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Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017

From the IndiaAuditLens Law Library

GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter XIV, Inspection, Search, Seizure and Arrest

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

  • 69(3)(a)Subject to the Criminal Procedure Code, an arrestee for a section 132(4) offence must be admitted to bail or, in default, forwarded to Magistrate custody.

Bars, duties and time limits

  • 69(2)For a section 132(5) offence, the arresting officer must state the grounds and produce the person before a Magistrate within twenty four hours.

Procedure, powers and definitions

  • 69(1)On reasons to believe an offence under section 132(1)(a)-(d), punishable under section 132(1)(i), (ii) or (2), the Commissioner may authorise a central tax officer by order to arrest.
  • 69(3)(b)For non-cognizable, bailable offences, the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner has the police-station officer’s release powers and applicable provisions, subject to the Criminal Procedure Code.
  • 69The law does not settle whether the stated grounds and twenty-four-hour duties also apply to arrests outside section 132(5).

Section 69 permits the Commissioner to authorise arrest for the specified section 132 offences on reasons to believe they were committed. It provides grounds-of-arrest and Magistrate-production duties for the stated offence category. Bail and related powers remain subject to the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. The section commenced on 1 July 2017; the duties for other arrest categories remain unsettled.[1]

Text

The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Section 69, verbatim (show)

* Section 69. Power to arrest. -

(1) Where the Commissioner has reasons to believe that a person has committed any offence specified in clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 132 which is punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of sub-section (1), or sub-section (2) of the said section, he may, by order, authorise any officer of central tax to arrest such person.

(2) Where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) for an offence specified under sub- section (5) of section 132, the officer authorised to arrest the person shall inform such person of the grounds of arrest and produce him before a Magistrate within twenty four hours.

(3) Subject to the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974),-

(a) where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) for any offence specified under sub-section (4) of section 132, he shall be admitted to bail or in default of bail, forwarded to the custody of the Magistrate;

(b) in the case of a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner shall, for the purpose of releasing an arrested person on bail or otherwise, have the same powers and be subject to the same provisions as an officer-in-charge of a police station.

*Enforced w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.

Scope the section as a whole

Questions to answer on the file1 question
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The order authorising the arrest 69(1)

Questions to answer on the file6 questions
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The grounds of arrest and production before a Magistrate 69(2)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions
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Bail or custody for an offence under sub-section (4) of section 132 69(3)(a)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions
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The powers of the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner in a non-cognizable and bailable offence 69(3)(b)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.[1]

Amendments to section 69 as footnoted in the CBIC text
NoteChangeInstrumentEffective from
Enforced the section.—1st July, 2017
Provisions connected to Section 69
ProvisionConnectionWords that tie them
Section 13269(1) requires Section 132 132(1)(a) to (d)69(1) "any offence specified in clause (a) or clause (b) or clause (c) or clause (d) of sub-section (1) of section 132"
Section 13269(1) requires Section 132 132(1)(i), 132(1)(ii) and 132(2)69(1) "which is punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of sub-section (1), or sub-section (2) of the said section"
Section 269(1) defined by Section 2 clause (24)69(1) "Where the Commissioner has reasons to believe"
Section 13269(2) branches on Section 132 132(5)69(2) "for an offence specified under sub- section (5) of section 132"
Section 13269(3)(a) branches on Section 132 132(4)69(3)(a) "for any offence specified under sub-section (4) of section 132"

Circulars and notifications

No circular or notification in the CBIC repository is recorded as citing this section.

Unsettled questions

The words of section 69 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

  1. Where a person is arrested under sub-section (1) of section 69 for an offence that is not one specified under sub-section (5) of section 132, is the officer still bound to inform him of the grounds of arrest and to produce him before a Magistrate within twenty four hours? Sub-section (2) states both duties only for an arrest for an offence under sub-section (5), and the section says nothing either way about an arrest outside it.

See also

References

  1. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 69. Power to arrest". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links