The GST Council Secretariat has instructed six Indian states, including Delhi, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, along with the Puducherry UT, to promptly set up the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) in their respective regions to enable traders to file appeals against the orders released by the AAR.
Appellate authorities are a special council that was designed to look into the appeals filed by aggrieved parties against the orders proposed by the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR). Both AAR and AAAR are state-level authorities. As per state GST law, all states are mandated to set up one or more AAR for issues with GST levy and one AAAR for appeals against the orders passed by the AAR.
It has been over a year since the GST (Goods and Services Tax) was implemented in the country, but some of the major states including one UT are yet to set up the AAAR. Without state appellate authorities, aggrieved entities have no other way to appeal against the orders passed by the AAR.
“The Secretariat of the GST Council has shot off letters to Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Jammu and Kashmir, and Puducherry to fast track setting up of AAARs in their respective states, stating that in absence of such an authority businesses are facing difficulties,” said an official.
A similar letter was sent to all states by the GST Council Secretariate in May 2018 asking them to set up dedicated appellate authorities, after which most of the states had established AAAR and appointed the required members, including the CBIC-designated Chief Commissioner of Central Tax and the Commissioner of State Tax.
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As per the GST law, any person or entity which is unsatisfied with the order passed by the AAR can file an appeal against that order with the appellate authority in their respective state within 30 days from the order date. The AAAR is required to pass an order within 90 days of appeal filing.
