Coming to the rescue of a tax payer, the Delhi High Court on Tuesday reprimanded the officials of the Commissioner of Goods and Services Tax, for unnecessarily delaying a case, terming their conduct as “highly improper.”

While imposing a cost of Rs 5,000 on the authority for causing harassment to Jupiter Exports for issuing a tax demand notice without granting a personal hearing, a bench comprising justices Amit Mahajan and Vibhu Bakhru said that the revenue authorities had wasted two years of judicial time by just seeking adjournments on the pretext of filing a counter affidavit.

“The order be also sent to the Commissioner of GST, Department of Trade and Taxes, Vyapar Bhawan, IP Estate, New Delhi, for necessary information and compliance and if it is found that there is dereliction of duties on the part of the concerned officer, appropriate action for recovery of the amount from the salary of the officer be taken, the order stated.

The bench while quashing the tax demand said that such practices cannot be “countenanced “as it has the effect of not only causing harassment to the litigants but also wasting precious judicial time of the court.

Source: The Economic Times 
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/india/delhi-hc-reprimands-gst-authority/articleshow/102113800.cms?from=mdr