Search and seizure disclosure: seized physical records may be copied, but a pen drive with system data need not be supplied.

A person subjected to search and seizure under the CGST Act may be supplied copies of seized physical documents at his own expense where he declares on affidavit that no other records are available and the Department has no sufficient basis to refuse disclosure. The refusal to give such copies was not justified on those facts. Electronic storage media stood on a different footing: a pen drive containing data already stored in the person's own system did not have to be disclosed in the same manner. The petitioner was therefore entitled to copies of the seized documents, but not to the contents of the pen drive.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to copies of the documents seized during search and seizure, and whether the contents of the pen drive were also required to be supplied.

Analysis: The search and seizure was conducted in the petitioner's premises, and the Department had taken away documents as well as a pen drive containing electronic records. The petitioner sought copies of the seized materials under Section 67(5) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The Department resisted supply on the ground that the seized papers reflected transactions which should already appear in the petitioner's ledgers and that disclosure might enable fabrication of records. The petitioner, however, had declared on affidavit that it had no other records beyond those seized. In that context, the denial of copies of the seized documents was not justified. At the same time, the pen drive stood on a different footing because it contained data already stored in the petitioner's own system.

Conclusion: The petitioner was entitled to copies of the seized documents at its own expense, but not to the contents of the pen drive.

Ratio Decidendi: When a person subjected to search and seizure declares that no other records are available, copies of seized physical documents may be supplied at that person's expense, but electronic storage media containing copied system data need not be disclosed in the same manner.

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