SC upholds constitutionality of GST Act provisions on arrest & summons

The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the constitutional validity of the power of arrest and the power to summon under the amended provisions of the Customs Act and the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, dismissing challenges raised against them.

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NEW DELHI:

It also held that the provision of anticipatory bail is applicable to the Goods and Services Act and customs law and persons can move courts for pre-arrest bail even if an FIR is not in place.

The bench, led by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and comprising Justices M M Sundresh and Bela M Trivedi, ruled that the amendments enabling arrest for tax violations were within the legislature's competence.

Pronouncing the verdict, the Chief Justice said the provisions of CrPC and the subsequent law, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), on issues like anticipatory bail would be applicable to persons under the Customs and the GST Acts.

In a significant verdict spanning 63 pages, the Chief Justice, writing for himself and Justice Sundresh, stated, "The challenge to the constitutional validity as also the right of the authorised officers under the Customs Act and the GST Act to arrest are rejected and dismissed with elucidation and clarification on the pre-conditions and when and how the power of arrest is to be exercised." Justice Trivedi concurred with the ruling and delivered a separate 13-page judgment.

The court clarified that pre-arrest bail applications could be entertained even without the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) if the facts demonstrated a reasonable basis for apprehending arrest.