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2013 (2) TMI 160 - HC - Service TaxSearch warrant - search and seizure - violation of the laws relating to the payment of service tax - assessee contested against jurisdiction of Coimbatore commissionerate for issuing warrant - Held that:- The authority concerned, who issues the warrant for search and seizure, ought to have the necessary materials before him to have a reason to believe that an order for search and seizure is warranted. However, it is clear that if certain materials are available before the authority concerned to arrive at his conclusion, then it is not for this Court to examine as to whether there were sufficient materials or grounds to arrive at such a conclusion. Further, this court cannot go into the question as to whether the materials available before the authority concerned were adequate to prompt him to believe that a search was necessary. There is no doubt that the satisfaction of the authority concerned is a subjective satisfaction. Therefore, this Court could only see whether the satisfaction of the authority is due to mala fide reasons or based on extraneous factors or mere rumours. If there are some materials available for a reasonable and prudent man to believe that a search is warranted, then it is not for this Court to delve deeper into the subtle and complex intricacies involved in the process of the formation of the opinion in the mind of the authority concerned. However, in the present case before this Court, the respondents have been in a position to show that certain transactions relating to the services rendered by the petitioner companies have taken place within the jurisdiction of the Coimbatore Commissionerate. It is found that the acceptance of certain contractual obligations, billing, accounting and other such processes had further place within the jurisdiction of the Coimbatore Commissionerate. Based on the bona fide belief that certain transactions were being made through the offices of the petitioner' companies at Coimbatore, the first respondent had issued to the impugned warrants to search the premises in question. Especially, when the petitioners have not been in a position to show that the respondents had acted in a mala fide manner, this Court is not inclined to accept the contention raised on behalf of the petitioners that the search and seizure operations, conducted by the authorities, of the Coimbatore Commissionerate are arbitrary, illegal and void. Based on the specific directions issued to the respondents, they had placed before this Court the original records, based on which the first respondent had a reason to believe that there was a necessity to issue a warrant to search the premises in question. On a perusal of the said records this Court is inclined to hold that the opinion formed by the first respondent that there was a necessity to issue a warrant of search, in respect of the official premises of the petitioner companies and the residential premises of one of its directors cannot be held to be arbitrary and void, as prayed for by the petitioners, in the present writ petitions. Thus as the petitioners have not been in a position to show that the authority concerned had issued the warrant of search, arbitrarily, without following the procedures established by law or with a mala fide motive this Court is of the considered view that the contentions raised on behalf of the petitioners cannot be countenanced - writ petitions are liable to be dismissed - the petitioners are entitled to the copies of the documents and records seized from the premises in question before further proceedings are initiated against them, by the respondents, pursuant to the search conducted on 1.3.2002.
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