Don’t fully remove powers to arrest tax officials, says Keralam at 57th GST Council meeting

At the 57th GST Council meeting held on October 8 in New Delhi, Keralam opposed the decision to withdraw arrest powers of tax officials and instead suggested that they be detained for serious tax fraud and cases involving very high amounts.

Chief Minister VD Satheesan, who attended the 57th meeting of the council, asserted that strong deterrent measures are needed to fight large-scale and organized tax evasion.

The Council recommended withdrawal of the power of arrest under GST by deleting Section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017. Mr. Satheesan also sought the formation of a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine issues related to central procurement and distribution of Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) among states.

Government sources said that Mr. Satheesan had also given a representation in this regard to Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman. Keralam also sought to expand e-invoicing to more sectors to prevent tax evasion on e-commerce platforms and tax evasion in the gold trade sector.

Published – 13 Oct 2026 06:05 IST