JUDGMENT

Sanjeev Sachdeva, J. (Oral) - Petitioner seeks refund of an amount of Rs.35,00,000/- (Rupees Thirty Five Lakhs only) which was recovered from the Petitioner sans authority of law during the search proceedings carried out on 07.01.2023, by coercing him to reverse the Input Tax Credit done on 07.01.2023 through FORM GST DRC-03.

2. Petitioner was engaged in business of trading of health supplements.

3. On 06.01.2023, Petitioner was subjected to search based on GST INS-01 issued by the Respondents. The reasons mentioned in the form INS-01 are as under:

"i has suppressed transaction relating to supply of goods and/or services

ii has suppressed transaction relating to stock of goods in hand

iii has claimed input tax credit in excess of his entitlement under the Act

iv has indulged in contravention of the provisions of this act or rules made thereunder to evade tax under this Act"

4. The search operation commenced on dated 07.01.2023 at 03:15 PM and after some initial inspection, a notice under Rule 56(18) of the Delhi GST Rules, 2017 had been issued by the Respondents directing Petitioner to produce the records for the period of 2017-2018 on the same day i.e. 07.01.2023 by 5:00 PM itsel