2017 Taxo.online 25

W.P.(C) 7964/2017 & CM APPL. 32853/2017 dated 18.09.2017

SANJEEV SHARMA

UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

2017

GST

Central Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017

S. Muralidhar, Justice & Prathiba M. Singh, Justice

Interim

High Court

Delhi

Manual filing of Advance Ruling – Petitioner submitted issue like facility of filing Advance Ruling application – Responding to petitioners queries, an e-mail dates 15th September, 2017 placed before the Court wherein it was stated by the respondent that filing facility will be made available tentatively by 15th January 2018 – For the intervening period a functionality being developed to dispose of advance ruling application manually with a facility to deposit prescribed fee through GST portal the facility will be available w.e.f. 20th October 2017 on the GST Portal – Notice issued to the respondent – Order Dasti.

Represented by: – 

Petitioner: – Mr. Abhishek Boob, Advocate. 

Respondent: – Ms. Nidhi Mohan Parashar, Advocate, Mr. Satyakam, ASC & Ms. Priyanka Rani 

Order: – 

1. The court has been shown the e-mail dated 15th September 2017 written to the Additional Commissioner (Policy) of GNCT of Delhi by Mr. Kamleshwer Prasad Verma, Vice President-Services of the Goods and Services Tax Network (‘GSTN’)/Respondent No. 5 where the queries raised by the former by a letter dated 11th September 2017 addressed to the GSTN have been answered as under: 

S.no.	Issues	Feedback/Input
1.	By what date, the facility of filing Advance Ruling application is likely to be made available on GST Portal?	Tentatively by 15th January, 2018.
2.	In case it is decided to accept the forms manually, is there any mechanism available on the GSTN portal whereby applicants including an unregistered applicant can make payment of prescribe fees of R.5000/-	For the intervening period a functionality is being developed to dispose of the advance ruling application manually with a facility to deposit prescribe fee under the law through GST portal for all applicants including unregistered persons. This facility will be available w.e.f. 20th October 2017 on the GST Portal.

2. What is clear from the above response is that the web portal for uploading an application seeking an advance ruling is not going to be ready till 15th January 2018. As an alternative, the GSTN has decided to accept all such applications, including applications from ‘unregistered persons’, manually with the facility to deposit the prescribed fees through the GST Portal. 
3. However, it is not clear under what authority of law, the GSTN has decided to postpone the availability of this alternative system of filing the applications seeking advance ruling manually till 20th October 2017 when the provisions of law are already in force. Neither the counsel for GNCTD nor the counsel for the Union of India UOI is able to provide an answer. 
4. Mr. Satyakam, learned Additional Standing Counsel clarifies that he appears for Respondents No. 2, 3, 4 and 6 as well. 
5. Notice will now be issued to the GSTN/Respondent No. 5 by all modes, returnable on 27th September 2017. Notice be served dasti as well. 
6. Order Dasti under signature of the Court Master.