Centre moves Supreme Court, bats for arrest powers under the CGST Act

The government has moved Supreme Court seeking powers to arrest individuals for alleged GST fraud before filing an FIR.

In its plea, the government said that the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act clearly provides for the said offences to be cognisable.

Section 69 very clearly empowers the Commissioner to arrest if there are "reasons to believe" that offences under the Act have been committed, the government argued, adding that there is no need for registration of FIR before investigating or even arresting the accused.