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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDo not ignore a Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) summons, but do not assume it means you will be arrested. Preserve the complete notice and delivery record, verify the issuing office independently, identify exactly what attendance or documents are required, and obtain prompt advice from an Indian lawyer experienced in GST investigations if the allegations involve fraud, evasion, false input tax credit or an arrest threat. A summons is an inquiry step, not an arrest order. Arrest under the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act is conditional and is not supposed to be routine.
This is general legal information, not a finding about your liability. The summons, alleged conduct, evidence, amount involved, your role and the law in force on the relevant date determine your position.
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What to do in the first 24 hours
1. Secure and authenticate the summons
Save the original paper notice, envelope, email headers, electronic delivery record and every attachment. Photograph or scan the complete document and keep an untouched copy. Note the officer’s name and designation, office address, date and time of appearance, statutory provision cited, subject of the inquiry and the documents or things requested.
If the message arrived through an unfamiliar email address, phone number or messaging account, do not send records or money while authenticity is uncertain. Obtain the office’s contact details from an official government source and call the issuing office through that independently verified channel. Ask whether the document was issued, its reference number and the officer’s current contact details. Keep a written record of the verification.
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2. Deal with the date, rather than silently missing it
A section 70 summons can require attendance to give evidence or production of documents in an inquiry. If you genuinely cannot attend at the stated time, contact the issuing officer promptly, explain the conflict briefly and request a reasonable alternative date or mode in writing. Keep proof of the request and wait for written confirmation; sending a request does not itself postpone the appearance. Do not assume that a private conversation or an unanswered email changed the deadline.
3. Obtain advice before a potentially incriminating examination
Give counsel the summons, relevant GST returns, contracts, invoices, ledgers, bank or transaction records and any prior correspondence. A lawyer can identify whether you are being asked about your own conduct, a company, an employee, a customer or another person’s transactions; map the statutory issues; and advise on preparation and attendance.
The Supreme Court’s 27 February 2025 decision in Radhika Agarwal v. Union of India explains that merely receiving a summons does not make a person an accused protected by Article 20(3) at the interrogation stage. That means you should not rely on a blanket assertion that every question can be refused. It also does not mean you must guess, speculate or adopt an inaccurate premise.
4. Preserve evidence and prevent accidental destruction
Issue an internal preservation instruction to relevant staff and service providers. Keep originals in their existing form, including accounting exports, emails, chat records, invoices, e-way bills, contracts, delivery records and bank statements. Do not back-date, rewrite, delete or “clean up” ledgers after receiving the summons. Make working copies for review and maintain a simple index showing what was copied, by whom and when.
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What a DGGI summons legally means
Section 70 power
Section 70 of the CGST Act empowers the proper officer to summon a person whose attendance is considered necessary to give evidence or produce documents or other things in an inquiry. The summons may be directed to a taxpayer, director, partner, employee, consultant, transporter, customer, supplier or another person who may hold relevant information. It is an investigative demand, not a final finding that tax is due and not, by itself, an arrest warrant.
Personal attendance and representatives
The GST Council’s 53rd meeting agenda discussed an express amendment concerning attendance through an authorised representative and reproduced a Law Committee recommendation. An agenda and recommendation are not an enacted amendment. Whether a representative may attend instead of you depends on the current statute, the nature of the examination and the wording of the summons. If the document directs you personally to appear, do not assume that sending a representative alone satisfies it; obtain written clarification or legal advice.
Summons versus arrest
An arrest power is addressed separately in sections 69 and 132 of the CGST Act. A summons recipient is not automatically an accused, and the existence of an arrest power does not establish that the statutory conditions are met in your case. The Supreme Court has described arrest as conditional, not automatic, and has recognised that anticipatory bail can be sought where there is a genuine apprehension of arrest.
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Build a factual chronology
Prepare a dated, neutral timeline covering the transactions or periods named in the summons. Identify who approved purchases and sales, when goods or services were supplied, how invoices were recorded, when payments moved, and which returns or reconciliations were filed. Separate what you personally know from what you learned from a record or another person. Mark questions that require checking instead of filling gaps from memory.
Assemble only relevant, organised records
Use the summons as the starting point. Depending on its wording, relevant material may include:
- GST registration details, returns, reconciliations and amendments;
- tax invoices, debit or credit notes, purchase orders, contracts and delivery evidence;
- e-way bills, transport records, stock records and goods-receipt documentation;
- general ledgers, trial balances, bank statements and payment instructions;
- emails, correspondence and internal approvals concerning the transactions; and
- documents showing your actual role, authority and relationship with the entity under inquiry.
Do not volunteer unrelated personal or commercial records merely because they are available. Ask counsel how to respond when a request is broad, unclear or appears to seek privileged material. Prepare a production index listing each file or bundle, date range, format and number of pages. Retain a duplicate of everything handed over.
Plan the practical logistics
- Confirm the office location, reporting time, entry requirements and contact person.
- Carry identification, the summons, your chronology and working copies rather than irreplaceable originals.
- Arrange for counsel to be available before and after the examination, even if the officer does not permit counsel to answer for you.
- Tell a trusted person where you are and when to expect an update.
- Do not discuss the substance of the inquiry with other witnesses in a way that could appear to coordinate testimony.
How to answer questions and handle a written statement
Use a “know, check or do not know” discipline
Answer the question asked, in ordinary language, and distinguish personal knowledge from information obtained from records. If you do not know, say so. If the answer requires a document, request time to check it. If a question is ambiguous, ask the officer to clarify the period, transaction or legal premise. Do not adopt a conclusion such as “the invoices were fake” or “tax was evaded” merely because it appears in a question.
