Section 73/74 of the CGST Act, 2017 –– Amount deposited under coercion um  –The petitioner sought a Mandamus to direct the respondent to pay a sum of Rs. 17,27,790/- and Rs. 12,60,472/- which was paid by the petitioner during the course when the officers of the respondent visited his premises and investigated regarding the alleged wrong availment of ITC. The petitioner submitted that the aforesaid amount was paid under coercion. The court observed that the amount paid by the petitioner are only deposits pending proper adjudication under Section 73 / 74 of the Act. There is no merits in this Writ Petition at this stage. The amount paid by the petitioner shall be treated as amount paid by the petitioner “under protest”.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court directed the respondent to complete the investigation and proceed to issue appropriate SCN within a period of six months. Further directed the respondent to return the photo copies of the seized documents to the petitioner.