Kashish Optics Ltd. Vs Commissioner (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that section 67(7) of the CGST Act mandates that notice of extension of the seizure is required to be issued to the assessee prior to conclusion of the six-month period. Thus, seized goods are directed to be released.
Facts- By the present Writ Petition, the Petitioner herein lays challenge to the continued retention of goods by the Respondent, seized on the basis of a search conducted by the Respondents on 22/23 October 2020, pursuant to which a seizure order dated 23.10.2020 came to be issued.
Conclusion- In the facts of the present case, no notice of extension of the seizure was provided prior to the conclusion of the six-month period. Reliance was instead placed on certain extracts which came to be filed as a consequence of our Order dated 22.08.2023 to contend that the same would constitute compliance of the mandate of “sufficient cause”. These extracts are not in the public domain and the Petitioner herein could not have had any opportunity to controvert or reply to the contents of the same. It clearly amounts to a unilateral act on the part of the Respondent by which the Petitioner would stand deprived of its statutory entitlement to the goods and for that reason alone would not satisfy the mandate of Section 67(7) of the CGST Act.
