1. Section 172 at a Glance
3. Statutory Text of Section 172
4. Section 172 in Simple Language
When GST was introduced, taxpayers, tax officers, systems and procedures had to move from several earlier indirect-tax regimes into a new statutory framework. The CGST Act therefore included a special provision to deal with difficulties in giving effect to its provisions.
Section 172 allowed the Government, on recommendations of the GST Council, to issue a general or special order in the Official Gazette to make provisions necessary or expedient for removing such difficulty.
But this power was not unlimited. The order had to be not inconsistent with the Act or the rules/regulations, and the Act imposed a three-year deadline for making an order under this section.
5. Essential Conditions of Section 172
| Requirement | What the section says | Practical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Difficulty | A difficulty must arise in giving effect to a provision of the Act. | The mechanism addresses implementation difficulty. |
| GST Council recommendation | Government acts on recommendations of the Council. | It is not an unrestricted unilateral administrative power. |
| Government order | Government may make the provision. | The operative measure is contained in the order. |
| General or special order | Either form is permitted. | The order may address the scope identified in the instrument. |
| Official Gazette | The order must be published there. | Publication is part of the statutory mechanism. |
| Consistency | Provision must not be inconsistent with Act/rules/regulations. | Section 172 is not an unrestricted power to contradict legislation. |
| Three-year limit | No order after three years from commencement. | The fresh order-making power was time-bound. |
| Parliamentary laying | Every order is to be laid before each House. | The order is subject to the statutory parliamentary process. |
6. What Does “Difficulty” Mean?
The Act does not provide a separate numerical definition of “difficulty” inside Section 172. The statutory context shows that the mechanism is directed at difficulties in giving effect to provisions of the Act.
Historical removal-of-difficulties orders demonstrate how the mechanism was used during GST implementation. For example, CBIC's Tenth Removal of Difficulties Order, 2019 stated that technical problems prevented certain taxpayers from furnishing an annual return for the specified initial period and used Section 172 to modify the relevant date in the statutory provision.
7. Legal Limits on Section 172
7.1 It is not an unlimited amendment power
The order must make provisions that are not inconsistent with the Act or the rules/regulations made thereunder.
7.2 GST Council recommendation is required
The Government's power under Section 172(1) is expressly linked to recommendations of the GST Council.
7.3 Official Gazette publication is required
The general or special order is to be published in the Official Gazette.
7.4 The three-year limit matters
The proviso says no order shall be made after three years from the date of commencement of the Act.
7.5 Parliamentary laying requirement
Section 172(2) requires every order to be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
8. Three-Year Time Limit – Important for Current Research
The relevant provisions of Sections 165 to 174 of the CGST Act commenced on 1 July 2017. India Code records Section 172 as commencing on that date.
Section 172(1) states that no order shall be made after the expiry of three years from commencement. On that basis, the original window for making a new order under Section 172 expired on 30 June 2020.
| Event | Date / effect |
|---|---|
| CGST Act enacted | 12 April 2017 |
| Section 172 commenced | 1 July 2017 |
| Three-year period | 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2020 |
| After 30 June 2020 | Original Section 172 proviso prevents making a new order under this power. |
9. Historical Removal-of-Difficulties Orders
Section 172 was used for a range of implementation issues during the early GST period. CBIC maintains official material containing Removal of Difficulties Orders. One official CBIC compilation records such orders, including orders addressing registration, returns, appeals and other implementation provisions.
Illustrative historical order
Tenth Removal of Difficulties Order, 2019: CBIC's official order explains that technical problems affected furnishing the annual return for 1 July 2017 to 31 March 2018 and, exercising Section 172, changed the relevant date in the Explanation to Section 44 from 31 December 2019 to 31 January 2020.
Why historical orders matter
- They can change the operative compliance position for the relevant period.
- They may explain why a statutory deadline differed from the original text.
- They can be essential evidence in historical audit or litigation research.
- They should be read with subsequent amendments and later notifications.
10. Practical Examples
During the initial implementation period, a provision may create an operational difficulty because the statutory mechanism and the new GST systems are being introduced together. Section 172 provided a mechanism for a time-limited removal-of-difficulties order.
If a statutory filing requirement could not practically be implemented because of a technical problem during the initial period, the Government could use a Section 172 order where the statutory conditions were satisfied.
