Advance ruling barred by prior Revenue inquiry, as section 70 proceedings qualify as proceedings under GST advance ruling law.

An advance ruling application was held not maintainable where the same subject matter had already been taken up by Revenue officers through search and summons before the application was filed. The inquiry under section 70 of the CGST Act was treated as a judicial proceeding by virtue of section 70(2), and therefore as a proceeding for the purpose of section 98(2). On that basis, the advance ruling mechanism could not be used to displace or override the pending Revenue process, and the application was rejected as liable to be entertained.

---

---

Issues: Whether the advance ruling application was maintainable in view of inquiry and proceedings already initiated by the Revenue, and whether the inquiry under section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 constituted a proceeding within section 98(2) of that Act.

Analysis: The application itself disclosed that the subject issue had already been taken up by the preventive officers in July 2021. The Revenue had conducted a search and issued summons under section 70(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 before the application was filed. Under section 70(2) of the same Act, such inquiry is deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. On that basis, the inquiry already initiated by the Revenue was treated as a proceeding for the purpose of section 98(2) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and the advance ruling mechanism could not be used to override that pending process.

Conclusion: The application was not maintainable and was liable to be rejected.

Final Conclusion: The request for advance ruling could not be entertained because the subject matter was already under revenue inquiry, and the application was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: An advance ruling application is inadmissible where the same is already the subject of an inquiry or proceeding initiated by the Revenue, and an inquiry under section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is a judicial proceeding that falls within section 98(2) of that Act.

---