LEGAL TERMINOLOGY IN GST LAW (PART -7)

[Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal]

The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) as amended upto March, 2024 contains 124 definitions, the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (IGST Act) contains 24 definitions and the Union Territories Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (UTGST Act) contains 9 definitions of various terms which find place in statutory provisions of GST.

In this ongoing series, author makes an attempt to cover meaning, scope and interpretation of these definitions which forms important and integral part of the legal framework of levy and collection of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India. Various terms and expressions will be covered in different parts of this series.

Commissioner [Section 2(24)]

As per section 2(24) of the CGST Act, 2017, ‘Commissioner’ means the Commissioner of central tax and includes the Principal Commissioner of central tax appointed under section 3 and the Commissioner of integrated tax appointed under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act.

The term ‘Commissioner’ is also defined in Section 2(2) of UTGST Act, 2017 to mean the commissioner of Union Territory Tax appointed under section 3. Thus, the Commissioner is an officer of the respective tax appointed under section 3 of the respective acts.

Section 3 of these enactments provide for appointment of Commissioners and other class of officers for carrying out the purposes of these Acts. Such officers shall be deemed to be proper officer for the purposes as specified. There can be different class of Commissioners (e.g. Principal Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, Joint Commissioner etc).

Commissioner in the Board [Section 2(25)]

As per section 2(25) of the CGST Act, 2017, ‘Commissioner in the Board’ means the Commissioner referred to in section 168.

Section 168 deals with powers of the Board (CBIC) to issue instructions and direction for the purpose of uniformity in implementation of the law, issue orders, instructions or directions to the Central Tax officers which shall be observed and followed by such officers.

Commissioner in the Board refers to a Commissioner or Joint Secretary posted in the Board and such Commissioner or Joint Secretary shall exercise the powers in various sections with the approval of the Board.

According to section 2(16) of CGST Act, 2017, ‘Board’ means the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (erstwhile Central Board of Excise & Customs) is a part of the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. It deals with the tasks of formulation of policy concerning levy and collection of Customs, Central Excise duties, Central Goods & Services Tax and IGST, prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods & Services Tax, IGST and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC's purview. The Board is the administrative authority for its subordinate organizations, including Custom Houses, Central Excise and Central GST Commissionerates and the Central Revenues Control Laboratory.