Can a State Tax Officer question IGST refund on payment of tax issued by the Customs?

[Rohit Gupta]

In my case, the State Tax Officer neither issued a draft audit report nor FAR. The STO issued SCN under Section 73 by attaching FAR to it. In the FAR, the STO has mentioned that he needs to verify whether the gadgets were activated inside India or outside (purely a drawback issue which does not fall under State Jurisdiction). Neither the said query was put by way of an audit objection nor any explanation was sought in any manner. Moreover there are 6-7 other observations which were never put to the assessee. The assessee has submitted the shipping bills, shed report, BRC and details of IGST refund.

Can the said officer question the exports?

Can a SCN be issued on the basis of audit under Section 65 without issuing draft audit report or final audit report?

AI Summary

State Tax Officer's Authority Questioned: IGST Refund SCN Under Section 73 Deemed Invalid Without Audit Reports A discussion on a forum addresses whether a State Tax Officer can question an IGST refund issued by Customs. The original query highlights an issue where the State Tax Officer issued a Show Cause Notice (SCN) under Section 73 without prior audit reports, questioning the jurisdiction over export verification. Responses indicate that such actions by State Tax Authorities are beyond their jurisdiction and invalid. It is emphasized that a SCN should be based on concrete evidence, not assumptions. References to relevant court judgments support the argument that the State Tax Authority lacks the jurisdiction to initiate such proceedings.