TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (2) TMI 121
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....pposite to deal the W.P.(C) No.25400 of 2022 as the leading case for proper adjudication of all these cases. 2. The Petitioners in W.P.(C) No.25400 of 2022 and W.P.(C) No.1339 of 2023 challenge the rejection letters issued by the Deputy Director, DGGI (Opposite Party No.1), refusing to grant certified copies of the order sheet/note sheet and search warrant. The Petitioners in W.P.(C) No.27573 of 2022, W.P.(C) No.799 of 2023 and W.P.(C) No.800 of 2023 challenge the show-cause notices for non-payment of GST on "Works Contract Services" issued by the Deputy Director, DGGI. I. FACTUAL MATRIX OF THE CASE: 3. The Petitioner in W.P.(C) No.25400 of 2022 is a private limited company registered under the Companies Act, 1956 having registered office at Bhubaneswar, within the jurisdiction of this Court. The Opp. Party No. 1 is the Deputy Director of the DGGI, Bhubaneswar, hence, amenable to the writ jurisdiction of this Court. 4. The Petitioner carries on business in providing works contract services and for that purpose, the Petitioner obtained registration under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (for short GST Act) and assigned wit....
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....d the impugned letter dated 19.08.2022 rejecting therein to provide the certified copies of the documents sought for by the Petitioner on the ground that those documents are internal official documents related to the investigation, which are not disclosed/provided publicly, as the case has not attained finality. Hence, this Writ Petition. II. PETITIONER'S SUBMISSIONS: 10. Learned counsel for the Petitioner(s) earnestly made the following submissions in support of his contentions: (a) A search warrant is the foundation stone for the initiation of a search and seizure proceeding against a particular person. A search warrant is not a mere piece of paper, it is an authorization that gives power, jurisdiction, and authority of law to the Investigating Officers to conduct a search and seizure by using it to breach into the privacy of the searched person, which is otherwise protected under the Constitution of India. In the present case, the search warrant was issued by the Additional Director, DGGI, and by using that warrant against the Petitioner, the Intelligence Officers conducted a search and seizure operation at the place of business of the Petitioner on 14.06.2019. Certainly, t....
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....has been commenced from the action taken under Section 67 of the CGST Act, the Opp. Party No.1 cannot deny the certified copies of the documents in the guise of internal official documents which are nothing but documents under the quasi- judicial proceedings and the Petitioner has every right to seek the certified copies of the said proceedings for filing of effective and detailed show cause reply, in absence of which there would be failure on the part of the Petitioner to file a detailed and effective show cause reply and as such the impugned action of the Opp. Party No. 1 is violative of the principles of natural justice and fair play. (e) The phrase "As the case has not attained finality", this particular observation of the Opp. Party No.1 indicates that he has not verified the facts and records of the case before issuing the impugned rejection letter. The Petitioner's business premises were searched by the Intelligence Officers of DGGI u/s. 67 of the GST Act on 14.06.2019 and accordingly books of account were seized and the order of seizure was issued to the Petitioner. Thereafter, summons were issued from time to time u/s. 70 of the GST Act to which the Petitioner promp....
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....completion of the investigation the Asst. Director of DGGI issued the show cause notices under Annexures 3 & 4 on 30.09.2021 and 18.10.2021 whereas the Petitioner applied for the certified copies of the Order Sheet/Note Sheet and search warrant (in connection with the search and seizure not adjudication) on 13.07.2022 after lapse of more than six months from the date of issuance of the last show cause notice. Therefore, the Opp. Party No.1's claim that "the case has not attained finality" is absurd, unjust, illogical and accordingly, the impugned rejection letter under Annexure-7 is liable to be quashed in the interest of justice. (k) In the order sheet there is a recording about notices issued to the persons or other concerned parties, details of hearings, and other matters with which the person and/or concerned party is directly concerned, departmental communication between two or more authorities in connection with audit, investigation, assessment, appeal, revision, and any other proceedings against that person and/or concerned party. The order sheet is a very vital part of any and every proceeding(s) and also prime evidence concerning the correctness of that proceeding. ....
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...., roads, parks etc. and had not paid GST correctly. (b) Based on the above intelligence, a search was conducted at their registered premises located at N1/17, IRC Village, Nayapalli, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751012 by dint of search warrant no. 21/2019-20 dated 14.06.2019 issued by the Additional Director, DGGI, Bhubaneswar. During the course of search, relevant documents of the company were recovered from said premises and all the documents seized in FORM GSTINS-02 along with Panchanama as per due process of law. It is revealed during the investigation that the aforesaid assessee had provided the taxable services but did not paid GST in accordance with GST Law. (c) After the search and seizure, summons was issued from time to time to the petitioner, and in response to which the petitioner appeared before the intelligence officer of DGGI. After the investigation was completed, the assistant director of DGGI issued two show cause notices on 30.09.2021 and 18.10.2021 under the GST Act, 2017 and Chapter V of the finance act, 1994 respectively to the Petitioner and called upon the petitioner to show cause to the Assistant Commissioner, Central Tax &Central Excise, Bhubaneswar-II Divis....
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....vestigative process can be said to be over only when the quantum of evasion has been quantified or it has been determined that there was in fact no evasion of taxes or contravention of law by the process of adjudication/appeal. 15. Further, the question of launching of prosecution, which is in many cases is a natural extension of an investigation, still remains to be decided and if it were to be assumed that an investigation is deemed to be concluded on issuance of Show Cause Notice and that the order sheet/note sheet recorded in the case file were to be disclosed, the person against whom prosecution is proposed to be launched by the department would gain an unfair advantage. 16. Mere issuance of SCN does not mean that the process of investigation has been concluded and a final decision has been arrived at, rather, it is only one of the steps to arrive at a final decision: As such any disclosure of information at this stage, as sought for by the petitioner, would impede the process of investigation which can be deemed to be complete only after the final decision/adjudication about the liability of the person under investigation has been made after the matter has gone through all ....