Section 6 of UTGST Act: Authorisation of Central Tax Officers as Proper Officers

Section 6 of the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (UTGST Act) coordinates the administration of Union territory tax and central GST. It authorises officers appointed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) to act as proper officers for UTGST purposes, subject to notified conditions, and regulates overlapping proceedings and review of orders.

Section 6 - Legal provision

Meaning and scope of Section 6

Section 6(1): Cross-authorisation of central tax officers

Officers appointed under the CGST Act can exercise functions of a proper officer under the UTGST Act, subject to conditions notified by the Government on the recommendations of the GST Council. This arrangement facilitates coordinated administration of CGST and UTGST without requiring every function to be performed separately by two different sets of officers.

The expression proper officer is understood with reference to the statutory allocation of functions and the applicable definitions, including section 2(91) of the CGST Act as applied where relevant through section 21 of the UTGST Act. An officer's powers must still be supported by the applicable statutory provisions, notifications and assignments.

Section 6(2)(a): Corresponding orders under both Acts

Where an authorised proper officer issues an order under the UTGST Act, the provision requires a corresponding CGST order, as authorised under the CGST Act, with intimation to the jurisdictional central tax officer. The requirement is expressly subject to the notification conditions under sub-section (1).

Section 6(2)(b): No duplicate proceedings on the same subject matter

If a CGST proper officer has already initiated proceedings concerning a particular subject matter, a UTGST proper officer must not initiate proceedings on that same subject matter. This is a statutory restriction on parallel proceedings; whether two actions concern the same subject matter depends on their actual scope and facts, rather than merely involving the same taxpayer.

Section 6(3): Rectification, appeal and revision

Rectification, appeal or revision of an order made by an officer appointed under the UTGST Act does not lie before an officer appointed under the CGST Act. The appropriate remedy and forum must be identified from the relevant statutory provisions and the capacity in which the original order was made.

Relationship with the CGST Act

Section 6 of the CGST Act contains a corresponding framework for officers appointed under State GST or UTGST legislation to act as proper officers for central tax, subject to the applicable conditions. Read together, the two provisions support coordinated tax administration while addressing overlapping proceedings and the proper channels for review.

Official legislation and reference material

For the connected administrative provisions, read section 3 (officers under the Act), section 4 (authorisation), section 5 (powers of officers) and section 21 (application of CGST provisions).