Application for advance ruling
Section 97, CGST Act
Straight from CBIC
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Amendment history
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In one line
Section 97 lets a person apply (in FORM GST ARA-01, with fee) for an advance ruling on defined questions – classification, applicability of a notification, time/value of supply, admissibility of ITC, liability to register, whether an activity is a supply, etc.
What this means in practice
The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.
The seven permitted questions are exhaustive: classification, applicability of a notification, time and value of supply, admissibility of input tax credit, determination of liability to pay tax, liability to register, and whether a particular thing amounts to a supply. Place of supply is NOT among them – the standing reason applications on export and intermediary issues are rejected.
The ruling can be sought only for a supply being undertaken or PROPOSED to be undertaken – not to settle a past dispute.
Fee is Rs 5,000 under each Act, in FORM ARA-01.
Questions people actually ask
Real questions we get on this provision, answered straight.
Can we get an advance ruling that our service to a foreign client is an export?+
No. That turns on place of supply, which is outside the seven questions in section 97(2), and such applications are routinely rejected as not maintainable. The realistic routes are a considered legal opinion and, if a demand comes, the appellate track.
How this provision is built
The skeleton, clause by clause — useful when a notice cites a specific sub-clause.
The exact words of the law
991 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
Read the full provision+
(1) An applicant desirous of obtaining an advance ruling under this Chapter may make an application in such form and manner and accompanied by such fee as may be prescribed, stating the question on which the advance ruling is sought.
(2) The question on which the advance ruling is sought under this Act, shall be in respect of,-
(a) classification of any goods or services or both;
(b) applicability of a notification issued under the provisions of this Act;
(c) determination of time and value of supply of goods or services or both;
(d) admissibility of input tax credit of tax paid or deemed to have been paid;
(e) determination of the liability to pay tax on any goods or services or both;
(f) whether applicant is required to be registered;
(g) whether any particular thing done by the applicant with respect to any goods or services or both amounts to or results in a supply of goods or services or both, within the meaning of that term.
High Court cases on this section
Judgments in our index that cite this provision. Being listed does not make a case good law — it may have been appealed or distinguished since. Read it before relying on it.
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
2017-07-01 · Commenced
Provision as originally enacted in the CGST Act, 2017 (Act 12 of 2017) and brought into force w.e.f. 01-07-2017.
Where this comes from
Text reproduced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as available on 2026-09-05. The explanation and practice notes above are GSTZone’s own, written for this hub. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it — this hub is checked daily against CBIC.
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Does this apply to your case, or not?
Reading the section is one thing. Knowing whether it bites on your facts, and what it costs if it does, is another. Send us the situation – we will tell you straight, and only take it on if we can genuinely help.
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