CBIC issued the Tenth Removal of Difficulties Order, 2019 under Section 172 in relation to technical problems affecting furnishing of the annual return for the period 1 July 2017 to 31 March 2018. The order amended the date in the relevant explanation to Section 44.
A Section 172 order can address a genuine difficulty in giving effect to a statutory provision during the permitted period, but it cannot be treated as a general power to rewrite the Act.
Early GST implementation involved taxpayers moving from earlier indirect-tax systems into GST. Removal-of-difficulties orders were one of the statutory mechanisms available for implementation issues.
Where a new GST electronic process creates an implementation difficulty, the existence of Section 172 does not itself mean every portal problem can be resolved through this section. The statutory conditions and a Government order must exist.
If a Section 172 order modifies or clarifies a statutory implementation date, the taxpayer should preserve the original provision, the order and the effective period together.
For an old GST compliance matter, search the relevant Section 172 orders issued during the initial three-year window before concluding that the original statutory text was the only applicable implementation rule.
An auditor reviewing a historical GST period can maintain a separate 'Removal of Difficulties Orders' folder containing the order number, date, affected section and effective change.
A taxpayer cannot simply argue that compliance is difficult and therefore Section 172 gives an automatic exemption. The section requires a Government order on Council recommendations.
A Section 172 order must make provisions not inconsistent with the Act or the rules/regulations made thereunder. It is not intended to operate as an unrestricted amendment power.
Every order made under Section 172 must be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
The section itself says no order shall be made after three years from the commencement of the Act. This time limit is central when assessing whether a purported new removal-of-difficulties order could be made under Section 172.
For a matter arising in 2026, Section 172 should primarily be examined as a historical enabling provision and through the existing orders made under it, rather than assuming that a new order can now be issued under the original three-year power.
A circular issued under another statutory power and a Removal of Difficulties Order under Section 172 are not interchangeable documents. The legal source and power cited in the instrument should be checked.
A formal legislative amendment and a removal-of-difficulties order are different mechanisms. The scope of a Section 172 order is constrained by the section itself.
11. Historical GST Research Workflow
- Identify the relevant section: Determine the CGST provision involved in the historical issue.
- Identify the period: Fix the exact financial year, tax period or date of the event.
- Search Section 172 orders: Check whether a removal-of-difficulties order affected that provision.
- Read the full order: Do not rely only on its title or a summary.
- Check effective dates: Determine the period to which the order applies.
- Check later amendments: An order may be followed by statutory amendments or other instruments.
- Preserve the Gazette source: Save the official order as part of the legal research file.
- Apply only to the relevant issue: Do not generalise an order beyond its actual wording.
12. Section 172 vs Related Provisions
| Provision | Subject | Key distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Section 164 | Power of Government to make rules | Rule-making power; separate from the time-limited removal-of-difficulties mechanism. |
| Section 165 | Power to make regulations | Board's regulation-making power. |
| Section 166 | Laying of rules, regulations and notifications | Parliamentary laying framework for specified instruments. |
| Section 168 | Instructions/directions | Board instructions for uniformity in implementation. |
| Section 171 | Anti-profiteering | Separate substantive provision concerning passing on specified benefits. |
| Section 172 | Removal of difficulties | Time-limited Government order mechanism for implementation difficulties. |
| Section 173 | Amendment of Finance Act, 1994 | Separate statutory amendment provision. |
13. Common Mistakes
- Assuming Section 172 is an unlimited power to change GST law.
- Ignoring the three-year statutory limit.
- Using a Section 172 order without checking its date and affected provision.
- Relying on a summary instead of reading the full Gazette order.
- Confusing Section 172 orders with CBIC circulars issued under other powers.
- Assuming a taxpayer's individual difficulty automatically invokes Section 172.
- Failing to check later amendments to the affected provision.
- Applying a historical removal-of-difficulties order to an unrelated period.
- Ignoring the parliamentary laying requirement when documenting the legal instrument.
- Failing to preserve the official source of the historical order.
14. Questions People Commonly Search
- What is Section 172 of CGST Act?
- Section 172 CGST Act removal of difficulties
- What is removal of difficulties under GST?
- Can Section 172 be used now?
- three year limit Section 172 GST
- GST removal of difficulties orders
- CGST removal of difficulties order list
- Section 172 GST examples
- Section 172 vs Section 168
- Section 172 vs Section 164
- GST Council removal of difficulties
- Section 172 Official Gazette
15. Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is Section 172 of the CGST Act?
