No GST arrest without communicating order and "reasons to believe": Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 13 August 2026 ruled that GST authorities cannot arrest a person without first communicating the order authorising the arrest and the "reasons to believe" recorded by the commissioner, stressing that withholding the reasons could have "drastic consequences" for the right to liberty.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sheel Nagu held that an arrest order under Section 69 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017 is a "sine qua non" for seeking anticipatory bail:

"The order under Section 69 of the CGST Act, as held, being a sine qua non to seek anticipatory bail, it would be an anomaly to hold that the order need not be communicated at all."

What the court said

• The accused must be in a position to challenge both the arrest order and the "reasons to believe" recorded by the commissioner, since the order is open to judicial review by constitutional courts.
• Communication need not wait until after the arrest. "Without such communication, question of arrest would not arise."
• Communication can be made electronically, including by email — the court noted that a GST registrant must provide an email and mobile number under Rule 8 of the CGST Rules.

Background

The ruling came while the bench set aside a Bombay High Court order that had given Future Group director Sunil Biyani one week of protection from arrest in a GST probe. The court held the High Court could not grant such relief after finding his anticipatory bail plea premature — but directed the GST commissioner to communicate the Section 69 order to Biyani, after which he could pursue his remedies.

Key takeaway

Section 69 of the CGST Act clothes the commissioner with the power to arrest on "reasons to believe"; this judgment reads into it a procedural safeguard — disclosure of the order and the reasons — so that the power remains compatible with Article 21.