The Gujarat High Court has admitted a writ petition filed by Ford India Pvt. Ltd. challenging show cause notices and orders-in-original under Section 74 of the CGST Act, holding prima facie that the impugned orders depict the inability of the adjudicating authority to closely analyse the details of e-way bills and invoices — the authority himself having recorded that it was ‘not possible to ascertain’ how supplies were effected in returns from data containing over 2,000 entries — and that the proceedings were initiated without following the procedure under Section 61 of the Act. The ruling by Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati in SCA Nos. 1344 and 1351 of 2026 (Ford India Pvt. Ltd., decided 03.09.2026) continued the ad-interim relief granted earlier pending final disposal, noting that the case involved approximately 4.5 lakh e-way bills and 2.5 lakh invoices, and that the petitioner had never been called upon to supply additional material.
The demands of Rs. 4.57 crores and Rs. 1,936.67 crores respectively arose from an audit query by the Director General of Audit alleging suppression in taxable value compared with e-way bills. The petitioner contended that no procedure under Section 61 was followed, that the extended period under Section 74 was invoked without any allegation of evasion, and that the adjudicating authority’s own order acknowledged the inability to analyse the voluminous data supplied. The Revenue argued that Section 61 compliance was not a prerequisite to Section 74 proceedings. The court was prima facie of the opinion that the inability recorded in the order itself undermined the foundation of the demand.
- 2026-juristway.com-2499-HC(Gujarat)-GST | High Court of Gujarat | SCA Nos. 1344 & 1351 of 2026 | 03.09.2026