Last updated: 11 October 2026. A GST advance ruling is a written answer from your State's Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) on one of seven questions listed in Section 97(2) of the CGST Act, such as how your product is classified, whether you can claim input tax credit, or whether you need to register at all. You apply online in FORM GST ARA-01 with a fee of ₹5,000 under each of the CGST and SGST Acts, and the ruling binds you and your tax officer until the law or the facts behind it change.
Applicability Note: This guide is based on GST provisions applicable as of 11 October 2026, read from CBIC's active repository that day. Always verify the current position on gst.gov.in or with a GST professional before taking action.
Who Should Care?
This guide applies to:
- Manufacturers and traders whose product could fall under two HSN entries or two rates
- Service providers unsure whether an exemption notification covers them
- Businesses planning a new product, contract or structure who want the tax answer before they price it
- People not yet registered who want to know whether they need to be
1. What an Advance Ruling Is, and Who Can Ask for One
Section 95(a) defines an advance ruling as a decision on a question about "the supply of goods or services or both being undertaken or proposed to be undertaken by the applicant". Despite the name, it is not only for future plans: you can ask about a supply you make today, provided the question is not already before an officer in your case (see Section 4).
Under Section 95(c), the applicant is "any person registered or desirous of obtaining registration", so you do not need a GSTIN to apply. Sections 96 and 99 treat the AAR and the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) set up under each State's SGST Act as the authorities for that State. You apply to the AAR of the State where you are, or want to be, registered.
2. The Seven Questions You Can Ask
Section 97(2) limits an advance ruling to these questions:
| Clause | Question | Typical example |
|---|---|---|
| 97(2)(a) | Classification of goods or services | Is this product a "food preparation" or a "beverage"? |
| 97(2)(b) | Applicability of a notification issued under the Act | Does an exemption or concessional rate entry cover my supply? |
| 97(2)(c) | Time and value of supply | Is this reimbursement part of the taxable value? |
| 97(2)(d) | Admissibility of input tax credit of tax paid or deemed paid | Can I claim ITC on this lift, plant or vehicle? |
| 97(2)(e) | Liability to pay tax on goods or services | Is this receipt taxable, or do I pay under reverse charge? |
| 97(2)(f) | Whether the applicant must register | Does this activity make registration compulsory for me? |
| 97(2)(g) | Whether something done amounts to or results in a supply | Is a cross-charge or a sale of scrap a "supply"? |
Place of supply is not on the list, and neither is anyone else's tax position. Frame your question so it fits one clause and concerns your own supply.
3. How to Apply: ARA-01, the Fee and the Portal Route
Rule 104(1) of the CGST Rules requires the application in FORM GST ARA-01 on the common portal, with a fee of ₹5,000 deposited under Section 49. Circular No. 25/25/2017-GST dated 21 December 2017 says the fee is ₹5,000 "each under the CGST and the respective SGST Act", so expect ₹10,000 in all. Check the split on the challan before you pay.
If you are not registered, the same circular describes the route: on gst.gov.in, go to Services → User Services → Generate User ID for Advance Ruling and verify the OTP. The portal then issues a temporary ID, which you use to create the fee challan.
A strong application states the facts in full (contracts, product literature, how the supply actually works), asks one precise question tied to a clause of Section 97(2), and sets out your own reading of the law. Leaving out a material fact is risky: Section 104 lets a ruling obtained by suppression or misrepresentation be declared void from the start (see Section 6).
4. When the AAR Will Refuse: The "Pending or Decided" Bar
The AAR sends your application to the concerned officer, hears both sides and then admits or rejects it under Section 98(2). The first proviso says it shall not admit an application where the question "is already pending or decided in any proceedings in the case of an applicant under any of the provisions of this Act". The other provisos protect you: no rejection without a hearing, and reasons must be given.
What counts as "proceedings" is not settled. High Courts have read it differently:
- The Andhra Pradesh High Court counts an investigation. In M/s Master Minds v. Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (W.P. No. 5571 of 2021, judgment dated 23 November 2022), a DGGI investigation had begun before the application. The court held "any proceedings" includes it and set aside both the AAR and AAAR rulings.
