Proper officer

[Rajesh Kumar]

Sir/Madam,

On reading the Circular No. 171/03/2022-GST, Sr. No. 1 inter-alia specify that the registered person ‘A’ shall, however, be liable for penal action under section 122 (1)(ii) of the CGST Act for issuing tax invoices without actual supply of goods or services or both.

Similarly, penalty under section 122 is also mention at Sr. 2 & 3.

Now, the information of proper officer for difference actions and sections are laid down under Circular 1/1/2017-GST dated 26-Jun-2017, Circular 3/3/2017-GST dated 5-Jul-2017 and Circular No. 31/05/2018 dated 9’th February’2018.

I want to know that who is the proper officer to invoke Section 122 with Section 73 or 74 and only 122 for issuance of SCN and adjudication. As the proper officer is not mentioned any where under above mentioned circulars.

AI Summary

Clarifying the Role of 'Proper Officer' for Penalties Under Section 122 of CGST Act: Ongoing Debate on SCN Issuance A participant in a discussion forum raised a query about identifying the 'proper officer' for invoking Section 122 of the CGST Act, which deals with penalties for issuing tax invoices without actual supply of goods or services. The concern was that the relevant circulars do not specify the proper officer for this action. Respondents explained that the proper officer is generally designated by the Commissioner and varies across different sections and rules under GST law. It was suggested that the adjudicating authority could invoke powers under Section 122 with Sections 73 or 74. However, questions remained about issuing a show cause notice (SCN) solely under Section 122 without involving Sections 73 or 74.