High Court of Calcutta7 September 2026

Harphool Chowdhury @ Harphool Choudhary v. State of West Bengal

For assesseeRemanded

WPA NO.1952 OF 2026

The ruling in brief

Where petitioner challenged adjudication order for July 2017 to March 2018 and no opportunity of hearing was granted despite show cause notice indicating an adverse decision, such order was unsustainable for breach of mandatory hearing requirement under statutory scheme, and matter required remand for fresh decision after granting personal hearing with attachment order quashed

Provisions considered

Section 73, read with section 75, of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017/West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017

This summary is for general information and is not legal advice. Read the full decision and the applicable law before relying on it.

The ruling in brief

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Where SCN and penalty proceedings were initiated against legal representative of deceased alleged to have fraudulently availed ITC and IGST refunds, in view of fact that section 93 permitted post-death determination of tax, interest and penalty liability accruing to extent of deceased's estate, investigation and recovery actions were jurisdictionally valid against legal heirs. GST: Where department, after assessee's death, proceeded against legal representative for tax penalty based on alleged fraudulent refunds by deceased, while provisions of section 93(1)(b) was challenged under Article 14 as arbitrary and denying defence, since liability was limited to estate of deceased, representative was not deemed to be a wrongdoer, particularly when effective hearing and appeal safeguards existed; thus, constitutional challenge to Section 93(1)(b) was untenable and was rejected. GST: Amount seized during search could not be retained indefinitely merely on alleged voluntary deposit; Department was required to establish lawful basis for retention/appropriation, furnish complete account of principal and FD interest, and release any amount lacking statutory basis with interest actually earned after reasoned adjudication

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For assesseeRemanded

Arup Datta v. State of West Bengal

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Related rulings

Delhi High Court25 Sept 2026

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Harphool Chowdhury @ Harphool Choudhary v. State of West Bengal

The ruling in brief

Provisions considered

Harphool Chowdhury @ Harphool Choudhary v. State of West Bengal

The ruling in brief

Provisions considered

Read the full analysis

Jaiwanti v. Union of India

Hindalco Industries Ltd. v. Commissioner State Tax Chhatisgarh

Arup Datta v. State of West Bengal

Read the full analysis