Provisional attachment requires strong prima facie risk of revenue loss and real need to secure recovery under VAT law.

Provisional attachment under the Gujarat VAT Act is an extraordinary measure and cannot be used merely because assessment proceedings are pending. The authority must have a strong prima facie basis to believe additional tax liability is likely and that attachment is necessary to secure recovery. On the facts, the product classification had a plausible basis, the tax already collected was said to cover the existing liability, and no material showed a real risk of non-payment of any further tax finally found due. The attachment orders were therefore unsustainable and liable to be quashed.

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Issues: Whether the provisional attachment of the petitioner's properties under Section 45 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 was justified pending assessment.

Analysis: The power of provisional attachment is an extraordinary and drastic measure intended to protect Government revenue. Its exercise requires more than the mere pendency of assessment proceedings; the authority must have a strong prima facie basis to believe that additional tax liability is likely to arise and that attachment is necessary to secure recovery. On the facts, the petitioner's classification of the product had a plausible prima facie basis, the tax already collected was stated to be sufficient to cover the existing liability, and no material was shown to suggest that the petitioner would not pay any further tax if finally determined. In these circumstances, resort to attachment was unwarranted.

Conclusion: The provisional attachment orders were not sustainable and were liable to be quashed.

Ratio Decidendi: Provisional attachment under the VAT law can be invoked only when there is a strong prima facie likelihood of revenue loss and a real necessity to secure recovery; it cannot be used routinely merely because assessment proceedings are pending.

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