Supreme Court Holds GST Summons Aren’t “Proceedings”; Centre and States Can Investigate Together

The Supreme Court has held that a summons issued under Section 70 of the CGST Act does not amount to "initiation of proceedings” under Section 6(2)(b).

This allows both Central and State GST authorities to conduct simultaneous investigations at the inquiry stage.

A Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan clarified that only adjudicatory steps such as assessment or penalty proceedings qualify as “proceedings.”

To avoid duplication, the Court issued a nine-point framework ensuring coordination between authorities while upholding taxpayers’ duties to comply.

[Armour Security v Commissioner of CGST, Delhi]