S. 67 CGST Act | Officer Below Rank Of Joint Commissioner Cannot Inspect Assessee's Premises Without Authorisation: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that an officer below the rank of Joint Commissioner cannot, by himself, inspect the premises of the assessee without authorisation under Section 67 of the Central Goods and Services Tax. The bench further stated that there is no requirement to provide a copy of the authorisation and details of the order passed by the Joint Commissioner, but the delegate who inspects or confiscates any document or goods would be required to provide the details of the authorisation to the taxable person. Justice Suraj Govindaraj stated that it would, however, be required that the concerned Officer, who carries out the inspection in terms of Subsection (2) of Section 67 of the Act, at least inform the taxable person of the authorisation having been received from the Joint Commissioner. In this case, the assessee/petitioner had filed the writ petition to quash the entire inspection proceedings initiated under section 67(1) of the GST Act 2017 against the assessee on the ground that the same are without valid reasons to believe, beyond jurisdiction and unsustainable in law. The assessee submitted that there is no such reason to believe expressed by the Joint Commissioner, and as such, the Commercial Tax Officer has inspected the property of the assessee without authorisation and or jurisdiction. It was further submitted that the Joint Commissioner was required to apply his mind and pass a necessary order; the copy of the order of the Joint Commissioner is also required to be furnished to the assessee, which, not having been furnished, the Commercial Tax Officer could not have carried out the inspection and recorded the statement of the assessee. The department submitted that there is an application of mind by the joint commissioner, and there is an authorisation granted to the Commercial Tax Officer. The issues before the bench were: Whether any Officer below the rank of the Joint Commissioner can, by himself, inspect the premises of any taxable person without authorisation from the Joint Commissioner? Whether, in the event of the Joint Commissioner being satisfied under Subsection (1) of Section 67 of the Act has issued an authorisation in writing has been issued to any other Officer, is such an authorisation required to be provided to the taxable person? Regarding the first issue, the bench observed that under Subsection (1) of Section 67 of the Act, it is only the Joint Commissioner who has to have reasons to believe and who may authorise in writing any other officer. In terms of Subsection (2) of Section 67 of the Act, the person so authorised by the Joint Commissioner may confiscate any goods or documents by himself or authorise anyone else to seize and confiscate such documents or goods. The Joint Commissioner, having issued authorisation, there is compliance with Subsection (1) of Section 67 of the Act, in pursuance of which, the Commercial Tax Officer under Subsection (2) of Section 67 of the Act can carry out inspection, confiscate the goods and or documents, as the case may be, added the bench. The bench held that any Officer below the rank of the Joint Commissioner cannot, by himself, inspect the premises of any taxable person without authorisation from the Joint Commissioner. Answering the second issue, the bench held that there is no requirement to provide a copy of the authorisation and the details of the order passed by the Joint Commissioner under Subsection (1) of Section 67 of the Act. However, the delegate who inspects and or confiscates any document or goods would be required to provide the details of the authorisation to the taxable person. In view of the above, the bench dismissed the petition. Case Title: M/s BEE JAY Engineers v. Commercial Tax Officer Case Number: WRIT PETITION NO. 106642 OF 2025 (T-RES) Counsel for Petitioner/Assessee: Vishwanath Hegde Counsel for Respondent/Department: Sharad V. Magadum and M.B. Kanavi Click Here To Read/Download The Order

S. 67 CGST Act | Officer Below Rank Of Joint Commissioner Cannot Inspect Assessee's Premises Without Authorisation: Karnataka High Court

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