Case Law Details
Santosh Kumar Gupta Vs Union of India (Orissa High Court)
The genesis of the case relates to the search conducted on 29.02.2020 in the office premises of M/s. Pacific Packaging Industries which is a proprietorship concern of the Petitioner by the Senior Intelligence Officers of the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence. In course of the same, several documents relating to the business activities of the Firm with other concerned Firms have been collected. The statement of the Petitioner being then recorded, the Officers strongly sensed something fishy and dubious going on in the matter touching the unwanted entitlement and availment of ITC. It is said that ten (10) Firms have been created by hatching conspiracy in carrying out such magnitude of business activities like transfer of goods and services inter se without those taking place in reality and showing fake transactions to be genuine with other financial adjustment as those were ascertained upon investigation leading to the arrest of the Petitioner on 16.12.2020. Materials are yet to surface as to the developments with regard to the notices/summons issued to those entitles for deposit of the ITC as according to the Prosecution, illegally availed for pecuniary gain by playing fraud on the system and mechanism in place.
The Petitioner is said to have been involved in commission of the above Economic offences which are considered to be grave. Such dubious activities in committing offences for making huge unlawful gain by causing huge loss to the State Exchequer is a step towards not only scuttling the process of development in the country but also in standing as developed country in the globe in which our march is on. This introduction of the GST is for simplification and harmonization of Indirect Tax Regime in reducing cost of production, reducing inflation and making Indian trade and Industry more competitive, domestically as well as internationally and with seamless transfer of Input Tax Credit (ITC) from one stage to another in the chain of value addition; in creating in-built mechanism in the design of goods and services tax is with an aim to incentivize tax compliance by the tax payers so as to finally broaden its base in lowering the tendency of evasion. Such roles alleged to have been played by the Petitioner stands in the direction of making unlawful financial gain by putting up the show that for such sincere involvement in business and carrying out the same, his entitlement to the huge sum as incentive in the form of Input Tax Credit (ITC) flowed which he received having the tendency of foiling the entire move in introducing this new Tax Regime.
With all these aforesaid, this Court is not inclined to accept the present move of the Petitioner for grant of bail.
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