Section 25 IGST Act - Removal of Difficulties
Section 25 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 empowers the Central Government, on the recommendations of the GST Council, to issue a general or special order to remove a difficulty in giving effect to the Act, subject to statutory safeguards and a time limit.
Updated text of Section 25 of the IGST Act
25. Removal of difficulties.
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by a general or a special order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder, as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the said difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of five years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be, after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
The word "five years" reflects the amendment made by section 134 of the Finance Act, 2020 with effect from 30 June 2020.
Meaning and scope of Section 25
Section 25 is a limited enabling provision intended to deal with difficulties that arise while giving effect to the IGST Act. It does not confer an unrestricted power to rewrite the Act. Any provision made through a removal-of-difficulties order must remain consistent with the IGST Act and with the rules and regulations made under it.
The provision also builds institutional checks into the exercise of the power. The Government acts on the recommendations of the GST Council, the order must be published in the Official Gazette, and the order must subsequently be laid before both Houses of Parliament.
Conditions for a removal-of-difficulties order
Amendment from three years to five years
As originally enacted, the proviso to Section 25 barred the making of an order after three years from commencement of the Act. Section 134 of the Finance Act, 2020 replaced the words "three years" with "five years". The amendment took effect on 30 June 2020.
India Code records that Sections 4 to 13, 16 to 19, 21 and 23 to 25 of the IGST Act came into force on 1 July 2017. Accordingly, the amended five-year window linked to commencement has already elapsed. The section remains part of the statute, but its proviso limits the period in which this particular order-making power could be exercised.
Why Section 25 matters
Removal-of-difficulties provisions are transitional and implementation-oriented. In the IGST framework, Section 25 provided a mechanism for addressing implementation obstacles without permitting an order inconsistent with the parent legislation. For current compliance, taxpayers should ordinarily rely on the operative provisions of the IGST Act, the CGST Act provisions applied through Section 20 where relevant, applicable rules, notifications, circulars and other legally effective instruments.
Related provisions of the IGST Act
Section 25 forms part of Chapter IX, "Miscellaneous". For the surrounding legislative framework, see Section 20 - Application of provisions of the CGST Act, Section 22 - Power to make rules, Section 23 - Power to make regulations and Section 24 - Laying of rules, regulations and notifications.