ARREST UNDER GST LAW

1. Arrest under GST law can be made for cognizable as well as non-cognizable offences. 
2. Cognizable offences and non-bailable offences are those where evasion exceeds Rs. 5 Crore involving specified offence of 

• supply of any goods or services or both without issue of any invoice, in violation of the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, with the intention to evade tax;
• issuance of any invoice or bill without supply of goods or services or both in violation of the provisions of this Act, or the rules made thereunder leading to wrongful availment or utilisation of input tax credit or refund of tax; 
• availing input tax credit using such invoice or bill referred to above, and
• collecting any amount as tax but fails to pay the same to the Government beyond a period of three months from the date on which such payment becomes due 

1. Non-Cognizable and bailable offences are those which are not cognizable and are committed when a person; 

• evades tax, fraudulently avails input tax credit or fraudulently obtains refund and where such offence is not covered under cognizable offence; 
• falsifies or substitutes financial records or produces fake accounts or documents or furnishes any false information with an intention to evade payment of tax due under this Act;
• obstructs or prevents any officer in the discharge of his duties under this Act;
• acquires possession of, or in any way concerns himself in transporting, removing, depositing, keeping, concealing, supplying, or purchasing or in any other manner deals with, any goods which he knows or has reasons to believe are liable to confiscation under this Act or the rules made thereunder;
• receives or is in any way concerned with the supply of, or in any other manner deals with any supply of services which he knows or has reasons to believe are in contravention of any provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder;
• tampers with or destroys any material evidence or documents;
• fails to supply any information which he is required to supply under this Act or the rules made thereunder or (unless with a reasonable belief, the burden of proving which shall be upon him, that the information supplied by him is true) supplies false information; or
• attempts to commit, or abets the commission of any of the offences. 
• The arrest has to be authorized by Commissioner in writing.

Disposal of arrested person 

1. In the case of cognizable offences which are also non-bailable, arrested person has to be informed the ground of arrest and produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours. In case of non-cognizable bailable offences arrested person shall be admitted to bail by Deputy/Assistant Commissioner and on default of bail he shall be forwarded to custody of a Magistrate.
2. Deputy Commissioner or the Assistant Commissioner shall, for the purpose of releasing an arrested person on bail, have the same powers and be subject to the same provisions as an officer-in-charge of a police station.