 bill no 99 of 2007 the  authority  for  advance  rulings  on  central taxes bill, 2007 a billto provide for the constitution of an authority for advance rulings on central taxes as a substitute of the authority for advance rulings constituted under section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961 and the authority for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax) constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962, and for matters connected therewith or incidental theretobe it enacted by parliament in the fifty-eighth year of the republic of india as follows:— chapter i preliminary1 (1) this act may be called the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007short title, extent and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india (3) this section shall come into force at once and the remaining provisions of this act shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appointdefinitions2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—(a) ''appointed day'' means the date with effect from which the authority is constituted under section 3;(b) ''authority'' means the authority constituted under section 3; (c) ''central taxes'' means taxes or duties levied or collected under the central excise act, 1944, the income-tax act, 1961, the customs act, 1962, the customs tariff act, 1975, chapter v of the finance act, 1994, and taxes or duties chargeable under any other law for the time being in force in the same manner as taxes or duties under any of the said acts, as the case may be;1 of 1944 43 of 1961 52 of 1962 51 of 1975 32 of 1994(d) ''chairperson'' means the chairperson of the authority; (e) ''member'' means a member of the authority and includes the chairperson; (f) ''prescribed'' means prescribed by rules chapter ii authority for advance rulings on central taxesconstitution of authority3 the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute an authority for giving advance rulings on central taxes, to be called as the authority for advance rulings on central taxescomposition of authority4 the authority shall consist of the following members appointed by the central government, namely:—(a) a chairperson, who is a retired judge of the supreme court; (b) an officer of the indian revenue service, who is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a member of the central board of direct taxes;(c) an officer of the indian revenue service (customs and central excise), who is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a member of the central board of excise and customs;(d) an officer of the indian legal service, who is, or has been, or is qualified to be, an additional secretary to the government of india:provided that for giving advance rulings—43 of 1961(i) under the income-tax act, 1961, the authority shall exclude the member under clause (c); and43 of 1961(ii) under the acts other than the income-tax act, 1961, the authority shall exclude the member under clause (b)term of office of members5 the chairperson or other member shall hold office as such for a term of five yearsfrom the date on which he enters upon his office or until he attains,—(a) in the case of the chairperson, the age of seventy years; and (b) in the case of any other member, the age of sixty-five years,whichever is earlier6 the salary, allowances and pension payable to, and other conditions of service of,the members shall be such, as may be prescribed by the central governmentsalary, allowances, pension and other conditions of service of members7 no proceeding before, or pronouncement of advance ruling by, the authority shallbe questioned or be invalid on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the authorityvacancies, etc, not to invalidate proceedings8 (1) the authority shall exercise such powers and discharge such functions, as have been conferred on it under the central excise act, 1944, the income-tax act, 1961, the customs act, 1962, the finance act, 1994, this act, or any other actpowers and functions of authority1 of 1944 43 of 1961 52 of 1962 32 of 1994 5 of 1908(2) the authority shall, for the purposes of exercising its powers regarding discoveryand inspection, summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath, issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents, compelling production of books of accounts, other records and documents, have all the powers of a civil court under the code of civil procedure, 190845 of 18609 every proceeding before the authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceedingwithin the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196 of the indian penal code, and the authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and chapter xxvi of the code of criminal procedure, 19732 of 1974proceedings before authority to be judicial proceedingsprocedure of authority10 the authority shall have power to regulate its own procedure in all matters arisingout of the exercise of its powersstaff ofauthority11 the central government shall, in consultation with the authority, provide theauthority with such officers and staff, as may be necessary, for the exercise of the powers and discharge of the functions of the authority12 the office of the authority shall be located in delhilocation ofauthority chapter iii miscellaneous43 of 1961abolition of existing authorities52 of 196213 (1) on and from the appointed day, the authority for advance rulings constituted under section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961 and the authority for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax) constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962 shall stand abolished(2) the chairperson and other members of the authorities under sub-section (1) shall be deemed to be the chairperson and other members of the authority constituted under section 3 for the remainder of their respective tenures in the authorities abolished(3) the officers and other employees of the authorities under sub-section (1), appointed to the sanctioned posts, shall be deemed to be the officers and other employees of the authority constituted