gemaplanoraya

My company's primary current account was provisionally attached by the GST Department two months ago under Section 83 of the CGST Act. The attachment came during a GST audit of our business and relates to a dispute over Input Tax Credit claims for the financial year 2023 to 2024. The GST department has alleged that some of our ITC claims were ineligible but we strongly disagree with this assessment and our GST consultant believes we have very strong documentary evidence supporting every claim we made.

The problem is that the provisional attachment has frozen over twenty lakh rupees in our business account which has brought our operations to a near standstill. We cannot pay our vendors, we cannot meet payroll for this month, and we are at serious risk of losing key supplier relationships that took years to build. The reputational damage from delayed payments is already beginning.

Our GST consultant has told us that provisional attachments under Section 83 of the CGST Act automatically expire after one year if no further order is passed. However waiting a full year is simply not an option for our business. We need to unfreeze your bank account as quickly as possible.

I have been advised that filing a writ petition before the Delhi High Court challenging the provisional attachment is the fastest route to relief in GST freeze cases. I have also heard that some businesses have successfully approached the GST appellate authority for a stay of the attachment while the underlying dispute is being resolved. We need to know which route is most effective and how quickly relief can realistically be obtained.

Can anyone recommend what qualities to look for when finding a lawyer who handles GST bank freeze matters? What are the strongest legal arguments for challenging a Section 83 provisional attachment before the Delhi High Court?