Actions taken by the department during enquiry need not necessarily be termed as harassment

Last updated: 02 August 2022

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Quick Summary

The Madras High Court has ruled that actions taken by a GST Superintendent during an enquiry do not automatically constitute harassment. The court dismissed a petition from a taxpayer alleging harassment, stating that the concept of harassment is subjective. The ruling directed the taxpayer to cooperate with the enquiry and ordered the Superintendent to issue a notice for appearance within two weeks, after which a decision would be made on registering a complaint or closing the matter.

Court :
Madras High Court Read more at: https://www.caclubindia.com/judiciary/judiciary_add.asp

Brief :
The Hon'ble Madras High Court in the matter of M/s Sridhar v the Superintendent of GST [Crl. O.P. No.7736 of 2022 dated June 6, 2022] dismissed the petition alleging the harassment by the Superintendent of Goods and Services Tax.

Citation :
Crl. O.P. No.7736 of 2022 dated June 6, 2022

The Hon'ble Madras High Court in the matter of M/s Sridhar v the Superintendent of GST [Crl. O.P. No.7736 of 2022 dated June 6, 2022] dismissed the petition alleging the harassment by the Superintendent of Goods and Services Tax.

Facts

M/s Sridhar ("the Petitioner") has filed an Criminal Petition under Section 482 of Code of Criminal procedure in order to direct the Superintendent of GST ("the Respondent") not to harass him during the enquiry of the case. The Petitioner contented that he is forced to pay the tax of Rs.29 lakhs, whereas as per the Respondent, despite of several opportunity the Petitioner has not produced any documents to justify his case.

Issue

Whether the actions taken by the Respondent during the enquiry can be considered as harassment?

Held

The Hon'ble Madras High Court in [Crl. O.P. No.7736 of 2022 dated June 6,2022] held as under:

Directed the Petitioner to corporate with the Respondent for enquiry.
Stated that, the term harassment is so subjective which cannot be encapsulated in objective criterion.
Held that, the Respondent shall issue notice for the appearance of the Petitioner for enquiry within two weeks and after enquiring the Petitioner, the Respondent may either register a complaint, if any cognizable offence is made out or close the complaint.

FAQ :

The Madras High Court has stated that the term 'harassment' is subjective and actions taken during an enquiry need not necessarily be termed as harassment.

The case involved M/s Sridhar petitioning the Superintendent of GST, alleging harassment during an enquiry.

The taxpayer claimed they were being forced to pay Rs. 29 lakhs in tax and alleged harassment by the GST Superintendent.

The court directed the taxpayer to cooperate with the GST Superintendent for the enquiry.

The Superintendent was ordered to issue a notice for the taxpayer's appearance within two weeks and then either register a complaint or close the matter based on the enquiry.