Guide to seek Advance Rulings on GST portal

An advance ruling is an opinion or decision under the GST law given by Authority of Advance Rulings (AAR). It is issued in response to an advance ruling application in form ARA-01, filed either by a GST registered person or any unregistered person.

Such persons may need clarification on the applicability of GST provisions or classification of goods/services under GST. The applicants may also appeal against this ruling, before an Appellate Authority for Advance Rulings (AAAR).

Steps for GST Registered Persons to Seek Advance Rulings

The following are the steps to be followed by persons registered under GST to apply for an advance ruling.

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal and click on the ‘My Applications’ option by going to Services > User Services.

Step 2: Select the ‘Application Type’ as ‘Advance Ruling’, enter the ‘From Date’ and ‘To Date’ and click on the ‘New Application’ button.

Step 3: Select the appropriate ‘Act’ under which the advance ruling application is being filed.

Select ‘CGST’ and ‘SGST’ if the applicant is a regular taxpayer or ‘IGST’ if the applicant provides OIDAR services. The total fee to be deposited is Rs 5,000 under each Act (CGST, SGST and IGST) for applying before the AAR.

At this stage, either of the following actions can be taken by the applicant:

• If the ‘Amount to be paid’ column shows any amount, then click on the ‘Deposit In Cash Ledger’ button to deposit the remaining amount as given under step 4 and proceed to fill in the application.
• If no amount appears under the ‘‘Amount to be paid’ column, then click on the ‘Create Application For Advance Ruling’ button to fill up the application form. Skip to step 5.

Step 4: Make a payment of fee, if the amount is insufficient in the cash ledger using one of the below modes:

• E-payment- Netbanking
• Over the Counter- Cash/Cheque/Demand Draft
• NEFT/RTGS

On the ‘Create Challan’ page, the tax liability details are displayed which cannot be edited. Select one of the above options under ‘Payment modes’ and click on ‘Generate Challan’. The challan gets generated with CIN on successful payment.

Click on the ‘Create Application For Advance Ruling’ button to proceed once redirected onto the ‘New Application’ page.

Step 5: Fill in the advance ruling application with necessary details, upload the PDF-based filled template and attach the supporting documents.

On the ‘Advance Ruling Application’ page, enter details under the following sections:

1.Correspondence Address- Select the checkbox if it is the same as the registered address. If not, or you want to edit it, enter the building number, name, floor number, road, city, and select the state and district from the drop-down menu and enter the pin code.

2.Nature of Activity in respect of which advance ruling is sought- Select one or more checkbox that depicts either your present or proposed business, as per the screen given below:

3. Issue/s on which advance ruling required- Select the relevant checkbox, listed out in the screen given below:

4.Details of Advance Ruling Application-

1.Click on the ‘Download Template’ hyperlink on the right side of the window to save the Word template and click on ‘Enable Editing’.

2.Fill in the same details as declared under sections- correspondence address and nature of the activity.

3.Save the file in a PDF format on your computer system, and give the filename ‘AdvanceRulingTemplate’. The maximum file size should be 5 MB.

4. Upload the PDF file titled ‘AdvanceRulingTemplate’ by clicking on the ‘Choose File’ button. The relevant instructions are given on the right-hand side of the screen, as shown below.

5.Upload supporting documents- Enter the document description and choose the relevant PDF files one-by-one from your computer system to upload them as the supporting documents. A maximum of four documents are allowed, the size of which must not exceed 5 MB.

6.Declaration- Select both the checkboxes that the particular case is not pending as proceedings or passed under the Act.

7.Verification- Enter the ‘Name’ of the applicant and the name of father/husband, as the case may be, along with the ‘Designation’. Select the ‘Name of Authorised Signatory’ from the drop-down list, enter the ‘Place’ from where the form is being filed, while you notice that ‘Designation/Status’ and ‘Date’ get auto-filled.

Step 6: Click on the ‘Preview’ button to review the details declared before clicking on ‘Proceed To File’.

Also, the ‘Advance Ruling.pdf’ file is downloaded onto the computer system, as follows:

Step 7:File using DSC or EVC.

On successful filing, the following will happen:

• The application fee is automatically debited to the electronic cash ledger.
• The Application Reference Number (ARN) gets generated.
• The status of the application changes to ‘Filed’.
• An acknowledgement appears on the window which can be downloaded onto the computer system by clicking on ‘Download’.
• An SMS and email will be sent to the taxpayer.
• At a later date and time, you can check the status of the advance ruling applications filed for the prior three months. Visit Dashboard > Services > User Services > My Applications > select ‘Advance Ruling’ as the ‘Application Type’, ‘from date’ and ‘to date’, click on the ‘Search’ button and the ARN hyperlink.

Guide for Unregistered Persons to Seek Advance Rulings

A person who desires to obtain GST registration or understand the applicability of GST law may seek an advance ruling to avoid any future litigations.

There are broadly five steps as follows:

Step 1: Obtain a temporary ID on the GST portal as per our guide on ‘Generation of User ID’.

Step 2: Log in to the GST portal using the temporary ID obtained in Step 1.

Step 3: Create challan to pay the advance ruling application fee as per our guide on ‘How to create challan?’ on the GST portal. Keep a note of the challan receipt and the CIN.

Step 4: Download and take a print out of the PDF template of the application (form ARA-01) by visiting the GST portal Homepage > Downloads > Offline Tools > ‘GST ARA 01 – Application for Advance Ruling’ to fill in the necessary details manually. Mention the temporary ID too.

