Facts of the Case

White Opal WXPO Trade Pvt. Ltd., operating through its branch office at Pune, filed Writ Petition No.15339 of 2023 (with Interim Application No.18189 of 2023) before the High Court of Judicature at Bombay against the Principal Additional Director General of GST Intelligence, Mumbai, and others. This lead petition was heard together with six connected writ petitions filed by Parees Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (WP No.15497/2023), C Kluster Expotrade Pvt. Ltd. (WP No.15499/2023), Amal Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (WP No.15498/2023), Ninad Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (WP No.15502/2023), Eckon Crystal Merchants Pvt. Ltd. (WP No.15500/2023), and Meticulous Overseas Pvt. Ltd. (WP No.15501/2023), each against the same respondent authority and each accompanied by its own interim application. Each petition sought a writ directing de-freezing of the respective petitioner's bank account — in the lead matter, account number 0082002100078673 held with Punjab National Bank, Mumbai branch — from what the petitioners characterised as an earlier freeze imposed by the GST Intelligence wing. While these seven petitions were pending, a fresh provisional attachment order in Form GST DRC-22 dated 3 January 2023 was issued under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, provisionally attaching the petitioners' bank accounts afresh, effectively superseding the factual basis on which the pending petitions had originally been framed. The matter was heard on 19 December 2023 by a Division Bench of Hon'ble Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain, with Mr. Sanjiv Rawat and other counsel appearing for all the petitioners and Ms. Sangeeta Yadav appearing for the respondents.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioners should be permitted to withdraw the pending writ petitions seeking de-freezing of bank accounts in light of the subsequent fresh attachment order dated 3 January 2023.
  2. Whether liberty should be granted to the petitioners to file fresh petitions specifically challenging the new Section 83 provisional attachment order.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Since a fresh attachment order in Form GST DRC-22 dated 3 January 2023 had been issued under Section 83 of the CGST Act provisionally attaching the petitioners' bank accounts, the pending petitions (seeking de-freezing under the earlier attachment) had been overtaken by events.
  • Liberty was sought to withdraw the present petitions and to file fresh petitions assailing the actions of the respondents, including the provisional attachment by the fresh order dated 3 January 2023.

Respondent's Arguments

  • Counsel for the GST Intelligence authorities did not oppose the withdrawal request; no independently contested submissions on the merits of the attachment are recorded in the order.

Court Order/Findings

  • The Division Bench accepted the request made on behalf of the petitioners without expressing any view on the validity of either the original or the fresh attachment.
  • The petitioners were permitted to withdraw all seven writ petitions with liberty to file fresh petitions challenging the provisional attachment of their bank accounts under the fresh order dated 3 January 2023, and all contentions of the parties were expressly kept open.
  • The connected interim applications in each petition were disposed of as not surviving, with no order as to costs.

Important Clarification

Where a provisional bank attachment under Section 83 of the CGST Act is refreshed by a new DRC-22 order during the pendency of a writ challenging an earlier attachment, courts commonly permit withdrawal of the existing petition with liberty to challenge the fresh order afresh, keeping all contentions on the legality of provisional attachment open rather than deciding them in the withdrawn proceeding.

Sections Involved

  • Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 – provisional attachment of property, including bank accounts, to protect government revenue.
  • Form GST DRC-22 under the CGST Rules, 2017 – the prescribed form for communicating provisional attachment.

Decision – In Favour of

This is a procedural withdrawal, not a ruling on merits. Neither the assessees nor the Department obtained a substantive victory; the petitioners retained the full ability to challenge the fresh Section 83 attachment order through new petitions before the same High Court, with all contentions on jurisdiction and legality expressly kept open for future adjudication.

Related Case Laws

No directly on-point case notes are currently published on this site.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Judicature at Bombay
  • Case No.: Writ Petition No.15339 of 2023 & connected petitions
  • CNR: Not available on record
  • Coram: Hon'ble Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Jitendra Jain
  • Decision Date: 19 December 2023
  • Disposal Nature: Petitions withdrawn with liberty to file fresh petitions

Link to Download the Order

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