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TMI Blog2021 (7) TMI 809X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e not a service by way of education as a part of curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognized by any law for the time being in force as envisaged under no 66 of the said notification, for exemption from GST. Service accounting code of the services rendered by the appellant - HELD THAT:- As per the Scheme of classification of services under GST Law, SAC 999293 Specifies about commercial training and coaching services. This service code includes any training or coaching provided by any institute or establishment providing commercial training or coaching for imparting skill or knowledge or lessons on any subject or field other than the spots with or without issuance of a certificate and includes coaching or tutorial classes. Thereby the services rendered by the appellant can rightly be classified under the SAC. Whether there is any GST liability on the appellant for collecting and transferring examinations fees and other fees to the recognized institutes or universities on behalf of the students study at their institute? - HELD THAT:- As per the provisions of Section 15 of the CGST/SGST Act, 2017 the entire consideration received by the appellant from the recipient ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 9992 as is applicable in this case. Tax liability on the appellant for selling text books to its students - HELD THAT:- The supply of text book to students are again at different lower rate than that of outside persons, as is admitted by the appellant in their submissions. Hence, the supply of books or printed material relating to the course opted for them shall have to be treated as part of composite services along with educational services, being the principal service, as is held by us in case of hostel fees charged from the students. Consequently, the supply of books shall also be charged to rate of GST as applicable to educational service under SAC 9992-999293. - Order No. AAAR/13/2021 - - - Dated:- 5-5-2021 - Shyam Raj Prasad, Member And Anand Singh, Member Authorized Representative : Sherry Oommen, Advocate. The instant appeal stands filed under section of the GST Act, 2017, by M/s. Logic Management Training Institutes Pvt Ltd, Kochi holding GSTIN 32AABCL8151B1Z1 (hereinafter also referred as the appellant or M/s. Logic Management) against the Advance Ruling Order No. KER/76/2019 dated 20/5/2020. The appellant is an institute imparting coaching to the stude ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of the said institutions on the basis of the specific syllabus (curriculum) published by international institutions like ACCA, IMA USA, etc. which are approved by Govt. of India. 2.4. What is the Servite Accounting Code (SAC) of the appellant s services, under GST laws? 2.5. Is there any tax liability under GST laws on the appellant [or collecting and transferring examination fees and other fees of the recognized institutes or universities on behalf of students studying al the appellant institute. 2.6. The appellant offers hostel facility to its students at a rate of less than ₹ 200/- per day per person including food and at a monthly rate of maximum ₹ 6000/-. Whether there is any tax liability on such hostel fee. 2.7. Whether there is any tax liability on hostel fees collected from outside students staying at the hostel for study purpose at a rate of ₹ 250/- per day per person including food. 2.8. Whether there is any tax liability on the appellant for 5elling text books to its students. 3. The Rulings provided by the Authority are given below: 3.1. Questions Nos. 1, 2 and 3 -The appellant is not covered under the definition of educational ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Grounds of Appeal 4. The appellant submits the following points against the ruling made by the Authority : 4.1 Regarding Questions 1 to 3 in the impugned order, the Authority ought to have found that the exemption Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) never intended that the benefit exemption should be limited to a class of professional students. On the other hand, the exemption facilities provided through the notification are for imparting education and thereby interpreting that the exemption is only to limited institutions is against law, The appellant believes that the intention of Government as per the notification is to all students studying the subject and taking part the Recognized courses, whether directly or indirectly. As long as there is no special condition specified notification the benefit is also to be given to Private players in Education. The Authority has passed the order without considering the law of equality and thus failed to render justice to the appellant. By restricting the exemption to a part of the society, or class of institutions, the settled principles of equality granted by the Constitution under Article 14 is violated. 4.2. With ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... services provided. As per the decision in the case of re Sarj Educational Centre (GST AAR West Bengal), the hostel facilities and educational services provided by the appellant does not fall under the composite supply. 4.5 With regard to Question No. 8 by issuing impugned order fixing tax on exempted goods like books, the Authority ought to have found that if a student purchase the same book from a book shop, the same s exempted as books, and it is taxable at 18% when students purchases the very same book from the appellant. By issuing such an incorrect order, the authority has failed to note the fact that the appellant will be singled out from the main stream of institutions. 