2018 (10) TMI 309 – AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULINGS WEST BENGAL – 2018 (18) G. S. T. L. 49 (A. A. R. – GST) – Classification – services or goods? – Determination of SAC or HSN? – Service of printing Question Papers for Educational Institutions – Service to such Educational Institutions relating to conduct of examination – Levy of GST – Rate of GST – input tax credit.
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Whether the Question Papers supplied by the Applicant are “goods” or “services”? – Held that:- As stated in the Application and in the arguments of the Applicant at the time of Personal Hearing the content of the matter printed referred to above, is being provided to the Applicant, and to print the same, i.e to convert the matter into a tangible form, necessary raw material, manpower and machinery is being provided by the Applicant. In other words, the content of the printed matter is specific to the customer, and, neither is the matter pre-printed, nor has the Applicant any ownership to the content at any point of ti
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of the GST Tariff is found to be appropriate.
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Benefit of exemption – Held that:- Serial No. 66(b)(iv) of Notification No. 12/2017–CT(Rate) dated 28/06/2017, as amended from time to time, as applicable, wholly exempts services provided to an Educational Institution relating to conduct of examination. The phrase „relating to’ expands the scope of this entry to include such support services without which conduct of the examination is not possible, unless they are specifically mentioned under any other entry. Question papers can have no use other than in conducting a specific examination, and the supply of service of printing such question papers is a supply related to conduct of that examination – Explanation (iv) to Notification No. 12/2017-CT (Rate) dated 28/06/2017, inserted vide Notification No. 14/2018-CT(Rate) dated 26/07/2018, clarifies that the Central and State Educational Boards shall be treated as Educational Institution for the limited purpose of services by way of cond
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dated 28/06/2017, as amended, as applicable, the Applicant is not eligible to avail of Input Tax Credit.
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Ruling:- Service of printing Question Papers for Educational Institutions [as defined under clause 2(y) read with Explanation (iv) to Notification No. 12/2017-CT (Rate) dated 28/06/2017] for specific examination is classifiable under SAC 9992.
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Service to such Educational Institutions relating to conduct of examination, as described in 66(b)(iv) of Notification No.12/2017-CT(Rate) dated 28/06/2017, includes supply of the service of printing question papers, and is exempt under the GST Act.
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Being an exempt supply, the Applicant cannot claim credit of the GST paid on the inputs used for provisioning the service of printing question papers provided to the Boards / Educational Institutions relating to conduct of examination. This Ruling is valid subject to the provisions under Section 103(2) until and unless declared void under Section 104(1) of the GST Act.
– 18/WBAA
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objection to admission of the Application. The Application is, therefore, admitted. 2. The Application states that the Applicant is registered under HSN 4901 under GST and is providing services by way of printing question papers for various examinations, conducted by the Council of Higher Secondary Education of various States, Joint Entrance Boards, various UGC granted Universities in India and by various authorities of vocational educations. The Councils/Boards/Universities/Institutions are supplying the matter to be printed to the Applicant, who is providing the paper, ink, other inputs, manpower, machinery, etc to print the given matter in appropriate question paper format as provided by the Councils/Boards/Universities/Institutions supplying the matter. The Application also states that the Applicant s customers, being either Government organisations or Government aided organisations, are not paying GST on the services so provided, which is rendering them unable to take credit on th
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of the question raised in the Application under what HSN or SAC code is the GST to be charged it is, therefore, necessary to consider whether question papers are to be considered as goods or, if not, if the act of printing the question paper, albeit with the supply of necessary raw material, manpower and machinery being provided by the Applicant, is to be considered as service . 4. Section 7 of the GST Act lays down the conditions for scope of supply, both for goods and services. Under sub-section (1), consideration, or in the absence of any consideration, Schedules I and II to Section 7, are to be referred to in order to determine whether or not the supply is of goods or of services . Under sub-section (2) conditions, (as listed in Schedule III to Section 7 or undertaken by Governments or authorities and local bodies as may be notified by the Government, on recommendations of the Council) under which the supply is to be considered as neither goods nor services are laid down. Under su
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matter into a tangible form, necessary raw material, manpower and machinery is being provided by the Applicant. In other words, the content of the printed matter is specific to the customer, and, neither is the matter pre-printed, nor has the Applicant any ownership to the content at any point of time, and, therefore, cannot transfer title of the above printed matters. In other words, Question Papers are not the property of the Applicant. Furthermore, the Question Papers supplied by the Applicant to their customers are not marketable commodities in the open market and as goods they have no legitimate value to persons other than the specific customer who provides the input content. The Applicant, therefore, cannot be said to be supplying Question Papers as goods under the GST Act, but to be supplying the service of printing. Hence, the SAC is to be determined and not the HSN. Again, every transaction is a contract, but open market transactions in Question Papers as goods, being illegal,
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rial no. 27 of Notification No. 11/2017-CT (Rate) dated 28/06/2017, as amended from time to time, provided the materials being printed are goods classifiable under Chapter 48 or 49 of the Tariff Act and taxable under the GST Act. As transactions in Question Papers as goods is beyond the ambit of the GST Act, they are neither classifiable under Chapter 48 or 49 nor taxable under the GST Act. Service of printing Question Papers is not, therefore, classifiable under Heading 9989. 8. Section 9 of the GST Tariff-Services deals with Community, Social and Personal Services and other miscellaneous services which include Education Services (covering services related to admission to or conduct of examination by Educational Institutions) under Heading 9992. Since the Applicant has specified the printing of question papers for Educational Institutions, supply of service under Section 9 of the GST Tariff is found to be appropriate. 9. GST Rates for services whether or not exempt are governed by Not
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the supply of service of printing such question papers is a supply related to conduct of that examination. Explanation (iv) to Notification No. 12/2017-CT (Rate) dated 28/06/2017, inserted vide Notification No. 14/2018-CT(Rate) dated 26/07/2018, clarifies that the Central and State Educational Boards shall be treated as Educational Institution for the limited purpose of services by way of conducting examinations. Serial No. 66(b)(iv) above, therefore, includes services provided to such Boards relating to the conduct of examinations. The Applicant is, therefore, not liable to pay tax on the service of printing question papers provided to the Educational Boards/Councils/Universities/Institutions relating to the conduct of examination. 11. Section 17(2) of GST Act states that Where the goods or services or both are used by the registered person partly for effecting taxable supplies including zero-rated supplies under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act and partly
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