A division bench of the Kerala High Court has set aside the confiscation of a transport vehicle under CGST Act 2017 after finding that the notice sent to the owner had been served through WhatsApp, which is not a valid mode of service under the law.
While such a practice was permitted during the Covid-19 pandemic, it no longer constitutes a valid mode under the provisions of the CGST Act 2017, and there is no debate regarding the same, the division bench comprising Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji said while allowing an appeal challenging the order of the confiscation/detention of the vehicle for alleged tax evasion.
The Judges said that there is a serious lacuna in the procedure adopted by the Enforcement Officer of the State GST Department as far as confiscation of the petitioner’s vehicle is concerned.
However, the court made it clear that they have not gone into the merits of the action of confiscation and clarified that the judgment will not affect the order of confiscation of the goods of which the Petitioner is not the owner.
The matter is remanded to the competent authority for fresh consideration and the respondents will issue notice to the Petitioner as contemplated under Section 130 of the Act of 2017, the Court said.
Earlier, the Single Judge of the High Court found that the contention regarding non-service of the confiscation order on the petitioner cannot be accepted and the petition was dismissed.
The petitioner said that he had received a notice of the detention order of his truck under Section 130 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for alleged tax evasion. His truck was engaged in transporting sullage water from Cochin Wharf. He challenged the detention of his vehicle through a writ petition before a single judge saying that he had no knowledge or involvement in alleged tax evasion and the vehicle was hired only to transport goods.
He asserted that no notice or copy of the detention orders pertaining to the vehicle was served on him. The respondents submitted that there were repeated communications through WhatsApp.
Published on July 10, 2025