GST evasion: Supreme Court agrees to examine power of tax authorities to arrest individual

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to examine the powers of tax authorities to arrest an individual for Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion. A vacation bench comprising Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Aniruddha Bose issued a notice to the Centre and sought its reply on a batch of pleas challenging the provision of arrest under the CGST Act.

The bench said that different high courts had taken different views in granting anticipatory bail to individuals accused of GST evasion and therefore, it needs to decide the question of law on the power of arrest. The bench also asked all the high courts to keep in mind, while dealing with grant of anticipatory bail in GST evasion cases, its earlier order by which it had upheld the Telangana High Court verdict which had said that individuals can’t be given protection from arrest in such cases. The bench listed the batch of petitions before a three-judge bench to decide the question of law on the power of arrest.