First GST-related case: HC restricts BIEO officers

First GST-related case: HC restricts BIEO officers

Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Aug 9: The first Goods and Service Tax (GST) case relating to Assam came up before the Gauhati High Court in the bench of Justice Hrishikesh Roy. The case was filed by tax advocates Medha Lila Gope and Nitu Hawelia.

The two tax advocates of the High Court challenged the act of the officers of Bureau of Investigation of Economic Offences (BIEO) who had, according to them, uuthorizedly seized the goods of M/s Kumar Traders, M/s Kumar Enterprise and M/s Maa Karni Traders from their Amingaon godown. Gope argued that the Union Fince Minister had already in his press release on July 9, 2017 announced that ‘no tax officer is authorized to visit the place of business of dealers during the transition period of GST unless otherwise authorized’. However, the BIEO officers in the State of Assam empowered under Assam Value Added Tax Act, 2003 have not been authorized to cause any search and seizure under GST as yet.

Justice Roy, after hearing the matter, was pleased to direct the authorities to ‘apprise the Court as to under what capacity and provisions of law they have caused search and seizure for suspicion to evade tax when the Union Minister had already cautioned the officers by way of press release not to cause any search and seizure during the GST transition period’.  On a prayer by Gope the Court has further restricted the officers of the department not to put the dealers into any further harassment on account of the search and seizure made on July 27, 2017. Gope and Hawelia were assisted by advocate mita Gogoi and others.

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