Section 69 of CGST Act, 2017 : Section 69: Power To Arrest

Explanation using Example

Imagine a business owner, Mr. John, who runs a chain of electronics stores. The tax authorities have discovered that Mr. John has been deliberately underreporting his sales to evade a significant amount of Goods and Services Tax (GST). After a thorough investigation, the Commissioner of Central Tax believes that Mr. John has committed an offence under section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which involves the evasion of tax amounting to crores of rupees.

Based on this belief and the evidence gathered, the Commissioner issues an order to arrest Mr. John. An officer of central tax is then authorized to carry out the arrest. Upon arresting Mr. John, the officer informs him of the grounds for his arrest, as required by law, and ensures that he is produced before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours, in compliance with Section 69(2) of the Act.

Since the offence is serious and non-bailable, Mr. John is not immediately granted bail. As per Section 69(3)(a), he is forwarded to the custody of the Magistrate. If the offence had been non-cognizable and bailable, an Assistant Commissioner could have exercised the powers similar to an officer-in-charge of a police station for the purpose of releasing Mr. John on bail, as per the provisions of Section 69(3)(b).