsel for the Petitioner | C Sanjeeva RAO |
| Counsel for the Respondent | GP for Commercial Tax |
| Andhra Pradesh High Court | Read Order |
