AAR rejects GST advance ruling application on royalty payments under reverse charge mechanism citing Section 98(2)

The AAR Uttarakhand rejected an application seeking advance ruling on GST levy under reverse charge mechanism for royalty payments. The Authority found that the applicant had already raised an identical issue regarding GST payment under RCM on royalty payments in previous proceedings under the CGST Act, 2017. Invoking Section 98(2) of the CGST Act, which prohibits admission of applications where the same question is pending or decided in other proceedings involving the same applicant, the AAR rejected the application without examining its merits.

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Issues involved: Application for advance ruling u/s 97 of CGST and SGST Acts regarding liability to pay GST RCM tax on royalty payments.

Summary:
The applicant, a power generating company engaged in a construction project, sought an advance ruling on the liability to pay GST RCM tax on royalty payments. The applicant declared no pending or decided proceedings under the Act. However, it was revealed that the applicant had received notices for the same issue under Section 73 of the Acts. The Authority found the application inadmissible as the question raised was already pending or decided in the applicant's case. The application was rejected without delving into the merits of the case, in accordance with Section 98(2) of the CGST Act.

The Authority noted discrepancies in the applicant's submission and found that the applicant had approached the Authority on an issue already raised in their own case under the Acts. Despite the applicant's attempt to portray the issue as new, it was established that the same matter had been subject to notices under Section 73. Consequently, the application was deemed inadmissible and rejected without further consideration.

The Authority emphasized the importance of accurate disclosure in the application process and highlighted that the applicant's attempt to present the issue as new was misleading. The applicant's acknowledgment of receiving notices on the same issue further strengthened the Authority's decision to reject the application without assessing the case's merits.

In conclusion, the application for advance ruling regarding the liability to pay GST RCM tax on royalty payments was found inadmissible due to the issue being already raised in the applicant's case under the CGST and SGST Acts. The Authority rejected the application without further examination based on the provisions of Section 98(2) of the CGST Act.

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