On the back of a dozen of rulings by Authority for Advance Rulings on Central Excise, Customs, and Service Tax matters, the GST council is now preparing to set up Appellate Mechanism in states. In a letter to the Indian states, the GST Council has asked for an update on the current state of the Appellate Mechanism. In addition to the progress made in the setup process, the Centre has also asked for following details:
- Official Address of the Appellate Authority
- Official Phone Number of the Appellate Authority
- Official email id
Sections 95 to 98 of Central GST Act of the Central GST Act provide for Advance Rulings on Central Excise, Customs, and Service Tax matters. In a recent hearing, the AAR had ruled that Duty-Free Shops within the premises of International Airports in India will attract GST. This is just one of the ruling made by the AAR among a dozen others. This has prompted the GTS Council to set up Appellate Authority in all states of the Indian Union.There is a provision for making Appellate Authority under Section 99 of the GST Act. The GST Council wants to ensure that this system is formed in all the states so that the affected parties can approach the Appellate Authority to challenge the Authority for Advance Rulings decision.
The move comes as a relief to affected parties who can now further express their grievances before the Appellate Authority in their respective states.
Also in another development, The GST Council’s meeting was postponed to May 4th. Many states have state holidays for May 1st on account of the International Labour Day which is observed worldwide on the 1st of May. Due to this, the meeting which was to be held via video conferencing has been postponed to may 4th. The same has been informed to all states. It is hoped that the GST Council could give GST rebate on the sale of goods in Duty-Free Zone at international airports. For more on what’s in store for the May 4th meeting.