GST Advance Ruling TN/18/AAR/2023: Why Your Application Might Be Rejected
The Authority for Advance Ruling will reject your request if tax authorities are already investigating the same issue.
- Ruling
- Advance Ruling No. 18/ARA/2023 Dated: 19.06.2023
- 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.
The short version
- Tamil Nadu Medical Council asked if their fees were subject to GST.
- The Authority rejected the application because an investigation was already underway.
- Section 98(2) of the CGST Act forbids rulings on matters currently under investigation.
In short
The Tamil Nadu Medical Council asked the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) whether the fees they collect for registering doctors are subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST). However, because the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) had already started an investigation into the same fees, the AAR refused to answer the question.
What has changed
How it worked before
Businesses often assumed they could seek an advance ruling to clarify their tax position even if they were under scrutiny by tax officials.
What has changed
The Authority confirmed that if a tax investigation has started, they lose the power to provide a ruling. This means you cannot use the advance ruling process as a way to settle a dispute that is already being handled by tax investigators.
Who this affects
Any business or statutory body currently facing an investigation or receiving a summons from GST authorities regarding a specific tax issue.
An example
Imagine a private university is being investigated by the GST department for unpaid taxes on student fees. The university applies for an advance ruling to argue that their services are exempt. Based on this decision, the AAR will reject the university's application because the investigation is already active.
What you should do
If you are under investigation, do not expect an advance ruling to resolve your tax liability. This decision only applies to the Tamil Nadu Medical Council and does not change the law for other businesses, but it serves as a warning that the AAR will not intervene in ongoing tax proceedings.
If you do nothing
If you ignore the fact that an investigation is ongoing and apply for a ruling anyway, you will waste time and legal fees on an application that will be dismissed. You remain fully subject to the findings of the ongoing investigation, which could lead to penalties and interest if you are found to be in the wrong.
The terms explained
- Advance Ruling
- A written decision provided by tax authorities to a business to clarify how GST laws apply to their specific transactions.
- Proceedings
- Formal legal or administrative actions taken by tax authorities, such as an investigation or an audit, to check if a business is following tax laws.
- Summons
- An official order from a tax authority requiring a person or business representative to appear and provide information or documents.
The ruling in detail
Authority for Advance Ruling
Tamil Nadu Medical Council
Advance Ruling No. 18/ARA/2023 Dated: 19.06.2023 · Tamil Nadu
Questions before the authority
- Whether GST is applicable on various fees collected by Tamil Nadu Medical Council a Government Authority?
Facts
The applicant is a statutory body constituted under the Madras Medical Registration Act, 1914, responsible for the registration of medical practitioners and maintaining medical registers in Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, and Andaman & Nicobar Islands. The applicant collects various fees for these services and sought an advance ruling on the applicability of GST on such fees. During the pendency of the application, it was revealed that the DGGI had initiated an investigation against the applicant regarding the non-payment of GST on these registration fees.
Ruling
| Question | What the authority ruled |
|---|---|
| Applicability of GST on fees collected by the Council | Application rejected Rejected due to pending investigation proceedings |
The Authority rejected the application for an advance ruling. It held that since the question raised in the application is already pending in proceedings before the DGGI, the application is not admissible under the first proviso to Section 98(2) of the CGST Act.
Reasoning
The Authority relied on the first proviso to Section 98(2) of the CGST Act, which mandates that the Authority shall not admit an application where the question raised is already pending or decided in any proceedings. It noted that the DGGI had initiated an investigation and issued summons under Section 70 of the CGST Act, which constitutes the commencement of proceedings. Consequently, the Authority concluded that it lacked the jurisdiction to rule on the merits of the taxability issue while such investigation is ongoing.
Provisions relied on
- Section 98(2) of the CGST Act, 2017
- Section 70 of the CGST Act, 2017
- Section 103(1) of the CGST Act, 2017
- Section 104 of the CGST Act, 2017
For the practitioner
This ruling serves as a **procedural bar** for applicants who have ongoing investigations or summons issued by tax authorities. It confirms that the AAR will not entertain applications if the subject matter is already under investigation, regardless of the applicant's arguments regarding the definition of 'proceedings'. It does not provide any guidance on the actual taxability of fees collected by statutory bodies.
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/18_aar_2023tamilnadu_medical_conuncil.pdf
Legibility of the scan, as read: high.
Prepared 20-10-2026.
About Patron Accounting LLP
Patron Accounting LLP is a CA and CS-led accounting and compliance firm that has been working with businesses across India since 2019. We handle the work that keeps a company correct with every department it answers to: day-to-day bookkeeping and accounting, GST registration and returns, income tax filing and assessments, TDS, payroll and PF/ESI, company and LLP incorporation, ROC and MCA compliance, statutory and internal audit, physical stock and inventory audits, trademark and other registrations, and the certificates and reports that banks, buyers and regulators ask for.
Our clients range from a first proprietorship registering for GST to established companies running operations across several states. Much of our work is exactly this: reading what a department has published and telling a business, in plain terms, whether it changes anything for them.
We operate from five offices and serve clients across the rest of India remotely:
- Pune (HQ): RTC Silver, B4-708, Sai Satyam Park, Wagholi, Pune, Maharashtra 412207
- Mumbai: 104, Rajshila Building, 597 J.S.S. Road, Marine Lines, Mumbai 400002
- Delhi: 3rd Floor, B-6/154-155, Sector 5, Rohini, Delhi 110085
- Gurugram: Pioneer Urban Square, B109, Golf Course Ext Road, Sector 62, Gurugram 122098
- Ahmedabad: Phoenix Tower, 1107, near Commerce Six Road, Drive In Road, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat 380009
If anything on this page affects you and you would like somebody to look at your own position, we are glad to help. Call +91 94594 56700, write to sales@patronaccounting.com, or visit patronaccounting.com. The first conversation costs nothing.