The time of supply fixes the point when the liability to charge GST arises. It also indicates when a supply is deemed to have been made. The CGST/SGST Act provides separate time of supply for goods and services.

Section 12 & 13 of the CGST/SGST Act provides for time of supply of goods. The time of supply of goods shall be the earlier of the following namely,

(i) the date of issue of invoice by the supplier or the last date on which he is required under Section 28, to issue the invoice with respect to the supply; or

(ii) the date on which the supplier receives the payment with respect to the supply.

The time of supply of voucher in respect of goods and services shall be;

a) the date of issue of voucher, if the supply is identifiable at that point; or

b) the date of redemption of voucher in all other

There is a residual entry in Section 12(5) as well as 13 (5) which says that if periodical return has to be filed, then the due date of filing of such periodical return shall be the time of supply. In other cases, it will be the date on which the CGST/SGST/IGST is actually paid.

It is the earliest of the date on which the payment is entered in the books of accounts of the supplier or the date on which the payment is credited to his bank account.

No. The supply shall be deemed to have been made to the extent it is covered by the invoice or the part payment.

The time of supply will be the earliest of the following dates:

a) date of receipt of goods; or

b) date on which payment is made; or

c) the date immediately following 30 days from the date of issue of invoice by the supplier.

The time of supply will be the earlier of the following dates:

a) date on which payment is made; or

b) the date immediately following sixty days from the date of issue of invoice by the

The time of supply with regard to an addition in value on account of interest late fee or penalty or delayed consideration shall be the date on which the supplier receipts such additional consideration.

Yes. In such cases provisions of Section 14 will apply.

In such cases time of supply will be

(i) where the invoice for the same has been issued and the payment is also received after the change in rate of tax, the time of supply shall be the date of receipt of payment or the date of issue of invoice, whichever is earlier; or

(ii) where the invoice has been issued prior to change in rate of tax but the payment is received after the change in rate of tax, the time of supply shall be the date of issue of invoice; or

(iii) where the payment is received before the change in rate of tax, but the invoice for the same has been issued after the change in rate of tax, the time of supply shall be the date of receipt of payment;

In such cases time of supply will be

(i) where the payment is received after the change in rate of tax but the invoice has been issued prior to the change in rate of tax, the time of supply shall be the date of receipt of payment; or

(ii) where the invoice has been issued and the payment is received before the change in rate of tax, the time of supply shall be the date of receipt of payment or date of issue of invoice, whichever is earlier; or

(iii) where the invoice has been issued after the change in rate of tax but the payment is received before the change in rate of tax, the time of supply shall be the date of issue of invoice

The old rate of 18% shall be applicable as services are provided prior to 1.6.2017.

The new rate of 20% shall be applicable as goods are supplied and invoice issued after 1.6.2017

As per Section 28 of CGST/SGST Act a registered taxable person shall issue a tax invoice showing description, quantity and value of goods, tax charged thereon and other prescribed particulars, before or at the time of

(a) removal of goods for supply to the recipient, where supply involves movement of goods or

(b) delivery of goods or making available thereof to the recipient in other cases.

As per Section 28 of CGST/SGST Act a registered taxable person shall, before or after the provision of service, but within a period prescribed in this behalf issue a tax invoice showing description, value of goods, tax payable thereon and other prescribed particulars.

In case of continuous supply of goods, where successive statements of accounts or successive payments are involved, the invoice shall be issued before or at the time each such statement is issued or, as the case may be, each such payment is received.

In case of continuous supply of services,

(a) where the due date of payment is ascertainable from the contract the invoice shall be issued before or after the payment is liable to be made by the recipient but within a period prescribed in this behalf whether or not any payment has been received by the supplier of the service;

(b) where the due date of payment is not ascertainable from the contract, the invoice shall be issued before or after each such time when the supplier of service receives the payment but within a period prescribed in this behalfi

(c) where the payment is linked to the completion of an event, the invoice shall be issued before or after the time of completion of that event but within a period prescribed in this behalf.

The invoice in respect of goods sent or taken on approval for sale or return shall be issued before or at the time of supply or six months from the date of approval, whichever is earlier.

GST is one indirect tax for the whole nation, which will make India one unified common market.
1. GST is a single tax on the supply of goods and services, right from         the manufacturer to the consumer;
2. Credits of input taxes paid at each stage will be available in the             subsequent stage of value addition, which makes GST essentially         a   tax only on value addition at each stage;
3.The final consumer will thus bear only the GST charged by the last        dealer in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous          stages.