under section 3transfer of pending cases43 of 1961 74 of 1956 52 of 196214 every application or other proceeding pending before the authority for advance rulings constituted under section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961, functioning as such and as the central sales tax appellate authority under sub-section (1) of section 24 of the central sales tax act, 1956, and the authority for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax) constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962, shall stand transferred to the authority on the appointed dayprotection of action taken in good faith15 no suit, prosecution or other legal proceedings shall lie against the authority, or against the chairperson or other member, or any other person authorised by any of them for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this act or any rule or order made thereunderpower to make rules16 (1) the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this act(2) in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for salary, allowances and pension payable to, and other conditions of service of, the members under section 6(3) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, 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 both houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule 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 rulepower to remove difficulties17 (1) if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this act, the central government may, by order published in the official gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty:provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the appointed day(2) every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each house of parliament chapter iv amendment of certain enactments1 of 194418 in the central excise act, 1944,—amendment of central excise act, 1944(a) in section 23a, for clause (e), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—'(e) ''authority'' means the authority constituted under section 3 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007;'; (b) sections 23b, 23g and 23h shall be omitted74 of 195619 in the central sales tax act, 1956,—amendment of central sales tax act, 1956(a) in section 19, for sub-section (2a), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:—''(2a) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the chairperson or a member holding a post as such in the authority for advance rulings on central taxes appointed under clause (a) or clause (d), as the case may be, of section 4 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007 may, in addition to his being the chairperson or a member of that authority, be appointed as the chairman or a member, as the case may be, of the authority under this act''; (b) in section 24,—43 of 1961(i) in sub-section (1), for the words, figures and letter ''the authority for advance rulings constituted under section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961'', the words and figures ''the authority for advance rulings on central taxes constituted under section 3 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007'' shall be substituted;(ii) in sub-section (2), for the words ''the authority for advance rulings'', the words ''the authority for advance rulings on central taxes'' shall be substituted43 of 196120 in the income-tax act, 1961,—amendment of incometax act, 1961(a) in section 153, in sub-section (3), in explanation i, for the words ''authority for advance rulings'', at both the places where they occur, the words ''authority for advance rulings on central taxes'' shall be substituted;(b) in section 153b, in sub-section (1), in explanation, for the words ''authority for advance rulings'', at both the places where they occur, the words ''authority for advance rulings on central taxes'' shall be substituted;(c) in section 245n,—(i) for clause (d), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—'(d) ''authority'' means the authority constituted under section 3 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007;'; (ii) clauses (e) and (f) shall be omitted;(d) sections 245-o, 245p, 245u and 245v shall be omitted52 of 196221 in the customs act, 1962,—amendment of customs act, 1962(a) in section 28e,—(i) for clause (e), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—'(e) ''authority'' means the authority constituted under section 3 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007;'; (ii) clauses (f) and (g) shall be omitted;(b) sections 28f, 28g, 28l and 28m shall be omitted32 of 199422 in the finance act, 1994, in chapter va,—amendment of chapter va of finance act, 1994(a) in section 96a, for clause (d), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:—'(d)'' authority'' means the authority constituted under section 3 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes act, 2007;';(b) sections 96b, 96g and 96h shall be omitted statement of objects and reasonsat present, there are two authorities for advance rulings, one constituted under section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961, which has under section 24 of the central sales tax act, 1956, also been notified as the central sales tax appellate authority, and the other constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962, which is also an authority for advance rulings under the central excise act, 1944 and  the finance act, 1994 for  purposes of service tax these authorities, called as "authority for advance rulings (income-tax)" and "authority for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax)", have been established to enable applicants to obtain, in advance, binding rulings from the said authorities on issues which may arise in the determination of their tax liabilities2 while reviewing the performance of the said authorities on advance rulings, it was noticed that these authorities did not have adequate work to justify separate authorities with separate establishments a decision was, therefore, taken to constitute a common authority for advance rulings for performing the functions of these authorities