GST Authorities cannot launch prosecution invoking penal provisions under IPC, without invoking the penal provisions of the GST Act

Last updated: 27 September 2024

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Quick Summary

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ruled that GST authorities cannot initiate criminal prosecution under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for offences also covered by the GST Act without first following the specific procedures laid out in the GST Act. This includes obtaining necessary sanctions from the Commissioner. The court emphasised that the GST Act is a special legislation designed to handle such matters and bypassing its procedures to use the IPC would defeat the legislative intent. Consequently, an FIR filed solely under IPC provisions was quashed.

Court :
Madhya Pradesh High Court

Brief :
The Hon'ble Madhya Pradesh High Court in the case of Deepak Singhal v. Union of India and Others [Writ Petition No. 21641 of 2024 dated September 11, 2024] held that the GST Authorities are not permitted to bypass the procedure for launching prosecution under the GST Act, 2017 and invoke provisions of Indian Penal Code without pressing into service penal provisions from GST Act, 2017 and that too without obtaining sanction from commissioner under Section 132(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Citation :
Writ Petition No. 21641 of 2024 dated September 11, 2024

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