Summons nonappearance triggers criminal prosecution under IPC and an administrative GST penalty for failure to appear. Nonappearance to a summon is treated as a judicial proceeding; failure to appear without reasonable justification may lead to prosecution under IPC provisions for refusal to attend, absconding to avoid service, failure to produce required documents or electronic records, and giving false evidence. Separately, a person who does not appear before a CGST/SGST officer who issued the summon is liable to an administrative monetary penalty under the relevant GST provision.