Gujarat Authority for Advance Ruling Rejects Place of Supply GST Queries
- Ruling
- GUJ/GAAR/ADM/2018/31 dated 30.07.2018
- Authority
- Authority for Advance Ruling
This page was written by Patron Accounting’s AI from the official release and reviewed before publishing. It explains the document in plain language. It is not the document itself. Where this page and the original differ, the original governs.
In short
The Kandla Port Trust asked the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) in Gujarat to decide if they should charge Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) or Central and State GST (CGST and SGST) for their port services. The core of the argument was determining the place of supply for these services to out-of-state dealers.
What has changed
How it worked before
Businesses often assumed that the AAR could provide clarity on any tax classification issue, including whether a transaction is interstate or intrastate. Many believed that asking the authority would resolve their confusion regarding which tax component to collect on their invoices.
What has changed
The authority rejected the application because it does not have the legal power to decide the place of supply under Section 97(2) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. This means that if your business has a dispute or doubt about where a service is technically supplied, the AAR will refuse to hear your case and will dismiss it immediately.
Who this affects
This ruling affects any business providing services across state lines, such as logistics companies, port operators, or service providers who are unsure whether to charge IGST or a combination of CGST and SGST.
What you should do
You should not file an application with the AAR if your primary question involves determining the place of supply, as it will be rejected. Remember that an advance ruling is only binding on the specific business that requested it and its own tax officer, so it cannot be used as a legal precedent for your own tax filings.
The ruling in detail
Authority for Advance Ruling
Kandla Port Trust (Deendayal Port Trust)
GUJ/GAAR/ADM/2018/31 dated 30.07.2018 · Gujarat
Questions before the authority
- Whether IGST is applicable to port related services provided to out of the state registered dealer or CGST and SGST would apply?
Facts
The applicant is a port authority providing services such as pilotage, berthing, cargo handling, and warehousing. They collect various charges from port users, including port dues, demurrage, and wharfage. The applicant sought a ruling to determine the correct tax classification (IGST vs. CGST/SGST) for services provided to dealers located outside the state.
Ruling
| Question | What the authority ruled |
|---|---|
| Applicability of IGST vs CGST/SGST | Rejected Authority lacks jurisdiction to determine place of supply |
The Authority rejected the application at the admission stage without addressing the merits of the case. It concluded that it lacked the jurisdiction to determine the place of supply of services.
Reasoning
The Authority noted that its powers are strictly limited to the issues enumerated in Section 97(2) of the CGST Act, 2017. It observed that the applicant's question is fundamentally dependent on the determination of the 'place of supply' of services. Since the determination of the place of supply is not included in the list of matters under Section 97(2), the Authority held that it has no legal mandate to decide the issue. Consequently, the application was rejected under Section 98(2) of the CGST and GGST Acts.
Provisions relied on
- Section 97(2) of the CGST Act, 2017
- Section 98(2) of the CGST Act, 2017
- Section 96 of the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
- Section 5 of the IGST Act, 2017
- Section 7 of the IGST Act, 2017
- Section 8 of the IGST Act, 2017
- Section 12 of the IGST Act, 2017
For the practitioner
This ruling serves as a procedural reminder that the Authority for Advance Ruling is a **creature of statute** with limited jurisdiction. It confirms that the Authority will not entertain applications where the core issue is the **determination of the place of supply**, as this is not a specified matter under Section 97(2). Practitioners should avoid filing for advance rulings on jurisdictional or place-of-supply questions, as they will be rejected at the admission stage.
Source
This is a summary prepared from the published order, which is a scanned document. It is a reading aid and not the authority: where the two differ, the order governs. Verify every provision against the original before relying on it.
Original order: https://www.gstcouncil.gov.in/sites/default/files/AAR/guj.31-2018-19_dt_30.07.18_kpt.pdf
Legibility of the scan, as read: high.
Prepared 21-10-2026.
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