The High Court dismissed the petition challenging the ...

Provisional attachment of bank accounts upheld despite legal controversy to safeguard alleged unpaid GST revenue.

Case Laws     GST

September 2, 2024

The High Court dismissed the petition challenging the provisional attachment of the petitioner's bank accounts u/s 83(1) of the CGST/DGST Act. The court held that the pre-condition of initiation of proceedings under Chapter XII, XIV or XV was satisfied as proceedings u/s 67 had commenced prior to the attachment order. The contention that the attachment order's validity was limited until the conclusion of Section 67 proceedings was rejected. The court clarified that the only requirement is the commencement of proceedings under the relevant chapters, which was fulfilled. The petitioner's argument that the order should be set aside due to the controversy involving a question of law was also dismissed, as the object of provisional attachment u/s 83(1) is to protect government revenue, irrespective of the nature of the controversy. The court found the attachment order justified to safeguard government revenue based on the estimated GST value allegedly unpaid by the petitioner.

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