Case Law Details
Hanuman Enterprises (OPC) Pvt Ltd Vs Additional Director General Directorate General of GST (Delhi High Court)
The Hanuman Enterprises (OPC) Pvt Ltd Vs Additional Director General Directorate General of GST case in the Delhi High Court has garnered considerable attention within the legal community. The petitioner, Hanuman Enterprises, sought the court’s intervention to halt an ongoing investigation by the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI). The court’s decision to allow DGGI to continue its investigation has several legal implications. This article offers an in-depth analysis of the judgment and what it means for businesses and taxation authorities in India.
The Plea by Hanuman Enterprises: The primary contention from Hanuman Enterprises was that the DGGI shouldn’t be allowed to conduct its investigation as a separate probe was already underway by another tax authority. Hanuman Enterprises relied on Section 6(2)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) and a circular dated 05.10.2018 to support their argument.
Court’s Stance on Overlapping Investigations: The Delhi High Court clarified that no investigation had been undertaken by Delhi State Authority. Therefore, the provisions of Section 6(2)(b) of the CGST Act were not attracted. The circular, likewise, did not provide grounds to prevent the DGGI from conducting an investigation.
The DGGI’s Jurisdiction: The court noted that the DGGI had not conducted any investigation into Hanuman Enterprises specifically but was concerned with another entity, M/s Balaji Enterprises, which shared a common principal place of business and was also controlled by the same director. However, this was not enough to halt the DGGI’s investigation.
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