Commissioner, Central Tax Vs Deepak Khandelwal

In the case of Commissioner of CGST v. Deepak Khandelwal, the Supreme Court of India dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) from the Commissioner of CGST regarding the seizure of cash and silver bars during a search conducted under Section 67 of the CGST Act. The Delhi High Court previously ruled that the seizure was not sustainable as cash does not fall under the definition of "goods" per the CGST Act, and therefore could not be seized under these provisions. The High Court emphasized that Section 67 focuses on ensuring compliance with tax regulations to curb tax evasion, not on recovering unaccounted wealth, which is the realm of the Income Tax Act. Since the seized cash and silver bars were not proven to be connected to any tax evasion, and because no notice was issued within the six-month timeframe required by Section 67(7), the court concluded that the seizure was unauthorized. Thus, the Supreme Court's dismissal of the petition upholds the interpretation that currency cannot be seized without due cause under the CGST Act.