Exclusion of section 187 BNSS in relation to section 69 GST Act

Issue:

1. The core issue involved herein is whether section 187 BNSS applies to person arrested under section 69 GST Act?

Statutory Provisions:

2. Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (GST Act):

• Section 69(1) : Empowers an officer to arrest a person suspected of committing an offence under section 132 GST Act.
• Section 69(2): Mandates that a person arrested must be informed of the grounds for arrest and produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours.
• Section 132: Prescribes punishments for offences relates to tax evasion.

3. Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS):

• Section 4(2): States that offences under laws other than BNS should be dealt with in accordance to the BNSS unless the special/specific law regulates manner or place of investigation, inquiry or trial.
• Section 187(1): Section requires the officer-in-charge of a police station to produce a person arrested or detained before a Magistrate if the investigation is not completed within 24 hours.
• Section 187(2): Empowers the Magistrate to authorize detention of oa person forwarded to them under section 187 BNSS.

Analysis:

GST Act vis-a-vis BNSS:

4. The GST Act is a self-contained code that provides detail provisions for inquiry, arrest, detention and release of individuals involved in tax evasion and are liable for punishment under section 132 thereof. Section 69 governs the arrest and production of arrested person before Magistrate, along with provisions for bail. Section 69 GST Act makes a comprehensive framework to deal with person arrested for commission of an offence prescribed under section 132 GST Act.

5. BNSS is a general law governing the investigation, trial and inquiry into criminal cases unless a specific enactment, such as GST Act, overrides it. Section 4(2) BNSS explicitly states that where other laws regulate the procedure, those provisions take precedence.

Exclusion of section 187 BNSS in relation to section 69 GST Act:

6. Section 69 GST Act establishes a specific procedure for the arrest of individuals involved in offences prescribed under section 132 GST Act. an authorized officer is required to inform the grounds of arrest to the arrested person and to produce him before a Magistrate within 24 hours. Section 69 GST Act, thus, ensures that arrest & detention process is dealt with in accordance to the GST Act.

7. Section 187 BNSS, which applies to general criminal offences, mandates that an arrested person be forwarded to a Magistrate if the investigation is not completed within 24 hours. However, since the GST Act already provides a specific provision to deal with individual arrested thereunder, therefore, any of the provision of section 187 BNSS does not apply to person arrested under section 69 GST Act.

8. Section 187(2) BNSS, which empowers the Magistrate to authorize detention, cannot be invoked for an arrest made under section 69 GST Act. Section 69 GST Act prevails overs section 187 BNSS being a special provision and provides specific procedure to deal with person arrested thereunder.

Conclusion:

9. The author has a view that section 187(2) BNSS does not apply to individuals arrested under section 69(2) GST Act. The GST Act provides a detailed and specific framework to deal with arrest & detention, therefore, its provisions prevail over provisions of BNSS. The Magistrate, therefore, must follow the procedure set out in the GST Act and has no authority under the law to authorize detention under section 187(2) BNSS of individual arrested under section 69 GST Act.