2019 (2) TMI 915 - AAR - GST

Eligibility for Advance Ruling - Admissibility of input tax credit of tax paid or deemed to have been paid - Determination of the liability to pay tax on any goods or services or both - question raised are of the past period i.e. 2017-18 - Section 95(a) of the CGST RGST Act 2017 - Held that - Section 95 says that only activities/matter which are either being undertaken or proposed to be undertaken are qualified for advance ruling - In the instant case as the period of activity is past-period i.e. 2017-18 hence, application is not eligible for advance ruling.

Summary

Issues:
Admissibility of input tax credit of tax paid or deemed to have been paid; Determination of the liability to pay tax on any goods or services or both.

Analysis:
The applicant sought an advance ruling under section 97(2)(d) & (e) of the CGST Act 2017 regarding converting into a regular GST dealer and availing credit of stock in hand. The applicant relied on a press release and publications stating an increase in the turnover limit for GST Composition dealers to ?1.50 Crore. However, the jurisdictional officer noted discrepancies in the applicant's filing history, serving a notice for non-filing returns in the 2017-18 financial year.

Personal Hearing:
During the personal hearing, the authorized representative reiterated the technical/system error nature of the query, emphasizing the submissions made in the advance ruling application.

Findings & Conclusion:
The Authority observed that the questions pertained to the past period of 2017-18. Referring to Section 95(a) of the CGST & RGST Act 2017, which defines advance ruling as decisions on matters being undertaken or proposed, the Authority concluded that activities from a past period are not eligible for an advance ruling. Consequently, the ruling stated that the applicant's queries related to past activities were ineligible for an advance ruling under the CGST/RGST Act, 2017, resulting in no ruling being provided.