4.6 It is pertinent to note that in the period of the Service Tax, which is the pre-GST regime, and still in GST, the supply of reading books in open Market is exempted. The authority for Advance Ruling failed to find that in the Ruling, it never considered the fact that the composite supply should be taxable supply. Here the book are not taxable supply so it never come under GST. Also, the books are priced in Open Market. The peculiar circumstances here will adversely affect the interest of imparting ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lum's are exempt from Goods and Services Tax vide entry no. 66 of the Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax dated 28.06.2017? The Authority for Advance Ruling held that The services provided by the appellant in affiliation to specified universities and providing degree courses to students under related curriculum's to its students exempt from Central Goods and Services Tax vide entry ho. 66 of the Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Race) dated 28.06.2017 subject to the condition that such education services provided must be as a part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognized by any law far the time being in force . 5.3 The appellant is following the same curriculum as specified or recognized by the bodies constituted under Act of Parliament so providing education in a format recognized by law. The appellant herein is also providing B.Com and M.Com degree courses which is a recognized course under Indian law. The appellant offers University-recognized B.Com and M.Com education simultaneously with training for the professional qualifications, as that helps students to obtain graduation simultaneously with professional studies, and also because the study ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n and education up higher secondary school or equivalent: (ii) education as a port of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognized by any law for the time being in force: (iii) education as a part of an approved vocational education course: The appellant s services are eligible for exemption from GST by of Entry 66 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28-062017 issued by the Government of India whereby intra-State supply of educational services are exempted. In the earlier Service Tax regime as well, educational services facilitating qualifications recognized by law were exempted from tax and the Government carried forward this exemption through Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). The word 'education' is derived from the Latin word educa which means bringing out latent faculties. 'Education' means the act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment and generally of preparing onself or others intellectually or mature life: the act or process of imparting or acquiring particular knowledge or skills. it is the result produced by instruction, training or Study ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y their exam fees on time without as a facility provider for students to pay their exam fees on time without any technical difficulties to pay their exam fees on time without any technical difficulties. Normally students can pay the examination fees directly to CA, CS, CMA. IMA USA, ACCA UK, IFRS, CPA USA, etc. using their debit or credit card. Lot students especially those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds, face difficulty in making such online payments since they would not be having credit or debit cards or enough technical knowledge to make such payments. So the appellant helps them to pay it through the appellant s, banking facility and so that they can concentrate on their studies and no need to panic about the technicalities related to examination. There is no profit element in this as we are just collecting the exam fees from students and paying it to the respective institutions. The activity of collecting and transferring examination feed and other fees of the recognized institutes or Universities on behalf of students studying at the appellant institute is carried out by the appellant acting as a mere agent of without any value addition or profit generation. but with t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... /office of District Education officer etc. consequent to printing of the Syllabus as declared by the SCERT, merits consideration as supply of printed books attracting zero rate, under Notification No. 2/2017-State Tax (Rate) No. F-10-43/2017-CT/V/70, dated 28-06-2017 under HSN Code 4901. 6. The Appellant craves leave to add, amend and alter any of the submissions mentioned here in above and produce such documentary evidence as may be necessary for the case. The Appellant further craves leave to rely on such judicial precedents as may be required in their defense. 7. On the facts and circumstances, the Appellant prays for modification in the impugned ruling as under : 7.1 With respect to Question No. 1, 2 and 3 raised in the Original Application for Advance Ruling, that the educational services provided by the Appellant is exempted and does not attract any tax under the GST laws. 7.2 With respect to Question No. 4 raised in the Application, that the SAC of the services of the appellant, may be modified in the light of the non-taxability of the services rendered by the appellant. 