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RIt all started when my father, a civil engineer, allowed my cousin (my uncle’s son), who is a contractor, to work under his license in 2017-18. Since my father didn’t have the funds to invest in civil projects himself, he let his nephew take tenders under his name.
One of these projects was worth ₹64 lakhs. The payment for this work came into my father’s account. As per their verbal understanding, my father kept a 2% commission and issued the remaining amount, including taxes, to his nephew via cheque. His nephew assured him that he would handle the GST payments.
However, after three years, in 2021, my father received a notice stating that ₹7 lakhs in GST was still unpaid. When he asked his nephew about it, he denied any knowledge and refused to take responsibility, saying that my father should pay it himself.
In 2022, my father tragically passed away due to a heart attack. We were already in financial distress after his death, and my mother, the only one who knew about the GST issue, forgot about it amid our loss.
Recently, in February 2025, we received another notice stating that the outstanding GST amount has now increased to ₹19.84 lakhs and must be paid immediately, or else legal action will be taken.
When we looked into the matter, we realized that after my father received the first notice, he had consulted a lawyer who assured him that he would handle it. However, after my father passed away, the lawyer started refusing letters from the GST department, telling them that we had moved away. This backfired because the department assumed that we were avoiding payment, which led to the amount escalating to nearly ₹20 lakhs.
Neither my siblings nor I were aware of any of this. Even my uncle, who had helped us settle other official matters after my father’s passing, had completely forgotten about this issue.
We recently spoke to a lawyer who told us that we need to appeal in the lower court, which requires ₹75,000, and if rejected, we would have to appeal in the high court, which would require another ₹75,000. However, given our financial condition, we cannot afford this ₹1.5 lakh legal expense.
My sister earns ₹18,000, I earn ₹12,000 from an internship, and my younger brother is still studying. Our household runs on my sister’s salary. We have no savings or assets apart from our house, which we moved into in 2021. Before that, we lived in a very poorly conditioned house.
Now, the authorities have begun the process of freezing accounts, and my mother’s bank account could be seized anytime. Our family lawyer has warned us that even our accounts could be frozen, advising us to use cash instead.
We are lost and don’t know what to do. Please help.
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CGenerally speaking tax recovery can only be made from the person, and from his estate (whatever he left behind at the time of his death) and not from his family members.
Consult a Chartered Accountant to see through the accounts and understand the case better. In case of tax recovery courts aren’t generally involved, and most of the process is done through the GST portal itself. -
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EI suggest you try to meet the said gst officials (like an inspector or superintendent) and explain your situation to them instead of involving lawyers. From what i hear from some one i know, if your gst falls in state purview(sgst) and not central gst, you can talk to the officers and find a compromise based on your condition(they can use their discretion) while its hard with central gst authorities. Its better to approach the officers directly and pay what they expect instead of paying for lawyers and going the legal route.
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UFrankly – the fastest action they can take is to freeze his account
Take the funds out from this account.
The recovery department takes a lot of time. Have seen similar case being forgotten by the officers as they nothing to gain from it.
The recovery department is also slow to act on small numbers like yours.
Wait for an amnesty scheme to come by wherein you can pay the dues.
No need to worry is what I would suggest.
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