Step 5: Visit the State Authority for Advance Ruling Office and submit the filled-in application along with the challan receipt and supporting documents.

How to Appeal Before the Appellate Authority Against an Advance Ruling?

Any taxpayer can file an appeal before the AAAR within thirty days from the date of communicating the advance ruling order by AAR in form ARA-02.

To file an appeal against a particular advance ruling, follow the steps given below:

Step 1:Log in to the GST portal and visit Services > User Services > My Applications.

Step 2:Click on the ‘Orders’ tab appearing on the left-hand panel of the case-details window.

Step 3:Click on the ‘File Appeal’ hyperlink against the relevant advance ruling order issued by the AAR.

Step 4: Select the Act for which an appeal against the advance ruling needs to be filed and ensure that the cash ledger has sufficient balance to pay the application fee.

Follow the same instructions given in step 3 and 4 under ‘Steps to apply an advance ruling by registered persons’. The only difference is, click on ‘Create Application For Appeal’ once the ‘Amount to be paid’ column is nil.

Step 5: Fill in the ‘Advance Ruling Appeal Application’ with necessary details, upload the PDF-based filled-in template and attach the supporting documents.

If there is any delay in filing the appeal beyond 30 days from receiving the advance ruling order, the field ‘No. of days delay in filing Appeal’ will be other than ‘0’. Then, attach the details for Condonation of Delay (COD) under ‘Upload Supporting Documents’ section.

Select the Act under which an appeal application is being filed such as SGST, CGST or IGST.

Rest of the actions to be taken on this screen are listed below:

• Enter the correspondence address for Notices, similar to steps detailed out in the advance ruling application guide.
• Select ‘Yes’/’No’ against whether the applicant wishes to be heard in person.
• Click on ‘Download Template’ hyperlink, take a printout and fill up the ARA-02 form, upload the converted PDF file under ‘Details of Appeal for Advance Ruling Application’ field.
• Upload supporting documents, if any, by entering a short description of the document and clicking on the ‘Choose File’ button to upload the document.
• The verification section must be entered similar to steps detailed out in the advance ruling application guide.

Step 6: Click on the ‘Preview’ button to review the details declared before clicking on ‘Proceed To File’.

The system displays a warning message if there is any condonation of delay, reminding you to upload the supporting document. If it is already uploaded, click on ‘Proceed’.

Step 7: File using DSC or EVC.

On the successful filing of the appeal, the following will happen:

• The Application Reference Number (ARN) gets generated.
• An acknowledgement appears on the window which can be downloaded onto the computer system by clicking on ‘Download’.
• An SMS and email will be sent to the applicant.
• Communication will be sent to the jurisdictional officer via email, and the application will be listed before the AAAR.
• The appeal status is traceable by the applicant. It is similar to the steps outlined in the above section of the advance ruling application guide under step 7.

Other Facilities on the GST Portal for the Applicants of Advance Rulings

1. View Cause List- Without logging into the GST portal, navigate to Services > User Services > Cause List, to know if any hearings are scheduled on a date. Select the type of authority (AAR/AAAR), state, jurisdiction, date, and click on the ‘Search’ button.

2. View Orders or Notices or Additional Documents or Replies- On the ‘Case Details’ page, several tabs appear on the left-hand side.

Click on respective tabs such as ‘Application’, Notices’, ‘Replies’, ‘Orders’ or ‘Additional Documents’ to view the list of entries. Every entry will have a hyperlinked action item such as ‘View’ application, ‘Reply’ to a notice, ‘Reply no.’ to view previous replies or counter replies, ‘Rectification no.’, or ‘Download Document’.

3. File Reply-It is crucial to reply to a notice issued by the AAR or AAAR during the proceedings. Notifications can pertain to the rejection of application or appeal, adjournment, personal hearing for any rectification or for declaring the advance ruling order as void.

The following are the steps to reply:

Step 1: Visit the ‘Case Details’ page and select the ‘Notices’ tab.

Step 2: Click on the ‘Reply’ hyperlink against the relevant notice listed on the screen.

Step 3: On the Reply application, enter the following details:

• Click on ‘Download Template’ hyperlink to fill in the reply and upload the converted PDF file under the ‘Details of Reply’ field.
• The ‘Upload Supporting Documents’ field allows users to upload necessary documents, if any, with description.
• The verification section must be filled in.

Step 4: Click on the ‘Preview’ button to review the details declared before clicking on ‘Proceed to File’.

The system displays a warning message if there is any condonation of delay, reminding you to upload the supporting document. If it is already uploaded, click on ‘Proceed’.

Step 5: File using DSC or EVC.

The user will get a reply reference number as acknowledgement with respective email communications going out to the jurisdictional officer and applicant. The reply hyperlink in the ‘Notices’ tab gets disabled as only a single reply is allowed per notice.

4. File Rectification-

An applicant or jurisdictional officer can bring to the attention of AAR or AAAR any rectification required for an order passed by it. The time limit allowed is within six months from the date of the order. The following are the steps to apply for such rectification:

Step 1: Visit the ‘Case Details’ page and select the ‘Orders’ tab.

Step 2: Click on the ‘File Rectification’ hyperlink against the relevant order listed on the screen.

The rest of the details and steps are the same as filing a reply, given above. The application for rectification may either be rejected or proceeded with by the AAR or AAAR.