Section 136 of CGST Act - Relevancy of Statement Under Certain Circumstances
Section 136 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 deals with the evidentiary relevance, in a prosecution under the Act, of a statement made and signed by a person who appears in response to a summons issued under Section 70.
Text and meaning of Section 136
A statement made and signed by a person on appearance in response to any summons issued under section 70 during the course of any inquiry or proceedings under this Act shall be relevant, for the purpose of proving, in any prosecution for an offence under this Act, the truth of the facts which it contains, -
(a) when the person who made the statement is dead or cannot be found, or is incapable of giving evidence, or is kept out of the way by the adverse party, or whose presence cannot be obtained without an amount of delay or expense which, under the circumstances of the case, the court considers unreasonable; or
(b) when the person who made the statement is examined as a witness in the case before the court and the court is of the opinion that, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the statement should be admitted in evidence in the interest of justice.
In practical terms, Section 136 is a special evidentiary provision connected with prosecution for an offence under the CGST Act. It identifies when a qualifying statement may be used to prove the truth of the facts stated in it.
Connection with Section 70 summons
Section 136 expressly applies to a statement made and signed by a person who appears in response to a summons issued under Section 70 of the CGST Act. Section 70 empowers the proper officer to summon a person whose attendance is considered necessary to give evidence or to produce a document or other thing in an inquiry.
CBIC has also issued guidelines on the use of summons, emphasizing that the power should be exercised judiciously and that officers should consider whether information can be obtained without resorting to summons where appropriate.
When can the statement become relevant?
1. Maker of the statement is unavailable in specified circumstances
Clause (a) covers situations where the maker is dead, cannot be found, is incapable of giving evidence, has been kept out of the way by the adverse party, or cannot be brought before the court without delay or expense that the court considers unreasonable.
2. Maker is examined as a witness before the court
Under clause (b), where the maker is examined as a witness, the court must form an opinion, having regard to the circumstances of the case, that admission of the earlier statement is in the interest of justice.
Scope of Section 136 in GST prosecution
- The provision concerns a statement made and signed on appearance pursuant to a Section 70 summons.
- The statement must have been made during an inquiry or proceeding under the CGST Act.
- Section 136 addresses relevance of the statement for proving the truth of its contents in a prosecution for an offence under the Act.
- The statutory conditions in clause (a) or clause (b), as applicable, remain important to the question of relevance.
- Under clause (b), the court itself must consider the circumstances and decide whether admission of the statement is in the interest of justice.
Official GST resources
For the statutory text, amendments, notifications and administrative material, verify the current position from official Government sources. CBIC itself notes that website compilations may involve a time lag and that the Gazette has legal force.
Last reviewed: 15 September 2026. This page is intended as a general legal information resource. Always verify amendments and applicable notifications from the official Gazette and Government portals.