STERNE INDIA PVT. LTD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner has sought for setting aside the provisional attachment of bank accounts maintained with HDFC bank as per the communication dated 21.09.2020 at Annexure-A and has sought for appropriate direction to the respondent No.2 to defreeze the petitioner's bank accounts.

(2.) The petitioner is stated to be a Company registered under the Karnataka Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 and engaged in the Business to Business ( 'B2B ') e-commerce trading in 'white goods' including mobile handsets. It is made out in the petition that the respondent No.2 was conducting certain investigation in respect of M/s.Pal Overseas, a registered entity under the Goods and Service Tax Act ( 'GST Act ') and also as regards other entities relating to the alleged issuance of bogus/fake invoices without supply of goods and were seeking to claim Input Tax Credit of Goods and Service Tax. It is stated that the petitioner was purchasing the mobile hand sets from these suppliers and was selling to its customers. The respondent No.2 on 02.09.2020 conducted a search at the Head Office of the petitioner. It is submitted that during the search, the respondent No.2 issued summons to Mr.Rishi Raj Singh Rathore, Director and Mr.Nishant Gupta, Associate Director of the petitioner Company and had recorded their statements.

(3.) It is further made out in the petition that the said representatives of petitioner Company responded to the notice, appeared before the Authorities and also made their statements, which has been duly recorded.