Shine Plast vs. Assistant State Tax Officer

WP(C)/11/2021HC KeralaGSTCNR KLHC01000263202105 January 2021Bench: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN5 pages

For Petitioner: SRI.A.RAJASIMHAN, SHRI.JOBIN ABRAHAM, KUM.VYKHARI.K.UFor Respondent: SMT. THUSHARA JAMES - GP

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Held

The Court directed the release of the detained goods upon the petitioner furnishing a bank guarantee for the disputed amount. It also mandated the respondent to take a sample of the bags and complete the statutory adjudication process on the classification dispute within three weeks after affording the petitioner an opportunity of being heard.

Facts

The petitioner's consignment of "Roto Fabric Cloth Bags" was detained by tax authorities who alleged the product was actually "cotton bags" and thus subject to detention under Section 31 of the CGST Act, despite the petitioner having valid tax invoices and e-way bills.

Key Issues

The key legal issue was the legality of the detention of goods based on a dispute over their classification (Roto Fabric Cloth Bags vs. cotton bags) and the proper application of CGST Act provisions for such detention.

Sections Cited

Section 31, Section 129(1)

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Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVAN RAMACHANDRAN TUESDAY, THE 05TH DAY OF JANUARY 2021 / 15TH POUSHA, 1942 WP(C).No.11 OF 2021(B) PETITIONER: SHINE PLAST NO.82, RISALDAR STREET, 2ND CROSS, SHESHADRIPURAM, BANGLORE-560 020 REPRESENTED BY ITS PROPRIETOR MOHAMMED ASHRAF T.M. BY ADVS. SRI.A.RAJASIMHAN SHRI.JOBIN ABRAHAM KUM.VYKHARI.K.U RESPONDENT: ASSISTANT STATE TAX OFFICER STATE GST DEPARTMENT, KERALA, SURVEILANCE SQUAD, MUTHANGA, WAYANADU-673 592. OTHER PRESENT: SMT. THUSHARA JAMES - GP THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 05.01.2021, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: WP(C).No.11 OF 2021(B) 2

J U D G M E N T The petitioner says that they are the manufactures of “Roto Fabric Cloth Bags” for the consumption of the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation, but that when they tried to transport it on the strength of Ext.P1 - Tax Invoice and Ext.P2 - E-way bills, it has been detained by the respondent, alleging that the product is actually cotton bags and therefore, within the sweep of Section 31 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act' for short).

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Reproduced from the public record of the Kerala High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.