On October 7th, 2023, the 52nd Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council Meeting, presided by the Union Finance Minister, was conducted. The minister was accompanied by Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, State Finance Minister Pankaj Chaudhary, CBIC chairman ..etc.
The Council has proposed an alteration to sub-rule (2) of Rule 159 within the CGST Rules of 2017, as well as to FORM GST DRC-22. This amendment stipulates that the provisional attachment order in FORM GST DRC-22 will no longer remain valid one year after its issuance. This modification aims to simplify the process of releasing provisionally attached properties without requiring an additional, specific written order from the Commissioner, once the one-year period has elapsed.
In terms of the legal framework, the Commissioner possesses the authority, as per section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017, to provisionally seize a taxpayer’s property in order to safeguard the interests of the Revenue. This provisional attachment order is executed through Form GST DRC-22.
Following the issuance of the Form GST DRC-22 order, the taxpayer has a window of 7 days from the order’s date to file an objection. During this time, the taxpayer can provide reasons for why the property in question should not be attached.
If the attached property is of a perishable or hazardous nature, the taxpayer is required to either settle the outstanding tax liabilities or pay the property’s market value, whichever is lower. Upon settlement, the Commissioner will release the property by issuing an order in DRC-23. However, if the taxpayer refuses to either pay the property’s market value or clear the relevant tax dues, the Commissioner may proceed to dispose of the property and apply the proceeds to offset the taxpayer’s outstanding dues.
