AAR ruling fuels fears of double GST on goods imported on CIF basis

An order by the Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) has sparked fears of double taxation under the goods and services tax (GST) for goods imported on the basis of cost, insurance and freight (CIF).
 

The AAR, Uttarakhand, has ruled that the importer will have to pay the integrated GST (IGST) on CIF value and also on the ocean freight component.

The issue before the AAR was whether the importer will have to pay the IGST on freight value, on the reverse charge mechanism (RCM), when the service provider and service recipient are outside India. Generally, the service provider has to