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

Proper officer designation for GST penalty provision uncertain; SCN issuance and recovery routes debated as practical solutions.
Statutory definition and Board circulars allocate the designation of "proper officer" to Commissioners or officers assigned by the Commissioner and list specific delegations to ranks (Principal/Commissioner, Additional/Joint Commissioner, Deputy/Assistant Commissioner, Superintendent, Assistant/Deputy Commissioners) to issue show cause notices, initiate scrutiny and assessment proceedings and exercise recovery functions; however, the circulars do not expressly identify a distinct proper officer solely for invocation of the standalone penalty provision, prompting reliance on adjudicating authority, delegated assessment powers, or recovery provisions to issue SCNs and recover penalties.