The benefits of GST can be summarized as under:
 For business and industry
1) Easy compliance: A robust and comprehensive IT system would be the foundation of the GST regime in India.Therefore, all tax payer services such as registrations, returns, payments, etc. would be available to the taxpayers online, which would make compliance easy and transparent;
2) Uniformity of tax rates and structures: GST will ensure that indirect tax rates and structures are common across the country, thereby increasing certainty and ease of doing business.In other words, GST would make doing business in the country tax neutral, irrespective of the choice of place of doing business;
3) Removal of cascading: A system of seamless tax-credits throughout the value-chain, and across boundaries of States, would ensure that there is minimal cascading of taxes.This would reduce hidden costs of doing business;
4) Improved competitiveness: Reduction in transaction costs of doing business would eventually lead to an improved competitiveness for the trade and industry;
5) Gain to manufacturers and exporters:The subsuming of major Central and State taxes in GST, complete and comprehensive setoff of input goods and services and phasing out of Central Sales Tax (CST) would reduce the cost of locally manufactured goods and services.This will increase the competitiveness of Indian goods and services in the international market and give boost to Indian exports.The uniformity in tax rates and procedures across the country will also go a long way in reducing the compliance cost.
  For Central and State Governments
1) Simple and easy to administer: Multiple indirect taxes at the Central and State levels are being replaced by GST. Backed with a robust end-to-end IT system, GST would be simpler and easier to administer than all other indirect taxes of the Centre and State levied so far;
2) Better controls on leakage: GST will result in better tax compliance due to a robust IT infrastructure - due to the seamless transfer of input tax credit from one stage to another in the chain of value addition, there is an in-built mechanism in the design of GST that would incentivize tax compliance by traders;
3) Higher revenue efficiency: GST is expected to decrease the cost of collection of tax revenues of the Government, and will therefore, lead to higher revenue efficiency.
 For the consumer
1) Single and transparent tax proportionate to the value of goods and services:Due to multiple indirect taxes being levied by the Centre and State, with incomplete or no input tax credits available at progressive stages of value addition, the cost of most goods and services in the country today are laden with many hidden taxes. Under GST, there would be only one tax from the manufacturer to the consumer, leading to transparency of taxes paid to the final consumer;
2) Relief in overall tax burden:Because of efficiency gains and prevention of leakages, the overall tax burden on most commodities will come down, which will benefit consumers.

At the Central level, the following taxes are being subsumed:
1) Central Excise Duty; 2) Additional Excise Duty; 3) Service Tax; 4) Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty; and 5) Special Additional Duty of Customs.
At the State level, the following taxes are being subsumed:
1) Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax; 2) Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States); 3) Octroi and Entry Tax; 4) Purchase Tax; 5) Luxury tax; and 6) Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling.

Keeping in mind the federal structure of India, there will be two components of GST – Central GST (CGST) and State GST (SGST); Both Centre and States will simultaneously levy GST across the value chain;
Tax will be levied on every supply of goods and services;
Centre would levy and collect Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), and States would levy and collect the State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) on all transactions within a State;
The input tax credit of CGST would be available for discharging the CGST liability on the output at each stage;
Similarly, the credit of SGST paid on inputs would be allowed for paying the SGST on output;
No cross utilization of credit would be permitted.

For the implementation of GST in the country, the Central and State Governments have jointly registered Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) as a not-for-profit, non-Government Company to provide shared IT infrastructure and services to Central and State Governments, tax payers and other stakeholders;
The key objectives of GSTN are to provide a standard and uniform interface to the taxpayers, and shared infrastructure and services to Central and State/UT governments;
A team is working on developing a state-of-the-art comprehensive IT infrastructure including the common GST portal providing front-end services of registration, returns and payments to all taxpayers, as well as the backend IT modules for certain States that include processing of returns, registrations, audits, assessments, appeals, etc.;
All States, accounting authorities, RBI and banks, are also preparing their IT infrastructure for the administration of GST;
There would no manual filing of returns and all taxes can also be paid online;
All mis-matched returns would be auto-generated, and there would be no need for manual interventions since most returns would be self-assessed

The major features of the proposed registration procedures under GST are as follows:
1) Existing dealers: Existing VAT/Central excise/Service Tax payers will not have to apply afresh for registration under GST; 2) New dealers: Single application to be filed online for registration under GST; 3) The registration number will be PAN based and will serve the purpose for Centre and State; 4) Unified application to both tax authorities; 5) Each dealer to be given unique ID GSTIN; 6) Deemed approval within three days; 7) Post registration verification in risk based cases only.

The major features of the proposed returns filing procedures under GST are as follows:

1) Common return would serve the purpose of both Centre and State Government; 2) There are eight forms provided for in the GST business processes for filing for returns; 3) Most of the average tax payers would be using only four forms for filing their returns; 4) These are return for supplies, return for purchases, monthly returns and annual return; 5) Small taxpayers who have opted composition scheme shall have to file return on quarterly basis; 6) Filing of returns shall be completely online. All taxes can also be paid online.

An existing taxpayer is an entity currently registered under any of the Acts as specified below:-

a. Central Excise

b. Service Tax

c. State Sales Tax / VAT (except exclusive liquor dealers if registered under VAT)

d. Entry Tax

e. Luxury Tax

f. Entertainment Tax (except levied by the local bodies)

Enrolment under GST means validating the data of existing taxpayers and filling up the remaining key fields.

All existing taxpayers registered under any of the Acts as specified in Q1 will be transitioned to GST. Enrolment for GST will ensure smooth transition to GST regime. The data available with various tax authorities is incomplete and thus fresh enrolment has been planned. Also, this will ensure latest data is available in GST Database without any recourse to amendment process, which is the norm to update the data under tax statutes today.

