What is 'advance ruling'? State the procedure to obtain advance ruling.

The term 'advance ruling' has been defined in section 245N(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 to mean: a determination by the Authority in relation to a transaction which has been undertaken or is proposed to be undertaken by a non-resident applicant; or a determination by the Authority in relation to the tax liability of a non-resident arising out of a transaction which has been undertaken or is proposed to be undertaken by a resident applicant with such non-resident; or a determination by the Authority in relation to the tax liability of a resident applicant, arising out of a transaction which has been undertaken or is proposed to be undertaken by such applicant, and such determination shall include the determination of any question of law or of fact specified in the application; or a determination or decision by the Authority in respect of an issue relating to computation of total income which is pending before any income-tax authority or the Appellate Tribunal. Further, advance ruling may be determined for both the question of law or fact; or a determination or decision by the Authority whether an arrangement, which is proposed to be undertaken by any person being a resident or a non-resident, is an impermissible avoidance arrangement as referred to in Chapter X-A or not. Procedure to obtain advance ruling: An applicant desirous of obtaining an advance ruling should apply in the following manner: The application should be made in the prescribed form stating the question on which the ruling is sought. The application has to be made in quadruplicate in Form No. 34C/34D/34E/34EA as the case may be. The application is to be accompanied by an account-payee demand draft for ₹10,000. Application can be made personally or by registered post. If application is made by Registered post then it will be deemed to have been made on the date such post is received by Authority.