2018 (10) TMI 1518 - HC - GST

Release of detained goods - Bank Guarantee - Held that - The petitioner has already filed a statutory appeal. It will suffice if this Court recalls its judgment under review and dispose of the writ petition with a direction to the respondent authorities not to encash the Bank guarantee until the statutory appeal is disposed of.

Summary

Issues: Review of earlier judgment regarding the release of detained goods and bank guarantee encashment pending statutory appeal under CGST/SGST Acts.

Analysis:
1. The initial judgment directed the competent authority to complete adjudication under Section 129 of the CGST Act within a week and release the detained goods upon compliance with Rule 140(1) of the Kerala Goods and Service Tax Rules, 2017. The petitioner had the goods released after providing a bank guarantee based on a previous court direction in another writ petition.

2. The petitioner sought relief in the current writ petition to quash the proceedings as illegal and unconstitutional and to stay the bank guarantee invocation until filing an appeal under the CGST/SGST Acts. The petitioner's counsel informed the court that a statutory appeal has been filed during the review petition, requesting the court to direct the authorities not to encash the bank guarantee until the appeal is decided.

3. The court acknowledged the petitioner's appeal and the government pleader's assurance that the bank guarantee would remain intact until the appeal's disposal. Consequently, the court recalled the earlier judgment and disposed of the writ petition, ordering that the respondent officials should not encash the bank guarantee until the petitioner's statutory appeal is adjudicated on its merits.

4. The review petition was thus resolved with the above observations, ensuring that the bank guarantee would not be encashed pending the statutory appeal's outcome, as agreed upon by both parties and ordered by the court.