Assessee can’t get immunity from coercive action including arrest if failed to appear before authority after dozens of summons: Jharkhand HC

Case details: Directorate General of GST Intelligence v. Pankaj Agarwal - [2021] 129 taxmann.com 323 (Jharkhand)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • Chandrashekhar, J.  
  • Ratnesh Kumar, Adv. for the Petitioner.
  • Piyush Chitresh, AC to AG for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner-Directorate General of GST Intelligence filed petition before the High Court and submitted that in flagrant violation of directions issued by High Court, the assessee did not appear before him and had failed to submit necessary documents and tender other evidences. It was also submitted that the petitioner was reluctant to proceed against the assessee because of observation of the writ Court that he shall not be arrested on the first date of his appearance before the Senior Intelligence Officer.

High Court Held

The Honorable High Court observed that the Directorate has misread and misconstrued order of the Court. The writ Court formed an opinion on a conjoint reading of sections 69 and 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 that the Senior Intelligence Officer is not authorized to arrest an individual to whom he had issued summons on the first date of his appearance. It was certainly not the import of section 69 read with section 70 that an individual who was avoiding appearance before the authority without any just excuse can claim that even if he appears after a dozen summons, the authority cannot take coercive action against him, including his arrest. Therefore, it was held that the Directorate can proceed in the matter in accordance with law.