Other Provisions & Procedure

Repeal and saving

Section 174, CGST Act

Chapter 21 Text as on 2026-09-05 Source CBIC

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Section 174 REPEALED the earlier central indirect-tax laws (central excise, service tax provisions, etc.) while saving past liabilities, rights and proceedings.

What this means in practice

The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.

1

The repeal and saving clause preserves rights, liabilities and proceedings under the earlier laws – which is why service tax and excise investigations for pre-GST periods continue.

How this provision is built

The skeleton, clause by clause — useful when a notice cites a specific sub-clause.

(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, on and from the date of commencement of this Act, the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) (except as respects goods included in entry 84 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule…
(2) The repeal of the said Acts and the amendment of the Finance Act, 1994 (hereafter referred to as " such amendment " or " amended Act " , as the case may be) to the extent mentioned in the sub-section (1) or section 173 s…
(3) The mention of the particular matters referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall not be held to prejudice or affect the general application of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) with regard to the…

The exact words of the law

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Reproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.

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* Section 174. Repeal and saving.-

(1) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, on and from the date of commencement of this Act, the Central Excise Act, 1944 (1 of 1944) (except as respects goods included in entry 84 of the Union List of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution), the Medicinal and Toilet Preparations (Excise Duties) Act, 1955 (16 of 1955), the Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance) Act, 1957 (58 of 1957), the Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Articles) Act, 1978 (40 of 1978), and the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985 (5 of 1986) (hereafter referred to as the repealed Acts) are hereby repealed.

(2) The repeal of the said Acts and the amendment of the Finance Act, 1994 (hereafter referred to as " such amendment " or " amended Act " , as the case may be) to the extent mentioned in the sub-section

(1) or section 173 shall not-
(a) revive anything not in force or existing at the time of such amendment or repeal; or
(b) affect the previous operation of the amended Act or repealed Acts and orders or anything duly done or suffered thereunder; or
(c) affect any right, privilege, obligation, or liability acquired, accrued or incurred under the amended Act or repealed Acts or orders under such repealed or amended Acts: Provided that any tax exemption granted as an incentive against investment through a notification shall not continue as privilege if the said notification is rescinded on or after the appointed day; or
(d) affect any duty, tax, surcharge, fine, penalty, interest as are due or may become due or any forfeiture or punishment incurred or inflicted in respect of any offence or violation committed against the provisions of the amended Act or repealed Acts; or
(e) affect any investigation, inquiry, verification (including scrutiny and audit), assessment proceedings, adjudication and any other legal proceedings or recovery of arrears or remedy in respect of any such duty, tax, surcharge, penalty, fine, interest, right, privilege, obligation, liability, forfeiture or punishment, as aforesaid, and any such investigation, inquiry, verification (including scrutiny and audit), assessment proceedings, adjudication and other legal proceedings or recovery of arrears or remedy may be instituted, continued or enforced, and any such tax, surcharge, penalty, fine, interest, forfeiture or punishment may be levied or imposed as if these Acts had not been so amended or repealed;
(f) affect any proceedings including that relating to an appeal, review or reference, instituted before on, or after the appointed day under the said amended Act or repealed Acts and such proceedings shall be continued under the said amended Act or repealed Acts as if this Act had not come into force and the said Acts had not been amended or repealed.

(3) The mention of the particular matters referred to in sub-sections

(1) and

(2) shall not be held to prejudice or affect the general application of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) with regard to the effect of repeal.

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.

Read this with

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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.

section 174 cgstrepeal and saving

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