TMI Blog2021 (1) TMI 130X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ons for inspection, search, seizure and arrest. Section 70 of both the Acts are pari materia which empowers the proper officer under the Act to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry. Proper officer under the U.P.G.S.T. Act or the C.G.S.T. Act may invoke power under Section 70 in any inquiry. Prohibition of Section 6(2)(b) of the C.G.S.T. Act shall come into play only when any proceeding on the same subject-matter has already been initiated by a proper officer under the U.P.G.S.T. Act - Thus, the words any proceeding on the same subject-matter used in Section 6(2)(b) of the Act, which is subject to conditions specified in the notification issued under sub-Section (1); means any proceeding on the same cause of action and for the same dispute involving some adjudication proceedings which may include assessment proceedings, proceedings for penalties etc., proceedings for demands and recovery under Sections 73 and 74 etc. Thus, there is no proceeding by a proper officer against the petitioner on the same subject-matter referable to Section 6(2)(b) of the U.P.G.S.T. Act. I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... State-respondents submits as under:- (i) Section 6 (2) (b) of U.P. GST Act, 2017 prohibits initiation of a proceeding on the same set of facts. It does not prohibit inquiry by the authorities under U.P. Act or under Central Act. (ii) In Section 70 of CGST Act the word Inquiry has been used while in Section 6(2)(b) of U.P. GST Act, 2017 the words Proceeding has been used. Thus Section 6 (2)(b) prohibits Proceeding and not Inquiry . In other words Inquiry has not been prohibited under Section 6(2)(b) of the U.P. GST. Act, 2017. (iii) Jurisdiction of the respondent nos. 2 and 5 under U.P. GST Act is only the State of U.P., while the jurisdiction under the Central Act, is whole of India. (iv) The subject matter of inquiry by the respondent Nos 3/4 under the CGST Act is different or wider than the subject matter of inquiry by the respondent No. 5 under the U.P. GST Act. The inquiry by the respondent No.5 is confined only to some incriminating material found in the survey dated 30.05.2018 and the evidences of Input Tax Credit illegally taken by the petitioner on the basis of invoices of two alleged dealers. No such facts are indicated in the summon issued by the res ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the petitioner under Section 70 of the CGST Act, 2017 requiring him to tender statement, give evidence and produce copies of purchase and sales ledgers since July, 2017 till date. It appears that pursuant to the aforesaid summon, the petitioner neither appeared before the respondent No.4 nor submitted any details and instead merely wrote a letter dated 11.09.2020 that detail inquiry is being conducted by the respondent No.5. Now, the petitioner has filed the present writ petition praying for the relief as afore-quoted. Discussion and Findings:- 8. Provisions of the U.P. GST Act and the CGST Act are almost pari materia. For the purposes of the controversy involved in the present writ petition, the relevant provisions are Sections 2(91), 4(2), 6(2)(b) and Chapter XIV (Section 67 to 72) of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 which are reproduced below:- Section 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-- 2 (91) Proper Officer in relation to any function to be performed under this Act, means the Commissioner or the officer of the State Tax who is assigned that function by the Commissioner. Section 4 (2) The Commission ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... or any documents or books or things, which in his opinion shall be useful for or relevant to any proceedings under this Act, are secreted in any place, he may authorise in writing any other officer of State tax to search and seize or may himself search and seize such goods, documents or books or things: Provided that where it is not practicable to seize any such goods, the proper officer, or any officer authorized by him, may serve on the owner or the custodian of the goods an order that he shall not remove, part with, or otherwise deal with the goods except with the previous permission of such officer: Provided further that the documents or books or things so seized shall be retained by such officer only for so long as may be necessary for their examination and for any inquiry or proceedings under this Act. (3) The documents, books or things referred to in subsection (2) or any other documents, books or things produced by a taxable person or any other person, which have not been relied upon for the issue of notice under this Act or the rules made thereunder, shall be returned to such person within a period not exceeding thirty days of the issue of the said notice. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the said Code shall have effect as if for the word Magistrate , wherever it occurs, the word Commissioner were substituted. (11) Where the proper officer has reasons to believe that any person has evaded or is attempting to evade the payment of any tax, he may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, seize the accounts, registers or documents of such person produced before him and shall grant a receipt for the same, and shall retain the same for so long as may be necessary in connection with any proceedings under this Act or the rules made thereunder for prosecution. (12) The Commissioner or an officer authorised by him may cause purchase of any goods or services or both by any person authorised by him from the business premises of any taxable person, to check the issue of tax invoices or bills of supply by such taxable person, and on return of goods so purchased by such officer, such taxable person or any personin- charge of the business premises shall refund the amount so paid towards the goods after cancelling any tax invoice or bill of supply issued earlier. Section 68. Inspection of goods in movement.