Section 67(5): Copies and Extracts of Seized Documents

Section 67 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

Records are seized on a Tuesday. The GSTR-3B is due on the twentieth. The obligation to file does not pause, and the statute anticipated exactly this.

Section 67(5): the person from whose custody any documents are seized under sub-section (2) shall be entitled to make copies thereof or take extracts therefrom in the presence of an authorised officer at such place and time as such officer may indicate — except where making such copies or taking such extracts may, in the opinion of the proper officer, prejudicially affect the investigation. The entitlement is the rule; the exception is narrow, case-specific, and belongs to the proper officer's opinion, which must actually be formed.

The entitlement

The words are "shall be entitled". It is not a concession granted at discretion. It is a right, subject to one exception.

Who has it: the person from whose custody the documents were seized. Note that this is custody, not ownership — an accountant or agent from whose custody a client's records were seized has the entitlement in respect of them.

What it covers: documents seized under s.67(2). By its terms the sub-section speaks of documents; in practice the same need arises for books and for data held on seized devices, and a request framed on the same reasoning is ordinarily entertained.

How it is exercised: in the presence of an authorised officer, at a place and time the officer indicates. So the officer controls the logistics — but not the entitlement.

The exception, and its limits

"Except where making such copies or taking such extracts may, in the opinion of the proper officer, prejudicially affect the investigation."

Four things follow from the wording.

It requires an opinion. Not a practice, not a default, not a policy. The proper officer must actually form the view.

The opinion is about prejudice to the investigation. Not about inconvenience to the department, not about staffing, not about the officer being busy. The question is whether the taxpayer having a copy would harm the investigation — which, once the department holds the originals, is a question that needs answering rather than asserting.

It is document-specific. The words are "such copies or such extracts". A blanket refusal across everything seized does not sit with a sub-section framed around particular documents.

It should be communicated. An opinion that is never expressed cannot be tested. A written request that goes unanswered is, in substance, a refusal without an opinion — and that is the position worth putting on record.

Why it matters operationally

A seizure does not suspend anything.

Returns remain due. GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, with late fee under s.47 and interest under s.50 running regardless. Non-filing for consecutive periods also exposes the registration to cancellation under s.29(2).

The inquiry itself needs the records. A summons under s.70 asking for an explanation of transactions whose documents the department holds cannot be answered without access to them.

Other laws continue. Income-tax filings and audits, Companies Act requirements, statutory audit, bank stock statements, GSTR-9 and 9C.

Business continues. Customers require invoices and confirmations; suppliers require reconciliations; disputes require contracts.

So a request under s.67(5) should be specific and reasoned — these documents, for this obligation, by this date — rather than a general demand for everything. A specific request is far harder to refuse, and a refusal of it is far more clearly reviewable.

How to make the request

1. In writing, addressed to the proper officer, referring expressly to s.67(5).
2. Identify the documents by reference to the Rule 139(5) inventory item numbers. This is why the inventory copy matters.
3. State the purpose — the specific return, notice, audit or statutory obligation, with its due date.
4. Offer the logistics — attend at the officer's office on stated dates, at your own cost, with your own scanning equipment if permitted.
5. Ask for a written response if the request is declined, stating the opinion formed under the exception.
6. Follow up promptly, and keep the correspondence — it is the record if the matter reaches a writ court or an appeal on limitation or on natural justice.

The related entitlements

Section 67(3) — return of what is not relied upon. Documents, books or things produced or seized which have not been relied upon for the issue of a notice shall be returned within thirty days of the issue of the notice. Section 67(3) →

The second proviso to s.67(2) — retention only as long as necessary. Seized documents, books or things are retained only for so long as may be necessary for their examination and for any inquiry or proceedings.

Section 67(7) — six months for goods. Where goods are seized and no notice is given within six months (extendable by six months for sufficient cause), they must be returned. Section 67(7) →

Read together, the scheme is that seizure is temporary, access is preserved, and the department holds material only for as long as it needs it.

Key takeaways

• Section 67(5) creates an entitlement, not a discretion, to copies and extracts.
• The exception requires an actual opinion of the proper officer about prejudice to the investigation.
• A blanket refusal does not fit a sub-section framed around specific documents.
• Seizure suspends no filing obligation — returns, interest, late fee and other laws continue.
• Make the request in writing, item-numbered from the inventory, with the purpose and due date stated.
• Read s.67(5) alongside s.67(3), the retention proviso, and s.67(7).

Read next

• Seizure Is to Secure and Identify, Not to Recover
• Section 67(3): Return of Documents Not Relied Upon
• Rule 139 and the INS Forms: The Search and Seizure Procedure
• Section 67(7): Six Months and the Return of Seized Goods

Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on the CGST Act and Rules as amended to 31 March 2026 (ICAI Bare Law, 12th edition) and the ICAI Handbook on Inspection, Search, Seizure and Arrest under GST (July 2025).