The Patiala House Court refused to grant bail to a person accused of Wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC) worth Rs.55.9 Crores.
The applicant, Krishan Kumar Bansal has applied for bail on the grounds that the arrest of the applicant/accused is based on assumptions and surmises and there is no prima facie material to show that the accused is involved in the offense. It is submitted that as per section 132 (6) CGST Act prior sanction of the Commissioner is required for initiating prosecution under section 132 of the Act, however, the same has not been obtained. The applicant undertakes to provide full assistance to the department for investigation.
The department alleged that the applicant is a mastermind of fake firms and is responsible for availing passing of ITC through the firms to the tune of Rs. 72 crores, is purely based on assumptions and surmises and the said figure is without any assessment being carried out by the department. The allegation that a firm belonging to the applicant has availed ITC on fake GST invoices without actual supply of goods. However, no such invoices or transaction details have been brought to the knowledge of the applicant or before the Court. It is submitted that CGST being a fiscal statute and before arriving at the conclusion of evasion of taxes and quantum it is imperative for the department to carry out an assessment of transactions. It is submitted that the applicant has clean antecedents. All the material and documents have already been seized by the department and custodial interrogation of the accused is no more required.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Dr. Pankaj Sharma while refusing to grant bail observed that the investigation, in this case, is at a nascent stage and three co-accused persons are still absconding as such the apprehension of the prosecution regarding tampering with the evidence or influencing witnesses appears to be reasonable. The facts so presented by the prosecution make out a case of necessity for further detention for the purpose of proper investigation. Accordingly, in the given facts and circumstances, no ground is made out for a grant of bail at this stage.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan AdFree. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates.