7.3 With respect to Question No. 5, 6 8 raised in the Application that the ruling of the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ed by Govt. of Indie Issue No 4 : What is the Service Accounting Code (SAC) of the appellant s services, under GST laws? Issue No. 5 : Is there any tax liability under GST laws on the appellant for collecting and transferring examination fees and other fees of the recognized institutes or universities on behalf of students studying at the appellant institute? Issue No. 6 : The appellant offers hostel facility to its students at a rate of less than ₹ 200/- per day per person including food and at a monthly rate of maximum ₹ 6000/-. Whether there is any tax liability on such hostel fee? Issue No. 7 : Whether there is any tax liability on the appellant for selling text books to its students? 10. Before going into the merit of the issues involved, it is noticed that the appellant in their additional submissions has raised some preliminary objections against the advance ruling stating therein that the ruling has been pronounced in absence of issue of a notice or seeking explanation from them or by attributing any reasons/grounds for the findings and therefore the ruling has been issued in violation of principles of natural justice. They have relied upo ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (b) to an educational institution, by way of,- (i) transportation of students, faculty and staff; (ii) catering, including any mi-day meals scheme sponsored by the Central Government, State Government or Union territory; (iii) security or cleaning or house-keeping services performed in such educational institution; (iv) services relating to admission to, or conduct of examination by, such institution; upto higher secondary; (v) supply of online educational journals or periodicals: Provided that nothing contained in [sub-items (i), (ii) and (iii) of item (b)] shall apply to an educational institution other than an institution providing services by way of pre-school education and education up to higher secondary school or equivalent: Provided further that nothing contained n sub-item (v) of item (b) shall apply to an institution providing services by way of,- i. Pre-school education and education up to higher secondary or equivalent; or ii. Education as a part of an approved vocational education course. Para 2(y) of the notification no. 12/2017-CT (Rate) defined Educational institution , according to which Educational institutio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... exempted) that are related to delivery of education as 'a part' of the curriculum that has been prescribed for obtaining a qualification prescribed by law , It is important to understand that to be in the negative list (exempted) the service should be delivered as part of curriculum. Conduct of degree courses by colleges. universities or Institutions which lead to grant of qualifications recognized by law would be covered, Training given by private coaching institutes would not be covered as such training does not lead to grant of a recognized qualification. This clearly implies that only those institutions whose operations conform to the specifies given in the definition of the term Educational Institution , would be treated as one and entitled to avail exemptions provided by the law. 14.3. Accordingly, the private coaching centers or other unrecognized institutions, though self-styled as educational institutions, would not be treated as educational institutions under GST and thus cannot avail exemptions available to an educational institution. The appellant's institution as such has no specific curriculum and the institution itself does not conduct any examination ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... interpretation. They have relied upon case of Reliance Petroleum Ltd. [2008] 227 ELT 3 (SC) in this regard. 15. In this regard, it is emerging from above discussions, that the coaching or training service provided by the appellant to the aspirants of CA-Foundation, CA-Inter, CA-Final, CMA (ICWA)-Foundation, CMA-Inter, CMA-Final and intermediate is not the service provided by means of education as a part of curriculum that has been prescribed for obtaining a qualification prescribed by law. The coaching/training imparted by the appellant to CA/CMA aspiring students (for appearing and qualifying in the respective examinations) would not lead to grant of certificate/qualification recognized by law. Instead, all the aspirants are required to take a separate set of examinations conducted by the said recognized institutions like ICAI, ICWA etc. for acquiring certificate or degree recognized by law. The training/coaching imparted by the appellant might be helping the aspirants to clear the test/examinations organized by the recognized institutions but not per se lead to grant of any certificate or degree as such recognized by law. 16.1 It is settled law that the person availing ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n has to be understood by its plain words and no intendment is allowed as is held in following cases: (i) In the case of Dharmandra Textile Processors Vs. Union of India reported in [2008 (231) ELT.3 (S.C.)], the Apex Court held that it is a well settled principle in law that the court cannot read anything into a statutory provision or a stipulated condition which is plain and unambiguous. A statute is on edict of the legislature. The language employed in a statute is the determinative factor of legislative intent . (ii) The above views have been expressed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Novopan India Ltd