Amended and updated notes on section 137 of CGST Act, 2017. Detail discussion on provisions and rules related to offences by companies.
Chapter XIX (Sections 122–138) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 deals with the provisions related to offences and penalties. Section 137 of CGST 2017 provides for offences by companies.
Recently, we have discussed in detail section 136 (Relevancy of statements under certain circumstances) of CGST Act 2017. Today, we learn the provisions of section 137 of Central GST Act 2017.
Section 137 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 has been notified by the Ministry of Finance vide Notification No. 9/2017-Central Tax, G.S.R. 658(E), dated 28.06.2017. This notification was come into force from 1st July, 2017 i.e. the commencement date of section 137 is 1-7-2017.
| Name of Act | The Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 |
|---|---|
| Enacted by | Parliament of India |
| Administered by | Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs |
| Governing body | GST Council |
| Number of Chapters | 21 |
| Number of Sections | 174 |
| You are reading: | |
| Chapter No. | XIX |
| Chapter Name | Offences and Penalties |
| Section No. | 137 |
| Section Name | Offences by companies |
| Updated 2024 Edition | GST Law Book PDF |
Section 137 of Central GST – Offences by companies1
Section 137 of CGST Act 2017 shall come into force on 01.07.2017 vide Notification No. 9/2017-Central Tax, G.S.R. 658(E), dated 28.06.2017.
Section 137(1) of CGST Act
Section 137(1): Where an offence committed by a person under this Act is a company, every person who, at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Section 137(2) of CGST Act
Section 137(2): Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been committed by a company and it is proved that the offence has been committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to any negligence on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
Section 137(3) of CGST Act
Section 137(3): Where an offence under this Act has been committed by a taxable person being a partnership firm or a Limited Liability Partnership or a Hindu Undivided Family or a trust, the partner or karta or managing trustee shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly and the provisions of sub-section (2) shall, mutatis mutandis, apply to such persons.
Section 137(4) of CGST Act
Section 137(4): Nothing contained in this section shall render any such person liable to any punishment provided in this Act, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.
Explanation: For the purposes of this section, ––
- (i) “company” means a body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; and
- (ii) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm.
- Section 137 of CGST Act 2017 shall come into force on 01.07.2017 vide Notification No. 9/2017-Central Tax, G.S.R. 658(E), dated 28.06.2017. ↩︎