Section 67 of the CGST Act, 2017—Search and Seizure--Payment of tax---The petitioner sought a writ in the nature of mandamus to respondent No. 1 to refund a sum of Rs.1,99,90,000/- along with interest. Respondent no. 1 conducted search at the premises of the petitioner on 14.01.2021 and director was pressurized to deposit the amount of Rs.1,99,90,000/-. The petitioner lodged protest regarding the said deposit. Respondent No. 2 thereafter further searched the premises and got deposited another Rs.25 lakhs forcibly from the petitioner and the petitioner was issued a SCN raising demand of Rs.4,04,42,761/-, which was confirmed to the demand of Rs.2,34,47,685/-. The respondent submitted that the petitioner voluntarily deposited the impugned amount and the said fact is clear from the FORM GST DRC-03. The court placed its reliance upon the judgment of Delhi High Court in case of Vallabh Textiles vs. Senior Intelligence Officer and others and upon Karanataka High Court in a case of Union of India and others vs. Bundl Technologies Pvt. Ltd and others and observed that Article 265 of the Constitution of India lays down that collection of tax has to be by the authority of law. If tax is collected without any authority of law, the same would amount to depriving a person of his property without any authority of law and would infringe his right under Article 300 A of the Constitution of India as well. In the present case, no receipt was given by the Proper Officer after accepting the impugned amount.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court directed the respondent No. 1 to refund a sum of Rs.1,99,90,000/- along with 6 % interest.