for this purpose, it is necessary to enact a separate legislation hence, the authority for advance rulings on central taxes bill, 2007, for constituting an authority for advance rulings on central taxes  consequential amendments to the relevant provisions of the income-tax act, 1961, the customs act, 1962, the central excise act, 1944, the central sales tax  act, 1956 and the finance act, 1994 are also sought to be done through the bill3 the bill seeks to achieve the above objectsnew delhi;the 30th november, 2007p chidambaram ———— president's  recomendation  under  article  117  of  the  constitution of  india ————[copy of letter no 29/5/2005-adic, dated the 3rd december, 2007 from shri pchidambaram, minister of finance to the secretary-general, lok sabha]the president, having been informed of the subject matter of the proposed authority for advance rulings on central texes bill, 2007, recommends under clause (1) of article 117 of the constitution of india, the introduction of the above bill in lok sabha financial memorandumthe authority for advance rulings on central taxes bill, 2007, seeks to provide for the constitution of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes consisting of a chairperson and three members as the authority will be in lieu of the existing authority for advance rulings (income-tax) and authority for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax), each consisting of a chairperson and two members, there will be no extra expenditure in constituting the authority for advance rulings on central taxes and its supporting staff memorandum regarding delegated legislationsub-clause (1) of clause 16 of the authority for advance rulings on central taxes bill,2007, seeks to empower the central government to make, by notification in the official gazette, rules for carrying out the provisions of the said bill sub-clause (2) of the said clause specifies that such rules may be made for salary, allowances and pension payable to and other conditions of service of the members, which includes the chairperson2 the rules made by the central government shall be laid, as soon as may be after they are made, before each house of parliament3 the matters in respect of which the rules may be made are generally matters of procedure and administrative detail and it is not practicable to provide for them in the bill itself the delegation of legislative power is, therefore, of a normal character annexure extracts from the central excise act, 1944 (1 of 1944)|     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|-----| chapter iii—a advance rulingsdefinitions23a in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,—|     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|-----|52 of 1962(e) "authority" means the authority for advance rulings (central excise, customsand service tax) constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962    23b no proceeding before, or pronouncement of advance ruling by, the authority under this chapter shall be questioned or shall be invalid on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the authorityvacancies, etc, not to invalidate proceedings    powers ofauthority5 of 190823g (1) the authority shall, for the purpose of exercising its powers regarding discovery and inspection, enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath, issuing commissions and compelling production of books of account and other records, have all the powers of a civil court under the code of civil procedure, 19082 of 1974 45 of 1860(2) the authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195,but not for the purposes of chapter xxvi of the code of criminal procedure, 1973 and every proceeding before the authority shall be  deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the indian penal codeprocedure of authority23h the authority shall, subject to the provisions of this chapter, have power to regulate its own procedure in all matters arising out of the exercise of its powers under this act|     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|-----| extracts from the central sales tax act, 1956 (74 of 1956)|     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|-----| chapter vi authority to settle disputes in course of inter-state trade or commerce19 (1)central sales tax appellate authority43 of 1961(2a) notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the chairman  or a member holding a post as such in the authority for advance rulings appointed under clause (a) or clause (c), as the case may be, of sub-section (2) of section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961 may, in addition to his being the chairman or a member of that authority, be appointed as the chairman, or a member, as the case may be, of the authority under this act|                                                                                             ||----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| 43 of 1961                                                                                  || 24                                                                                          || (                                                                                            || 1                                                                                            || ) notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in                  || force and in section 19 of this act, the authority for advance rulings constituted under     || section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961 shall be notified by the central government in the || official gazette, with such modifications as may be necessary, to make its composition in    || authority for                                                                                || advance                                                                                      || rulings to                                                                                   || function as                                                                                  || authority                                                                                    || under this act                                                                              |conformity with section 19 of this act, as the authority under this act till such time an authority is constituted under that section(2) on and from the date of the constitution of the authority in accordance with the provisions of section 19 of this act, the proceedings pending with the authority for advance rulings shall stand transferred to the authority constituted under that section from the stage at which such proceedings stood before the date of constitution of the said authority     extracts from the income-tax act, 1961 (43 of 1961)153 (1)    time limit for completion of assessments and reassessments(3) the provisions of sub-sections (1), (1a), (1b) and (2) shall not aply to the following classes of assessments, reassessments and recomputations which may, subject to the provisions of sub-section (2a), be completed at any time—    (ii) where the asessment, reassessment or recomputation is made on the assessee or any person in consequence of or to give effect to any finding or direction contained in an order under section 250, 254, 260, 262, 263, or 264 or in an order of any court in a proceeding otherwise than by way of appeal or reference under this act; (iii) where, in the case of a firm, an assessment is made on a partner of the firm in consequence of an assessment made on the firm under section 147 explanation 1—in computing the period of limitation for the purposes of this section—(i) the time taken in reopening the whole or any part of the proceeding or in giving an opportunity to the assessee to be re-heard under the proviso to section 129, or(ii)  the period during which the assessment proceeding is stayed by an  order or injunction of any court, or(iia)  the period commencing from the date on which the assessing officer intimates the central government or the prescribed authority, the contravention of the provisions of clause (21) or clause (22b) or clause (23a) or clause (23b) or  subclause (iv) or sub-clause (v)  or sub-clause (vi) or sub-clause (via) of clause (23c) section 10, under clause (i) of  of the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 143 and ending with the date on which the copy of the order withdrawing the approval or rescinding the notification, as the case may be, under those clauses is received by the assessing officer(iii) the period commencing from the date on which the assessing officer directs the asessee to get his accounts audited under sub-section (2a) of section 142 and ending with  the last date on which the assessee is required to furnished a report of such audit under that sub-section, or    (iva) the period (not exceeding sixty days) commencing from the date on which the  assessing  officer received the declaration under sub-section (1) of section 158a and ending with the date on which the order under sub-section (3) of that section is made by him, or(v) in a case where an application made before the income-tax settlement commission under section 245c is rejected by it or is not allowed to be proceeded with by it, the period commencing from the date on which such application is made and ending with the date on which the order under sub-section (1) of section 245d is received by  the commissioner under sub-section (2) of that section, or(vi) the  period commencing from the date on which an application is made before the authority for advance rulings under sub-section (1) of section 245q and ending with the date on which the order rejecting the application is received by the commissioner under sub-section (3) of section 245r, or(vii)  the period commencing from the date on which an application is made before the authority for advance rulings under sub-section (1) of section 245q and ending with the date on which the advance ruling pronounced by it is received by the commissioner under sub-section (7) of section 245r, shall be excluded:provided that where immediately after the exclusion of the aforesaid time or period, the period of limitation referred to in sub-sections (1), (1a), (1b), (2) and (2a) available to the assessing officer for making an order of assessment, reassessment or recomputation, as the case may be, is less than sixty days, such remaining period shall be extended to sixty days and the aforesaid period of limitation shall be deemed to be extended accordinglyexplanation 2—where, by an order referred to in clause (ii) of sub-section (3)any income is excluded from the total income of the assessee for an assessment year, then, an assessment of such income for another assessment year shall, for the purposes of section 150 and this section, be deemed to be one made in consequence of or to give effect to any finding or direction contained in the said orderexplanation 3—where, by an order referred to in clause (ii) of sub-section (3), any income is excluded from the total income of one person and held to be the income of another person, then, an assessment of such income on such other person shall, for the purposes of section 150 and this section, be deemed to be one made in consequence of or to give effect to any finding or direction contained in the said order, provided such other person was given an opportunity of being  heard before the said order was passed     153b (1) notwithstanding anything contained in section 153, the assessing officer shall make an order of assessment or reassessment—time limit for completion of assessment under section 153a(a) in respect of each assessment year falling within six assessment years referred to in clause (b) of section 153a, within a period of two years from the end of the financial year in which the last of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132a was executed;(b) in respect of the assessment  year relevant to the previous year in which search is conducted under section 132  or requisition is made under section 132a, within a period of two years from the end of the financial year in which the last of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132a