POWERS OF GST OFFICERS UNDER CGST ACT

[Mr. M. GOVINDARAJAN]

Appointment of GST Officers

Section 5 of Model GST Act, 2016 (‘Act’ for short) provides for appointment of officers under the CGST. The Board may appoint such persons as it may think fit to be officers under the Act. The Board may authorize a Principal Chief Commissioner/Chief Commissioner of CGST or a Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of CGST or an Additional/Joint or Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of CGST to appoint officers of CGST below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of CGST.

Powers of CGST officers

Section 6 of the Act provides that subject to such conditions and limitations as the Board may impose, a GST officer may exercise the powers and discharge the duties conferred or imposed on him under the Act. He may exercise the powers on any other CGST officer who is subordinate to him. The Commissioner may, subject to such conditions and limitations as may be specified in this behalf by him, delegate its powers to any other officer subordinate to him.

Power of inspection, search and seizure

Section 79 of the Act gives powers to the GST officer, not below the rank of Joint Commissioner to inspect, search and seizure. Section 79(1) provides that where the GST officer has reasons to believe that-

• a taxable person has suppressed any transaction relating to supply of goods and/or services or the stock of goods in hand, or has claimed input tax credit in excess of his entitlement under the Act or has indulged contravention of any of the provisions of this Act or rules made there under to evade tax under this Act; or
• any person engaged in the business of transporting goods or an owner or operator of a warehouse or a godown or any other place is keeping goods which have escaped payment of tax or has kept his accounts or goods in such a manner as is likely to cause evasion of tax payable under this Act,

he may authorize in writing any other officer of CGST to inspect any places of business of the taxable person or the persons engaged in the business of transporting goods or the owner of the operator of warehouse or godown or any other place.

Section 79(2) provides that where the officer concerned, either pursuant to an inspection carried or otherwise, has reasons to believe that any goods liable to confiscation or any documents or books or things, which in his opinion shall be useful for or relevant to any proceedings are secreted in any place, he may authorize in writing any other officer to search and seize or may himself search and seize such goods, documents, books or things.

Power to arrest

Section 81 gives powers to Commissioner to arrest any person. Section 81(1) provides that if the Commissioner has reason to believe that any person has committed an offence as detailed below-

• supplies any goods and/or services without issue of any invoice or grossly misdeclares the description of the supply on invoice, in violation of the provisions of this Act, to intentionally evade tax;
• issues any invoice or bill without supply of goods and/or services in violation of the provisions of this Act, or the rules made there under leading to wrongful availment of credit or refund of duty;
• collects any amount as tax but fails to pay the same to the credit of the appropriate Government beyond a period of 3 months from the date on which such payment becomes due;
• collects any tax in contravention of the provisions of this Act but fails to pay the same to the credit of the appropriate Government beyond a period of 3 months from the date on which such payment becomes due; or
• takes and/or utilizes input tax credit without actual receipt of goods and/or services either fully or partially, in violation of the provisions of this Act, or rules made there under.

and punishable under Section 92, he may, by order authorized any CGST officer to arrest such person. All arrests made under this section shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 relating to arrest.

Power to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents

Section 82 provides that any CGST officer, duly authorized by the competent authority in this behalf, shall have power to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry which such officer is making for any of the purposes of this Act.

Access to business premises

Section 83 provides that any CGST officer authorized by the Additional/Joint Commissioner of CGST shall have access to any place of business of a registered taxable person to inspect books of account, documents, computers, computer programs, computer software, whether installed in a computer or otherwise, and such other things as he may require and which may be available at such place, for the purposes of carrying out any audit, scrutiny, verification and checks as may be necessary to safeguard the interest of revenue.

Revisional powers

Section 99 gives revisional powers to Chief Commissioner or Commissioner who may on his own motion, or upon information received by him or on request from the Commissioner, call for and examine the record of any proceeding and if he considers that any decision or order passed under this Act by any officer subordinate to him is erroneous in so far as it is prejudicial to the interest of the revenue and is illegal or improper or has not taken into account certain material facts, whether available at the time of issuance of the said order or not or in consequence of an observation by CA&G he may, if necessary, stay the operation of such decision or order for such period as he deems fit and after giving the person concerned an opportunity of being heard and after making such further inquiry as may be necessary, pass such order as he thinks just and proper, including enhancing or modifying or annulling the said decision or order.

Power to collect statistics

Section 141 of the Act provides that the Commissioner, if it considers that for the purposes of the better administration of the Act, it is necessary so to do, may by notification, direct that statistics be collected relating to any matter dealt with, by or in connection with the Act. Upon such notification being issued, the Commissioner, or any person authorized by the Commissioner in this behalf may call upon all concerned persons to furnish such information or returns as may be specified therein relating to any matter in respect of which statistics is to be collected.

General power to make regulation

Section 155 provides that the Commissioner may make regulations consistent with the Act and rules, generally to carry out the purposes of this Act.