Why the taxman will now pause before making customs or GST arrests
5 days, 21 hours ago

Why the taxman will now pause before making customs or GST arrests

India Today  

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the powers of arrest under the Customs Act, 1962, and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, unfolds as both a procedural recalibration and a stark reckoning for the Indian tax enforcement apparatus. The ruling emerges from a history of legal wrangling that stretches back to 2011, when the Supreme Court, in Om Prakash v. Union of India, held that offences under the customs and central excise laws were non-cognizable and bailable, requiring warrants for arrests. Tax officers must now possess material evidence before forming an opinion on someone’s guilt, record their reasons for arrest and furnish these reasons to the accused in writing. The Court has, in effect, extended to customs and GST officials the same guardrails that it imposed on the Enforcement Directorate under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act in the Arvind Kejriwal case.

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History of this topic

Top Court upholds power of authorised officers to arrest under Customs Act, GST Acts
3 weeks ago

Top Court upholds power of authorised officers to arrest under Customs Act, GST Acts

India Today  

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the rights of authorised officers to make arrests under the Customs Act and the GST Acts. The court has stated that the impugned provisions lay down the power to summon and arrest, powers necessary for the effective levy and collection of GST. According to the court, the GST Acts, in pith and substance, pertain …

SC puts safeguards in GST, Customs arrests
3 weeks, 1 day ago

SC puts safeguards in GST, Customs arrests

Hindustan Times  

New Delhi The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the power of officers to arrest individuals under the Goods and Services Tax and Customs Acts but introduced key judicial safeguards to prevent arbitrary detention and clarified the extent and limits of enforcement under these special statutes. Delivering the verdict on a bundle of 281 petitions that assailed the arresting powers under …

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality Of GST Act Provisions On Arrest & Summons
3 weeks, 1 day ago

Supreme Court Upholds Constitutionality Of GST Act Provisions On Arrest & Summons

Live Law  

The Supreme Court has upheld the Constitutional validity of Sections 69 and 70 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, which provide for the power to arrest and the power to summon.The Constitutionality of these provisions were challenged on the ground that the Parliament lacked the legislative competence to enact them. The Supreme Court has upheld the Constitutional validity of …

Arrest Under GST Act Cannot Be Made Merely To Investigate If Cognizable & Non-Bailable Offence Has Been Committed : Supreme Court
3 weeks, 1 day ago

Arrest Under GST Act Cannot Be Made Merely To Investigate If Cognizable & Non-Bailable Offence Has Been Committed : Supreme Court

Live Law  

An arrest under the Goods and Services Act cannot be carried out merely on the basis of suspicion, the Supreme Court stated. The Court held that the arrest must proceed on the belief supported by reasons relying on material that the conditions specified in sub-section of Section 132 are satisfied. The Supreme Court held that an arrest carried out under …

Customs, GST officers cannot make arrests arbitrarily: SC
3 weeks, 1 day ago

Customs, GST officers cannot make arrests arbitrarily: SC

The Hindu  

The Supreme Court declared in a judgment on Thursday that Customs officers and Goods and Services Tax officers have a duty, like their Enforcement Directorate counterparts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, to not arrest people arbitrarily on a whim. A Special Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna held that both Customs and GST officers were …

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Pleas Challenging Arrest & Summoning Powers Of GST Officials
1 year, 6 months ago

Supreme Court Issues Notice On Pleas Challenging Arrest & Summoning Powers Of GST Officials

Live Law  

The Supreme Court on August 25 issued notice in two similar writ petitions filed under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, challenging the constitutional validity of several provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 including Section 69, 70. As per the said petitions, Sections 69 and 70 of the CGST Act are unconstitutional as being provisions …

Three-Judge Bench Of SC To Examine Power Of GST Officers To Arrest Suspected Tax Evaders
5 years, 9 months ago

Three-Judge Bench Of SC To Examine Power Of GST Officers To Arrest Suspected Tax Evaders

Live Law  

The question of law regarding the power of Goods and Services Tax officers to arrest suspected evaders will be examined by a three-judge bench, said the vacation bench of Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose today.The bench also issued notice to the Centre and sought its reply on a batch of pleas challenging the provision of arrest under …

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