Hon’ble Gujarat High Court in the case of Synergy Fertichem Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Gujarat reported as 2020 (33) G.S.T.L. 513 (Guj.) held that section 129 and 130 of the Act are independent provisions and authorities can directly invoke section 130 of the GST Act.
Recently, Hon’ble Telangana High Court had the occasion to deal with same issue and while subscribing to the views of Gujarat HC, further observed that senior authority i.e. proper officer shall also record the reasons in writing for his belief that the assessee has deliberately avoided the payment of tax; shall give an opportunity for personal hearing and shall pass the order rejecting the contentions of the assessee.
Important phrases of the decision are highlighted.