- (1) The Government may require the person-in-charge ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (2) Every such inquiry referred to in sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be a judicial proceedings within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860). Section 71. Access to business premises.- (1) Any officer under this Act, authorised by the proper officer not below the rank of Joint Commissioner, shall have access to any place of business of a registered person to inspect books of account, documents, computers, computer programs, computer software whether installed in a computer or otherwise and such other things as he may require and which may be available at such place, for the purposes of carrying out any audit, scrutiny, verification and checks as may be necessary to safeguard the interest of revenue. (2) Every person-in-charge of place referred to in subsection (1) shall, on demand, make available to the officer authorised under sub-section (1) or the audit party deputed by the proper officer or a cost accountant or chartered accountant nominated under section 66- (i) such records as prepared or maintained by the registered person and declared to the proper officer in such manner as may be prescribed; (ii) trial ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... roceedings shall be initiated by the proper officer under this Act on the same subject matter. (3) Any proceedings for rectification, appeal and revision, wherever applicable, of any order passed by an officer appointed under this Act shall not lie before an officer appointed under the State Goods and Services Tax Act or the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act. 9. Crux of the submissions of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that once, the respondent No.5 [Deputy Commissioner (SIB), Ghaziabad], has conducted a survey of the business premises of the petitioner on 30.05.2018 and is investigating in the matter pursuant to the aforesaid survey, no inquiry can be initiated or summon can be issued by the respondent No.4 under Section 70 of the C.G.S.T. Act against the petitioner even if basis of material of inquiry/ investigation by the respondent Nos.4 and 5 may be different. In other words, the respondent No.5, i.e. State Authority may investigate/ inquire in all the matters pertaining to the business of the petitioner and, therefore, the summons in the matter of inquiry issued by the respondent No.4 is barred by the provisions of Section 6(2)(b) of the C.G.S. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ject-matter in the context of Civil Procedure Code where also these words have not been defined. Hon ble Supreme Court held held that: The expression subject-matter has a reference to a right in the property which the plaintiff seeks to enforce. That expression includes the cause of action and the relief claimed. Unless the cause of action and the relief claimed in the second suit are the same as in the first suit it cannot be said that the subject-matter of the second suit is the same as that in the previous suit. . Mere identity of some of the issues in the two suits did not bring about an identity of the subject-matter in the two suits. As observed in Rakhma Bai v. Mahadeo Narayan, (I.L.R. 42 Bom.1155), the expression subject-matter in Order XXIII, Rule 1, Code of Civil Procedure means the series of acts or transactions alleged to exist giving rise to the relief claimed. In other words subject-matter means the bundle of facts which have to be proved in order to entitle the plaintiff to the relief claimed by him. We accept as correct the observations of Wallis C.J. in Singa Reddi vs. Subba Reddi, (ILR 39 Mad. 987), that where the cause of action and the r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... and penalties etc. These proceedings are subsequent to inquiry under Section 70 of the Act. The words in any inquiry used in Section 70 of the Act is referable to the provisions of Chapter XIV, i.e. Section 67 (power of inspection, search and seizure), Section 68 (inspection of goods in movement), Section 69 (power to arrest), Section 71 (access to business premises) and Section 72 (officers to assist proper officers). Therefore, proper officer under the U.P.G.S.T. Act or the C.G.S.T. Act may invoke power under Section 70 in any inquiry. Prohibition of Section 6(2)(b) of the C.G.S.T. Act shall come into play only when any proceeding on the same subject-matter has already been initiated by a proper officer under the U.P.G.S.T. Act. 18. Thus, the words any proceeding on the same subject-matter used in Section 6(2)(b) of the Act, which is subject to conditions specified in the notification issued under sub-Section (1); means any proceeding on the same cause of action and for the same dispute involving some adjudication proceedings which may include assessment proceedings, proceedings for penalties etc., proceedings for demands and recovery under Sections 73 and 74 etc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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