M/S. Long View Distributors Private Limited And Ors. vs. Union Of INDIA And Ors.
Original PDF →Facts
The petitioners, M/s. Long View Distributors Pvt. Ltd. & Ors., filed a writ petition challenging an order of attachment issued by the Commissioner of CGST and CX, Kolkata South on July 11, 2024, under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The petitioners contended that a demat account could not be attached under the said provision. During the pendency of the writ petition, the attachment order became non-operative due to the expiry of one year from the date of attachment, as stipulated in Sub-Section (2) of Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017. Consequently, no further decision was required on the merits of the attachment.
Held
The Court noted that the impugned order of attachment, issued on July 11, 2024, under Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017, had become non-operative. This was due to the expiry of one year from the date of attachment, as provided for in Sub-Section (2) of Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017, during the pendency of the writ petition. As a result, the Court found that there was nothing further to be decided on the merits of the attachment. The operative direction was to restrain the respondent authorities from giving any further effect to the attachment order dated July 11, 2024. The issue of whether a demat account could be attached under Section 83 was rendered academic by the expiry of the attachment period.
Key Issues
1. Whether a demat account can be subjected to attachment under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017? Petitioner's Contention: The petitioners argued that a demat account is not a type of property that can be attached under Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017. They relied on the specific wording of the section and the nature of a demat account. Revenue/State's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific arguments made by the respondent authorities (Union of India & Ors. and the State) on the question of whether a demat account can be attached. Their primary submission, as reflected in the judgment, appears to be related to the operative status of the attachment order.
Sections Cited
Section 83
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
2026 Ct. No. 237 Sl. No.299 skg
W.P.A. 21570 of 2024
M/s. Long View Distributors Pvt. Ltd. & Ors. Vs. Union of India & Ors.
Mr. Debashis Ghosh, Mr. Lalit Baid, Ms. Saberi Saha, Ms. Kuldeep Das
….for the petitioners
Mr. Tanoy Chakraborty, Mr. Saptak Sanyal,
…for the State
Mr. Bhaskar Prosad Banerjee, Mr. Tapan Bhanja,
…for the respondent, CGST
This writ petition has been filed challenging the order of attachment issued by the Commissioner of CGST and CX, Kolkata South dated July 11, 2024, under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The order of attachment was challenged, inter alia, on the ground that a demat account cannot be subjected to attachment under Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017. However, it appears that, in view of Sub-Section (2) of Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017, the impugned order of attachment has become non-operative upon the expiry of one year from the date of attachment during the pendency of this writ petition. In view of the above, nothing further remains to be decided.
2 Accordingly, WPA 21570 of 2024 is disposed of, restraining the respondent authorities from giving any further effect to the attachment order dated July 11, 2024. Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all necessary formalities.
(Kausik Chanda, J.)
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.