Facts of the Case

M/S SS Enterprise and four connected writ-applicants challenged individual orders of confiscation of goods and conveyance passed against them in Form GST MOV-11 by the concerned authority under the GST law. Five connected Special Civil Applications (Nos. 3800, 3834, 3835, 3836 and 3838 of 2022), all raising the same challenge to confiscation orders, were heard together by the Gujarat High Court.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the High Court should examine the legality and validity of Form GST MOV-11 confiscation orders in writ jurisdiction under Article 226, despite the availability of a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the GST Act.
  2. Whether the writ-applicants retained any interim remedy for provisional release of the goods and conveyance pending such statutory appeal.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • Counsel for the writ-applicants made a detailed effort to persuade the Court to examine the legality and validity of the confiscation orders passed in Form GST MOV-11 on their merits, in writ jurisdiction.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The confiscation orders under challenge were appealable under Section 107 of the GST Act, and the writ-applicants ought to be relegated to the statutory remedy rather than have the High Court exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 226.

Court Order / Findings

  • The Court held that all the confiscation orders in Form GST MOV-11 were appealable under Section 107 of the Act, and since a statutory remedy of appeal was available, it declined to exercise its extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226 to examine the orders on merits.
  • Liberty was reserved for the writ-applicants to prefer appropriate appeals before the appellate authority.
  • The Court clarified that even pending such appeals, it remained open to the appellants to apply for provisional release of the goods and conveyance under Section 67(6) of the Act, and directed that the appellate authority take up any such application expeditiously and decide it in accordance with law.
  • All the connected writ-applications were disposed of without examining the merits of the confiscation orders.

Important Clarification

  • Confiscation orders passed in Form GST MOV-11 are appealable under Section 107, and the High Court will ordinarily decline to examine their legality in writ jurisdiction where the statutory remedy is available and adequate.
  • The pendency of an appeal against a confiscation order does not foreclose an assessee's separate right to seek provisional release of the goods and conveyance under Section 67(6), which the appellate authority is required to decide expeditiously.

Sections Involved

  • Section 107, Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — provides the statutory appellate remedy against adverse orders, including confiscation orders.
  • Section 67(6), Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — enables provisional release of seized goods on furnishing security/bond pending further proceedings.
  • Form GST MOV-11 — the prescribed format for orders of confiscation of goods and conveyance.

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of with directions, without adjudicating the merits; the writ-applicants were relegated to the statutory appellate remedy under Section 107, with the interim relief of provisional release under Section 67(6) kept open — a partial, procedural outcome rather than a substantive win for either side.

Related Case Laws

This order follows the settled principle that Form GST MOV-11 confiscation orders, being appealable, do not ordinarily warrant interference under Article 226, a position consistently taken by the Gujarat High Court in similar batches of confiscation-order writ challenges around the same period.

Case Details

  • Court: High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad
  • Case No.: R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 3800 of 2022 with R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION Nos. 3834, 3835, 3836 and 3838 of 2022
  • Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Hon'ble Ms. Justice Nisha M. Thakore
  • Date: 23.02.2022
  • Petitioner: M/S SS Enterprise
  • Respondent: Commissioner of State Taxes

Link to Download the Order

https://mytaxexpert.co.in/uploads/1787108865_4696compressed.pdf

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