https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=379270 Customs officers had no express statutory authority to freeze bank accounts merely because an investigation was pending into alleged bogus addresses used for IGST refund claims. The Court applied the settled principle that coercive action under the Customs Act must rest on clear legal power, and that the Act does not authorise restraint of banking operations in aid of investigation. The notices freezing the accounts were therefore unsustainable and were quashed. The petitioners were allowed to operate their bank accounts, while remaining obliged to cooperate with the investigation. en-us Wed, 24 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 30 Apr 2019 17:25:07 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=379270 Customs officers had no express statutory authority to freeze bank accounts merely because an investigation was pending into alleged bogus addresses used for IGST refund claims. The Court applied the settled principle that coercive action under the Customs Act must rest on clear legal power, and that the Act does not authorise restraint of banking operations in aid of investigation. The notices freezing the accounts were therefore unsustainable and were quashed. The petitioners were allowed to operate their bank accounts, while remaining obliged to cooperate with the investigation. Case-Laws Customs Wed, 24 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=379270