Gujarat HC Directs GST Dept to Handover Records to DGGI While Investigation

The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in Vipulchandra Pursottamdas Mahant Prop of Vaibhavi Construction v. Assistant Commissioner of State Tax [R/Special Civil Application No. 9488 of 2023 dated June 22, 2023] said the taxpayer to co-operate with the search made via DGGI and further required Assistant Commissioner of State Tax and State Tax Officer 2 to provide all relevant documents to the DGGI Officer for further investigation.

Facts About State Tax and State Tax Officer 2 :

On the Premises of Vipulchandra Pursottamdas Mahant Prop of Vaibhavi Construction (“the Petitioner”) an Inspection was conducted under Section 67(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the CGST Act”) on December 10, 2021 via the senior intelligence officer, DGGI (“the DGGI Officer”) who has requested to provide the crucial documents in association with the inquiry.

The Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (“the Assistant Commissioner”) and the State Tax Officer 2 (“the State Officer”) provide the summons under Section 70 of the Act to the petitioner and the applicant is asked to provide the required documents in relation with the investigation initiated and further vide communication on May 10, 2023, asked for the documents for additional investigation.

The applicant argued the documents were in possession of the DGGI Officer and therefore the Assistant Commissioner and the State Officer secured no authority to move with the inquiry in association with the identical matter.

On Section 6(2)(b) of the CGST Act the applicant laid and provided that the initial investigation has been executed via the DGGI officer in relation to the applicant and hence the same does not open to the Assistant Commissioner and the State Officer.

Problem

What takes place when DGGI along with the other agencies executes proceedings and asks for the data from the taxpayer that is available with one of the agencies?

Civil Application No. 9488 of 2023

The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in R/SPECIAL Civil Application No. 9488 of 2023 ruled as under:

Rendered that the applicant is to cooperate with the inquiry executed via the DGGI officer and produce all the related documents.
Rendered that the Assistant Commissioner and the State Officer transfer the documents to the for essential investigation initiated by the DGGI Officer.

Our comment

The Gujarat High Court has underscored the importance of a unified approach in legal proceedings by instructing the consolidation of documents within a single investigative unit. This ruling offers valuable insights into situations where numerous agencies are conducting inquiries into the same subject matter, advocating for effectiveness and transparency in such circumstances.