|
ABOUT THE AUTHORITY |
|
To facilitate foreign investment into the
country a number of steps have been taken by Government
of India in the past. Setting up an Authority for Advance Rulings
(Central Excise, Customs & Service Tax)
to give binding rulings, in
advance, on Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax matters pertaining to an
investment venture in India is one such measure. The
legal provisions of Advance Rulings were introduced through the Finance Acts
of 1998, 1999 and 2003. The scheme of Advance Rulings has assumed special
significance in the context of greater emphasis on FDI. Advance Rulings
afford far greater certainty to foreign investors in respect of their
prospective indirect tax liabilities. 2.
The process of obtaining a ruling is simple, inexpensive and
transparent (only Rs. 2500/- have to be deposited through a Demand Draft
with each application). The process of obtaining a ruling is highly expeditious as the
Authority is statutorily required to pronounce the ruling within 90 days
of receipt of an application. Rulings are pronounced after providing an
opportunity of being heard by the Authority and in pursuance of other
accepted judicial norms. Advance Rulings pronounced by the
Authority are binding on the
departmental officers engaged in assessment of goods and
services and on the applicant, and hence rule out possibilities of
disputes and litigation, subsequently. A ruling given in respect of an
applicant is binding only in that applicant’s case. Furthermore,
Advance Rulings are not appealable by the department or the
applicant, under the Central
Excise, Customs or Service tax law. 3.
The scheme of Advance Rulings allows the following
categories of applicants to seek an advance ruling : · Any person who is a non-resident setting up
a joint venture in India in collaboration with a non-resident
or a resident; · Any person who is a resident setting up a
joint venture in India in collaboration with a non-resident; · A wholly owned subsidiary Indian company of
which the holding company is a foreign company;
(a)
Any Public Sector Company; (b)
Residents proposing to import goods under the
project import facility (heading 9801 of the Customs Tariff) for seeking
rulings under the Customs Act,1962; (c)
Residents proposing to import goods from Singapore
under the Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement for seeking rulings
on origin of goods under the Customs Act, 1962; (d)
Resident Public Limited Company. {NOTE
1: “Resident”, “Non-resident”,
“Indian company”, “Foreign company” and “Public Sector Company” have the
meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (42), (30), (26), (23A) and
(36A) of section 2 of the Income- tax Act, 1961. NOTE 2: “Public Limited Company” shall have the
same meaning as is assigned to “Public Company” in clause (iv) of sub-section
(1) of Section 3 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) and shall include a
private company that becomes a public company by virtue of section 43A of the said Companies Act, 1956. NOTE 3: Categories at (b) (c) & (d) above are
eligible to file application under sub-section (1) of section 28H of the
Customs Act, 1962 only} QUESTIONS ON WHICH ADVANCE RULING
CAN BE SOUGHT Customs : · Classification of
any goods under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975; ·
Applicability of a notification issued under sub
section (1) of Section 25 of the Customs Act, 1962 having a bearing on the
rate of duty; ·
Principles to be adopted for the purposes of
determination of value of goods under the provisions of Customs Act, 1962. ·
Applicability of notifications issued in respect of
duties under the Customs Act, 1962, Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and any duty
chargeable under any other law for the time being in force in the same manner
as duty of customs under the Customs Act, 1962. ·
Determination of origin of goods in terms of the rules
notified under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and matters related thereto. Central Excise : · Classification of
goods under the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985; ·
Applicability of a notification issued under
sub-section (1) of Section 5 A of the
Central Excise Act, 1944 having a bearing on the rate of duty; ·
Principles to adopted for the purposes of determination
of value of goods under the Central Excise Act, 1944; ·
Applicability of notifications issued under the Central
Excise Act, 1944, Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 and any duty chargeable under
any other law for the time being in force in the same manner as duty of
excise leviable under the Central Excise Act, 1944; ·
Admissibility of credit of excise duty paid or deemed
to have been paid on the goods used in or in relation to the manufacture of
excisable goods (Cenvat); ·
Determination of the liability to pay duties of excise
on any goods under this Act. Service Tax: · Classification of
any service as taxable service under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994; ·
Valuation of taxable services for charging service tax;
·
Principles to be adopted for the purposes of
determination of value of taxable service under the provisions of Chapter V; ·
Applicability of notifications issued under Chapter V; ·
Admissibility of credit of Service Tax; ·
Determination of the liability to pay service tax
on a taxable service under the provisions of Chapter V. However, an advance
ruling cannot be sought where the question – · is already pending,
in applicant’s case, before any officer of the Customs/Central Excise/Service
Tax, the Appellate Tribunal or any Court; or ·
is the same as in a
matter already decided by the Appellate Tribunal or any Court. 4.
Advance rulings would indicate, in advance, the duty liability in respect of an
‘activity’, viz. ‘import’ or ‘export’ under
the Customs Act, 1962, ‘production’ or ‘manufacture’ of goods, under the
Central Excise Act, 1944 and Service refers to a ‘taxable services’, so
specified in Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 under the Service Tax
Provisions, proposed to be undertaken by an applicant (In some areas the
Service Tax law is administered by Central Excise officers). 5.
Authority for Advance Rulings, Central Excise, Customs & Service
Tax is a high level quasi judicial body headed by retired judge of
the Supreme Court of India. Besides the Chairman, there
are two Members (of Additional Secretary rank) – who have wide experience
in technical and legal matters. At present Mr. Justice P.K. Balasubramanyan is the Chairman and Shri. Y. G. Parande is the Member. 6.
Office of the Authority is located on 4th Floor, Hotel Samrat, Kautilya Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi – 110
021. Full details relating to the Authority’s functioning maybe
accessed on the website: http://www.cbec.gov.in/aar/aar.htm Any
queries can be sent to the e-mail address i.e. aarcee@nic.in 7.
The following officers can be contacted during office hours for further
information :
Note:
In case a brochure relating to the Authority’s functions is required, request
can be e-mailed at the above address or addressed to any one of the afore-mentioned officers. |
|
Site is
maintained under supervision of Directorate General of Systems and Data
Management, New Delhi |
|
This site is best viewed with Internet Explorer 5.0 and above with 1024 X 768 pixels resolution