{
  "id": 12866875,
  "title": "GST officers lose arrest powers, Council hikes prosecution threshold to ₹5 crore",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/gst-officers-lose-arrest-powers-council-hikes-prosecution-threshold",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-10-08T12:29:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Hindustan Times",
    "slug": "hindustan-times",
    "url": "https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/gst-officers-lose-arrest-powers-council-hikes-prosecution-threshold-to-rs-5-crore-101791462485978.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the 57th GST Council meeting held in Delhi, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Council had recommended the removal of arrest powers under the GST law. Additionally, the Council proposed raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore, indicating that cases pertaining to amounts below ₹5 crore would not result in prosecution. The Council also suggested reducing the general penalty from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000.",
  "summary": "The council proposed raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore, meaning cases involving amounts below ₹5 crore would not lead to prosecution.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Press Journal",
        "title": "GST Council Approves Major Reforms: Prosecution Threshold Raised To ₹10 Crore, Arrest Powers Curbed",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/gst-council-approves-major-reforms-prosecution-threshold-raised-to-10",
        "published": "2026-10-08T11:32:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "GST arrest powers dropped, prosecution threshold raised in key reform",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/gst-arrest-powers-dropped-prosecution-threshold-raised-in-key-reform",
        "published": "2026-10-08T11:51:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "NDTV - India News",
        "title": "In Major Reform, GST Council Scraps Tax Officers' Arrest Powers",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/in-major-reform-gst-council-scraps-tax-officers-arrest-powers",
        "published": "2026-10-08T12:27:34.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Hindu",
        "title": "GST Council scraps arrest powers of GST officers, ups prosecution threshold to ₹5 crore",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/08/gst-council-scraps-arrest-powers-of-gst-officers-ups-prosecution",
        "published": "2026-10-08T12:45:25.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}