CGST Act 2017 Section 83: Provisional Attachment (2026)

Explainer · GST · Recovery

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is the provisional attachment power. It lets the Commissioner, by a written order, freeze or attach property, most often a bank account, of a taxable person while certain GST proceedings are going on, when he forms the opinion that this is needed to protect government revenue. The attachment is temporary and lasts up to one year. It is a strong power, and the Supreme Court has said it must be used with care. This explainer sets out what Section 83 says, how it is used, the main case law, and the practical guards. Last verified October 2026.

01What Section 83 says

Section 83 is headed "Provisional attachment to protect revenue in certain cases". It gives the Commissioner one focused power: where proceedings are pending against a person, and the Commissioner is of the opinion that it is necessary to protect the interest of government revenue, he may by a written order attach any property, including a bank account, belonging to that person.

Two words carry the weight. "Provisional" means it is a holding step, not a final recovery. "Opinion" means the Commissioner must actually apply his mind and record why revenue is at risk, not attach as a matter of routine. The order is passed in the prescribed form, Form GST DRC-22, and a copy is sent to the person and to the bank or authority holding the property.

02When the power can be used

Section 83 is not a free-standing power. It can be used only while a proceeding is actually pending. After the Finance Act 2021 change, it is linked to proceedings under three chapters of the CGST Act:

• Chapter XII (assessment);
• Chapter XIV (inspection, search, seizure and arrest); and
• Chapter XV (demands and recovery).

So it covers the main assessment, investigation and demand stages, including a demand of tax not paid or short paid. To understand those demand stages, see Section 73 demands and Section 74 demands involving fraud. Provisional attachment is different from the detention and seizure of goods in transit, which runs under Section 129.

03What the Finance Act 2021 changed

Section 83 was widened by the Finance Act, 2021. The new sub-section (1) came into force on 1 January 2022 through Notification 39/2021-Central Tax dated 21 December 2021.

So the power now bites earlier and reaches further. It can touch not only the registered person under investigation but also certain others who gain from the offence.

04The one-year limit and release

Under sub-section (2), every provisional attachment stops having effect once one year passes from the date of the order. This is a hard outer limit, and courts have held that a fresh attachment on the same facts, simply to extend the freeze, is not allowed.

Because the attachment is only to protect revenue, a bank account can often be released against a suitable security or bond, so that a business can keep running while the main proceeding is decided.

05Supreme Court guardrails

The leading decision is Radha Krishan Industries v. State of Himachal Pradesh, reported at (2021) 6 SCC 771. The Supreme Court called provisional attachment a draconian power and laid down clear limits on its use.

• The power is to be used with care, only when there is a real need to protect revenue, not as a routine step.
• The Commissioner must form an opinion based on tangible material that the person is likely to defeat the demand.
• The opinion and the reasons must exist on the file, and a bare or mechanical order can be set aside.
• Attachment of a running business account should be the last resort, not the first.

High Courts have repeatedly quashed attachment orders that did not meet these tests, so the written reasons behind a Section 83 order matter a great deal.

06How to respond to an attachment

If a bank account or property is attached, the practical steps are usually these:

• Get the order. Ask for the Form GST DRC-22 order and check which proceeding it is tied to and whether that proceeding is actually pending.
• File the objection. Use Form GST DRC-22A within seven days, and ask for a hearing.
• Offer security. Propose a bond or alternative security so a working account can be released under Form GST DRC-23.
• Consider a writ. Where the order has no reasons or the proceeding is not pending, a writ petition before the High Court is a common remedy.

If the dispute moves to a demand and then an appeal, the first appeal under Section 107 and tools like GST litigation and notice tracking help keep the timeline and papers in order. You can also check GST case status as the matter moves. The idea of a provisional freeze during investigation is not unique to GST; a similar power exists under money-laundering law, explained in PMLA bail and attachment.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Whether a Section 83 attachment stands or falls usually turns on how courts have read the "opinion" and "necessary to protect revenue" tests. Claw lets you search more than 30 crore judgments to see how the Supreme Court and the High Courts have treated provisional attachment, with Supreme Court rulings from 1950 and High Court rulings from 1990, and results in under 5 seconds. You can also follow a live writ or appeal, with its orders and hearings, by party or advocate name across 9,102 courts, benches and forums.

Claw does not use the documents you upload to train its AI models. Create a free Claw account to pull up the leading attachment judgments and to track a pending GST matter, and use case search across Indian courts to find orders in similar facts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (CGST Act, 2017, bare text): indiacode.nic.in
• CBIC GST portal (Act, rules and forms): cbic-gst.gov.in
• CBIC tax information portal (notifications): taxinformation.cbic.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. Tax law changes through amendments, notifications and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from a tax professional or advocate before you act.

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