State Tax Officer does not have jurisdiction to issue notice for 'Provisional attachment' under Section 83 of MGST Act

Last updated: 15 September 2023

Court :
Bombay High Court

Brief :
The Hon'ble Bombay High Court in Saket Agarwal v. Union of India [Writ Petition (L) No. 22585 Of 2023 dated August 31, 2023] held that, the State Tax Officer does not have any jurisdiction to issue notice/communication under Section 83 of the Maharashtra State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 ("the MGST Act").

Citation :
Writ Petition (L) No. 22585 Of 2023 dated August 31, 2023

The Hon'ble Bombay High Court in Saket Agarwal v. Union of India [Writ Petition (L) No. 22585 Of 2023 dated August 31, 2023] held that, the State Tax Officer does not have any jurisdiction to issue notice/communication under Section 83 of the Maharashtra State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 ("the MGST Act").

Facts

Saket Agarwal ("the Petitioner") was aggrieved by the notice/communication dated April 21, 2023 ("the Impugned Communication") as issued by the State Tax Officer by exercising power under Section 83 of the MGST Act to Officer-In-Charge of the Central Depository Services (India) Ltd.

The Petitioner filed writ before the Hon'ble Bombay High Court to quash the Impugned Communication.

Issue

Whether the State Tax Officer can issue notice of ‘provisional attachment' under Section 83 of the MGST Act?

Held

The Hon'ble Bombay High Court in Writ Petition (L) No. 22585 Of 2023 held as under:

• Held that, the State Tax Officer does not have any jurisdiction to issue such communication under Section 83 of MGST Act.
• Stated that, since the Impugned communication itself is being withdrawn, the Petitioner may send an intimation of withdrawal of such communication be immediately to the Officer-In-Charge of the Central Depository Services (India) Ltd.