- The Telangana High Court does not. In M/s Srico Projects Pvt. Ltd. v. Telangana State Authority for Advance Ruling (W.P. No. 26145 of 2022, judgment dated 17 August 2022), the court held an inquiry or investigation is not "proceedings". The investigation there started after the application, and the AAR was told to give a ruling.
- The Kerala High Court has added that a closed case is not "decided" unless the merits were. In Travancore Devaswom Board v. Commissioner of State Goods and Service Tax (WP(C) No. 18624 of 2025, judgment dated 7 October 2025), earlier Section 73 proceedings had closed on payment of tax without any decision on taxability. The court quashed the rejection and sent the application back for a decision on merits.
In practice, apply before a notice, summons or audit touches the same question. After that, expect the bar to be raised.
5. The Timeline: From Application to Appeal
| Stage | Time limit | Provision |
|---|---|---|
| AAR pronounces its ruling in writing | Within 90 days from receipt of the application | Section 98(6) |
| Appeal to the AAAR by the applicant, concerned officer or jurisdictional officer | Within 30 days of the ruling being communicated, plus up to 30 more days on sufficient cause | Section 100(2) and proviso |
| AAAR passes its order | Within 90 days from filing of the appeal or reference | Section 101(2) |
| Rectification of an error apparent on the record | Within six months from the date of the order | Section 102 |
An applicant appeals in FORM GST ARA-02 with a fee of ₹10,000 under Rule 106(1) of the CGST Rules; a matching fee may apply under your State's rules, so check the challan. An officer appeals in FORM GST ARA-03 and pays nothing (Rule 106(2)). Rectification cannot raise your tax or cut your ITC without a hearing (proviso to Section 102).
If the AAR members disagree, Section 98(5) refers the question to the AAAR. If the AAAR members disagree, Section 101(3) treats it as a question on which no advance ruling can be issued. Outside the conflicting-rulings route in Section 7, the Act gives no further appeal from the AAAR, which is why Master Minds reached the High Court by writ petition.
6. Who the Ruling Binds, and for How Long
Section 103(1) makes an advance ruling binding only on the applicant who sought it, and on the concerned or jurisdictional officer in respect of that applicant. While it stands, your officer cannot take a different view on your question. A ruling given to another business, however similar its facts, does not bind you or your officer.
It is also generally treated as covering only the GSTIN that applied. Section 103(1) binds "the applicant", each State registration is a distinct person under Section 25(4), and Section 103(1A), which would make a national appellate ruling bind every registration on the same PAN, is still marked in CBIC's repository as "effective from a date to be notified". So a ruling for your Maharashtra GSTIN does not automatically settle the question for your Karnataka GSTIN.
There is no fixed expiry. Under Section 103(2), the ruling binds unless "the law, facts or circumstances supporting the original advance ruling have changed". A rate notification, an amendment to the Act or a change in how you run the supply can end it.
Under Section 104(1), a ruling obtained by fraud, suppression of material facts or misrepresentation may be declared void ab initio after a hearing, and the law then applies as if it had never been given. The Explanation excludes the period between the ruling and the void order when counting the time limits for notices and orders under Sections 73, 74 and, since 1 November 2024, Section 74A.
7. Conflicting Rulings Across States: The GSTAT Route From April 2026
AARs in different States often answer the same question differently. A national forum for those conflicts was written into the law in 2019 as Sections 101A to 101C, but the National Appellate Authority was never constituted. Section 105 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019, which inserted those sections, was among the provisions left out when Notification No. 01/2020-Central Tax dated 1 January 2020 brought most of that Act's GST changes into force.
Two steps in 2026 changed that:
- Section 101A(1A), inserted by section 156 of the Finance Act, 2026 with effect from 1 April 2026, lets the Government, on the GST Council's recommendation, empower an existing authority, including a Tribunal, to hear Section 101B appeals until the National Appellate Authority is constituted.