GST System portal has been created for this purpose as no paper based enrolment will be allowed.

You need to enroll as a user on the GST system portal, so that you may be enabled as a registrant for GST Compliance requirement viz. return filling, tax payment, etc.

The taxpayers registered under any Acts as specified under Q1 are required to enroll at GST System Portal. State VAT and Central Excise can start enrolling from October, 2016 on GST System Portal as per plan indicated on GST System portal. The taxpayers registered under Service Tax will be enrolled on a later date for which separate intimation will be sent.

No. There is no deemed enrolment on GST system portal. All the taxpayers registered under any of the Acts as specified in Q1, are expected to visit the GST System Portal and enroll themselves.

No. There is no fee/charge levied for the enrolment of a taxpayer with GST System Portal.

Demo Content

No, any person who wants to seek enrolment under the GST Act has to apply on the GST System Portal. Enrolment under the GST is common for both Central GST and the State GST. There will be common registration, common return and common Challan for Central and State GST.

 Format of GSTIN

         22           AAAAA0000A          1     Z      5

   StateCode            PAN                 1*    2*   3*

*1 = Entity number for the same PAN holder in a State.

*2 = Alphabet " Z " by default.

*3 = Check Sum Digits.

Before enrolling with GST System Portal, you must ensure to have the following information/ documents available with you:-

I. Provisional ID received from State/Central Authorities;

II. Password received from the State/Central Authorities;

III. Valid Email Address;

IV. Valid Mobile Number;

V. Bank Account Number

VI. Bank IFSC

Documents

a. Proof of Constitution of Business:

I. In case of Partnership firm: Partnership Deed of Partnership Firm (PDF and JPEG format in maximum size of 1 MB)

II. In case of Others: Registration Certificate of the Business Entity (PDF and JPEG format in maximum size of 1 MB)

b. Photograph of Promoters/ Partners/Karta of HUF (JPEG format in maximum size of 100 KB)

c. Proof of Appointment of Authorized Signatory (PDF and JPEG format in maximum size of 1 MB)

d. Photograph of Authorized Signatory (JPEG format in maximum size of 100 KB)

e. Opening page of Bank Passbook / Statement containing Bank Account Number of < Account Number>, Address of Branch, Address of Account holder and few transaction details (PDF and JPEG format in maximum size of 1 MB)

For the first time login, you need to provide username and password that you received from the State VAT/Centre Tax Department. For subsequent login, you need to enter username and password as created by you while enrolling with GST System Portal.

You may choose any user ID of your choice, provided it is available in the database while you are registering

In case you have not received your user name and password, you can contact your jurisdictional State/Centre authorities.

No, you should not give the email address and mobile number of Tax Professional or anyone else. You MUST provide the email address and mobile number of the primary Authorized Signatory appointed by you or yourself. All future correspondence/communication from the GST System Portal will be sent on the registered mobile Number and email address only.

Tax professionals will be given separate user ID and password from GST system and they will provide their own email Id and mobile number for that purpose.

No. The enrolment process is common for all taxpayers registered under Centre /State/UT tax Acts as specified in Q1.

A Primary authorized signatory is the person who is primarily responsible to perform action on the GST System Portal on behalf of taxpayer. All communication from the GST System Portal relating to taxpayer will be sent to him. For example:- in case of proprietor, the proprietor himself or any person authorized by him, in case of partnership any of the partner authorized or any person authorized, in case of Company/LLP, Society, Trust, the person who is authorized by Board or Governing Body etc. can act as Primary authorized signatory. Copy of authorization needs to be uploaded.

In case of multiple authorized signatory for single business entity, one authorized signatory should be designated as primary authorized signatory and email and mobile number of that person shall be provided at the enrolment.

In case of single authorized signatory for a business entity, he shall be assumed as primary authorized signatory for that business entity.

The OTP sent to your email address and mobile number is valid for <15> minutes. It expires after 15 minutes.

Your OTP would be sent on your registered mobile number and e mail address on GST System Portal. If you have not received the OTP within 15 minutes, you may choose to receive it again by clicking the RESEND OTP button.

If you do not receive the OTP via SMS on your mobile number even after clicking the RESEND OTP button, please verify if the mobile number provided by you is correct.
If you do not receive the OTP on your email address even after clicking the RESEND OTP button, please verify that your email address entered is correct and the Internet and mobile network are available.

Separate OTPs are sent to on email address and mobile number to validate them. Thus two separate OTPs are sent.

All future correspondence from the GST System Portal will be sent on the registered email address and mobile number only. Therefore, there is need to validate both mobile number and email address.

You must have received two different One Time Passwords (OTPs) on your email address and mobile number. Enter the OTP received on your email address and mobile number in the Email OTP and Mobile OTP fields respectively. If you have entered same OTP in both of your email and mobile OTP fields, your validation would be failed with error message.

Following details are auto-populated in the enrolment application based on your existing data:

• PAN of the Business

• Legal Name of Business

• State

• Reason of liability to obtain registration

• Email Address and Mobile number of primary Authorized Signatory entered during enrolling with GST System Portal.

Red asterisk (*) indicates mandatory field. Any field marked with the red asterisk need to be filled in necessarily to proceed ahead with the enrolment application.

