Delhi High Court Rules GST Provisional Attachment Expired After One Year

Aashna Singhal Vs Principal Commissioner of GST And Ors (Delhi High Court)

In the case of Aashna Singhal vs. Principal Commissioner of GST and Ors., the Delhi High Court addressed the provisional attachment of a bank account under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner, Aashna Singhal, challenged the attachment of her bank account, which was provisionally attached on January 27, 2022.

The court’s decision hinged on Section 83(2) of the Act, which stipulates that a provisional attachment order ceases to have effect after one year. The respondent, the GST authority, conceded that the attachment was issued on January 27, 2022, and no new order had been issued since. Consequently, the court held that the provisional attachment had expired and was no longer valid.

The High Court directed AU Small Finance Bank to immediately lift the embargo and allow the petitioner to operate the account. This ruling reinforces the one-year limitation on provisional attachment orders under the GST Act.

FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF DELHI HIGH COURT

1. Petitioner impugns attachment order passed under Section 83 of theCentral Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 provisionally attaching the Bank Account No. 1711210216080640 of the petitioner maintained with AU Small Finance Bank.

2. As per the petitioner the bank account was directed to be provisionally attached on 27.01.2022. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that in terms of Section 83 (2) of the Act, the provisional attachment ceases to have effect after the expiry of one year from the date the order is made.

3. It is conceded by learned counsel for the respondent that provisional attachment order was issued on 27.01.2022 and thereafter no fresh attachment order has been issued.

4. In view of the above, petition is allowed. It is held that the provisional attachment of the Bank Account No. 1711210216080640 with AU Small Finance Bank in the name of petitioner has ceased to have effect.

5. The respondent bank is accordingly directed to forthwith permit operation of the said bank account and not impose any embargo on the operation of the same based solely on the provisional attachment order dated 27.01.2022.

6. The petition is disposed of in the above terms.