Section 83: Provisional Attachment and FORM DRC-22

Section 83 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

The most disruptive order in the Act, because it usually lands on a bank account and it lands without a hearing. It also has more built-in limits than is generally appreciated.

Section 83(1), as substituted by the Finance Act, 2021 (notified through Notification No. 39/2021-CT, w.e.f. 01.01.2022): where, after the initiation of any proceeding under Chapter XII, Chapter XIV or Chapter XV, the Commissioner is of the opinion that it is necessary to protect the interest of Government revenue, he may, by order in writing, provisionally attach any property, including bank account, belonging to the taxable person or any person specified in s.122(1A). Section 83(2): every such attachment shall cease to have effect after the expiry of one year from the date of the order. Rule 159(1): the order is in FORM GST DRC-22; Rule 159(5): objections are filed in FORM GST DRC-22A; release is by FORM GST DRC-23.

What the 2021 substitution changed

The pre-2022 provision operated "during the pendency of any proceedings under section 62 or 63 or 64 or 67 or..." — a list of specific sections.

The substituted provision operates "after the initiation of any proceeding under Chapter XII, Chapter XIV or Chapter XV" — that is:

• Chapter XII — Assessment (ss.59–64);
• Chapter XIV — Inspection, Search, Seizure and Arrest (ss.67–72);
• Chapter XV — Demands and Recovery (ss.73–84).

And it extends the class of persons whose property may be attached to include "any person specified in sub-section (1A) of section 122" — the provision that penalises a person at whose instance certain transactions are conducted and who retains the benefit.

So it is wider. But it remains bounded by three chapters — an attachment where no proceeding under any of them has been initiated is outside the section, and that is the first thing to check.

The conditions

1. A proceeding must have been initiated. Under Chapter XII, XIV or XV. Not contemplated — initiated. A search under s.67 initiates a Chapter XIV proceeding; a show cause notice initiates a Chapter XV proceeding.

2. The Commissioner's own opinion. The power is conferred on the Commissioner, and it is not exercisable by a subordinate. An order signed by another officer, or issued on a subordinate's satisfaction, is open to challenge on that ground alone.

3. Necessity for protecting the interest of Government revenue. "Necessary" is a demanding word. It contemplates a real apprehension that revenue will be lost — assets being dissipated, a business winding down, funds being moved. It is not satisfied by the mere existence of a potential demand, nor by its size.

4. By order in writing. In FORM GST DRC-22, mentioning the details of the property which is attached (Rule 159(1)). A blanket attachment of "all bank accounts" without particulars does not answer the rule.

Rule 159: the mechanics

Rule 159(1) — order in DRC-22, with details of the property attached.

Rule 159(2) — a copy is sent to the concerned Revenue Authority, Transport Authority or other Authority to place an encumbrance, which shall be removed only on the Commissioner's written instructions or on expiry of one year from the date of the order, whichever is earlier (inserted by Notification No. 52/2023-CT dated 26.10.2023); and a copy of the order shall also be sent to the person whose property is attached (inserted w.e.f. 01.01.2022).

That second insertion matters: the affected person is entitled to the order. An encumbrance discovered only when a transaction fails is a defect worth pointing out.

Rule 159(3) — where the attached property is of a perishable or hazardous nature, and the person pays the market price of the property or the amount that is or may become payable, whichever is lower, the property is released forthwith by an order in FORM GST DRC-23, on proof of payment.

Rule 159(4) — on failure to pay, the Commissioner may dispose of the perishable or hazardous property and adjust the realisation.

Rule 159(5) — any person whose property is attached may file an objection in FORM GST DRC-22A that the property was or is not liable to attachment, and the Commissioner may, after affording an opportunity of being heard, release it by an order in DRC-23.

Rule 159(6) — the Commissioner may release the property on being satisfied it is no longer liable for attachment.

The objection route, and the seven-day trap that no longer exists

Rule 159(5) as it originally stood required an objection "within seven days of the attachment". That wording was substituted by Notification No. 40/2021-CT dated 29.12.2021, w.e.f. 01.01.2022, and the sub-rule now simply provides for an objection in FORM GST DRC-22A.

Two consequences:

There is no longer a seven-day bar on the face of the sub-rule. Objections should still be filed promptly, but a delay beyond seven days is not the automatic defeat it once was.

A hearing is contemplated. The Commissioner may release the property "after affording an opportunity of being heard to the person filing the objection". So the objection is the route to a hearing that the attachment order itself did not provide.

And "any person" may object — not only the taxable person. A joint account holder, a director whose personal account has been attached, or a third party whose property has been caught can object in their own name.

One year, and what happens at the end of it

Section 83(2): every provisional attachment shall cease to have effect after the expiry of a period of one year from the date of the order under sub-section (1).

This is automatic. No order is required to end it, and the attachment simply ceases.

Rule 159(2) reinforces it: the encumbrance is removed on the Commissioner's written instructions or on expiry of one year, whichever is earlier.

In practice banks and registries often need to be told. The steps at the anniversary are:

1. Write to the Commissioner noting the expiry under s.83(2) and seeking written instructions to the bank or authority under Rule 159(2).
2. Write to the bank or registry enclosing the DRC-22, pointing to s.83(2) and the amendment to Rule 159(2).
3. Where a fresh attachment is issued on the same facts, examine it: a new order needs a fresh proceeding-based satisfaction, not a renewal of the old one.

Practical steps on receiving a DRC-22

1. Get the order — Rule 159(2) requires a copy to be sent to you.
2. Check who signed it — it must be the Commissioner.
3. Check the proceeding — which Chapter XII, XIV or XV proceeding had been initiated, and when.
4. Check the particulars — the property must be identified in the order.
5. File a DRC-22A objection, promptly, with material: that the property is not liable, that it belongs to another, that it is needed for statutory dues and payroll, that there is no risk of dissipation.
6. Ask for the hearing that Rule 159(5) contemplates.
7. For an attached current account, ask specifically for operation up to a limit for statutory dues, wages and GST payments — an attachment that prevents payment of the very tax in question is self-defeating, and saying so is effective.
8. Diarise the one-year date from the order.
9. Consider a writ where the conditions are plainly unmet — no initiated proceeding, no Commissioner-level order, or no material on necessity.

Key takeaways

• Section 83 requires a proceeding initiated under Chapter XII, XIV or XV, and the Commissioner's own opinion of necessity.
• The 2021 substitution widened the trigger and extended it to persons specified in s.122(1A).
• The order is in DRC-22 and must identify the property; a copy must be sent to the affected person.
• Any person whose property is attached may object in DRC-22A, with an opportunity of being heard; release is by DRC-23.
• The former seven-day limit for objections was removed w.e.f. 01.01.2022.
• The attachment ceases automatically after one year under s.83(2), and Rule 159(2) removes the encumbrance at that point.

Read next

• Section 67(1): Inspection and the Reasons-to-Believe Test
• Seizure Is to Secure and Identify, Not to Recover
• Spot Recovery During a GST Search Is Not Voluntary
• Provisional Attachment of Property Under GST — Section 83

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act and Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Inspection, Search, Seizure and Arrest under GST (July 2025).