P V Rao Vs Senior Intelligence Officer, Directorate General Of GST Intelligence & Ors. (Delhi High Court)

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Date of Decision: 18.11.2020
W.P.(C.) No. 8975/2020
P.V. RAO …. Petitioner
Through: Mr. Tarun Gulati, Senior Advocate with Mr. Atulya Kishore, Mr. Rajat Bose and Mr. Rishi Garg, Advocates.

versus

SENIOR INTELLIGENCE OFFICER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF GST INTELLIGENCE & ORS. …. Respondents
Through: Mr. Hardeep Singh, Standing Counsel for R-1 and R-2.
Mr. Anil Dabas, Advocate for R-3/UOI.

CORAM:
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE MANMOHAN
HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJEEV NARULA

JUDGMENT

SANJEEV NARULA, J. (Oral)

CM APPL. 28982/2020 & CM APPL. 28983/2020 (for exemption)

1. Exemption allowed, subject to all just exceptions.

2. The applications stand disposed of.
W.P.(C.) No. 8975/2020 & CM APPL. 28981/2020 (for stay)

3. The Petitioner has evoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of this Court by filing the present petition under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, seeking a writ of Mandamus to direct Respondent No. 1, the Senior Intelligence Officer, Director General of GST Intelligence (“DGGSTI”) to allow the Petitioner to tender his statement and adduce evidence through video conferencing, in relation to a summon issued under Section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (“CGST Act”).

4. The factual background necessary for the purpose of deciding the present petition can be summarized as follows: The Petitioner is presently employed by Think and Learn Private Limited (“Company”) in the capacity of Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”). This company is engaged in the business of providing online courses, classes etc. through its website and mobile applications by the brand name “BYJU’S”. Respondent No. 1, the DGGSTI, is presently carrying out an investigation under Section 67 of the CGST Act in relation to the Company, for evasion of GST on books/printed material being supplied by the Company, by mis-declaring such supplies under an exempted category. In this regard, from 27th to 29th October, 2020, Respondent No. 1 along with a team of officers of DGGSTI visited the premises of the Company at Bengaluru for carrying out an inspection under Section 67 of the CGST Act in order to ascertain the admissibility of the exemption being availed by the company. The Petitioner asserts that his statement was recorded on 28th October, 2020 from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm. However, owing to his ill health and age-related morbidities, he fell severely unwell during the recording of his statement and accordingly consulted a doctor who prescribed medication and advised rest for a period of three days.

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