The last four sections of the IGST Act give the Government and the Board the power to fill in detail by rules and regulations, require that subordinate legislation be laid before Parliament, and allowed a time-limited power to remove difficulties.
Key points
- Section 22 of the IGST Act, 2017 lets the Government, on the GST Council's recommendation, make rules by notification — including rules with retrospective effect to a date not earlier than the provision's commencement, and penalties of up to Rs. 10,000 for contravening them.
- The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 are made under section 22.
- Rules, regulations and notifications under the IGST Act must be laid before each House of Parliament (section 24).
- The power to remove difficulties under section 25 was extended from three to five years by the Finance Act, 2020, and lapsed five years after the section came into force on 01.07.2017.
The provisions
22Power to make rules
Statutory text
(1) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), the Government may make rules for all or any of the matters which by this Act are required to be, or may be, prescribed or in respect of which provisions are to be or may be made by rules.
(3) The power to make rules conferred by this section shall include the power to give retrospective effect to the rules or any of them from a date not earlier than the date on which the provisions of this Act come into force.
(4) Any rules made under sub-section (1) may provide that a contravention thereof shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding ten thousand rupees.
23–24Regulations by the Board; laying before Parliament
Statutory text
Section 23. Power to make regulations. -
The Board may, by notification, make regulations consistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder to carry out the provisions of this Act.
Section 24. Laying of rules, regulations and notifications. -
Every rule made by the Government, every regulation made by the Board and every notification issued by the Government under this Act, shall be laid, as soon as maybe, after it is made or issued, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which maybe 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.
What it means
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs may make regulations consistent with the Act and rules. Every rule, regulation and notification must be laid before each House of Parliament, which may modify or annul it.
25Removal of difficulties
Statutory text
Section 25. Removal of difficulties.-
(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by a general or a special order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or the rules or regulations made thereunder, as may be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the said difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of 1[five years] from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be, after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
1. Substituted for " three years " by s. 134 of the Finance Act, 2020 (No.12 of 2020) - Brought into force w.e.f. 30th June, 2020 vide Notification No. 04/2020-IT dated 24th July, 2020.
What it means
A Henry VIII clause: the Government could, by order on the Council's recommendation, make provisions not inconsistent with the Act to remove a difficulty in giving it effect. The window — originally three years, extended to five by the Finance Act, 2020 — runs from the commencement of the Act. Read with the proviso to section 1(3), that is the date section 25 came into force, 01.07.2017, so no order could be made after 30.06.2022.
Statutory text as published on the CBIC tax information portal, as on 03.10.2026; the numbered notes record each amendment. Official source
Common questions
- Under which section are the IGST Rules made?
- Section 22 of the IGST Act, 2017, on the recommendation of the GST Council.
- Can the Government still issue a removal of difficulties order under the IGST Act?
- No. Section 25 allowed orders only within five years of commencement; with section 25 in force from 01.07.2017, the power lapsed after 30.06.2022.
Commentary and case notes checked against the judgments and CBIC sources on 04.10.2026.
What it means
A general rule-making power on the Council's recommendation (sub-section (1)), extending to every matter the Act says "may be prescribed" (sub-section (2)). Sub-section (3) allows rules to operate retrospectively, but not before the date the provision they implement came into force. Sub-section (4) caps the penalty a rule may impose for its contravention at Rs. 10,000. The IGST Rules, 2017 — including the apportionment rules for place of supply — are made under this section.