GST: Kerala HC directs State Tax Officer to withhold invocation of Bank Guarantee to enable Taxpayer to pursue Appellate Remedy [Read Order]
![GST: Kerala HC directs State Tax Officer to withhold invocation of Bank Guarantee to enable Taxpayer to pursue Appellate Remedy [Read Order]](https://www.taxscan.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Kerala-High-Court-State-Tax-Officer-withhold-invocation-Bank-Guarantee-taxpayer-Appellate-Remedy-Taxscan.jpeg "GST: Kerala HC directs State Tax Officer to withhold invocation of Bank Guarantee to enable Taxpayer to pursue Appellate Remedy [Read Order]")
The Kerala High Court has directed the State Tax Officer to withhold invocation of Bank Guarantee to enable the taxpayer to pursue Appellate Remedy. The petitioner, National Radio Electronic Corporation challenged the order issued under Section 129 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 to the extent it invoked the bank guarantee furnished by the petitioner, while obtaining release...
The Kerala High Court has directed the State Tax Officer to withhold invocation of Bank Guarantee to enable the taxpayer to pursue Appellate Remedy.
The petitioner, National Radio Electronic Corporation challenged the order issued under Section 129 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 to the extent it invoked the bank guarantee furnished by the petitioner, while obtaining release of the goods detained under Section 129(1) of the said Act.
The limited relief claimed by the petitioner is that the statute permits him to prefer an appeal within a period of three months and if within the said period of three months, he abides by the terms stipulated in Section 107 of the CGST Act, all proceedings for invocation of the bank guarantee or other proceedings shall stand stayed by virtue of the statutory prescriptions. However, even without waiting for the period of three months, the respondents have proceeded to invoke the bank guarantee, which according to him, is due.
The Government Pleader submitted that the bank guarantee has not, in fact, been invoked and that the proper officer does not have any intention to invoke the bank guarantee before the expiry of the appeal period.
The single bench of Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas has ruled that having regard to the period of three months available to the petitioner to prefer an appeal order, “I am of the opinion that it is essential in the interests of justice that the bank guarantee is not invoked till the period for filing the appeal expires. The order showed that the respondent has invoked the bank guarantee along with the order under Section 129 CGST Act, itself,” the court added.
NATIONAL RADIO ELECTRONICS CORPORATION vs STATE TAX OFFICER (INTELLIGENCE), SQUAD NO.III
CITATION: 2022 TAXSCAN(HC) 186
To Read the full text of the Order CLICK HERE
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