GST provisional attachment expires after one year, and banks should allow account operations once the restraint lapses.

Provisional attachment of a bank account under GST ceases to have effect after the statutory one-year period and cannot be treated as continuing in force. Once the attachment has lapsed, the bank should permit operation of the account, and the department should promptly communicate the cessation to avoid unnecessary blockage and repeated litigation. The text also notes that the department remains free to proceed in accordance with law in any further inquiry, but the practical restraint on the account must be lifted after expiry of the attachment period.

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Issues: Whether the provisional attachment of the writ applicant's bank account under GST could continue after expiry of its statutory period and whether the bank was obliged to permit operation of the account once the attachment had lapsed.

Analysis: The attachment order in Form GST DRC-22 was held to have outlived its statutory life of one year and, therefore, could not be treated as continuing in force. The Court also noted that banks often await instructions from the department even after the attachment has ceased, causing unnecessary obstruction to the account holder. The department was expected to communicate the cessation of attachment promptly so that the bank account could be operated without requiring repeated recourse to the Court.

Conclusion: The provisional attachment was no longer operative after expiry of one year, and the bank was directed to permit operation of the account. The petitioner succeeded on this issue.

Final Conclusion: The writ application was disposed of by lifting the practical restraint on the bank account, while leaving the department free to proceed in accordance with law in any further inquiry.

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