TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (9) TMI 43
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....stries LLP, Jhansi and is a reputed business man dealing in the manufacturing of TMT bars under the aegis of M/s Meenakshi Metal Industries LLP. Pursuant to a search warrant dated 12.3.2024 issued by respondent no.2 under Section 67 CGST Act, 2017, a team of officers of respondent no.1 made a search/ inspection in the business premises of M/s Meenakshi Re-rollers Pvt. Ltd. & M/s Meenakshi Metal Industries LLP, Jhansi on 13.3.2024 and total quantity of unfinished goods/ stocks detained of 1680 tons and the finished goods of 3775 tons bearing the total quantity of the detained goods 5455 tons weighing by the committee within a span of 22 hours as disclosed in the panchnama as the search commenced on 13.3.2024 at 12:20 pm and concluded on 14.3.2024 at 10:15 pm. 4. The applicants received summons under Section 70 of the CGST Act, 2017. 5. It is submitted by the learned counsel for the applicants that in pursuant to the aforesaid panchnama, a request was made to the respondent no.2 for the physical re-verification of the stocks alleging the so called weighing made by the search team to be only at eye-estimation and in response to the letter dated 20.6.2024 which was sent by respondent....
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.... this Court in Criminal Misc. Anticipatory Bail Application No. 1337 of 2020 Govind Agarwal Vs. State of U.P. and Anr. 10. It is trite law that when the maintainability of a particular proceeding is challenged before a Court of law apart from the merits of the case the Court at the first sight is under obligation to make an assurance in itself that the matter which is going to be taken up by it is legally maintainable and it is only after ensuring about the maintainability of the said proceedings the Court has to take any further steps in this matter. 11. The factual scenario which reveals from the record is that at this juncture summons under Section 70 of CGST Act, 2017 have been issued against the present applicants. 12. To deal with the issue of maintainability of the present anticipatory bail application first of all it is necessary to note the relevant provisions of the CGST Act, 2017 provided under Section 69 and Section 70 of the said Act, which are extracted herein below: Power to Arrest "69. (1) Where the Commissioner has reasons to believe tharrest under Section 69(1) of the CGST Act, 2017 is invoked and in such circumstances, the person summoned cannot invoke Sec....
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....rovided under Section 70 of the said Act and on the other hand if reasons to believe exist there to the commissioner that a person has committed any offence specified in clause (a) or (b) or (c) or (d) of sub Section 1 of Section 132 which is punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of sub Section (1), or sub Section (2) of the said Section, he has an authority to authorise any officer of the Central Tax to arrest such person. The grounds of arrest shall be disclosed to such person and within 24 hours he will be produced before a Magistrate and Section 69 further provides that subject to the provisions of Cr.P.C. the person arrested under sub Section (1) for any offence specified under sub Section (4) of Section 132 shall be admitted to bail or in default of bail, forwarded to the custody of the Magistrate and if the offence is non-cognizable or bailable the Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner shall have the power to release him on bail. 15. Now the legal position for the maintainability of an application for grant of anticipatory bail is to be determined on the touchstone of law promulgated by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the State of Gujrat Vs. Choodamani Parmeshwaran Iyer....
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....s to be settled was relating to extra territorial jurisdiction and the question of grant of extra territorial transit or interim anticipatory bail for an offence committed outside the territorial jurisdiction of a High Court or Court of Session was under consideration and the Hon'ble Apex Court held that the same was permissible considering the facts and circumstances of the case, nature and extent of such vague inquiry to be made and pre-condition to be specified and however with a caution that the Court must exercise due vigilance against abuse of process of Court/ forum shopping. The Hon'ble Apex Court dealing with the various aspects of the law relating to anticipatory bail permitted for grant of extra territorial transit or interim anticipatory bail, which is certainly not the subject matter of the issue relating to the case in hand. 18. Since in the present matter no issue for grant of transit anticipatory bail is involved, the law cited by the learned counsel for the applicants is of no help for them. 19. In the same manner another decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court given in the case of Mahdoom Bava (supra) also not helpful at all to the applicants as from the face of it t....