- Notification No. 02/2026-Central Tax dated 7 May 2026, deemed in force from 1 April 2026, empowers the Principal Bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), New Delhi, to hear appeals under Section 101B. It was first printed as "18/2024"; a corrigendum dated 8 May 2026 corrected the number to 02/2026.
The route is narrow. Section 101B(1) opens it only where the Appellate Authorities of two or more States or Union territories have given conflicting rulings on a Section 97(2) question, so an AAR ruling never taken to the AAAR cannot go to the GSTAT. The appeal can be filed by an applicant who is a distinct person under Section 25 (your registrations in two States that got opposite answers) within 30 days, or by an officer authorised by the Commissioner from those States within 90 days. Under the Explanation to Section 101B(2), the period runs from communication of the last of the conflicting rulings, and the second proviso allows 30 more days on sufficient cause.
So the GSTAT has not become an appeal forum for every advance ruling. One gap remains: as of 11 October 2026, CBIC's repository still annotates Section 101B itself as "effective from a date to be notified", and no form or fee for a Section 101B appeal has been prescribed. If you plan to use this route, confirm the filing mechanics with the GSTAT registry first. Ordinary appeals against tax orders follow a different path, covered in our guide to appealing a GST order under Section 107.
8. Is an Advance Ruling Worth It?
It is usually worth it when a rate or exemption question will shape your pricing for years, especially if published rulings on that question already conflict and no officer has raised it with you yet. It helps much less once an investigation or notice covers the question, or when you need one answer for registrations in several States. And an unfavourable ruling binds you just as firmly as a favourable one; the AAAR is the first, and usually the only, statutory way out.
Key Takeaways
- An advance ruling answers only the seven questions in Section 97(2), about a supply you make or plan to make. Place of supply is not one of them.
- Apply in FORM GST ARA-01 with ₹5,000 under each of the CGST and SGST Acts (Rule 104; Circular No. 25/25/2017-GST). Unregistered applicants use "Generate User ID for Advance Ruling".
- Apply before a notice, summons or audit reaches the same question. High Courts disagree on whether an investigation alone triggers the Section 98(2) bar.
- The AAR has 90 days to rule. You have 30 days, plus 30 on sufficient cause, to appeal to the AAAR, with a ₹10,000 fee under the CGST Rules.
- The ruling binds only you and your officer, until the law, facts or circumstances change, and is generally treated as limited to the GSTIN that applied.
- Since 1 April 2026 the GSTAT Principal Bench can hear appeals on conflicting AAAR rulings from different States (Notification No. 02/2026-Central Tax dated 7 May 2026). Confirm filing mechanics first.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an unregistered person apply for a GST advance ruling?
Yes. Section 95(c) covers any person "desirous of obtaining registration". Circular No. 25/25/2017-GST dated 21 December 2017 describes the portal route through Services → User Services → Generate User ID for Advance Ruling, which issues a temporary ID for paying the fee.
What is the fee for an advance ruling application under GST?
Rule 104(1) of the CGST Rules prescribes ₹5,000, payable under each of the CGST and the respective SGST Act according to Circular No. 25/25/2017-GST, so ₹10,000 in all. An AAAR appeal in FORM GST ARA-02 carries ₹10,000 under Rule 106(1) of the CGST Rules; check the challan for the State share.
Is a GST advance ruling binding on other businesses?
No. Section 103(1) makes it binding only on the applicant and the concerned or jurisdictional officer in respect of that applicant. Another business's ruling can guide you but does not bind you or your officer.
Can I appeal against an AAAR order to the GST Appellate Tribunal?
Only where the Appellate Authorities of two or more States have given conflicting rulings, under Section 101B, which the GSTAT Principal Bench has been empowered to hear from 1 April 2026 by Notification No. 02/2026-Central Tax dated 7 May 2026. Otherwise the Act provides no further appeal, and challenges have gone to the High Court by writ.
⚠️ For informational purposes only.
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