Vs. CCE. reported in [1994 (73) ELT 769 (S.C.) holding that a notification has to be interpreted in the light of the words employed by it and not on any other basis. This was so held in the context of the principle that in a taxing statute, there is no room for any intendment, that regard must be had to the clear meaning of the words and that the matter should be governed wholly by the language of the notification . (iii) Further, in case of CCE vs. Sunder Steels Ltd., reported in [2005 (181) ELT 154 (SC)] the Apex Court has also he ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s with or without issuance of a certificate and includes coaching or tutorial classes. Thereby the services rendered by the appellant can rightly be classified under the SAC. 18. The next issue raised before this authority is that whether there is any GST liability on the appellant for collecting and transferring examinations fees and other fees to the recognized institutes or universities on behalf of the students study at their institute. 18.1 The value of taxable supply of goods and/or services is determined by the provisions of Section 15 of the CGST/SGST Act, 2017. Section 15(2) provides that the value of supply shall include- (a) any taxes, duties, cesses, fees and charges levied under any law for the time being in force other than this Act, the State Goods and Services Tax Act, the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act and the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, if charged separately by the supplier : (b) any amount that the supplier is liable to pay in relation to such supply but which has been incurred by the recipient of the supply and not included in the price actually paid or payable for the goods or services or both; (c) incidental ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... half of the students enrolled with them, there will be no tax liability for the amount collected as examination fees/other fees. Accordingly, such amount can be excluded from the value of taxable supply as expenditure incurred by the appellant as a pure agent of the recipient of services. 19. Another issue for determination before us is that the appellant offers hostel facility to its students at a rate of less than ₹ 200/- per day per person including food and at a monthly rate of maximum ₹ 6000/-. Whether there is any tax liability on such hostel fee? 19.1 In order to determine this issue, the provisions of Composite supply un der CGST/SGST Act is relevant. Section 2(30) of the CGST Act, 2017 defines composite supply, according to which, composite supply means a supply made by a taxable person to a recipient consisting of two or more taxable supplies of goods or services or both, or any combination thereof, which are naturally bundled and supplied in conjunction with each other in the ordinary course of business, one of which is a principal supply. Further, Section 8 of the CGST Act, 2017 contains the provisions of tax liability on composite and mixed supplie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ts/residents staying at their hostel. It may be seen here that they are charging different rates from their students and outside persons possibly they differentiate between the two categories of residents. The students enrolled with them are presumably charged lesser amount of hostel fees as a part of the package with educational services. In such a situation, when the appellant are distinguishing the two types of residents for charging different hostel fees for the same lodging and food services, it is not difficult to infer that their students enjoy the concession only as a part of composite services of educational services and hostel facility. No explanation is forthcoming from their appeal memorandum regarding the said difference in charges of hostel fees. In such a situation, applying the provisions of Section 2(30) read with Section 8 of CGST Act, 2017. It is conveniently held that the appellant is providing a composite services of educational service (being principal service) and hostel facility, as is rightly held by the lower authority. The arguments of the appellant therefore are liable to be rejected in this regard. Having held that the hostel facility is being provided ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... law and facts, the following orders are issued : ORDER No. AAAR/13/21, dated 05/05/2021 Issue No. 1 : Whether the education programme and training being offered by the appellant is exempted from GST as imparting of education since the appellant is giving lecture classes and notes including printed books published by Govt. recognized institutes, on the basis of the specific syllabus (curriculum) published by the very same institutes formed under Acts of Parliament and also facilitating the students to appeal for the examinations conducted by the same institutes. Issue No. 2 : Whether the education programme and training being offered by the appellant is exempted from GST as imparting of education since the appellant is giving lecture classes and notes including printed books published by Government-recognized institutions like Universities and also availed from online facilities of the said institutions on the basis of the specific syllabus (curriculum) published by various Universities including Mahatma Gandhi University formed under Acts of State Legislature. Issue No. 3 : Whether the education programme and training being offered by the appellant is exempted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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