Section 69: The Power to Arrest and Its Boundaries

Section 69 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 feared provision in the Act is also one of the narrowest. It reaches four offences out of eleven, and for the serious category, only above a threshold of ₹500 lakh.

Section 69(1): where the Commissioner has reasons to believe that a person has committed an offence specified in clause (a), (b), (c) or (d) of s.132(1) which is punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of sub-section (1), or sub-section (2) of that section, he may, by order, authorise any officer of central tax to arrest such person. 69(2): where the arrest is for an offence specified in s.132(5) — cognizable and non-bailable — the officer shall inform the person of the grounds of arrest and produce him before a Magistrate within twenty-four hours. 69(3): subject to the CrPC, for an offence under s.132(4), the person shall be admitted to bail or, in default, forwarded to the custody of the Magistrate; and for a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner has the powers of an officer-in-charge of a police station for granting bail.

The gateway: four offences only

Section 69(1) does not reach every offence in s.132. It reaches only clauses (a), (b), (c) and (d):

• (a) supplies goods or services without issue of any invoice, in violation of the Act or rules, with the intention to evade tax;
• (b) issues any invoice or bill without supply of goods or services, in violation of the Act or rules, leading to wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit or refund of tax;
• (c) avails input tax credit using the invoice or bill referred to in clause (b), or fraudulently avails input tax credit without any invoice or bill;
• (d) collects any amount as tax but fails to pay it to the Government beyond three months from the due date.

Every other offence in s.132(1) — including clause (e) evasion not covered by (a) to (d), clause (f) falsification of records, clause (h) dealing with goods liable to confiscation, and clause (i) dealing with contravening supplies — is outside the arrest power.

Clause (g), obstructing an officer, was omitted by the Finance Act, 2023, notified through Notification No. 28/2023-CT dated 31.07.2023, w.e.f. 01.10.2023.

The thresholds

Section 69(1) also requires the offence to be punishable under clause (i) or (ii) of s.132(1), or s.132(2).

The Explanation to s.132 defines "tax" for this purpose to include the amount evaded, the ITC wrongly availed or utilised, or the refund wrongly taken, under the CGST, SGST, IGST and UTGST Acts and the compensation cess — so the threshold is tested on the aggregate across the Acts, not on CGST alone.

Cognizable and bailable: the crucial classification

Section 132(4): notwithstanding the CrPC, all offences under the Act, except those in sub-section (5), shall be non-cognizable and bailable.

Section 132(5): the offences in clause (a), (b), (c) or (d) of sub-section (1) and punishable under clause (i) of that sub-section — that is, exceeding ₹500 lakh — shall be cognizable and non-bailable.

So the classification is:

• Above ₹500 lakh, on one of the four clauses: cognizable and non-bailable.
• Everything else, including the ₹200–500 lakh band: non-cognizable and bailable.

Section 69(3)(b) gives that band a practical route: for a non-cognizable and bailable offence, the Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner shall, for the purpose of releasing an arrested person on bail or otherwise, have the same powers and be subject to the same provisions as an officer-in-charge of a police station.

So bail in that band is granted by the departmental officer, not by a court, and it should be applied for immediately on arrest.

The Commissioner's authorisation

The power is the Commissioner's, and it is exercised by order.

Three requirements:

• reasons to believe that the person has committed one of the four qualifying offences at the qualifying level;
• an order authorising the arrest;
• the officer making the arrest must be an officer of central tax so authorised.

The reasons are a jurisdictional fact, examinable on the same principles as under s.67. The recurring question is whether there was material to support a belief that the amount crosses the threshold — because the threshold is what makes the offence arrestable at all. Challenging reasons to believe →

Arrest before adjudication

The most contested question under s.69 is whether a person may be arrested before any adjudication has determined that tax is evaded.

The statutory position: s.69 refers to an offence "committed", and s.132 creates offences triable by a criminal court. Prosecution and adjudication are, in principle, separate streams, and s.132(6) requires the previous sanction of the Commissioner for prosecution — a safeguard placed at the prosecution stage, not the arrest stage.

The practical position: where no notice has been issued, no demand determined, and the amount is asserted only in an investigation note, the material for believing the threshold is crossed is exactly what should be tested. The threshold is not incidental to the power; it is the condition of it.

That argument is made in a bail application and, where appropriate, in a petition for anticipatory bail — which is available because the underlying question is whether the arrest power is engaged at all. Arrest safeguards and bail →

Key takeaways

• Arrest is available for only four offences — s.132(1)(a), (b), (c), (d).
• It requires the offence to be punishable under s.132(1)(i) or (ii) or s.132(2) — so above ₹200 lakh.
• Above ₹500 lakh on those clauses is cognizable and non-bailable; everything else is non-cognizable and bailable.
• The Commissioner must have reasons to believe and must authorise by order.
• For a bailable offence, the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner grants bail with the powers of a station house officer.
• The Explanation to s.132 aggregates amounts across CGST, SGST, IGST, UTGST and cess.

Read next

• Arrest Safeguards, Bail and the Twenty-Four Hours
• Section 70: Summons and the Judicial Proceeding
• Spot Recovery During a GST Search Is Not Voluntary
• Arrest and Prosecution Under GST — When Can Officers Arrest

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act 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). This is general information, not advice on any criminal proceeding.