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TMI Blog2022 (4) TMI 406X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... adhu Madhav Tower, Laxmi Bhuvan Square, Dharampeth, Nagpur, Maharashtra-440010 ("hereinafter referred to as "the Appellant") against the Advance Ruling No. GST-ARA-65/2020-21/B-35 dated 27.07.2021, pronounced by the Maharashtra Authority for Advance Ruling (hereinafter referred to as "MAAR"). BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE 3.1 The Appellant i.e., M/s. Nagpur Waste Water Management Pvt. Ltd, are private limited company registered under the GST Act. The Appellant has entered into a contract on 12.12.2014 with Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) with regard to setting up, and operating of Sewage Treatment Plant for the treatment of sewage water generated in Nagpur city. 3.2. For undertaking the aforesaid activities, the Appellant is being paid on the basis of agreed capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenses (OPEX) by the NMC as a consideration. The said consideration is being charged by the Appellant from NMC along with the applicable GST. 3.3 In addition to this, the Appellant is also entitled to sell the Tertiary Treated Water to any person for non-potable application. Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), Maharashtra State Electricity Generating Company Limited (MAHAGENCO) and t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , Viruses, Phosphate, Chlorides, Silica, Total Suspended Solids, and Hardness. 3.7 The Appellant had supplied the "Tertiary Treated Water" to MAHAGENCO effective from 05.06.2020, and had raised its first invoice for this supply under consideration along with the applicable GST@18% (9% CGST and 9% SGST) on the value of the said supply of "Tertiary Treated Water". However, MAHAGENCO disputed the payment of GST on the ground that "Tertiary Treated Water was exempt from tax under Notification No. 02/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dtd.,28.06.2017. Therefore, in view of the aforesaid dispute with MAHAGENCO, the Appellant had filed an Advance Ruling Application dtd.19.12.2020 before the Maharashtra Authority for Advance Ruling for seeking clarification on the taxability on the supply of the impugned product, i.e., Tertiary Treated Water. 4. The MAAR, vide the impugned Advance Ruling Order No. GST-ARA-65/2020-21/B-35 dated 27.07.2021, has held that the "Tertiary Treated Water" is purified water and therefore, not covered under the exemption Notification No. 02/2017-CT-(Rate) dtd.28.06.2017, and therefore, not exempt from tax. The Authority further held that the impugned product was covered unde ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 2/2017-C.T. (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. They further deposited that the impugned product, i.e., TTW, should be taxed at the rate of 18% (CGST @9% +SGST@9%) in terms of SI. No. 24 of Schedule III of the Notification No. 1/2017-C.T. (Rate) dated 28.06.2017; PERSONAL HEARING 7.1 The personal hearing in the matter was conducted on 04.03.2022 in the virtual mode via Video Conferencing, which was attended by Shri Ashok Chandak, C.A, on behalf of the Appellant, wherein the Appellant reiterated their earlier submissions made while filing the Appeal under consideration. 7.2 Shri Chandak, in the aforesaid hearing, contended that the TTW (Tertiary Treated water) supplied by the Appellant to M/s. MAHAGENCO would not qualify to be "purified water", as it still contained various chemical impurities, bacteria and viruses due to which the said TTW was not fit for human consumption. Shri Chandak further contended that since the term "purified water" mentioned in the entry at SI. No. 99 of the Exemption Notification No. 02/2017-C.T.(Rate) dated 28.06.2017 is not defined in the CGST Act, 2017, therefore, in such case, the common parlance meaning may be assigned to the said term "purified water". As ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... entral Tax (Rate) dated 28 June 2017 (as amended); and that the same will be taxable at the rate of 18% in terms of the entry at the SI. No. 24 of the Schedule III to the Notification No. 1/2017-C.T. (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. 9. On perusal of the entire case records and the submissions made by the Appellant as well as the Jurisdictional Officer, the moot issue before us is whether the impugned product, i.e., TTW, supplied by the Appellant to M/s. Mahagenco, can be construed as 'purified water', or not. 10. Since, the term "purified" is not defined under the CGST Act, 2017, we will resort to the dictionary meaning of the same. As per the website Dictionary.com, the term "purify" means: 1) to make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates; 2. to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements; As per the Cambridge Dictionary, the term "purify" means: 1. to remove bad substances from something to make it pure; 11. Thus, as per the dictionary meaning, the term 'purify' means "to make pure", or "to free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements". Accordingly, the "purified water" means such water which is free from foreign ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container" mentioned in the exclusion clause of the entry under consideration as the said TTW can be readily replaced by any water for general-purposes. Further, it is also noteworthy that all these groups of specific water mentioned under the exclusion clause of the relevant entry are supplied in the packaged form, i.e., in the sealed container, in order to preserve their characteristics and specificity, while the same is not the case with the impugned product, i.e., TTW, which are supplied through pipelines without any such concerns. Thus, from the foregoing, it is amply clear that the term "purified", mentioned under the exemption clause of the relevant entry, will definitely not include the TTW. Hence, the impugned product, i.e., TTW, is rightfully eligible for exemption under entry at SI. No. 99 of the exemption notification no. 02/2017-C.T. (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. 16. The Appellant has also contended that it has never been the intention of the Government, i.e., either Central Government or State Government, to levy any indirect tax on water of general purposes. In this regard, they have stated tha ..... 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