Section 25 of IGST explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 25 of the IGST Act, 2017 empowers the Central Government, on the recommendations of the GST Council, to issue orders to remove difficulties that arise in giving effect to the Act. Such an order may make provisions not inconsistent with the Act as appear necessary to remove the difficulty. This power can be exercised only within a limited window — originally three years, later extended to five years, from the date the Act came into force — and every order must be laid before Parliament.
What Section 25 Says — In Plain English
A "removal of difficulties" clause is a standard feature in complex legislation. In plain English, it is a safety valve: when a brand-new law like GST throws up a practical snag the drafters did not foresee, the Government can issue a quick order to fix it — but only for a limited number of years, and only in a way that does not clash with the Act.
Section 25 provides that if any difficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of the IGST Act, the Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by a general or special order published in the Gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the Act as may be necessary or expedient for removing the difficulty. The section places two important limits on this power: (1) a time limit — no such order can be made after the expiry of the specified period (three years originally, extended to five years by amendment) from the date of commencement of the Act, which is 1 July 2017; and (2) a consistency requirement — the order cannot be inconsistent with the provisions of the Act. Every order made under Section 25 must be laid before each House of Parliament, preserving legislative oversight.
Clause / Sub-section Breakdown
- Power: The Central Government, on the GST Council's recommendation, may by general or special order make provisions to remove a difficulty in giving effect to the Act.
- Consistency limit: The order must not be inconsistent with the provisions of the Act.
- Time limit: No order can be made after the expiry of the specified period — three years originally, extended to five years — from 1 July 2017.
- Oversight: Every such order must be laid before each House of Parliament.
Applicability & Scope
Section 25 applies during the transitional and implementation phase of the Act, when practical or interpretational difficulties emerge that the drafters could not have fully anticipated. Because GST was a major reform, several removal-of-difficulties orders were issued in the early years to extend deadlines and clarify transitional issues. The power is essentially spent once the time window closes, after which any change must come through amendment of the Act or the rules rather than such an order.
A removal-of-difficulties clause is often called a "Henry VIII" style provision, because it lets the executive make provisions to give effect to a statute during a difficult run-in period. Indian courts have consistently read such clauses narrowly: the power exists only to remove a genuine difficulty in giving effect to the Act, not to legislate afresh, not to override express provisions, and not to fill in policy the legislature deliberately left out. The three in-built safeguards in Section 25 — the requirement of a GST Council recommendation, the bar on inconsistency with the Act, and the strict time limit — reflect exactly this restrictive philosophy. The time limit in particular is what distinguishes a removal-of-difficulties power from the ordinary, open-ended rule-making power of Section 22: it is a one-off crutch for the reform's early years, not a permanent alternative to legislation.
Worked Examples
Example 1 — Extending a due date. Suppose, in the early years of GST, taxpayers faced a genuine difficulty because a due date under the IGST framework could not practically be met due to portal or procedural issues. Rather than wait for a formal amendment, the Government — on the GST Council's recommendation — could issue a removal-of-difficulties order under Section 25 extending the date, provided the order was consistent with the Act, was issued within the permitted window (within five years of 1 July 2017), and was laid before Parliament.
Example 2 — After the window closes. Suppose the same kind of difficulty arises after the five-year window has expired. The Government can no longer use Section 25; instead, the relief would require an amendment to the Act or the rules, because the removal-of-difficulties power is time-barred.
| Condition | Requirement under Section 25 |
|---|---|
| Who issues the order | Central Government on GST Council's recommendation |
| Purpose | To remove a difficulty in giving effect to the Act |
| Consistency | Order must not be inconsistent with the Act |
| Time limit | Within 5 years (originally 3) of commencement (1 July 2017) |
| Oversight | Every order laid before Parliament |
Step-by-Step in Practice
- A practical difficulty in giving effect to the Act is identified.
- The GST Council recommends a removal-of-difficulties order.
- The Government issues a general or special order in the Gazette, consistent with the Act.
- The order is issued within the permitted window (five years from 1 July 2017).
- The order is laid before each House of Parliament.
Common Mistakes & Practical Notes
- Assuming the power is open-ended — it is time-barred (originally three years, extended to five).
- Believing an order can override the Act — it must be consistent with the Act's provisions.
- Overlooking the GST Council's recommendation, which is a precondition.
- Forgetting that every order must be laid before Parliament.
- Expecting Section 25 to be used for post-window issues — those require amendment of the Act or rules.
Related Sections
Section 22 of the IGST Act (power to make rules), Section 23 (power to make regulations), Section 24 (laying before Parliament) and Section 172 of the CGST Act (the corresponding removal-of-difficulties provision under the CGST Act).
Recent Amendments & Context
The one substantive change to this class of provision was the extension of the time window from three years to five years, made across the GST Acts (including the corresponding Section 172 of the CGST Act) to give the Government more headroom to iron out implementation wrinkles during GST's formative period. Several removal-of-difficulties orders were issued in the first years of GST — for instance to extend transitional deadlines and clarify procedural teething issues. With the five-year window now elapsed from the 1 July 2017 commencement, the power is effectively spent, and the enduring lesson is structural: it was a temporary, tightly-bounded tool that let GST stabilise quickly, after which the ordinary amendment route through Parliament and rule-making under Section 22 takes over.
It is useful to appreciate how Section 25 fits alongside the other machinery provisions in this cluster. Where Section 22 gives an ongoing power to make rules, and Sections 23 and 24 govern regulations and parliamentary oversight, Section 25 supplied a time-limited emergency valve for the transition itself. In the early GST years this valve did real work: because the reform switched on for the entire country on a single day, unavoidable practical problems arose — around transitional credit, migration of registrations, portal readiness and deadline compression — and removal-of-difficulties orders provided quick, Council-backed relief without waiting for a legislative amendment cycle. Now that the window has closed, taxpayers should not expect fresh Section 25 orders; any residual issue must be addressed through amendment of the Act, amendment of the rules under Section 22, or clarificatory circulars. The section nonetheless remains part of the statute as a record of how the GST regime was steered through its most fragile phase, and as a model for how future major tax reforms might build in a bounded transitional power subject to Council recommendation, a consistency check and parliamentary laying.
Key Facts About Section 25 of IGST
- Applies in: All states across India, under the relevant central law.
- Mode: Mostly online via the official government portal.
- Typical timeline: Ranges from a few days to a few weeks depending on the case.
- Non-compliance: May attract penalties, interest or late fees.
- Expert help: TaxClue completes the entire process end to end for you.
What is the purpose of Section 25 of the IGST Act?
It empowers the Government, on the GST Council's recommendation, to issue orders to remove difficulties that arise in giving effect to the provisions of the Act during its early implementation.
Is the removal-of-difficulties power time-bound?
Yes. No order can be made after the expiry of the specified period — originally three years, later extended to five years — from the commencement of the Act on 1 July 2017.
Over 90% of compliance penalties in India arise from missed due dates — timely handling can save businesses thousands of rupees each year.
Section 25 of IGST: a key compliance topic in Indian tax and corporate law that businesses and individuals must understand to remain compliant.
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