CBIC mandates immediate scrapping of GST arrests ahead of legal amendments. Read the key points, why it matters and what businesses should watch next.
**CBIC Acts Before GST Amendments**
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has instructed its field formations to halt arrests under GST with immediate effect, while also applying the GST Council's revised framework for e-way bill checks and show-cause notices. The directive precedes legislative amendments that are only slated to take effect from April 1, 2027.
The GST Council, at its October 8 meeting, had recommended removing the arrest power by omitting Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017, which currently permits arrest with a Commissioner's approval. It also proposed a minimum Rs 10,000 threshold for show-cause notices and tighter rules for intercepting goods in transit. Because these changes require amendments to the CGST Act and matching state GST laws, legal experts had flagged that the Council's recommendations lacked statutory backing until Parliament acted, creating a risk of continued arrests and notices in the interim.
**What The Directive Requires**
On e-way bill verification, a conveyance may be intercepted only on specific intelligence authorised in writing by an officer of Joint Commissioner rank or above, who must record reasons to believe the goods contravene the law. Where neither supplier nor recipient falls within the authorising officer's jurisdiction and documents suggest a violation, the officer must let the goods pass and forward information to the jurisdictional authority. Detention or seizure is permitted only where no e-way bill exists and no document establishes the goods' origin or destination.
**Why It Matters For Trade**
The CBIC framed these steps as trade friendly, aimed at easing compliance costs from low-value litigation, reducing hardship from arrests and random transit checks, and making the regime more trust based. For businesses, the practical effect is immediate: field officers are expected to follow the relaxed norms even though the statute still carries the old provisions. The Rs 10,000 floor for notices applies…
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