MISCELLANEOUSCentral

Section 24 of The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017

Every rule made by the Central Government, every regulation made by the Board and every notification issued by the Central Government under this Act, shall be laid, as soon as may be, after it is made or issued, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or regulation or in the notification, as the case may be, or both Houses agree that the rule or regulation or the notification should not be made, the rule or regulation or notification, as the case may be, shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule or regulation or notification, as the case may be.

Summary

Every rule, regulation, and notification must be presented to both Houses of Parliament as soon as possible.
Parliament gets a total of thirty days to review them while in session.
Both Houses of Parliament can agree to change the rule or cancel it completely.
If Parliament changes or cancels a rule, any actions already taken under that rule before the change are still legally valid.

Practical examples

1In October, the government issues a notification changing a tax form. Parliament reviews it for thirty days in November and decides to cancel it. A business owner named Amit who used the new form in October will not be penalized, because his past action remains valid.

2The Board makes a regulation setting a 10-day deadline for appeals. Parliament looks at it and agrees to modify it to a 15-day deadline. From that point on, the deadline is 15 days, but older appeals processed in 10 days are not undone.

FAQ

1. Who checks the rules and regulations after they are made?

They must be laid before each House of Parliament for review.

2. How much time does Parliament have to review them?

They must be laid before Parliament for a total period of thirty days while it is in session.

3. Can Parliament cancel a notification?

Yes, if both Houses agree, they can decide that the notification should not be made, rendering it ineffective.

4. If Parliament cancels a rule, do I get in trouble for following it earlier?

No, the cancellation does not affect the validity of anything you already did under that rule before it was cancelled.

Test yourself

Q1.Under Section 24 of The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for how long must rules, regulations, and notifications be laid before each House of Parliament?

Q2.Under Section 24 of The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, what power do both Houses of Parliament have regarding a newly laid rule or regulation?

Q3.Under Section 24 of The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, if Parliament annuls a notification, what happens to actions taken under that notification before the annulment?

Q4.Under Section 24 of The Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which documents are required to be laid before each House of Parliament?

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