You cannot make changes to Legal Name, State name and PAN as appearing in the enrolment application. These details have been migrated from existing tax systems of State or Center, as the case may be.

Refer your VAT Registration Certificate to find your State Jurisdiction. It is the same jurisdiction as given in your existing VAT Registration Certificate.

Refer to your VAT Registration Certificate to find your Ward / Circle / Sector No. It is the same ward /Circle/ Sector where you are registered

If you are registered with Central Excise, refer the Registration Certificate to find your Centre Jurisdiction.

If you are only a VAT registered dealer, you need to find your central jurisdiction based on the address of your Principal place of Business. You may visit CBEC website www.cbec.gov.in for details

(Refer URL-http://www.cbec.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/deptt_offcr/cadrerestruct/cadre-restructg-notifications.pdf).

You first need to check your internet connectivity. You should also ensure that the format of document must be either PDF or JPEG with maximum size of 1 MB. In case of photographs, the format should be in JPEG and maximum size allowed is 100 KB.

You need to save every page after filling all the details. Click the Save & Continue button at the bottom of the page to save the entered details and then proceed further to enter details in the other tabs.

DIN stands for Director Identification Number given to Directors of a Company by Ministry of Corporate Affairs. To know your DIN, refer your DIN allotment letter issued by Ministry of Corporate Affairs or visit the MCA portal – www.mca.gov.in.

For filing of enrolment application Aadhaar is not mandatory. However, at the time of submission of your enrolment application at GST System Portal, you would be required to use DSC or Aadhaar based E-Signing.

Principal Place of Business is the primary location within the State where a taxpayer’s business is performed. The principal place of business is generally where the business’s books of accounts and records are kept and is often where the head of the firm or at least top management is located.

Additional Place of business is the place of business where taxpayer carries out business related activities within the State, in addition to the Principal Place of Business.

HSN stands for Harmonized System of Nomenclature which is internationally accepted product coding system to maintain uniformity in classification of goods.

Service Accounting Codes (SAC) are adopted by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) for identification of the services.

The Bank accounts used for the purpose of carrying out business transactions must be provided while enrolling with GST System Portal.

DSC is mandatory for enrolment by Companies, Foreign Companies, Limited Liability Partnership (LLPs) and Foreign Limited Liability Partnership (FLLPs).

For other taxpayers, DSC is optional.

You cannot submit the enrolment application if your DSC is not registered with GST System Portal. Therefore, you need to register your DSC on GST System Portal by clicking 3 register your DSC’.

If you have valid DSC, you can visit GST System Portal and click on “Register your DSC” link. The PAN of the DSC holder should match with the PAN database of the CBDT. After validation the user should select the certificate link which is to be registered. Only class -2 or Class 3 DSC can be registered in the GST System Portal.

E-Sign stands for Electronic Signature. E-Sign is an online electronic signature service to facilitate an Aadhaar holder to digitally sign a document. If the Applicant opts to electronically sign using the E-Sign service, the following actions are performed:-

Taxpayer need to click on “E sign” button.

System will ask to enter Aadhaar number of Authorized signatory.

After validating the Aadhaar Number, the GST system Portal will send a request to UIDAI system to send a One Time Password (OTP).

UIDAI system will send OTP to email address and mobile number registered against Aadhaar number.

System will prompt user to enter OTP.

The user will enter the OTP and submit the document. The e-Signing process is complete.

No, there is no charge applicable on submission of the application for enrolment with GST System Portal.

ARN is the Application Reference Number generated after the submission of the enrolment application with E-Sign or Digital Signature (DSC). It is a unique number assigned to each transaction completed at the GST System Portal. Note the ARN can be used for future correspondence with GSTN.

   Format of ARN

         AA           07            07         16                     000000                                    1

 Alphabets    Statecode    Month     Year    Six Digit System Generated Code        Check Sum Digit

Application Reference Number (ARN) will be generated after the successful submission of the enrolment application at the GST System Portal. You can use this ARN to track the status of your application.

If you don’t receive ARN within 15 minutes, an email will be sent to you with detailed instructions for further course of action.

To retrieve the saved enrolment form, login to the GST System Portal with valid credentials. Go to Dashboard > My Saved Application menu. Click the Edit button to retrieve the saved enrolment form.

You need to login to the GST System Portal and fill the details as per your PAN details and resubmit the enrolment application.

Yes, Help Desk facility will be available and it will be displayed on the GST System Portal.

Yes, the application for enrolment with GST System Portal can be rejected in case you have furnished/uploaded wrong or fake or incorrect document with your DSC or E-Sign. However, the applicant will be provided reasonable opportunity of being heard where applicant taxpayer can present his/her viewpoints.

You can make amendments to the enrolment application from appointed date onwards.

You can change mobile no. and email id as given at the time of enrolment application after appointed date onwards through amendment process.

It will be available on your dashboard on the appointed date if you have filled enrolment application successfully.

The final Registration Certificate will be provided to you after verification of documents (within 6 months) by proper officer(s) center/state of concerned jurisdiction (s) after appointed date.

