The Calcutta High Court refused to quash an FIR invoking offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, holding that prior sanction under GST law is not required for criminal prosecution when general penal provisions apply.
Calcutta HC: GST Sanction Not Needed to Initiate FIR
The Calcutta High Court declined to quash a First Information Report (FIR) registered against a taxpayer for alleged GST evasion, ruling that prior sanction from the GST Commissioner under Section 132(2) of the CGST Act is not a precondition for initiating criminal proceedings under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
The petitioner argued that no sanction was obtained before filing the FIR, rendering it invalid. However, the court noted that while sanction is required for prosecution under Section 132 of the CGST Act, the FIR also invoked general criminal offences such as cheating under BNS Section 318(4) and criminal conspiracy under Section 61(2).
"The filing of an FIR is not synonymous with prosecution; it is merely the commencement of investigation into alleged offences under general criminal law,"the court observed.
This decision clarifies that investigative agencies may proceed with FIR registration under BNS even in cases involving tax fraud, without awaiting GST-specific sanction. Practitioners should advise clients that dual-track proceedings — under both tax and general criminal law — are permissible, and compliance with GST procedural safeguards does not immunize against broader criminal liability.
