Section 61 return scrutiny is a pre-adjudicatory verification...

Section 61 return scrutiny is a pre-adjudicatory verification mechanism and is not a mandatory prerequisite for tax-determination proceedings under Section 74A. Rule 99 applies only where return scrutiny has actually commenced. Independent verification alleging that works-contract sub-contractors were fictitious or non-existent may provide the factual foundation for fraud-based input tax credit proceedings. Disputes over the actual existence of suppliers, provision of services, and genuineness of invoices require evidentiary adjudication rather than threshold writ review. A show-cause notice should not ordinarily be challenged in writ jurisdiction where statutory adjudication remains available and no jurisdictional defect or recognised exception is established.