Bank account attachment: getting it lifted fast
Payroll stops on a Friday. The remedy has to work by Monday.
A bank account may be provisionally attached under Section 83 during the pendency of specified proceedings, where the Commissioner is of the opinion, formed on tangible material, that it is necessary to protect the interest of revenue. The order is in DRC-22, the objection lies under Rule 159(5), and the attachment ceases after one year. Radha Krishan Industries requires recorded reasons, proportionality and a live link to the necessity, and holds that a writ is maintainable notwithstanding the alternative remedy.
The first day
Obtain the DRC-22 from the bank and identify the proceeding said to be pending, the amount and the accounts covered.
Write to the Commissioner demanding the reasons recorded under Section 83, the material relied on, and the officer's authority.
Write to the bank recording that the attachment is limited to the amount stated in the order, so that operations above that balance are not frozen where the order permits.
Quantify the harm with specifics: salaries due, statutory dues, letters of credit maturing, cheques presented. Hardship stated in the abstract does not move anyone; hardship with dates and amounts does.
The objection and the substitute security
File the objection under Rule 159(5) with a request for a personal hearing, addressing the absence of material, the absence of any quantified liability, and the disproportion.
Offer substitute security in the same letter — immovable property, a fixed deposit, or a bank guarantee for a quantified amount. This converts the dispute from whether to attach into what to attach, and it is the fastest practical route.
Where the account is a current operating account and the company is solvent, say so with the financials; solvency is the answer to the necessity condition.
Where the account attached belongs to a director or a group company, take the point separately; attachment of a person other than the taxable person requires the conditions to be satisfied against that person.
The writ
File without waiting where the objection is not decided within days. Delay defeats the purpose.
Plead the jurisdictional defect — no recorded reasons, no material, no proportionality, no live link — rather than the merits of the underlying dispute.
Annex the harm statement with figures, the objection and the offer of substitute security. A court is far more willing to intervene where the petitioner has offered a workable alternative.
Ask for a specific interim direction — release of the account on the security offered, or release above a stated balance — rather than a general prayer.
Authorities relied on
Section 83 requires tangible material, recorded and communicated reasons, proportionality and a live link to the necessity; a writ is maintainable despite the alternative remedy.
An attachment ceases to have effect after one year and cannot be continued by a fresh order on the same material.
What to do on Monday
Obtain the DRC-22 and demand the recorded reasons on day one.
Quantify the operational harm with dates and amounts, and put it on record.
File the Rule 159(5) objection with an offer of substitute security in the same letter.
Move a writ within days if the objection is not decided, pleading jurisdiction rather than merits.
This page states the general position. A reader with a specific question on their own facts may write to the GST practice at AMLEGALS.
Write to the GST practiceQuestions we are asked on this
Can a bank account be attached before a notice is issued?
Only where proceedings under the specified sections are pending and the opinion is properly formed. Attachment at the enquiry stage is the weakest position for the department.
Can a director's personal account be attached?
Not without satisfying the conditions against that person. This is one of the most successful challenges in practice.
How long does an attachment last?
It ceases after one year from the order. A fresh order on the same material is challengeable.
Will offering security get it lifted?
It is the fastest route in practice. Offer a quantified, workable alternative.
Is an appeal available?
An attachment is not appealable under Section 107. The route is the Rule 159(5) objection and then a writ.
In this cluster
- GST enforcement: search, seizure, summons, arrest and attachment in one map
- Section 70 summons: your rights, your obligations and your record
- Section 67 search and seizure: the conditions that must be satisfied
- Section 69 arrest under GST: when it is legal and when it is not
- Section 132 prosecution: offences, thresholds and compounding
- Radha Krishan Industries: provisional attachment is draconian, and the conditions are strict
- Radhika Agarwal: the Supreme Court's 2025 safeguards on GST and customs arrest
- Anticipatory bail and regular bail in GST offences
- Statements recorded during investigation and their evidentiary value
- Coerced DRC-03 payments during search: recovery and refund
GST Insights is published by AMLEGALS for general information. Law stated as on 3 September 2026. Not advice on any particular set of facts; not an advertisement or a solicitation under Rule 36 of the Bar Council of India Rules. Readers with a question on their own facts may write to the GST practice of their own accord.