[GST] Cash Included In Definition Of 'Things', Can Be Seized In GST Search: MP HC [Read Judgment]

"This Court has carefully gone through Section 67 of the CGST Act, 2017 and the expression used in sub-section (2) of Section 67 is "confiscation of any documents or books or things, which in proper officer's opinion shall be useful for or relevant to any proceedings under this Act, are secreted in any place". Thereafter, sub-section (2) has two provisos and first proviso relates to goods and the second proviso refers to documents or books or things so seized shall be retained", said the bench.

The core issue before the Court was that whether expression "things" covers within its meaning the cash or not. In the opinion of the Court, the CGST Act, 2017 has to be seen as a whole and the definition clauses are the keys to unlock the intent and purpose of the various sections and expressions used therein, where the said provisions are put to implementation. "Section 2(17) defines "business" and Section 2(31) defines "consideration". In the considered opinion of this Court a conjoint reading of Section 2(17), 2(31), 2(75) and 67(2) makes it clear that money can also be seized by authorised officer", opined the bench.

The bench held that the word "things" in Section 67(2) of the CGST Act, 2017 is to be given wide meaning and as per Black's Law Dictionary, any subject matter of ownership within the spear of proprietary or valuable right, would come under the definition of " thing". Similarly, in the Wharton's Law Lexicon, the word "thing" has been defined and it includes "money".

"It is a cardinal principle of interpretation of statute that unreasonable and inconvenient results are to be avoided, artificially and anomaly to be avoided and most importantly a statute is to be given interpretation which suppresses the mischief and advances the remedy", said the bench.