|
|
|
GST should be citizen-friendly, provisional attachment draconian: SC
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 07 Apr, 2021
The Supreme Court on Wednesday said the taxman cannot see all businesses
as fraudulent, as it made sharp observations against the manner in
which Goods and Services Tax was implemented by tax authorities.
A
bench comprising Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah said: "The
Parliament had intended the GST to be a citizen-friendly tax
structure... the purpose of the Act is lost in the manner in which it is
enforced in our country."
The observations were made during the
hearing of a plea challenging powers of provisional attachment under the
Himachal Pradesh GST Act, filed by Radha Krishna Industries,
represented by senior advocate Puneet Bali and advocate Surjeet Bhadu.
The bench noted that tax authorities cannot go on attaching assets and
it cannot be a pre-emptive strike as it termed provisional attachment
draconian.
The company submitted before the bench that power of attachment under Section 83 is draconian.
According
to this section, during the pendency of tax proceedings, the department
can attach any property (including bank accounts and accounts
receivable), as provisional attachment. The tax officers use it as a
measure to guarantee the satisfaction of a later judgement by the
courts.
The bench observed that a balance has to be maintained
between protecting the interests of revenue and protecting genuine
businesses. "The country needs to come out of this tax culture that all
businesses are fraudulent... even when Rs 12 crore tax has been paid,
just because some tax is still due, you cannot start attaching
property," it said.
It emphasised that tax officers raise huge
demands from businesses with no accountability. The bench said tax
officers raise huge demands after assessment and cited that if Rs 10,000
crore has been reduced to Rs 1,000 crore by the appellate tribunal or
the top court, it must reflect in the assessment of the tax officer.
The
bench stressed that law needs to be structured and the tax authorities
have to abide by the mandate of law. After the parties concluded their
arguments, the bench reserved the verdict.
The Himachal Pradesh
High Court in January this year dismissed the plea seeking quashing of
the provisional attachment under Section 83.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|