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 72, verbatim (show)
*
Section
72.
Officers to assist proper officers.-
(1) All officers of Police, Railways, Customs, and those officers engaged in the collection of land revenue, including village officers, officers of State tax and officers of Union territory tax shall assist the proper officers in the implementation of this Act.
(2)
The Government may, by notification, empower and require any other class of officers to assist the proper officers in the implementation of this Act when called upon to do so by the Commissioner.
*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
The officers whom the section itself binds 72(1)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Other classes empowered by notification 72(2)
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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]
| Note | Change | Instrument | Effective from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enforced the section. | — | 1st July, 2017 |
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Section 2 | this provision requires Section 2 clause (91) | 72(1) "shall assist the proper officers in the implementation of this Act" |
| Section 2 | 72(2) requires Section 2 clause (24) | 72(2) "when called upon to do so by the Commissioner" |
| Section 6 | this provision branches on Section 6 | 72(1) "officers of State tax and officers of Union territory tax shall assist the proper officers", which is assistance and not the cross-empowerment section 6 provides for |
Circulars and notifications
No circular or notification in the CBIC repository is recorded as citing this section.
Unsettled questions
The words of section 72 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- Does the duty in sub-section (1) arise of itself, or only when a proper officer asks for assistance? Sub-section (1) says the officers "shall assist" and says nothing of a request, while sub-section (2) expressly requires a call from the Commissioner for other classes.
- What does it take to "assist the proper officers in the implementation of this Act"? The section requires assistance and gives no test of what assistance is, so the boundary between assisting and acting as a proper officer is undrawn.
See also
- Section 6 of the CGST Act, 2017: authorisation of officers of State tax or Union territory tax as proper officer in certain circumstances
- Section 71 of the CGST Act, 2017: access to business premises
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 72. Officers to assist proper officers". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
External links
- CGST Act, 2017, Section 72 on the CBIC tax information portal