Provisional Attachment of Property Under GST Section 83 Invalid After One Year Without Fresh Order or Show Cause Notice

The HC ruled that the provisional attachment of immovable property under Section 83 of CGST Act was no longer valid. Since the original attachment order had expired after one year as per Section 83(2), and no fresh attachment order or show cause notice under Section 74 had been issued since December 2020, the Court directed the respondent to release the petitioner's bank accounts and immovable property within three days of judgment. The writ petition was disposed of accordingly.

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Issues:
Challenge to provisional attachment of immovable property under Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017.

Analysis:
The petitioner filed a writ petition challenging a letter issued under Section 83 of the CGST Act, 2017, directing the provisional attachment of immovable property. The petitioner sought directions to release the attached property. The Respondent, on the last hearing date, requested time to obtain instructions. In the recent hearing, the Respondent's counsel confirmed that no fresh attachment order had been issued post-December 2020, and no show cause notice under Section 74 of the CGST Act had been served on the Petitioner. The Court noted that as per Section 83(2) of the CGST Act, a provisional attachment order expires after one year from the date of issuance under Section 83(1). Since no fresh attachment order had been issued, the provisional attachment order in question was no longer effective. Consequently, the Court directed the Respondent to release the bank accounts and immovable property of the Petitioner within three days from the judgment date. The writ petition and pending applications were disposed of with these directions.

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