Gujarat HC: DGGI Officials Authorized to Issue Writ for Wrongful ITC Claim

Many people may not know that there is a constitutional office of the ‘Directorate General of the Goods and Services Tax Intelligence’.

The Gujarat High court has in a recent decree held that DGGI officers are completely empowered to issue the summons to the taxpayers as per the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) that has been issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes These types of taxes paid on Consumption by the consumer but they do not pay directly to the government (unlike income tax). For example, GST, Sales Tax, VAT, Custom Duty and Octroi Tax and Customs.

The order has established the fact that DGGI of the Goods and Services Tax Intelligence constitutes as ‘proper officer’ who have been selected by the CBIC for the purpose of issuing of the summons in the matters where the inconsistencies have been found in the wrongful claim of the Input Tax Credit by the taxpayers or IGST refund claim.

The writ petition was filed by the taxpayer who was seeking the quashing of the circular that was related to the assignment of various functions to the officers as the proper officers that are in relation to various functions of the CGST act and getting back a refund of the IGST credit that was paid under protest.

The contention of the taxpayer was that of what he conceived as the institution of the 2 parallel investigating proceedings i.e.

• The proceedings that have been initiated by the Directorate of the Revenue Intelligence
• And the proceedings have been done through the summons issued by DGGI

The honourable court initially analysed the definition of the proper officer as per section 2(91) of the CGST Act and the power to issue the summons as per section 70 of the CGST Act and the Honourable High Court finally delivered the judgment that the officer of the DGGI is actually a proper officer and so is entitled to issue the summons.

The court also considered the judgment of the Supreme Court that when a statute gives the directions that certain things should be done in a certain way, then it ought to be done accordingly.

The Honourable High Court of Gujarat Observed and Held that

• There is in no way the delegation of the power as CBIC within the purview of its powers has assigned to DGGI officers the functions of a proper officer.
• No parallel proceedings have been initiated by the officer of the DRI and the DGGI as the subject matter of the enquiry by DGGI and DRI officers were different.
• The summons that has been issued by the DGGI was in connection to the enquiry on the refund of Input Tax Credit under the CGST Act.
• The payment that has been made shall be tackled by the concerned officer of the DGGI in accordance with law
• The honourable court upheld the decision of the empowerment of the officers of DGGI to issue the summons under the CGST Act