As one PAN allows one GST Registration in a state, you may register one business entity first. For the remaining business verticals within the State please get in touch with your jurisdictional authority.

ISD stands for Input Service Distributor. An Input Service Distributor means the person who distributes credit, in respect of the tax invoices of the services received at the head office, to its branches where the services have been supplied actually. Tax invoice here means, the invoice issued under section 23 of the Model Goods and Services Act, if you are an existing ISD Taxpayer, you need to apply afresh in the GST System Portal for the State where you desire to seek registration. For that you need to inform your Central jurisdictional authority.

Article 246A of the Constitution, which was introduced by the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016 confers concurrent powers to both parliament and state legislatures to make laws with respect to GST. However, -clause 2 of Article 246A read with Article 269A provides exclusive power to the Parliament to legislate with respect to inter-state trade or commerce.

Supply of goods and/or services. CGST & SGST will be levied on intra-state supplies while IGST will be levied on inter-state supplies. The charging section is section 7 (1) of CGST/SGST Act and Section 4(1) of the IGST Act.

No, reverse charge applies to supplies of both goods and services.

The receiver of goods will not be able to get ITC. Further, the recipients who are registered under composition schemes would be liable to pay tax under reverse charge.

No. In the above case the transaction of supply of watch from consumer to the restaurant will not be an independent supply as the same is not in the course of business. It is a consideration for a supply made by the restaurant to him. The same will be a taxable supply by the restaurant.

Yes only those cases which are specified under Schedule I to the Model GST Law.

Central Government or State Government on the recommendation of the GST Council can notify a transaction to be the supply of goods and/or services.

No, composition scheme is applicable subject to the condition that the taxable person does not affect interstate supplies.

No, taxable person under composition scheme is not eligible to claim input tax credit.

No, customer who buys goods from taxable person who is under composition scheme is not eligible for composition input tax credit because a composition scheme supplier cannot issue a tax invoice.

No, the taxable person under composition scheme is restricted from collecting tax. It means that a composition scheme supplier cannot issue a tax invoice.

The threshold for composition scheme is Rs. 50 Lakhs of aggregate turnover in financial year.

The methodology to compute aggregate turnover is given in Section 2(6). Accordingly, ‘aggregate turnover’ means ‘Value of all supplies (taxable and non-taxable supplies + Exempt supplies + Exports) and it excludes Taxes levied under CGST Act, SGST Act and IGST Act, Value of inward supplies + Value of supplies taxable under reverse charge of a person having the same PAN.

Taxable person who was not eligible for the composition scheme would be liable to pay tax, interest and in addition he shall also be liable to a penalty equivalent to the amount of tax payable. (Section 8 (3) of the MGL).

1%

No, the taxable person providing such goods or services shall not collect the tax on such goods or services.

It means relieving the tax payer from the obligation to pay tax on goods when they are lost or destroyed due to any natural causes. Remission is subject to conditions stipulated under the law and rules made there under.

Yes, proposed section 11 of Model GST law permits remission of tax on supply of goods.

Remission of tax will apply only when tax is payable as per law i.e. taxable event should have happened and tax is required to be paid as per law. Under GST Law, levy is applicable upon supply of goods. Where goods are lost or destroyed before supply, taxable event does not occur in order to pay tax. Accordingly, question of remission of tax does not rise.

No, on plain reading of the language of proposed Section 11, remission is allowed only for those cases where supply of goods is found to be deficient in quantity due to natural causes.

Yes. Under Section 10 of the Model GST Law, the Central or the State Government, on the recommendation of the GST council can exempt the supplies from the levy of GST either generally or subject to conditions.

As per section 94 of Model CGST/SGST Law, ‘advance ruling’ means a written decision provided by the authority to an applicant on matters or on questions as enumerated in section 97 and appeals thereon (section 99).

Advance Ruling can be sought for the following matters:
a) Classification of any goods or services under the Act;
b) Applicability of a notification issued under provisions of the Act having a bearing on the rate of tax;
c) The principles to be adopted for the purposes of determination of value of the goods or services under the provisions of the Act;
d) Admissibility of input tax credit of tax paid or deemed to have been paid;
e) Determination of the liability to pay tax on any goods or services under the Act;
f) Whether applicant is required to be registered under the Act;
g) Whether any particular thing done by the applicant with respect to any goods or services amounts to or results in a supply of goods or services, within the meaning of that term.

The broad objective for setting up such an authority is to:
a) Provide certainty in tax liability in advance in relation to an activity proposed to be undertaken by the applicant;
b) Attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI);
c) Reduce litigation;
d) Pronounce ruling expeditiously in transparent and inexpensive manner.

Authority for advance ruling (AAR) shall comprise one member CGST and one member SGST. They will be appointed by the Central and State government respectively. Their qualification and eligibility condition for appointment will be prescribed in the Model GST Rules. (Section 95).

Appellate authority for advance ruling (AAAR) will hear appeal against advance ruling given by the MR. This will comprise of two members namely Chief Commissioner of CGST designated by the Central Board Excise and Customs (CBEC) and Commissioner of SGST having jurisdiction over the applicant (Section 96).

There will be one AAR and AAAR for each State (sections 95 and 96).

