Subodh Kumar Garg vs. Union Of INDIA
Held
The Court held that ITC cannot be denied if the supplier's registration is cancelled after the date of transaction, and there is no obligation on the purchaser to check the supplier's genuineness. The applicant is entitled to bail as the alleged offence under Section 132(1)(c) read with Section 132(5) of the Act is not made out, considering the delay in trial and the applicant's lack of criminal antecedents.
Facts
The applicant, a proprietor of a GST-registered firm, was arrested for allegedly availing input tax credit (ITC) of Rs. 8.76 crores based on invoices from suppliers whose GST registrations were subsequently cancelled. The applicant claims to have received goods on proper invoices and e-way bills from duly registered suppliers at the time of transaction.
Key Issues
Whether the applicant is liable for availing ITC from suppliers whose registrations were cancelled retrospectively, and whether the seriousness of the economic offence alone is a ground for denying bail.
Sections Cited
Section 132(1)(c), Section 132(5), Section 132(1)(i), Section 132(2), Section 138, Section 29(3)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Reserved on 19.7.2022 Delivered on 27.7.2022 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 19902 of 2022 Applicant :- Subodh Kumar Garg Opposite Party :- Union of India Counsel for Applicant :- Pragya Pandey,Anurag Mishra Counsel for Opposite Party :- Dhananjay Awasthi Hon'ble Siddharth,J.
Heard Ms. Pragya Pandey, learned counsel for the applicant, Shri Dhananjay Awasthi,learned counsel for the respondent.
The instant bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicant, Subodh Kumar Garg, with a prayer to release him on bail in File No. DGGI/ARU/Gr.B/S. Traders/23/2021, under Sections 132(1)(c) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act,2017 District- Agra, during pendency of trial.
The applicant is a proprietor of M/s Shree Traders having its principal place of business at Araon Road Sirsaganj , Firozabad, apart from three other places of business at Manish Nagar Bodla Agra, Moja Kotta , Mathura and 41, Saryu Vihar, Kamla Nagar, Agra. The firm of the applicant is engaged in business of trading of iron and scrap and is duly registered with G.S.T. Department.
Learned counsel for the applicant has submitted that applicant's firm received goods from registered dealers
The judgment continues below.
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