Excellentvision Technical Academy Pvt. Ltd. Vs State of U P And 5 Others (Allahabad High Court)
In a significant ruling, the Allahabad High Court in the case of Excellentvision Technical Academy Pvt. Ltd. v. State of U.P. [Writ Tax No. 554 of 2023, dated May 20, 2024] has emphasized the necessity for the Revenue department to record reasons in INS-01 before initiating search proceedings under Section 67 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The Hon’ble Allahabad High Court held that where Revenue department failed to put forward the actual reasons to believe as required under Section 67 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 before initiating search, in such case the entire proceedings is liable to be quashed. This decision underscores the importance of adhering to procedural requirements to uphold the validity of search and seizure operations.
Facts:
M/s. Excellentvision Technical Academy (P.) Ltd. (“the Petitioner”) was searched by the UP GST department on January 4, 2018, subsequently the Department issued two INS-01 (search warrant), on two different dates: one on January 4, 2018 (date of the search) and the another on February 11, 2019.
Subsequently, the tax Department initiated the proceedings by issuing show cause notice dated February 8, 2021 under Section 74 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“the State GST Act”) and later passed the order dated September 01, 2021.
