The Office of the Joint Commissioner of State Tax, Nodal Division-2, Pune, has directed proper officers to ensure that letters of authority submitted by chartered accountants, cost accountants, GST practitioners, relatives and employees appearing on behalf of taxpayers bear stamp duty of ₹500.

The instruction expressly excludes lawyers and advocates who are members of the Bar Council from the ₹500 stamp duty requirement. For advocates, it states that the applicable court fee stamp under the Maharashtra Court Fees Act may be affixed to the letter of authority.

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The communication is addressed to all proper officers of Nodal-2 at GST Bhavan, Pune. Its stated administrative scope is therefore that division; the attached document does not establish a fresh statewide direction covering every GST office in Maharashtra.

Properly Signed and Stamped Authority Required

The department’s instruction refers to Section 116 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, concerning representation of taxpayers through authorised representatives.

According to the communication, a representative attending on behalf of a taxpayer should submit a properly signed and stamped letter of authority. The department links this requirement to the provisions of the Maharashtra Stamp Act, particularly Section 2(r), which defines a power of attorney.

The department takes the position that a letter of authority falls within that definition and consequently attracts stamp duty of ₹500 when submitted by the specified categories of representatives.

The requirement concerns the document authorising a person to represent the taxpayer. It is not described in the communication as an attendance fee or a charge payable for each appearance.

Advocates Excluded From ₹500 Requirement

The instruction distinguishes between advocates and other authorised representatives.

While letters of authority furnished by chartered accountants, cost accountants, GST practitioners, relatives and employees are required to carry ₹500 stamp duty under the department’s stated interpretation, advocates are expressly excepted.

For an advocate’s letter of authority, the communication refers instead to affixing a court fee stamp in accordance with the Maharashtra Court Fees Act.

Issue Pending Before Bombay High Court

The communication refers to Prasad Tendulkar v. State of Maharashtra, Writ Petition No. 313 of 2024. It states that the State GST Department has filed an affidavit in that proceeding setting out the same legal position.

Significantly, the instruction itself records that the matter is sub judice before the Bombay High Court. The stamp duty requirement described in the communication must therefore be understood as the department’s position, rather than a final judicial determination recorded in this document.

Officers Directed to Verify Authorisation Documents Strictly

The department also cites the Supreme Court’s decision in Uday Shankar Triyar v. Ram Kalewar Prasad Singh, reported in AIR 2006 SC 269, while directing proper officers to verify letters of authority and their stamping.

Officers have been instructed to examine whether the authorisation submitted for representation is properly stamped, subject to the exception provided for advocates. The communication asks officers to implement the cited provisions and judicial decisions without taking a lenient view.

However, the attached instruction does not reproduce the Supreme Court’s reasoning or establish that the Court specifically ruled on a ₹500 stamp duty requirement for GST authority letters.

Implications for Taxpayers and Representatives

The instruction makes the preparation of authority letters a practical compliance consideration for taxpayers represented before officers of Pune’s Nodal Division-2.

Chartered accountants, cost accountants, GST practitioners, relatives and employees appearing on taxpayers’ behalf will need to account for the ₹500 stamping requirement asserted by the department. Advocates fall under the separate treatment expressly mentioned in the communication.

The document does not specify a separate penalty, an automatic dismissal of proceedings or a requirement to execute a fresh stamped authority letter for every hearing.

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