Section 102 provides that an advance ruling pronounced by AAR or AAAR shall be binding only on the applicant and on the jurisdictional tax authority of the applicant This clearly means that an advance ruling is not applicable to similarly placed taxable persons in the State. It is only limited to the person who has applied for an advance ruling.

The law does not provide for a fixed time period for which the ruling shall apply. Instead, in section 102, it is provided that advance ruling shall be binding till the period when the law, facts or circumstances supporting the original advance ruling have changed.

Section 103 provides that an advance ruling shall be held to be ab initio void if the MR or AAAR finds that the advance ruling was obtained by the applicant by fraud or suppression of material facts or misrepresentation of facts In such a situation, all the provisions of the CGST/SGST Act shall apply to the applicant as if such advance ruling had never been made (but excluding the period when advance ruling was given and up to the period when the order declaring it to be void is issued). An order declaring advance ruling to be void can be passed only after hearing the applicant.

Section 97 and 98 deals with procedure for obtaining advance ruling. Section 97 provides that the applicant desirous of obtaining advance ruling should make application to MR in a prescribed form and manner. The format of the form and the detailed procedure for making application will be prescribed in the Model GST Rules.

Section 98 provides the procedure for dealing with the application for advance ruling. The MR shall send a copy of application to the officer in whose jurisdiction the applicant falls and call for all relevant records. The MR may then examine the application along with the records and may also hear the applicant there after he will pass an order either admitting or rejecting the application.

Application has to be invariably rejected in certain situations as prescribed under section 98 (2) which are enumerated as below:

a) If the question raised in the application is already pending in the applicant’s case before any First Appellate Authority, the Appellate Tribunal or any Court;

b) If the question raised in the application is the same as in a matter already decided by the First Appellate Authority, the Appellate Tribunal or any Court;

c) If the question raised in the application is the same as in a matter already pending in any proceedings in the applicant’s case under any of the provisions of the Act;

d) If the question raised in the application is the same as in a matter in the applicant’s case already decided by the adjudicating authority or assessing authority, whichever is applicable.

If the application is rejected, it should be by way of a speaking order giving the reasons for rejection.

If the application is admitted, the AAR shall pronounce its ruling within ninety days of receipt of application. Before giving its ruling, it shall examine the application and any further material furnished by the applicant or by the concerned departmental officer.
© Udyog Software (India) Ltd. Wednesday, 28th September 2016
Before giving the ruling, AAR must hear the applicant or his authorized representative as well as the jurisdictional officers of CGST/SGST

If there is difference of opinion between the two members of AAR, they shall refer the point or points on which they differ to the AAAR for hearing the issue. If the members of AAAR are also unable to come to a common conclusion in regard to the point(s) referred to them by AAR, then it shall be deemed that no advance ruling can be given in respect of the question on which difference persists at the level of AAAR.

The provisions of appeal before AAAR are dealt in section 99 and 100 of Model GST Law.

If the applicants aggrieved with the finding of the AAR, he can file an appeal with AAAR. Similarly, if the prescribed or jurisdictional officer of CGST/SGST does not agree with the finding of AAR, he can also file an appeal with AAAR. The word prescribed officer of CGST/SGST means an officer who has been designated by the CGST/SGST administration in regard to an application for advance ruling. In normal circumstances, the concerned officer will be the officer in whose jurisdiction the applicant is located. In such cases the concerned officer will be the jurisdictional CGST/SGST officer.

Any appeal must be filed within thirty days from the receipt of the advance ruling. The appeal has to be in prescribed form and has to be verified in prescribed manner. This will be prescribed in the Model GST Rules.

The Appellate Authority must pass an order after hearing the parties to the appeal within a period of ninety days of the filing of an appeal. If members of AAAR differ on any point referred to in appeal, it shall be deemed that no advance ruling is issued in respect of the question under appeal.

Yes. Section 101 of the Act gives power to AAR and AAAR to amend their order to rectify any mistake apparent from the record within a period of six months from the date of the order. Such mistake may be noticed by the authority on its own accord or may be brought to its notice by the applicant or the prescribed or the jurisdictional CGST/SGST officer. If a rectification has the effect of enhancing the tax liability or reducing the quantum of input tax credit, the applicant must be heard before the order is passed.

Yes. Any person aggrieved by any order or decision passed against him has the right to appeal. It must be an order or decision passed by an adjudicating authority.

However, some decisions or orders (as provided for in Section 93) are not applicable.

No. The Commissioner of CGST cannot revise the order. In the model law, for CGST and SGST; there are different provisions in this regard. For CGST; as per Section 79(2), the Commissioner of CGST if finds an order or decision (passed by an adjudicating authority) to be not legal or proper, can pass an order setting out the points for determination where he is of the view that the order is not legal and proper and directing a GST officer sub-ordinate to him to file an application to First Appellate Authority (FAA). Such application is then treated by the FAA as if it were an appeal.

The time limit is fixed as 3 months from the date of communication of order or decision

Yes. It applies even for such applications filed which are to be treated as appeal and all the provisions of appeal are made applicable for such application as well.

