Facts of the Case

The petitioner, Garg Oil Traders, had goods and a vehicle detained by the Punjab GST authorities, with a GST MOV-10 notice raising a total demand of Rs. 19,42,692/- towards tax, penalty and fine. The matter reached the Court through a review application (RA-CW-258-2023) and a case-management application (CM-11673-CWP-2023) in the connected writ petition (CWP-672-2022), after the goods remained undelivered despite an earlier order dated 10.04.2023.

Issues Involved

  1. Whether the petitioner should be granted provisional release of the detained goods pending final adjudication of the GST MOV-10 proceedings, and on what terms.

Petitioner's Arguments

  • The petitioner was ready to deposit Rs. 4 lakh in cash and furnish surety/bank guarantee for the remaining disputed amount, in exchange for provisional release of the detained goods.

Respondent's Arguments

  • The State sought time to obtain further instructions on the goods' release, resulting in recall of the earlier order dated 10.04.2023.

Court Order / Findings

  • The 69-day delay in filing the review application was condoned, and the earlier order dated 10.04.2023 was recalled, restoring the writ petition to its original number.
  • The Court directed the petitioner to deposit Rs. 4 lakh in cash and furnish a bank guarantee for the remaining penalty amount, with the goods to be released provisionally within 10 days upon compliance.
  • The writ petition was disposed of with liberty to the petitioner to file a statutory appeal against the GST MOV-10 order if so advised.

Important Clarification

This order does not decide whether the underlying tax, penalty or fine demanded in the GST MOV-10 notice was justified — it only sets interim terms (part cash, part bank guarantee) for provisional release of the detained goods, leaving the substantive challenge to be pursued in a statutory appeal.

Sections Involved

  • Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 / Punjab Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 — Section 129 (detention, seizure and release of goods in transit); Form GST MOV-10

Decision – In Favour of

Disposed of without a decision on merits — a case-management direction for provisional release of goods, with liberty to appeal the underlying MOV-10 order.

Case Details

Court: High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh
Case No.: CM-11673-CWP-2023 in RA-CW-258-2023, in/and CWP-672-2022
Coram: Hon'ble Ms. Justice Ritu Bahri and Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Manisha Batra
Date of Decision: 11 August 2023

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