Gujarat High Court held with Justices JB Pardiwala and Nisha M Thakore ordered that no coercive action is needed to be taken with respect to the lawyers to notices provided to them through the Central Goods and Service Tax Department (CGST Department) asking for the payment of service tax/ GST.
On hearing the appeal by Gujarat High Court Advocates Association (GHCAA) challenging demand notices issued to a large number of its members, the bench has given an ad-interim order after taking note of an Orissa High Court order passed concerning the same issue former year.
When this case has arrived for the hearing, the bench seeks that why the association has come forward rather than the people who are influenced by it.
“We take note of order passed by Orissa High Court on March 31, 2021. The matter requires consideration. By way of an ad-interim order, we direct that no coercive action shall be taken against advocates, the law firms of advocates including LLPs providing legal service, for non-compliance with any legal requirements under CGST, DGST or IGST, the order expressed.”
Advocate Masoom K Shah, emerging for the petitioner association, stated that a large number of lawyers are obtaining the same notices as the Income Tax Department is not familiar whether the individual is a lawyer or not who is qualified for reverse charge mechanism beneath the law.
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“Income Tax Department sends data (to CGST). The Department is not aware of whether an individual is a lawyer or not. A large number of lawyers have received such notices, Shah told.”
On the grounds of GHCAA, Senior Advocate Saurabh N Soparkar conducted the case
The court then proceeded to provide the notice during providing the permission of the ad-interim relied upon the coercive action.
