Provisional attachment of bank accounts requires evidence of tax evasion and cannot precede adjudication of the liability.

Provisional attachment of all bank accounts was held unsustainable where the show-cause notice under the WBGST regime had not yet been adjudicated and no material showed any attempt to evade tax. The court found that, while tax and interest liability remained pending determination, attaching every bank account was unduly harsh and not justified on the available record. The attachment orders were therefore set aside, reflecting the principle that provisional attachment requires a proper factual basis and cannot be used prematurely before adjudication of the underlying liability.

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Issues: Whether provisional attachment of all bank accounts could be sustained when the show-cause notice had not yet been adjudicated and no material indicated any attempt to evade tax.

Analysis: The attachment orders were issued at the stage of a pending show-cause notice under Section 74(1) of the WBGST Act, 2019 read with Rule 142(1) of the WBGST Rules, 2017. The attachment of all bank accounts was found to be unduly harsh in the absence of material showing an attempt to evade payment of tax. Since the tax and interest liability was still to be adjudicated, the provisional attachment was held unsustainable at that stage.

Conclusion: The provisional attachment orders could not be sustained and were set aside in favour of the assessee.

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