Bombay High Court Declares GST Arrest Illegal for Violation of BNSS Safeguards

The petitioner, proprietor of M/s. Mahavir Metal Industries and a registered GST dealer, was subjected to search and seizure operations by the State GST authorities in September 2025 in connection with alleged availment of ineligible input tax credit exceeding Rs. 17.88 crore from suspected non-genuine taxpayers. During the investigation, a notice under Section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) was issued directing his appearance.

The petitioner sought a short adjournment citing medical issues and family difficulties and assured cooperation. The Assistant Commissioner of State Tax arrested the petitioner on 17.09.2025 under Section 69 of the GST Act. The petitioner challenged the legality of the arrest and later remand before the High Court.

Issue Before HC: Whether the arrest of the petitioner by the GST authorities was lawful when a notice under Section 35(3) of BNSS had already been issued and the mandatory safeguards governing arrest were not complied with.

HC’s Judgment: The Hon’ble High Court held that the arrest of the petitioner was illegal. The Court reiterated that the power of arrest under Section 69 of the GST Act must be exercised strictly in accordance with the procedure prescribed under Section 35 of BNSS, 2023. It found that none of the statutory conditions justifying arrest were satisfied.

The Court noted that the petitioner had communicated his inability to attend on the scheduled date and that the officer neither rejected his request nor fixed a fresh date, but proceeded to arrest him without recording reasons. Relying on the Supreme Court’s decisions in Arnesh Kumar and Satender Kumar Antil, the Court declared the arrest and later remand orders illegal.

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