Advance ruling applications barred where identical GST questions are already pending or decided in proceedings against the applicant.

An advance ruling application on the GST treatment of entry fee for Brindavan Gardens and toll collected for use of a bridge was barred from admission because the same questions were already covered by an assessment order and a notice issued in proceedings against the applicant. The first proviso to section 98(2) of the CGST Act prohibits admission where the question raised is already pending or decided in proceedings in the applicant's case under the Act. As the issues were identical and already the subject of active proceedings, the application was not maintainable and was rightly rejected.

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Issues: Whether the advance ruling application was maintainable when the same questions were already subject to an assessment order and notice in proceedings against the applicant.

Analysis: The application raised questions on the applicability of GST to entry fee collected for Brindavan Gardens and toll collected for use of a bridge. The records showed that an assessment order and a notice had already been issued to the applicant on the very same issues. The first proviso to section 98(2) barred admission of an application where the question raised was already pending or decided in proceedings in the case of the applicant under the Act. Since the issues were identical and were already the subject matter of proceedings, the statutory bar to admission applied.

Conclusion: The application was not admissible and was rightly rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: An advance ruling application is barred from admission under the first proviso to section 98(2) of the CGST Act where the same question is already pending or decided in proceedings against the applicant under the Act.

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