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Review every recorded statement
Read a written statement slowly, including annexures and translated portions. Request corrections where it does not reproduce your words, omits a material qualification or contains an incorrect date or amount. Do not sign blank pages, an incomplete statement or a document you have not read. If the statement is material, disputed or potentially incriminating, obtain legal advice before signing. Keep a copy or photograph of the final signed version and note any corrections requested.
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These precautions do not guarantee a particular outcome. They reduce the risk that an avoidable mistake, speculation or inaccurate transcription will be treated as an admission.
If an officer threatens arrest
Separate a warning about legal powers from coercion
An officer may explain that the Act contains arrest provisions. That explanation is different from saying that arrest is inevitable or demanding an immediate payment to avoid it. Ask for the legal basis, the alleged conduct, the amount and the factual material said to satisfy the statutory conditions. Do not argue physically, obstruct the officer or destroy records. Contact counsel immediately and preserve messages, recordings or notes of threats where lawfully obtained.
What CBIC guidance says
CBIC Instruction No. 02/2022-23 dated 17 August 2022 states that reasons to believe must be clear and based on credible material, that arrest must not be routine or mechanical, and that approval should be granted only where the relevant intent and mens rea are evident. It also explains that satisfying legal conditions does not by itself make arrest mandatory. The instruction reproduces the Supreme Court’s words: “Merely because an arrest can be made because it is lawful does not mandate that arrest must be made.” It also cautions that if arrest becomes routine, it can cause “incalculable harm to the reputation and self-esteem of a person.” Check for later instructions or amendments before relying on any procedural detail.
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Ask counsel to assess urgent protective steps, including whether an anticipatory-bail application is appropriate and which court has jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has recognised anticipatory bail where there is an apprehension of arrest, but the decision depends on the facts, alleged offences, evidence and procedural posture. Do not infer that an arrest is certain merely because an officer mentioned it, or that arrest is impossible because general safeguards exist.
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If you are arrested, ask for the arrest grounds and documentation, contact counsel and family, and follow the advice given on production before the appropriate court. Do not sign a factual statement or payment undertaking simply to end pressure without understanding its effect.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Should you pay tax to stop an arrest threat?
No one should make a payment solely because an officer threatens arrest. In Radhika Agarwal, the Supreme Court stated that section 74(5) gives the assessee an option; it does not authorise tax authorities to compel or extract payment by threatening arrest. The Court described such conduct as unacceptable and contrary to the rule of law. It indicated that a person facing threat, force or coercion may approach a court and seek refund of tax deposited, and that the department should take appropriate action against officers in such cases.
This does not mean legally due tax can never be recovered. A voluntary payment made after advice, a payment under a statutory demand or a payment made to resolve an assessed liability has a different legal context from money allegedly extracted through coercion. Before paying, obtain a written calculation, identify the statutory provision and preserve proof of what was said, who demanded the money and why.
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A Ministry of Information and Broadcasting PIB FAQ posted on 9 October 2026 says the GST Council recommended removing arrest provisions under GST, raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore and making other changes. The same FAQ describes these as proposed changes. A Council recommendation or FAQ does not amend the CGST Act or commence a new rule.
Before relying on those proposals, check the Gazette notification, commencement language and the current consolidated CGST Act. Until an amendment is enacted and effective, plan on the law presently in force. The amount thresholds and arrest rules applicable to your matter may also depend on the date of the alleged conduct and any transitional provision.
Common mistakes and safer alternatives
| Mistake | Why it creates risk | Safer response |
|---|---|---|
| Ignoring the summons | Non-attendance or non-production can create additional procedural problems and may allow the inquiry to proceed without your explanation. | Attend or make a documented request for an alternative and obtain confirmation. |
| Assuming a representative always substitutes for you | The proposed representative wording discussed by the GST Council is not proof of an enacted right. | Check the current statute and the exact direction in the summons. |
| Guessing an answer | A speculation can later be treated as an admission or contradiction. | Say you need to check the record or that you do not know. |
| Editing or deleting records | Changes after notice can damage credibility and create separate allegations. | Preserve originals and work from labelled copies. |
| Signing without reading | An inaccurate statement may be relied on even if it was produced under time pressure. | Read, correct and obtain advice before signing a material statement. |
| Paying immediately to avoid arrest | The Supreme Court says section 74(5) is an option, not a licence for coercion. | Request the legal basis and calculation, contact counsel and document any threat. |
Quick decision guide
| Situation | What it establishes | Immediate response |
|---|---|---|
| Section 70 summons | The officer considers your attendance or records necessary for an inquiry. | Verify it, prepare and attend or seek a confirmed alternative. |
| Threat or mention of arrest | Only that an officer has raised a potential consequence; it does not prove the statutory conditions are met. | Obtain urgent GST counsel, preserve evidence and assess protective remedies. |
| Actual arrest | A formal exercise of statutory power requiring compliance with arrest and production safeguards. | Request grounds and documentation, contact counsel and follow court-process advice. |
| Tax demand or payment request | A separate issue from whether arrest is lawful. | Check the provision, calculation and procedural stage; do not pay under an unlawful threat. |
Bottom line for a summoned taxpayer
Respond promptly, verify the notice, preserve every record and prepare a factual chronology. Be accurate without guessing, review anything written before signing, and obtain advice before an examination that could expose you or your business. Arrest is not an automatic consequence of a summons, and the Supreme Court has rejected extracting tax through threats. Because GST legislation, instructions and proposed amendments can change, have counsel check the law and Gazette position that applies to your specific date and facts.
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