The division judge bench of the Jharkhand High Court held that the proper officer under the GST should not be requiring or forcing or coercing a person so summoned to give statement after the office hours. The court directed the GST officers to follow the guidelines and instructions issued by the Commissioner (GST-Investigation) and the CBIC while summoning a person by exercising the powers under section 70 of the GST.
Brief facts
The factual matrix of the case is that under the Central Goods And Services Tax Act, 2017 (in short, “GST”), a person called for giving evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry is under a duty to speak truth. As per the sub section (2) of Section 70 of the GST, every inquiry mentioned in sub-section (1) will be regarded as a judicial proceeding for the purposes of section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code. As a result, anyone whose presence is deemed by the appropriate office required to give evidence produce a document, or do anything else in any investigation conducted under the GST and who makes any false statements may face legal action as specified under sub-section (2). The Petitioner was interrogated till past mid- night and permitted to go home only after his statement was recorded to the satisfaction of the GST Officer.
Contentions of the Petitioner
The Petitioner submitted that Section 50 of the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act, 2002 (in short, “PMLA”) which is pari materia to section 70 of the GST, the court relied upon the judgment titled Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India, wherein, the apex court held that officers under the PMLA are not the police officers and they do not exercise the powers under the Code of Criminal Procedure. The court further relied upon the judgment title Ram Kotumal Issrani v. Directorate of Enforcement.
Observations of the court
The Hon’ble Court observed that the proper officer under the GST should not be requiring or forcing or coercing a person so summoned to give statement after the office hours.
The court noted that the GST Intelligence and Investigation Manual, 2023 lays down (i) elaborate procedure for interrogation and recording of statement (i) preparation of interrogation (iii) principles of questioning (iv) questioning hostile persons (v) retraction (vi) judicial interpretations and (vii) precautions.
Based on these considerations, the court directed the GST officers to follow the guidelines and instructions issued by the Commissioner (GST-Investigation) and the CBIC while summoning a person by exercising the powers under section 70 of the GST.
The decision of the court
With the above direction, the court disposed of the present proceedings.
Case Title: Shiva Kumar Deora V. Union of India
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Navneet Kumar
Case No.: W.P.(T) No. 354 of 2024
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Salona Mittal, Advocate
Advocate for the Respondent: Mr. P.A.S. Pati, Sr. SC (DGGI)
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