The Kerala High Court has held that the GST department cannot refuse to release the goods and conveyance once the assessee has complied with the requirements under section 129 (1)(c) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017.
Justice Gopinath. P was considering a writ petition where in the petitioner, M/s VTS Steels faced with proceedings under Section 129 of the CGST/SGST Act, 2017. The petitioner contended that despite the willingness of the petitioner to comply with the provisions of Section 129 (1)(c), the department is refusing to accept the bank guarantee and release the goods, pending adjudication of the notice.
After hearing contentions from both sides, the Court observed that “if the petitioner complies with the provision of Section 129 (1)(c), there is no reason for the 1st respondent to refuse the release of the goods and the conveyance, pending finalization of the proceedings issued under Section 129.”
“Hence, this writ petition is disposed of directing the 1st respondent to release the goods and conveyance in question on the petitioner complying with the conditions prescribed in Section 129(1)(c) of the CGST/SGST Act without any further delay. If the proceedings under Section 129 result in an adverse order against the petitioner, the bank guarantee furnished by the petitioner will not be invoked for a period of thirty days from the date of the order to enable the petitioner to apply for appropriate relief before the appellate authority,” the Court concluded.
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