Power to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents
Section 70, CGST Act
Straight from CBIC
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Section 70 gives officers the power to SUMMON any person to give evidence or produce documents; such inquiries are deemed judicial proceedings.
What this means in practice
The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.
A summons proceeding is a judicial proceeding under sections 193 and 228 of the Penal Code – a false statement carries criminal consequence.
CBIC’s own instructions require summons to be issued sparingly, with the approval of a superior officer, and not to a senior management official at the first instance.
Attendance may be through an authorised representative for production of documents, but personal attendance cannot be delegated where the summons requires evidence.
Summons cannot be used to record a ‘voluntary’ payment – see the note under section 67.
Questions people actually ask
Real questions we get on this provision, answered straight.
Our managing director has been summoned for a routine reconciliation query.+
CBIC instructions say summons should not go to senior management in the first instance where the information can come from an authorised representative, and that they must be issued with approval and sparingly. Reply with the documents, cite the instruction, and offer the accountable officer for attendance.
How this provision is built
The skeleton, clause by clause — useful when a notice cites a specific sub-clause.
The exact words of the law
920 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
Read the full provision+
(1) The proper officer under this Act shall have power to summon any person whose attendance he considers necessary either to give evidence or to produce a document or any other thing in any inquiry in the same manner, as provided in the case of a civil court under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908). 1 [(1A) All persons summoned under sub-section
(1) shall be bound to attend, either in person or by an authorised representative, as such officer may direct, and the person so appearing shall state the truth during examination or make statements or produce such documents and other things as may be required.]
(2) Every such inquiry referred to in sub-section
(1) shall be deemed to be a "judicial proceedings" within the meaning of section 193 and section 228 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
High Court cases on this section
Judgments in our index that cite this provision. Being listed does not make a case good law — it may have been appealed or distinguished since. Read it before relying on it.
HARISH WADHWANI v. DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF GOODS AND SERVICE TAX INTELLIGENCE/DGGI,
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AMAN SINGH v. DIRECTOR GENERAL GOODS AND SERVICE TAX INTELLIGENCE (DGGI) RAIPUR ZONE OFFICER
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SANTOSH WADHWANI v. DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF GOODS AND SERVICE TAX INTELLIGENCE/DGGI
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AMBRISH NATH TIWARI v. UOI THRU. DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF GST INTELLIGENCE LKO.
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VIKAS SINGH v. U.O.I. THRU. DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF GST INTELLIGENCE LKO. ZONAL UNIT
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BIPIN KUMAR SRIVASTAVA v. UNION OF INDIA THRU. DEPTT. REVENUE DIRECTOR GST INTELLIGENCE LKO. ZONAL UNIT.
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M/S.KANDAN HARDWARE MART v. THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER (ST) (FAC)
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Kundan Singh v. The Superintendent of CGST and central Excise,
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7 more on record. Search all GST case law →
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
date not stated · Inserted
Inserted by section 135 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024 No. 15 of 2024 dated 16.08.2024.
Where this comes from
Text reproduced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as available on 2026-09-05. The explanation and practice notes above are GSTZone’s own, written for this hub. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it — this hub is checked daily against CBIC.
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