Holding the seizure operations by the DGGI as “perverse, arbitrary and without authority of law”, the Bombay High Court quashed two seizure orders issued by the department and directed the return of ₹1 crore in cash seized from a Mumbai trader.
A division bench of Justices G. S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe ruled that officers of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) failed to comply with the statutory requirements under the GST law before seizing the money.
The bench also expressed surprise when the government counsel informed the court that the seized cash had been handed over to the Income Tax Department for further proceedings.
Smruti Waghdhare, proprietor of M/s Platinum International, had challenged seizure orders dated June 27 and June 28, 2023 issued in Form GST INS-02.
