Provisional release of detained GST goods on compliance with Rule 140(1), with adjudication to be completed within one week.

Detained goods under the GST enactments were to be released provisionally on compliance with Rule 140(1) of the Kerala GST Rules, 2017, while adjudication under Section 129 of the CGST Act and the corresponding State Act was completed expeditiously. Following the earlier Division Bench direction in the same matter, the competent authority was required to complete adjudication within one week from production of the judgment copy. The operative effect was immediate release of the goods on compliance with the prescribed rule, coupled with a short, mandatory timeline for final adjudication.

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Issues: Whether the goods detained under the GST enactments were liable to be released pending adjudication, and within what time the adjudication was to be completed.

Analysis: The detention arose under Section 129 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act and the corresponding Kerala State Goods and Services Tax Act. The Court followed the earlier Division Bench direction in the identical matter, which required expeditious completion of adjudication and permitted release of the detained goods on compliance with Rule 140(1) of the Kerala Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. In that background, the Court directed the competent authority to complete adjudication within one week from production of a copy of the judgment and ordered release of the goods forthwith upon compliance with Rule 140(1).

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to provisional release of the detained goods on compliance with the prescribed rule, and the authority was required to complete adjudication within the stipulated time.

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