GST officers lacks power to seize cash: HC quashes ₹1 crore seizure

The Bombay High Court quashed the seizure of ₹1 crore by GST officials, ruling they lack authority to seize cash under the CGST Act.

MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday quashed the seizure of ₹1 crore by officers of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) from a businesswoman’s residence, holding that GST authorities have no power under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act to seize cash.

Mumbai, India - Aug. 28, 2015 : Bombay High Court : ( Photo by Bhushan Koyande )

A division bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe said the law permits officers to seize goods, documents, books or other things relevant to proceedings, but cash does not fall within this category.

“The seizure of the cash by the GST officials is without any authority of law and could have not been made under any of the provisions of the CGST Act,” the bench said, terming the action “completely illegal and not justified in law.”

The case arose from a June 2023 search operation by the DGGI at the premises of Smurti Waghdhare, proprietor of M/s Platinum International, which trades in ferrous and non-ferrous metals and scrap. Officers also searched the firm’s office and premises owned by Waghdhare’s parents and seized ₹1 crore in cash from her Charni Road residence.

Waghdhare approached the high court challenging the seizure and questioning whether GST authorities had the legal power to confiscate cash under the CGST Act.

Her counsel argued that the Act authorises seizure only of goods, documents or things relevant to proceedings, and that cash is excluded from the definition of goods as it falls under “money”.

The GST department, however, claimed the seizure was part of a probe into an alleged fake input tax credit (ITC) racket involving issuance of bogus invoices from the firm’s premises without actual movement of goods.

Rejecting the department’s stand, the court noted that no reasons had been recorded to show the cash was liable to be seized. The bench directed authorities to return the ₹1 crore to Waghdhare along with applicable interest within two weeks.