Since the GST law provides a commissioner the power to arrest a person in case he has reasons to believe that the tax evasion is likely to be more than Rs 5 crore without waiting for the final determination of the tax liability.

The Supreme Court's recent judgement on its refusal to interfere with the order of Telangana High Court has caught the attention of people regarding the power of GST commissioner to arrest tax evaders. Historically, both direct, as well as indirect tax laws, give powers to its officers to enforce the compliance of its provisions. The powers include verification, audit, search and seizure, assessment, and the imposition of interest and penalty.

However, in addition to these powers, such laws also contain provisions for prosecution. Until recently, the prosecution provisions were being used sparingly. But, now the tax officers have started using the power to prosecute the offenders with impunity. The Supreme Court had also noted in a judgment that the economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving a huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the Indian economy as a whole and thereby posing a serious threat to the financial health of the country.

Source:businesstoday