2026-VIL-1235-P&H
  1. Home
  2. 2026-VIL-1235-P&H

SGST High Court Cases

GST - Arrest under Section 69(1) of CGST Act, 2017 - Petitioner, a Chartered Accountant, was arrested for an offence under Section 132 for allegedly creating and operating a network of shell firms to avail and pass on fake Input Tax Credit - The authorisation for arrest carried a single line that the Commissioner had reasons to believe that the offence was committed. The detailed reasons to believe and the grounds of arrest were recorded and signed by the Inspector - Whether the arrest is valid when the reasons to believe were not recorded by the Commissioner - HELD - Arrest under Section 69 must be preceded by reasons to believe based on tangible material, on the basis of which the Commissioner forms an opinion that the ingredients of the offence are made out, the person has the requisite mens rea and there is justification for arrest. It is the Commissioner alone who is required to form such opinion, and reasons to believe recorded by an authority not empowered under the Act are non-est and per-se illegal - A solitary line in the authorisation that the Commissioner has reasons to believe does not amount to reasons to believe within the meaning of Section 69. The reasons must refer to the material and evidence underlying the opinion and reflect due application of mind. The reasons in the present case, though detailed, were recorded by the Inspector and not by the Commissioner. An order of the Commissioner under Section 69 recording reasons to believe is a sine qua non for arrest, and such reasons have to be conveyed to the person arrested. The arrest not preceded by reasons to believe recorded by the Commissioner is illegal - The arrest, remand and continued custody are held illegal. The petitioner is ordered to be released forthwith. The prosecution is at liberty to move for remand or custody after supply of reasons to believe and grounds of arrest in writing, in accordance with law – The petition is allowed - Absence of Document Identification Number in arrest documents - Circular dated 05.11.2019 - The reasons to believe and the grounds of arrest furnished to the Petitioner did not bear any electronically generated DIN. Whether the arrest documents issued without DIN are valid - HELD - The Circular No.122/41/2019-GST dated 05.11.2019 directs that no search authorisation, summons, arrest memo or inspection notice shall be issued without a computer generated DIN quoted in the body of the communication. A communication without DIN is treated as invalid and deemed never to have been issued, except in the exceptional circumstances specified in the Circular. Even in such cases, the reasons must be recorded in writing, and the communication has to be regularised within fifteen working days. The Respondent was unable to explain why the documents did not bear DIN or the exigency in which they were issued. It was not the stand of the Respondent that the documents were regularised within fifteen working days. The claim that both documents are part of the arrest memo is not acceptable - The reasons to believe and the grounds of arrest issued without DIN do not pass the test of judicial scrutiny on this ground also.
Download File

Quick Search

/

Advance Search

GST Resources

/

Gst Rate Finder

Tax Vista

Your Weekly Tax Recap

By Dr. G. Gokul Kishore

Weekly Summary

VIL Video

GST Adjudication & Appeals Reform
By CA Vivek Jalan

Create Account

Security-Code
New Code?

Log In

New User ? Forgot Password ?

Forgot Password

Security-Code
New Code?
Please Note: This facility is only for Subscribing Members.

Email this page

Security-Code
New Code?

Feedback this page

Schedule a Demo

Schedule a demo to know the features and advantages of VILGST portal. Get to know the tips to find the desired results in faster way.

Security-Code
New Code?

Caselaw Request Form (CRF)

Didn’t find what you are searching for? No worries, please give us the following details and VIL will email you the desired Caselaws at the earliest:

Security-Code
New Code?