Assistant Commissioner of State Tax and Others Vs Commercial Steel Limited (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court considered an appeal against a judgment of the Telangana High Court, which had exercised jurisdiction under Article 226 of the Constitution to set aside the collection of ₹4,16,447 towards tax and penalty under the CGST and SGST Acts, directed refund with 6% interest from 13 December 2019, imposed costs of ₹25,000 on the Assistant Commissioner, and directed the State to consider disciplinary proceedings against the officer.
Read HC Judgmentin this case: Wrong Destination Alone Cannot Justify GST Detention of Inter-State Goods: Telangana HC
The respondent, a registered dealer engaged in the business of iron and steel, purchased goods from JSW Steel Limited, Karnataka, which were transported to Telangana under a tax invoice. During transit, the vehicle was intercepted at Jeedimetla on 12 December 2019. According to the Revenue, although the invoice mentioned Balanagar as the destination, the vehicle had crossed that point, creating suspicion that the goods were intended for local sale in Telangana to evade CGST and SGST. An order of detention in Form GST MOV-06 was issued, and after the respondent paid the tax and penalty, the goods and vehicle were released on 13 December 2019. The respondent thereafter filed a writ petition challenging the detention order, notice under Section 20 of the IGST Act, and seeking refund of the amount collected.
