2020 (7) TMI 410 - AAR - GST

Contract Carriage or not - Rental service of transport vehicles - services of APSRTC giving Non Air Conditioned Buses on contract for the occasions of marriages, functions etc, for transportation of employees and students of other Organizations/Department, for different purposes like, transportation of passengers to Sabarimala, transporting of public to the places where meetings conducted by political parties and to the places like Polavaram project - Serial No 15 of notification 12/2017 - Whether the APSRTC, being a public sector undertaking, whose books of accounts are subjected to CAG of India or an auditor appointed for auditing the accounts of local authorities under any law for the time being in force, is it required to file reconciliation statement in FORM-GSTR-9C as per proviso to Section 35(5) of the GST Act, 2017? HELD THAT - As per serial no.15 in Notification no. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 transport of passengers, with or without accompanied belongings, by non-air conditioned contract carriage other than radio taxi, for transportation of passengers, excluding tourism, conducted tour, charter or hire is exempt from GST - the case of the applicant clearly doesn't fall under serial no.15 in Notification no. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. So the services offered by the applicant are covered by Sl.no. 10 of notification no. 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 i.e., 'Rental Services of transport vehicles'. Charge of GST on rental services - HELD THAT - In terms of notification no. 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 as amended by notification no. 20/2017- Central tax (Rate) dated 22.08.2017, notification no. 31/2017- Central tax (Rate) dated 13.10.2017, notification no. 20/2019- Central tax (Rate) dated 30.09.2019, wherein Sl.no. 10, (i) Rental Services of transport Vehicles (Heading 9966) attracts GST at the rate of 2.5% or 6% or 9% CGST. Identical rate would be applicable for SGST also, taking the effective rate to 5% or 12% or 18% - However, the rate of 5% is subject to the condition that the cost of fuel is included in the consideration charged from the service recipient and the credit of input tax charged on goods and services used in supplying the service other than the input tax credit of input service in the same line of business has not been taken. Applicability of FORM GSTR-9C - HELD THAT - The applicant's question doesn't fall under any of the clauses mentioned under sub section 97(2). The rate of tax on the rental services where the cost of fuel is included in the consideration charged from the service recipient is 5% / 12%subject to satisfying the conditions as prescribed under notification no. 11/2017 - CT (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 as amended by notification no. 20/2017-CT ( Rate) dated 22.08.2017, notification no. 31/2017- Central tax (Rate) dated 13.10.2017, notification no. 20/2019-Central tax (Rate) dated 30.09.2019 - In case, the said conditions are not satisfied, the rate of GST is 18% (9% CGST 9% SGST) and the applicant being the provider of rental service has to pay the said tax - The applicability of GSTR-9C cannot be answered as per Section 97(2).

Summary

Issues:
1. Determination of whether services provided by the applicant fall under contract carriage as per Notification 12/2017 and the applicable tax rate.
2. Requirement for the applicant, a public sector undertaking, to file a reconciliation statement in FORM GSTR-9C.

Analysis:

Issue 1: Services Classification and Tax Rate
The applicant, a public sector undertaking engaged in passenger and goods transportation, sought an advance ruling on whether providing non-air conditioned buses on contract falls under contract carriage as per Notification 12/2017. The Authority examined the definition of contract carriage under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the relevant GST notifications. It was concluded that the services offered did not qualify as contract carriage under Notification 12/2017 but were categorized as rental services under Serial No. 10 of Notification 11/2017. The applicable GST rate for rental services, subject to conditions, was determined to be 5% or 12%, while non-compliance with conditions would attract an 18% GST rate.

Issue 2: Requirement for FORM GSTR-9C
The applicant inquired about the necessity to file a reconciliation statement in FORM GSTR-9C as a public sector undertaking. The Authority highlighted that the question did not fall under the specified categories for seeking an advance ruling as per Section 97(2) of the Act. Therefore, the applicability of FORM GSTR-9C was not within the scope of the advance ruling.

In the ruling, the Authority clarified that the applicant's services were classified as rental services, subject to the prescribed GST rates and conditions. Additionally, it was emphasized that the question regarding the requirement to file FORM GSTR-9C did not align with the advance ruling scope. The ruling provided detailed explanations based on legal provisions and notifications to address the issues raised by the applicant, ensuring clarity on the tax implications and compliance obligations.