Yes. He can condone a delay of upto one month from the end of the prescribed period of 3 months for filing the appeal (3+1), provided there is sufficient cause as laid down in the proviso to section 79(4).

Yes. He has the powers to allow additional grounds if he is satisfied that the omission was not wilful or unreasonable.

First appellate authority has to communicate the copy of order to the appellant and the adjudicating authority with a copy to jurisdictional Commissioner of CGST and SGST.

As per explanation to Section 79(6) of MGL, the expression “amount in dispute” shall include‑

I. Amount determined under section 46 or 47 or 48 or 51;

II. Amount payable under rule—— of the GST Credit Rules 201…; and

III. Amount of fee levied or penalty imposed.

The FAA is empowered to pass an order enhancing the fees or penalty or fine in lieu of confiscation or reducing the amount of refund or input tax credit provided the appellant has been given reasonable opportunity of showing cause against the proposed detrimental order. (First Proviso to Section 79(10)).

In so far as the question of enhancing the duty or deciding wrong availment of ITC is concerned, the FAA can do so only after giving specific SCN to the appellant against the proposed order and the order itself should be passed within the time limit specified under Section 51. (Second Proviso to Section 79(10).

10% of the amount in dispute has to paid before filing appeal. This is common for both CGST and SGST. However, for SGST, in addition to this 10%, the appellant has to also pay “in full, such part of the amount of tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty arising from the impugned order, as is admitted by him”

Further, if the Commissioner of SGST considers any case to be a “serious case’; the departmental authority can apply to the first Appellate Authority for ordering a higher amount of pre-deposit not exceeding 50% of the amount in dispute.

It is defined to mean a case involving a disputed tax liability of not less than Rs. 25 Crores and where the Commissioner of SGST is of the opinion (for reasons to be recorded in writing) that the department has a very good case against the taxpayer.

Yes. Section 80(1) of SGST Act authorises Commissioner to call for and examine any order passed by his subordinates and in case he considers the order of the lower authority to be erroneous in so far as it is prejudicial to revenue, he can revise the order after giving opportunity of being heard to the notice.

Yes.

Yes. The Commissioner shall not revise any order if:

a) The order has been subject to an appeal under section 79 or under section 82 or under section 87 or under section 88; or

b) More than three years have expired after the passing of the decision or order sought to be revised.

For details of these and some other ‘fetters”, please refer to Section 80 of the MDL.

In cases where the appeal involves –

I. Tax amount or

II. Input tax credit or

III. The difference in tax or

IV. The difference in input tax credit involved or

V. Amount of fine,

VI. Amount of fees or

VII. Amount of penalty ordered

Less than Rs. 1, 00,000/-, the Tribunal has discretion to refuse to admit such appeal (Section82 (2) of MGL)

3 months from the date of receipt of the order appealed against.

Yes the Tribunal has powers to condone delay of any period of time beyond the period of 3 months provided sufficient case is shown by the appellant for such delay.

45 days from the date of receipt of appeal.

i. The provisions under Section 82 of SGST Act for appeal by any person aggrieved by the order or decision passed against him by First Appellate Authority are essentially similar to provisions contained in Section 82 of CGST Act and discussions made therein are equally applicable to section 82 of SGST as well.

ii. In addition to the above the provision of Section 82 of SGST Act also covers an appeal to be filed to Appellate Tribunal against the revisionary order passed by Commissioner.

iii. However the provisions relating to appeal by the revenue against the order of first appellate authority as CGST Act is not provided in SGST Act since the revisionary powers (against the orders passed by the FAA, who in the states is likely to be subordinate to the Commissioner) is provided to Commissioner to SGST.

iv. In addition, the person aggrieved under SGST Act has to pre-deposit full deposit of admitted tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty arising from the impugned order.

Yes. As per Section 85 of MGL Where an amount deposited by the appellant under sub-section (6)7(4) of section 79 or under sub-section (10)7(7) of section 82 is required to be refunded consequent to any order of the First Appellate Authority or of the Appellate Tribunal, as the case may be, interest at the rate specified under section 39 shall be payable in respect of such refund from the date of payment of the amount till the date of refund of such amount.

High Court if the High Court is satisfied that such an appeal involves a substantial question of law. (Section 87(1)). However, if the order passed by the Tribunal relates to a matter where two or more States, or a State and Centre, have a difference of views regarding the treatment of a transaction(s) being intra-State or inter-State; or a matter where two or more States, or a State and Center, have a difference of views regarding place of supply, then appeal against such order shall lie to the Supreme Court and not High Court.

180 days from the date of receipt of the order appealed against. However, the High Court has the power to condone further delay on sufficient cause being shown.

Every person registered under the Act shall himself assess the tax payable by him for a tax period and after such assessment he shall file the return required under section 2Z.

Yes, Explanation to Section 44 of MGL has such a provision. It provides that where goods received as an inward supply is returned by the recipient to the supplier within six months from the date of the relevant invoice, the tax payable on such supplies shall be equal to the input tax credit availed earlier on such inward supply. This provision essentially ensures that if the recipient returns the goods to the supplier within six months of the date of its original supply, his tax liability on such returned goods will be the same as was at the time of the original supply. If goods are returned after six months of the date of the original supply invoice, the rate of tax applicable will be the rate prevailing on date of such return.

