Anurag Suri Vs Director General of Goods And Services Tax Intelligence And Others (Orissa High Court)
The Orissa High Court has set aside a show cause notice and subsequent orders issued by the State Goods and Services Tax (GST) authority against Anurag Suri, the proprietor of M/s. Sai Marketing, ruling that the state authority lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the matter while the Central GST intelligence unit was already conducting an investigation. The court’s decision was based on a clarification circular issued by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) that prohibits overlapping investigations by central and state authorities.
Case Background
The petitioner, Anurag Suri, a trader of iron and scraps, had his business premises searched by the Director General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGSTI), a central authority. Documents were seized and summons were issued to him under Section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act). The petitioner fully cooperated with the ongoing investigation.
While the central investigation was still in progress, the Additional Commissioner of CT and GST Officer, Sambalpur-I Circle, a state GST authority, issued a separate show cause notice to Suri on July 23, 2019. The state authority alleged that Suri had wrongly availed input tax credit (ITC) and demanded a payment of over Rs. 1.14 crore, which included OGST, CGST, interest, and penalties.
