Notification No 11/2025-CT
CBIC has issued Notification No 11/2025 related to an amendment in Rule 164 of the CGST Rules 2017. This Notification is issued for amendment in Rule 164 related to the closure of proceedings under section 128A for a demand issued in section 73.
These rules may be called the Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Rules, 2025.
They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
1. The government has amended Rule 164(4) of CGST Rules 2017 which says if notice, statement or order (mentioned in section 128A (1) demands the tax for two periods :
- Partly for the FYs 2017-18 to 2019-20 (Period eligible under section 128A) and
- Partly for other periods (not eligible under section 128A)
Then, you can apply for waiver of Interest or Penalty only for the part of the tax demand related to the eligible period, i.e., 2017-18 to 2019-20. Before this notification is issued, the taxpayer can apply for a waiver of interest or penalty only after the payment of the entire tax amount demanded in the notice/statement/order before the date notified under section 128A.
2. In Rule 164(4), an explanation has been added that says:
If you had already paid the full tax, interest and penalty before the date the second Amendment Rules, 2025 came in to effect and the payment was for combined demand (for Both eligible and Non-eligible periods) under a notice referred to in section 128A(1) , then person can not claim refund later even for the portion that would have otherwise been eligible under the waiver scheme (section128A).
Key Points of Point No. 2
| Situation | Can you claim Waiver/refund? |
| Taxpayer already paid everything (Tax, interest, penalty) before the Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Rules, 2025 came into effect | No Refund allowed , not even for the eligible portion |
| Taxpayers have not paid yet or paid only tax (not interest/penalty). | Taxpayer may apply for waiver of interest and Penalty under section 128A |
3. One more proviso has been added in Rule 164(7) of CGST Rules, 2017.
This proviso is an exception to the general rule of withdrawing the appeal before claiming waiver under section 128A of the CGST Act. It applies when a Notice, Statement or order covers partly the period covered under section 128A and partly for the periods not covered under section 128A. In this case, the applicant does not need to fully withdraw an appeal or writ petition. Instead, the applicant must inform the appellate authority or tribunal that he does not wish to pursue the appeal for the eligible period. The appellate authority or Tribunal will note the request and pass a suitable order only for the remaining period.
This explanation confirms that just by giving that intimation, the appeal will be considered withdrawn for the relevant period (2017-18 to 2019-20), even if there is no formal withdrawal order issued for that part.
