In re Chendur Traders (GST AAR Tamilnadu)
The Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) in Tamil Nadu disposed of the application filed by M/s. Chendur Traders after the company chose to withdraw its request. The applicant, a registered GST taxpayer dealing in palmyra sugar and jaggery, had sought a ruling on the applicable GST rate for its products. This came after an inspection by tax officials revealed that the company was applying a 5% GST rate under HSN Code 1702, which the authorities believed should have been 18% under the “Other category” of the same code. The inspection resulted in the issuance of a tax demand notice, leading Chendur Traders to file the application with the AAR.
The central issue stemmed from the classification of their products, with the company referencing a 2022 notification that inserted “Palmyra Jaggery” under HSN 1701 or 1702, attracting a 5% GST for pre-packaged and labelled products. The AAR, however, received a formal request from the applicant to withdraw the application before a ruling on the merits could be made. The AAR noted that the questions raised by the applicant were already under scrutiny by the Tirunelveli Intelligence Wing of the SGST, a factor that could have influenced the applicant’s decision to withdraw. Consequently, the AAR’s ruling was to merely consider the application as withdrawn without delving into the details of the case.
