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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11No change has been confirmed. As of October 4, 2026, reports say the GST Council is expected to consider proposals at its October 7 meeting to remove standalone arrest provisions under GST law and raise the prosecution threshold from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore. These are proposals, not an approved decision or law in force.
What is the GST Council considering?
The Indian Express reported on October 4 that the Council is expected to consider removing GST law’s standalone arrest provisions. Moneycontrol reported the same day that a Law Committee has recommended raising the prosecution threshold from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore and reducing maximum imprisonment for some offence bands.
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The reported proposals are not yet a Council decision. The October 7 meeting could discuss, approve, change, defer or reject them. No official agenda, recommendation text, minutes, amendment or commencement date was available in the cited reporting by October 4. The Indian Express says any legal change would require legislative changes after the Council’s decision; a meeting discussion alone would not amend the Act.
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What does the law provide now?
The CBIC-hosted CGST Act text reviewed for this report still includes section 69. It allows the Commissioner, when there is reason to believe a person has committed specified offences under section 132(1)(a)–(d), to authorize a central tax officer to arrest that person. This is not an unrestricted power: it is tied to specified offences and requires the Commissioner’s authorization.
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Section 69 also provides procedures for an arrest, including informing the arrested person of the grounds and, in the specified case, producing that person before a Magistrate within 24 hours. Arrest authorization, investigation, prosecution, trial, conviction and sentencing are separate stages; an arrest power does not itself establish guilt.
Arrest and prosecution thresholds are different
A prosecution threshold concerns when prosecution may be pursued under the relevant GST provisions. It is not the same as the conditions for authorizing an arrest. Historical thresholds discussed during the design of GST law should not be mistaken for the current prosecution threshold.
Current and reported figures
Moneycontrol describes the current prosecution threshold as ₹5 crore and reports a recommendation to raise it to ₹10 crore. It also describes current maximum prison terms of up to five years for offences involving ₹5 crore or more, up to three years for ₹2–5 crore, and up to one year for ₹1–2 crore. These are the newspaper’s descriptions of current law and reported recommendations; the complete 2026 recommendation text was not available to verify all offence-specific details or exceptions.
The reporting does not establish whether a proposed ₹10 crore threshold would cover every offence or preserve distinct treatment for fake-invoice offences. Nor does it settle how any amendment would treat pending investigations or conduct predating its commencement.
Earlier Council decisions are historical context
The GST Council’s official minutes of its 49th meeting record a 2023 decision to raise the prosecution threshold to ₹2 crore for offences other than issuing fake invoices, while retaining ₹1 crore for fake-invoice offences. Those figures describe that earlier decision, not the reported 2026 proposal.
The official minutes of the Council’s seventh meeting in 2016 discuss the draft law’s original design: arrest at tax evasion of ₹2 crore or more, a bailable dividing line up to ₹5 crore, and non-bailable treatment above ₹5 crore. The discussion also addressed repeat offences and concerns about misuse or effects on ease of doing business. These were pre-rollout design discussions, not a complete statement of current law.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What would removing a GST-specific arrest route mean?
If adopted and enacted, removing the GST Act’s standalone arrest provisions would change that particular route to arrest. It would not, on the available reporting, establish that all criminal liability disappears or that prosecution under other laws becomes impossible. Moneycontrol quoted Onkar Sharma, a partner at Khaitan & Co, saying: “Criminal prosecution could still be pursued under the general criminal law, including the BNS, where the facts justify it.” Whether another law applies would depend on the facts and the law in force.
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The policy trade-off is between limiting the risk of coercive use of arrest powers and preserving deterrence and enforcement tools. The Council’s 49th-meeting record documents earlier concerns about prosecution capacity and fake-invoice risks. In the 2016 design discussion, the CBIC document cited by The Indian Express said the provisions might appear harsh but were considered necessary for efficient tax administration and deterrence; that was the document’s rationale, not a confirmed explanation for the 2026 proposal.
What to watch for after the meeting
- The Council’s decision: whether it approves, changes, defers or rejects the reported recommendations.
- The legal text: which offences and thresholds are covered, how fake-invoice cases are treated, and whether imprisonment maxima change.
- Commencement and transition: the effective date and any provisions addressing pending cases or earlier conduct.
Until an amendment is enacted and takes effect, section 69 remains in the reviewed CGST Act text. Check the latest enacted and notified text for the applicable legal position.
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