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TMI Blog2024 (10) TMI 1119X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act as the case may be under the intimation to the jurisdictional officer of the State Tax or the Union Territory Tax Authority as the case may be. The Section further provides that where a proper officer under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act has initiated any proceedings on a subject matter, no proceedings shall be initiated by the proper officer under the CGST Act on the same subject matter. The term 'initiation of any proceedings' is no doubt a reference to the issuance of a notice under the provisions of the CGST/SGST Acts and the initiation of an enquiry or the issuance of summons under Section 70 of the CGST/SGST Acts cannot be deemed to be initiation of proceedings for the purpose of Section 6 (2) (b) of the CGST/SGST Acts. The judgment of the Patna High Court in Baibhaw Construction on which considerable reliance was placed by the learned counsel for the petitioners do not appear to have considered the question as to whether the term 'initiation of proceedings' in Section 6 (2) (b) of the CGST/SGST Acts would include any notice issued for any enquiry or any sum ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ity could not have issued any show cause notice under Section 74 of the CGST/SGST Acts and if at all such notices could have been issued by the Central Authority only. 3. The learned counsel appearing for the petitioners would vehemently contend that a reading of Section 6 of the CGST/SGST Acts will indicate that while there is no prohibition in Central Authority initiating proceedings in respect of an assessee under State jurisdiction, the proceedings so initiated will have to culminate any order passed by that authority and there cannot be any transfer of proceedings from one authority to another authority after the proceedings have been so initiated. The learned counsel for the petitioner placed considerable reliance on the judgment of the Patna High Court in Baibhaw Construction (P) Ltd. v. Union of India; [2023] 156 taxmann.com 378 (Patna), the judgment of the Gujarat High Court in Vipulchandra Purusottamdas Mahant Prop of Vaibhavi Construction v. Commissioner of State Tax; 2023 SCC OnLine Guj 4923 , the judgment of the Jharkhand High Court in Vivek Narsaria v. State of Jharkand; 2024 SCC OnLine Jhar 50 and also another judgment of the Gujarat High Court in Sureshbhai Gadhecha ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r Section 74 of the CGST/SGST Acts. 6. The learned counsel for the petitioners in reply submits that the decision of the Allahabad High Court in G.K Trading Company (Supra) is not applicable in the facts and circumstances of these cases and that was not a case dealing with Section 6 of the CGST/SGST Acts. 7. Having heard the learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Senior Government Pleader and the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Central Tax Authority, I am of the view that the petitioners are not entitled to any relief in these writ petitions. Section 6 of the CGST Act reads as follows; Section 6 - Authorisation of officers of State tax or Union territory tax as proper officer in certain circumstances:- (1) Without prejudice to the provisions of this Act, the officers appointed under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act are authorised to be the proper officers for the purposes of this Act, subject to such conditions as the Government shall, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, specify. (2) Subject to the conditions specified in the notification issued under sub-section (1),- (a) where any proper of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... have not been defined either under the State G.S.T. Act or the Union Territory G.S.T. Act or the C.G.S.T. Act. Therefore, these words have to be interpreted in the context of the aforesaid Acts. The word inquiry in Section 70 has a special connotation and a specific purpose to summon any person whose attendance may be considered necessary by the proper officer either to give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing. It cannot be intermixed with some statutory steps which may precede or may ensue upon the making of the inquiry or conclusion of inquiry. The process of inquiry under Section 70 is specific and unified by the very purpose for which provisions of Chapter XIV of the Act confers power upon the proper officer to hold inquiry. The word inquiry in Section 70 is not synonymous with the word proceedings , in Section 6 (2) (b) of the U.P.G.S.T. Act/ C.G.S.T. Act. 11. In Liberty Oil Mills and others vs. Union of India and others, (1984) 3 SCC 465 (para-15), Hon'ble Supreme Court considered the provisions of Import and Export Control Act and Imports (Control) Order, 1955 where the word investigation was not defined and held that in the context it means the process ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... telligence) and the State Goods and Services Tax Authority. It was found that State Goods and Services Tax Authorities had initiated search and seizure proceedings and those proceedings were prior in time to the proceedings initiated by the Director General of Goods and Services Tax (Intelligence) Authority and therefore, the proceedings initiated by the State Authorities were to continue in the place of the proceedings initiated by the Director General of Goods and Services Tax (Intelligence). I do not see the judgment of the Jharkhand High Court had taken a view contrary to the view taken by the Allahabad High Court in G.K Trading Company (Supra) and therefore I do not consider the said judgment of the Jharkhand High Court as having laid down any law which would support the case of the petitioner. The judgment of the Gujarat High Court in Sureshbhai Gadhecha (Supra) also does not come to the aid of the petitioners as that case dealt with instructions issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs in the circular dated 05-10-2018 referred to above and clarified that where proceedings have been initiated by one authority, the same shall be concluded by that authority irrespectiv ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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