Provisional attachment under GST law cannot reach a cash credit account because it is a loan liability, not the taxpayer's property.

Section 83 of the Maharashtra GST Act permits provisional attachment only of property belonging to the taxable person, including a bank account, where necessary to protect revenue after initiation of the specified proceedings. A cash credit account was treated as a loan liability owed by the bank, not as property of the account holder, so it falls outside the attachment power. The Bombay High Court therefore found the provisional attachment without jurisdiction and allowed the challenge.

---

---

Issues: Whether a cash credit account can be provisionally attached under Section 83 of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Analysis: Section 83 permits provisional attachment of any property, including a bank account, belonging to the taxable person, where such attachment is necessary to protect revenue after initiation of the specified proceedings. A cash credit account is not a property of the account holder; it is a liability owed to the bank in connection with a loan facility. The phrase "including bank account" in Section 83 was treated as referring to a bank account in the ordinary sense and not to a cash credit account. In the absence of any contrary authority, the impugned provisional attachment was held to be without jurisdiction.

Conclusion: A cash credit account cannot be provisionally attached under Section 83 of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and the challenge succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Provisional attachment under Section 83 can extend only to property belonging to the taxable person, and a cash credit account, being a liability rather than property of the account holder, falls outside that power.

---