GST Officers Issuing Summons/ Arrest Memos not Required to Be Cross-Examined By Petitioner: Gujarat HC

The Gujarat High Court has passed an important ruling that says that there is no need to cross-examine GST officers who issue summons or arrest memos.

The petitioner, Sazid Ali Khan, is the owner of M/s KSEG India International and was engaged in the scrap business. He was accused of wrongly claiming input tax credit (ITC) using invoices from fake companies without actually receiving any goods. Due to this, the GST department issued the intimation in Form GST-DRC-01 under Rule 142(1A) of the CGST Act, 2017.

The petitioner did not submit his reply until he received a show-cause notice demanding Rs 14.52 crores, along with penalty and interest.

The petitioner claimed that the order was passed without giving a chance of personal hearing and without giving any opportunity of cross-examination. The taxpayer also argued that they were never told they would not be allowed to cross-examine the GST officers who issued the summons and were referenced in the case documents. They said such questioning was important to know how the investigation was carried out.

The Gujarat HC observed that the taxpayers listed five individuals, out of which four were from the GST department who issued summons or arrest memos. The court held that these officials are not required to be cross-examined.

The bench agreed with the tax department’s decision to deny cross-examination and stated that the taxpayer could appeal the order under Section 107 of the GST Act, which provides an appropriate legal remedy. With this ruling, the High Court rejected the petition and allowed the petitioner to file a statutory appeal under section 107 of the GST Act.