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 88, verbatim (show)
*
Section
88.
Liability in case of company in liquidation.-
(1) When any company is being wound up whether under the orders of a court or Tribunal or otherwise, every person appointed as receiver of any assets of a company (hereafter in this section referred to as the "liquidator"), shall, within thirty days after his appointment, give intimation of his appointment to the Commissioner.
(2) The Commissioner shall, after making such inquiry or calling for such information as he may deem fit, notify the liquidator within three months from the date on which he receives intimation of the appointment of the liquidator, the amount which in the opinion of the Commissioner would be sufficient to provide for any tax, interest or penalty which is then, or is likely thereafter to become, payable by the company.
(3) When any private company is wound up and any tax, interest or penalty determined under this Act on the company for any period, whether before or in the course of or after its liquidation, cannot be recovered, then every person who was a director of such company at any time during the period for which the tax was due shall, jointly and severally, be liable for the payment of such tax, interest or penalty, unless he proves to the satisfaction of the Commissioner that such non-recovery cannot be attributed to any gross neglect, misfeasance or breach of duty on his part in relation to the affairs of the company.
*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.
Scope the section as a whole
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
The company being wound up and the liquidator 88(1) opening words
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
The liquidator's intimation to the Commissioner 88(1) closing words
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
The Commissioner's notification of the amount 88(2)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Directors of a private company wound up 88(3) opening words
Questions to answer on the file8 questions
The director's proof to the satisfaction of the Commissioner 88(3) closing words
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
Amendment history
The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.[1]
| Note | Change | Instrument | Effective from |
|---|---|---|---|
| brought section 88 into force | none — the source's own enforcement note, not an amendment footnote | 1 July 2017 |
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Section 2 | this provision defined by Section 2 clause (24) | 88(1) "give intimation of his appointment to the Commissioner"; 2(24) "Commissioner means the Commissioner of central tax and includes the Principal Commissioner of central tax appointed under section 3" |
| Section 89 | Section 89 same as 88(3) | 89(1) fastens the same liability on a director of a private company in the same words, without the company being wound up and without the proof being made to the satisfaction of the Commissioner |
| Section 79 | this provision requires Section 79 | 88(3) "cannot be recovered" presupposes the modes of recovery that section 79 provides |
Circulars and notifications
Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this section, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.
Notifications (1)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Notification No. 15/2017-Central Tax | 1 July 2017 | Amending CGST Rules notification 10/2017-CT dt 28.06.2017 |
Unsettled questions
The words of section 88 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- Sub-section (3) fastens the liability only where the amount determined on the company "cannot be recovered". The Act fixes no test for that state: it does not say what steps of recovery under section 79 must first have been taken and exhausted, whether the liquidation must have closed, whether an order or a written finding of non-recovery is needed, or how long a failure to recover must have lasted.
- Sub-section (3) speaks of "any private company". This Act defines neither "company" nor "private company"; clause (84) of section 2 merely includes a company in the meaning of "person", and only sub-section (1) of section 89 names the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013), and does so in a non-obstante clause rather than as a definition. Is "private company" to be read as that Act defines it, and what is the position for a body corporate incorporated outside India or for a company that was a private company for part only of the period?
See also
- Section 79 of the CGST Act, 2017: recovery of tax
- Section 89 of the CGST Act, 2017: liability of directors of private company
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 88. Liability in case of company in liquidation". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
External links
- CGST Act, 2017, Section 88 on the CBIC tax information portal