18%

As a taxpayer has to pay tax on self-assessment basis, a request for paying tax on provisional basis has to come from the taxpayer which will then have to be permitted by the proper officer. In other words, no tax officer can suomoto order payment of tax on provisional basis. This is governed by section 44A of MGL. Tax can be paid on a provisional basis only after the proper officer has permitted it through an order passed by him. For this purpose, the taxable person has to make a written request to the proper officer, giving reasons for payment of tax on a provisional basis. Such a request can be made by the taxable person only in such cases where he is unable to determine:

a) The value of goods or services to be supplied by him, or

b) Determine the tax rate applicable to the goods or services to be supplied by him.

In such cases the taxable person has to execute a bond in the prescribed form and with such surety or security as the proper officer may deem fit.

The final assessment order has to be passed by the proper officer within six months from the date of the communication of the order of provisional assessment However, on sufficient cause being shown and for reasons to be recorded in writing; the above period of six months may be extended:

a) By the Joint/Additional Commissioner for a further period not exceeding six months, and

b) By the Commissioner for such further period as he may deem fit.

Yes. He will be liable to pay interest from the date the tax was due to be paid originally till the date of actual payment.

If the taxable person does not provide a satisfactory explanation within 30 days of being informed (extendable by the officer concerned) or does not take corrective action within a reasonable period after accepting the discrepancies, the Proper Officer may take recourse to any of the following provisions:
a) Proceed to conduct audit under Section 49 of the Act;
b) Direct the conduct of a special audit under Section 50 which is to be conducted by a Chartered Accountant or a Cost Accountant nominated for this purpose by the Commissioner; or
c) Undertake procedures of inspection, search and seizure under Section 60 of the Act; or
d) Initiate proceeding for determination of tax under Section 51 of the Act.

As this provision relates to best judgment assessment giving a notice to the taxable person is not required.

The proper officer has to first issue a notice to the defaulting taxable person under section 32 of MGL requiring him to furnish the return within a specified period of time, which has to be a minimum of fifteen days as per section 46 of MGL. If the taxable person fails to file return within the given time, the proper officer shall proceed to assess the tax liability of the return defaulter to the best of his judgement taking into account all the relevant material available with him. This power is given under section 46 of MGL.

The best judgment order passed by the Proper Officer under section 46 of MGL shall automatically stand withdrawn if the taxable person furnishes a valid return for the default period (i.e. files the return and pays the tax as assessed by him), within thirty days of the receipt of the best judgment assessment order.

The time limit for passing an assessment order under section 46 or 47 is three or five years from the due date for filing the annual return.

Section 47 of MGL provides that in such a case, the proper officer can assess the tax liability and pass an order to his best judgment for the relevant tax periods. However, such an order must be passed within a period of five years from the due date of filing of the annual return for the financial year to which non-payment of tax relates.

As per section 48 of MGL, Summary Assessments can be initiated to protect the interest of revenue when:

a) The proper officer has evidence that a taxable person has incurred a liability to pay tax under the Act, and

b) The proper officer believes that delay in passing an assessment order will adversely affect the interest of revenue.

Such order can be passed after seeking permission from the Additional Commissioner/Joint Commissioner.

A taxable person against whom a summary assessment order has been passed can apply for its withdrawal to the jurisdictional Additional/Joint Commissioner within thirty days of the date of receipt of the order. If the said officer finds the order erroneous, he can withdraw it and direct the proper officer to carry out determination of tax liability in terms of section 51 of MGL. The Additional/Joint Commissioner can follow a similar course of action on his own motion if the finds the summary assessment order to be erroneous (section 48 of MGL).

No. In certain cases like when goods are under transportation or are stored in a warehouse, and the taxable person in respect of such goods cannot be ascertained, the person in charge of such goods shall be deemed to be the taxable person and will be assessed to tax (section 48 of MGL).

As per section 49 of MGL, any officer of CGST or SGST authorized by his Commissioner by a general or specific order may conduct audit of a taxpayer. The frequency and manner of audit will be prescribed in due course.

Yes, prior intimation is required and the taxable person should be informed at least 15 days prior to conduct of audit.

The audit is required to be completed within 3 months from the date of commencement of audit or within a further period of a maximum of 6 months subject to the approval of the Commissioner.

The term commencement of audit is important because audit has to be completed within a given time frame in reference to this date of commencement of audit means the later of the following:

a) The date on which the records/accounts called for by the audit authorities are made available to them, or

b) The actual institution of audit at the place of business of the taxpayer.

The taxable person is required to:

a) Facilitate the verification of accounts/records available or requisitioned by the authorities,

b) Provide such information as the authorities may require for the conduct of the audit, and

c) Render assistance for timely completion of the audit

The taxable person is required to:

a) Facilitate the verification of accounts/records available or requisitioned by the authorities,

b) Provide such information as the authorities may require for the conduct of the audit, and

c) Render assistance for timely completion of the audit

The proper officer must without delay inform the taxable person about his findings, reasons for findings and the taxable person’s rights and obligations in respect of such findings.