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IndiaAuditLens Law Library

Section 153 of the CGST Act, 2017

From the IndiaAuditLens Law Library

GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter XXI, Miscellaneous

At a glance

Procedure, powers and definitions

  • 153An officer not below Assistant Commissioner may obtain expert assistance at any stage of proceedings, having regard to their nature, complexity and revenue interests.
  • 153The law does not settle what expertise or qualifications are sufficient for the assistance sought.

An officer of at least Assistant Commissioner rank may obtain expert assistance at any stage of scrutiny, inquiry, investigation or other proceedings before that officer. The decision must take account of the case’s nature and complexity and revenue interests. The section does not identify a professional class or qualification that makes an expert suitable.[1]

Text

The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Section 153, verbatim (show)

* Section 153. Taking assistance from an expert.- Any officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner may, having regard to the nature and complexity of the case and the interest of revenue, take assistance of any expert at any stage of scrutiny, inquiry, investigation or any other proceedings before him.

* Enforced w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.

Prerequisites for taking expert assistance 153

Questions to answer on the file8 questions
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Circulars and notifications

No circular or notification in the CBIC repository is recorded as citing this section.

Unsettled questions

The words of section 153 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

  1. What expertise is sufficient for the particular assistance sought? Section 153 prescribes neither qualifications nor a professional class; the assessment remains with the auditor.

See also

References

  1. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 153. Taking assistance from an expert". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links