The Delhi High Court has held that attachment orders issued under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 cannot continue beyond the statutory period of one year.
The bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul directed The Release Of Attachments Imposed on RUS Education India Pvt. Ltd., observing that such orders had outlived their legal validity.
The case arose from a writ petition filed by RUS Education India Pvt. Ltd. challenging multiple provisional attachment orders issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) during the course of tax assessment proceedings. These attachment orders were passed on August 1, 2023, May 3, 2024, and July 24, 2024.
The court noted that sub-section (2) of Section 83 of the CGST Act clearly mandates that any provisional attachment shall cease to have effect after the expiry of one year from the date of the order. The Court emphasized that this time limit is absolute and leaves no scope for extension beyond the prescribed period.
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Upon examining the timeline, the Court observed that the attachment orders had already crossed their statutory lifespan. Specifically, the orders dated August 1, 2023, May 3, 2024, and July 24, 2024 stood expired on July 31, 2024, May 2, 2025, and July 23, 2025 respectively. Consequently, the Court held that these attachments could no longer be sustained in law.
Declaring that the impugned attachment orders had “lived their statutory life,” the High Court ordered that the attachments be lifted. It further directed the respondents to issue consequential orders for release of the attached properties within one week.
Case Details
Case Title: Rus Education India Pvt. Ltd. Versus DGGI
Citation: JURISHOUR-1008-HC-2026(DEL)
Case No.: W.P.(C) 16859/2025
Date: 23.04.2026
Counsel For Petitioner: Adv. Vineet Bhatia
Counsel For Respondent: Anurag Ojha, SSC
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