was executed: provided that in case of other person referred to in section 153c, the period of limitation for making the assessment or reassessment shall be the period as referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) of this sub-section or one year from the end  of the financial year in which books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned are handed over under section 153c to the assessing officer having jurisdiction over such other person, whichever is laterprovided further that in the case where the last of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132a was executed during the financial year commencing on the  1st day of april, 2004 or any subsequent financial year,—(i) the provisions of clause (a) or clause (b) of this sub-section shall have effect as if for the words "two years" the words "twenty-one months" had been substituted;(ii) the period of limitation for making the  assessment or reassessment in case of other person referred to  in section 153c, shall be the period of twenty-one months from the end of the financial year in which the last  of the authorisations for search under section 132 or for requisition under section 132a was executed or nine months from the end of the  financial year in which books of account or documents or assets seized or requisitioned are handed over under section153c to the assessing officer having  jurisdiction over such other person, whichever is laterexplanation—in computing the period of limitation for the purposes of this section,— (i) the period during which the assessment proceeding is stayed by an order or injunction of any court; or(ii) the period commencing from the day on which the assessing officer directs the assessee to get his accounts audited under sub-section (2a) of section 142 and ending on the day on which the assessee is required to furnish a report of such audit under that subsection; or(iii) the time taken in reopening the  whole or any part of the proceeding or in giving an opportunity to the assessee of being re-heard under the proviso to section 129; or(iv) in a case where an application made before the settlement commission under section 245 is rejected by it or is not allowed to be proceeded with by it, the period commencing from the date on which such application is made and ending with the date on which the order under sub-section (1) of section 245d is received by the commissioner under sub-section (2)of that section, or(v) the period commencing from the date on which an application is made before the authority for advance rulings under sub-section (1) of section 245q and ending with the date on which the order rejecting the application is received by the commissioner under subsection (3) of section 245r, or(vi) the period commencing from the date on which an application is made before the authority for advance rulings under sub-section (1) of section 245q and ending with the date on which the advance ruling pronounced by it is received by the commissioner under sub-section (7) of section 245r, shall be excluded:provided that where immediately after the exclusion of the afforesaid period, the period of limitation referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) of this section available to the assessing officer for making an order of assessment or reassessment, as the case may be, is less than sixty days, such remaining period shall be extended to sixty days and the aforesaid period of limitation shall be deemed to be extended accordingly     chapter xix—b advance rulingsdefinitions245n in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,—    (d)"authority" means the authority for advance rulings constituted under section 245-o;(e)  "chairman" means the chairman of the authority;(f)  "member" means a member of the authority and includes the chairman245-o (1) the central government  shall constitute an authority for giving advance rulings, to be known as "authority for advance rulings"authority for advance rulings(2) the authority shall consist of the following members appointed by the central government, namely:—(a) a chairman, who is a retired judge of the supreme court; (b) an officer of the indian revenue service who is qualified to be a member of the central board of direct taxes;(c) an officer of the indian legal service who is, or is qualified to be, an additional secretary to the government of india (3) the salaries and allowances payable to, and the terms and conditions of service of, the members shall be such as may be prescribed(4) the central government shall provide the authority with such officers and staff as may be necessary for the efficient exercise of the powers of the authority under this act(5) the office of the authority shall be located in delhi245p no proceeding before, or pronouncement of advance ruling by, the authority shall be questioned or shall be invalid on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the authorityvacancies, etc, not to invalidate proceedingspowers of the authority5 of 1908245u (1) the authority shall, for the purpose of exercising its powers, have all the powers of a civil court under the code of civil procedure, 1908 as are referred to in section 131 of this act2 of 197445 of 1860(2) the authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section195, but not for the purposes of chapter xxvi, of  the code of criminal procedure, 1973 and every proceeding before the authority shall be  deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196 of the indian penal codeprocedure of authority245v the authority shall, subject to the provisions of this chapter, have power to regulate its own procedure in all matters arising out of the exercise of its powers under this act     extracts from the customs act, 1962 (52 of 1962)     chapter vb advance rulingsdefinitions28e in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,—    (e)"authority" means the authority for advance rulings  (central excise, customs and service tax) constituted under section 28f;(f)  "chairperson" means the chairperson  of the authority; (g)  "member" means a member of the authority and includes