Section 172 is the Removal of Difficulties provision. It allowed the Government, on GST Council recommendations, to issue a general or special order to remove difficulties in giving effect to the Act, subject to the statutory limits.
2. Who can issue an order under Section 172?
The Government may make the order, but the provision requires recommendations of the GST Council and publication of the general or special order in the Official Gazette.
3. What is the purpose of Section 172?
Its purpose is to address difficulties in giving effect to provisions of the CGST Act during the statutory period, through provisions that are not inconsistent with the Act or the rules/regulations.
4. Can Section 172 be used to make any change to the GST Act?
No. The order must be for removing a difficulty, must be necessary or expedient for that purpose, and must not be inconsistent with the Act or rules/regulations.
5. What is the three-year limit under Section 172?
The proviso to Section 172(1) says that no order under the section shall be made after three years from the date of commencement of the Act.
6. When did the three-year period expire?
The relevant provisions of Sections 165 to 174 commenced on 1 July 2017. Accordingly, the three-year window for making a new Section 172 order under the original proviso expired on 30 June 2020. India Code records the commencement of Section 172 as 1 July 2017.
7. Can a new Section 172 order be issued in 2026?
The original Section 172(1) contains a three-year bar on making an order after three years from commencement. Therefore, a new order cannot ordinarily be issued under that original power in 2026. Historical Section 172 orders remain relevant when interpreting the law applicable to the period in which they were made.
8. Why are old Section 172 orders still important?
They may have changed or clarified the operation of particular GST provisions during the initial implementation period. Historical GST research therefore requires checking the orders applicable to the relevant period.
9. What does 'not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act' mean?
A removal-of-difficulties order cannot operate as an unrestricted mechanism to contradict the Act. The statutory power itself requires consistency with the Act and the rules/regulations made under it.
10. Does Section 172 require GST Council recommendations?
Yes. Section 172(1) expressly states that the Government may act on the recommendations of the Council.
11. Must a Section 172 order be published?
Yes. Section 172(1) requires the general or special order to be published in the Official Gazette.
12. Must Section 172 orders be placed before Parliament?
Yes. Section 172(2) requires every order made under the section to be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament.
13. What is a general order under Section 172?
The section permits a general or special order. The exact scope and affected provision depend on the wording of the particular Gazette order.
14. What is a special order under Section 172?
A special order is one made for the particular difficulty and scope identified in that order, subject to the statutory requirements.
15. Is Section 172 the same as Section 164 rule-making power?
No. Section 164 concerns the Government's power to make rules. Section 172 is a separate, time-limited mechanism for removing difficulties in giving effect to the Act.
16. Is Section 172 the same as Section 168 instructions?
No. Section 168 concerns Board instructions, orders or directions for uniformity in implementation. Section 172 concerns Government orders made under the specific removal-of-difficulties power.
17. Can a taxpayer rely on Section 172 without identifying an order?
As a practical legal research matter, the taxpayer should identify the specific Section 172 order applicable to the relevant provision and period. The section itself is an enabling provision; the operative change is contained in the particular order.
18. Is this article legal advice?
No. It is an educational explanation. For a historical GST dispute, verify the exact Section 172 order, Gazette text, effective date and subsequent amendments applicable to the relevant period.
16. Quick Revision – Section 172
- Subject: Removal of difficulties.
- Authority: Government, on recommendations of the GST Council.
- Instrument: General or special order published in the Official Gazette.
- Purpose: Remove difficulty in giving effect to provisions of the CGST Act.
- Consistency: Order must not be inconsistent with the Act or rules/regulations.
- Time limit: No order after three years from commencement of the Act.
- Commencement: Section 172 commenced on 1 July 2017; the original three-year window therefore ended on 30 June 2020.
- Parliament: Every order must be laid before each House as soon as may be after it is made.
- 2026 research: Focus on historical Section 172 orders and their applicable periods rather than assuming a fresh order can now be issued under the original power.
17. Legal Disclaimer
This page is provided for general educational and GST compliance-workflow purposes. GST law can change through amendments, rules, notifications, instructions, circulars and judicial decisions. Historical GST matters can also depend on the exact Removal of Difficulties Order, Gazette publication, effective date and subsequent amendments applicable to the relevant period. Verify the original official instrument and current law before relying on this explanation. This page is not a substitute for professional legal or tax advice.