Section 135 of CGST Act 2017: Presumption of Culpable Mental State

Provisions under Section 135 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017 relating to “Presumption of Culpable Mental State”, are as under:

Section 135 of CGST Act 2017: Presumption of Culpable Mental State (CHAPTER XIX – OFFENCES AND PENALTIES)

In any prosecution for an offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, the court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged as an offence in that prosecution.

Explanation: For the purposes of this section,–

(i) the expression “culpable mental state” includes intention, motive, knowledge of a fact, and belief in, or reason to believe, a fact;

(ii) a fact is said to be proved only when the court believes it to exist beyond reasonable doubt and not merely when its existence is established by a preponderance of probability.

Amendments History:

1. CBEC notifies 1st July 2017 as the Commencement date for Section 135 of the CGST Act 2017, vide Notification 9/2017 Central Tax.

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Note: The CGST Act, 2017 has been notified vide GOI Notification dt. 12/04/2017, which has subsequently been amended through CGST (Extension to J&K) Act 2017, Finance Act 2018, CGST Amendment Act 2018, Finance (No. 2) Act 2019, Finance Act 2020, Taxation and Other Laws (Relaxation of Certain Provisions) Ordinance 2020, Finance Act 2021, including various Notifications issued by the Govt./ CBIC from time to time, relating to the commencement dates of various Sections/ Provisions in the respective CGST/ Amendment Acts, wherever required. Information on this page is a Section-wise compilation of Amendments made by all such Notifications, with best possible efforts for accuracy. In any case, E&OE. For official/ updated information, please visit CBIC website.