HC Denied to Issue Direction for Release of Seized Goods Due to Assessee’s Non-Compliance

Case Details: Adarsh Tobacco Co. v. State of U.P. - [2023] 149 taxmann.com 266 (Allahabad)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Ashwani Kumar Mishra & Vinod Diwakar, JJ.
  • Manish Gupta, Arjit Gupta & Naveen Chandra Gupta for the Petitioner.
  • C.S.C. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner was a registered dealer under the GST and a survey was conducted by the department. During the survey, certain goods were found in the premises beyond the goods which were already disclosed by the petitioner and therefore, seized by the department.

The petitioner filed writ petition before the High Court for release of goods and contended that the request for release of goods was not considered by the department. The department submitted that the deposit made by the petitioner was not sufficient for the release of seized goods as the commodity which had been seized by the department was a perishable good.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court noted that the goods seized by the department are included within the definition of tobacco and, therefore, the seized goods would fall within the definition of perishable goods. However, the petitioner had not complied with requirement of release of seized goods i.e. perishable goods but instead follow wrong procedure of release of non-perishable goods.

The Court also noted that goods which are treated to be perishable would not be converted into non-perishable goods only because authorities have not acted in terms of rule 141(2) of CGST Rules by disposing off such goods. Therefore, the Court held that the petitioner having not complied with the requirement of release of seized goods i.e. perishable goods, would not be entitled to any direction for release of such seized goods.