Section 103 - Applicability of advance ruling
Chapter XVII - Advance Ruling
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Finin2min Summary - Section in 2 Minutes
Makes ruling binding only on the applicant and concerned/jurisdictional officers, while law and facts remain unchanged. It is not universally binding precedent. Change in law/facts ends binding effect.
Exact operative text
103. Applicability of advance ruling.-(1) The advance ruling pronounced by the Authority or the Appellate
Authority under this Chapter shall be binding only-
(a) on the applicant who had sought it in respect of any matter referred to in sub-section
(2) of section 97 for advance ruling;
(b) on the concerned officer or the jurisdictional officer in respect of the applicant.
(1A) The Advance Ruling pronounced by the National Appellate Authority under this Chapter shall be binding
on-
(a) the applicants, being distinct persons, who had sought the ruling under sub-section
(1) of section 101B and all registered persons having the same Permanent Account Number issued under
the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(b) the concerned officers and the jurisdictional officers in respect of the applicants referred to in clause
(a) and the registered persons having the same Permanent Account Number issued under the Income-tax
Act, 1961 (43 of 1961).
(2) The advance ruling referred to in sub-section
(1) and sub-section
(1A) shall be binding unless the law, facts or circumstances supporting the original advance ruling have
changed.
Paragraph-wise decode
Makes ruling binding only on the applicant and concerned/jurisdictional officers, while law and facts remain unchanged. It is not universally binding precedent. Change in law/facts ends binding effect.
Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge
No direct Rule certified in Phase 1. Check notifications, circulars, forms and corresponding State law.
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.
Practical example
Another taxpayer cites a favourable AAR; it may be persuasive but is not statutorily binding on that taxpayer.
Professional alert
Reconfirm facts and later amendments before relying on an old ruling.
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does section 103 regulate?
- It regulates applicability of advance ruling. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- No direct CGST Rule has been certified in this phase. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.