the chairperson;and     authority for advance rulings28f (1) the central government shall, by notification in the official gazette, constitute an authority for giving advance rulings, to be called as  the authority for advance rulings central excise, customs & service tax(2) the authority shall consist of the following members appointed by the central government, namely:—(a) a chairperson, who is a retired judge of the supreme court; (b) an officer of the indian customs and central excise service who is qualified to be a member of the board;(c)  an officer of the indian legal service who is, or is qualified to be, an additional secretary to the government of india (3) the salaries  and allowances payable to, and the terms and conditions of service of, the members shall be such as the central government may by rules determine(4) the central government shall provide the authority with such officers and staff as may be necessary for the efficient exercise of the powers of the  authority under this act(5) the office of the authority shall be located in delhi28g no proceeding before, or pronouncement of advance ruling by, the authority under this chapter shall be questioned or shall be invalid on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the authorityvacancies, etc, not to invalidate proceedingspowers of authority28l (1) the authority shall, for the purpose of exercising its powers regardingdiscovery and inspection, enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath, issuing commissions and compelling, production of books of account and other records, have all the powers of a civil court under the code of civil procedure, 19085 of 19082 of 197445 of 1860(2) the authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section195, but not for the purposes of chapter xxvi of the code of criminal procedure, 1973, and every proceeding before the authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the indian penal codeprocedure of authority28m the authority shall, subject to the provisions of this chapter, have power toregulate its own procedure in all matters arising out of the exercise of its powers under this act extracts from the finance act, 1994 (32 of 1994)|     |     |     |     |    ||------|------|------|------|-----| chapter va advance rulingsdefinitions96a in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires,—    52 of 1962(d) "authority" means the authority  for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax) constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962;|                                                                                           |     |     |     |    ||--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|-----|| 96b                                                                                       |      |      |      |     || no proceeding before, or pronouncement of advance ruling by, the authority                 |      |      |      |     || under this chapter shall be questioned or shall be invalid on the ground merely of the     |      |      |      |     || existence of any vacancy or defect in the constitution of the authority                   |      |      |      |     || vacancies,                                                                                 |      |      |      |     || etc                                                                                        |      |      |      |     || ,                                                                                         |      |      |      |     || not to                                                                                     |      |      |      |     || invalidate                                                                                 |      |      |      |     || proceedings                                                                               |      |      |      |     ||                                                                                           |     |     |     |    || powers of                                                                                  |      |      |      |     || authority                                                                                 |      |      |      |     || 96g                                                                                       |      |      |      |     || (                                                                                          |      |      |      |     || 1                                                                                          |      |      |      |     || ) the authority shall, for the purpose of exercising its powers regarding                  |      |      |      |     || discovery and inspection, enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on      |      |      |      |     || oath, issuing commissions and compelling production of books of account and other records, |      |      |      |     || have all the powers of a civil court under the code of civil procedure, 1908              |      |      |      |     || 5 of 1908                                                                                 |      |      |      |     |2 of 1974 45 of 1860(2) the authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195, but not for the purposes of chapter xxvi of the code of criminal procedure, 1973, and every proceeding before the authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196 of the indian penal codeprocedure of authority96h the authority shall, subject to the provisions of this chapter, have power to regulate its own procedure in  all matters arising out of the exercise of its powers under this act    ———— a billto provide for the constitution of an authority for advance rulings on central taxes as asubstitute of the authority for advance rulings constituted under section 245-o of the income-tax act, 1961 and the authority for advance rulings (central excise, customs and service tax) constituted under section 28f of the customs act, 1962, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto————