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TMI Blog2022 (12) TMI 805X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Rajasthan Housing Board, Janpath, Bhagwandas Road, Jyoti Nagar, Jaipur (Rajasthan) (hereinafter the Applicant) being a registered person (GSTIN is 08AAALR0046F1ZA) as per the declaration given by him in Form (ARA-01) the issue raised by the applicant is neither pending for proceedings nor proceedings were passed by any authority. The Applicant has submitted the copy of application in Form GST ARA - 01 and also submitted a copy of Challan evidencing payment of application fees of Rs.5,000/- each under sub-rule (1) of Rule 104 of CGST rules 2017 and RGST Rules 2017. The appellant i.e M/s Rajasthan Housing Board, Janpath, Bhagwandas Road, Jyoti Nagar, Jaipur (Rajasthan) (Rajasthan) has raised the following question for advance ruling in the application for Advance Ruling filed by it. 1. Whether the Rajasthan Housing Board is covered under the definition of "Governmental Authority" as defined in clause (zf) Paragraph 2 vide notification no. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017? 2. Whether the services provided by the Rajasthan Housing Board as governmental authority such as permission for building construction, approval of map, permission of additional Floor Area Ratio, l ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mber: (d) Housing Commissioner of the Board, ex-Officio member: and (e) Six non official members, appointed by the Government of whom one shall belong to the Scheduled Castes or Scheduled Tribes. (2) The names of the Chairman and other members appointed under sub-section (1) shall be published in the Official Gazette. (3) A non-official member of the Board may at any time resign his office by submitting his resignation to the State Government: Provided that the resignation shall not take effect until it is accepted by the Government (4) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, remove from office the Chairman or any other member who- (a) is, or has become, subject to any of the disqualifications mentioned in section 7, or (b) in the opinion of the State Government, has been guilty of any misconduct or neglect or has so flagrantly abused his position as to render his continuance as member detrimental to the interests thereof or of the general public: Provided that no person shall be removed from office unless he has been given an opportunity to show cause against his removal 3. Administrative Cost of the RHB is born by the Government of Ra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Government. RHB is formed for providing infrastructure of housing facility. Thus, the RHB is the instrumentality of the State Government and has been discharging the statutory functions assigned to it under the statute or those entrusted to it by the State Government. Objective and Mission of RHB 6. As per the Vision statement of RHB, it has been established with the objective to, inter alia: a) Ensure affordable housing in environmentally invigorating habitats with inclusive facilities especially for the economically weaker section, low and middle income groups and competitive price options for the other sections of the society. b) To plan and develop state of art townships at affordable price to all the section. c) To develop the townships with inclusive facilities which include modern amenities, community services, hospitals, educational institutes, neighborhood parks and playgrounds. 7. The role of RHB for the development of Housing schemes can be understood from section 26 of the RHB Act, which reads as under: Section 26, Powers and duties of the Board to undertake Housing Schemes - (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and subject to the control of the State ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... structive buildings or portions of buildings; (f) the construction and reconstruction of buildings; (g) the sale, letting or exchange of any property comprised in the scheme; (h) the construction and alteration of streets and back lanes: (i) the formation of a reconstituted plot by the alterations of the boundaries of an original plot: (j) the allotment of a plot to any owner dispossessed of his land in furtherance of the housing scheme: (k) the transfer of ownership of a plot from one person to another: (l) the reconstitution of two or more plots belonging to different persons into one plot without changing their boundaries and making them joint property with the consent of the owners of the original plots; (m) the provision of draining, water-supply and lighting of the area included in the scheme: (n) the provision of parks, playing-fields and open spaces for the benefit of any area comprised in the scheme or any adjoining areas, and the enlargement of existing parks, playing fields, open spaces and approaches: (o) the reclamation or reservation of lands, for markets, gardens, playing-fields, schools, dispensaries, hospitals and other amenities in the scheme; ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e deemed to be a notification or, as the case may be, an order issued under this Act. 2. That above exemption entry has 2 parts:- (i) Services must be provided by "Governmental authority" (ii) That service should be in relation to any function entrusted to a municipality under Article 243W of the constitution. 3. That for condition no. (i) it is imperative to discuss the definition of "Governmental authority" which is defined in clause (zf) Paragraph 2 vide notification no. 12/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, reproduced below for reference. - "Governmental Authority" means an authority or a board or any other body, - (i) Set up by an Act of Parliament or a State Legislature; or (ii) Established by any Government, With 90 percent. or more participation by way of equity or control, to carry out any function entrusted to a Municipality under article 243W of the Constitution or to a Panchayat under article 243G of the Constitution. 4. As mentioned above, the RHB is established as per Section 4 of the Rajasthan Housing Board Act. It is established by the state government with 100% control of government and to ensure affordable housing in environmentally invigor ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ting, parking lots, bus stops and public conveniences. 18. Regulation of slaughter houses and tanneries. 5. Thus, it is evident that RHB is constituted with the object of promoting affordable housing for the weaker sections of the society and for the up liftment of slums, inter alia and the said acts are also carried out to fulfill the duties of the State under the Constitution and more specifically under Article 243W read with the 12th Schedule of the Constitution. The RHB carries out the specific functions as highlighted underlined in the list of Twelfth Schedule. 6. It is imperative to State that as per the settled proposition of law it is not mandatory that the functions stipulated in Article 243W of the Constitution are required to be performed only by the municipality; rather the State is empowered to authorize any other local authority to carry out the similar functions. In furtherance of this, RHB has been constituted by the State Government for setting up a specialized body for urban planning and development of townships. Guidance can be sought from the judgment of the Hon'ble Rajasthan High Court in the case of Ram Chandra Kasliwal vs State of Rajasthan and Ors, 2004 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... te). 8. In case of M/s. PDCOR Limited, the GST AAR Rajasthan has held that Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) is a 'Governmental Authority' and the Project Management Consulting Services (PMCs) provided by M/s PDCOR Ltd. to JDA for Rejuvenation of Amanishah Nallah (Dravyavati River), Jaipur awarded to them vide MOA dated: 01.09.2017 are covered under SI. No.3 of GST under Notification 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28/06/2017 (Notification No. F.12 (56) FD/Tax/2017- Pt-I-50 Dated 29/09/2017 issued by the Government of Rajasthan) and hence exempt from GST. 9. The Gujarat GST AAR vide Advance Ruling No. GUJ/GAAR/R/42/2021 dated 11/08/2021, in case of Gujarat State Road Development Corporation (GSRDC) observed that GSRDC was established with objective to undertake the development of bridges and roads and that Government of Gujarat has established GSRDC as its wholly owned company and entrusted it with the work of development of roads and bridges. The AAR held that GSRDC satisfies the definition of "Government Entity". Government Entity defined under GST Law is as follows: "Government Entity" means an authority or a board or any other body including a society, trust, corp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ty is established by Government, then, it should have 90% or more participation by way of equity or control to carry out any function entrusted to a municipality under Article 243W of the Constitution to be eligible for exemption; * The Authority set up by an Act of Parliament or State Legislature is not and cannot be made subject to the condition of 90% or more participation by way of equity or control to carry out any function entrusted to a municipality under Article 243W of the Constitution. 11. Thus, in light of the above submissions the applicant is of the view that the RHB is "Governmental Authority" and the services provided by the RHB as "Governmental Authority" are duly covered under the ambit of entry 4 of the exemption Notification no. 12/2017-CT(R) as both the conditions stipulated in the said entry stands satisfied and therefore, in view of applicant the services of granting permission for Building construction, approval of Building Map, permission for additional Floor Area Ratio, Services of Leasing of Land are exempt from GST. 12. Further applicant made submission vide letter 19.09.2022 that The RHB in capacity of 'Government. Authority' has been tasted ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ental Authority" as defined in clause (zf) Paragraph 2 vide notification no. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017? Q.2 Whether the services provided by the Rajasthan Housing Board as governmental authority such as permission for building construction, approval of map, permission of additional Floor Area Ratio, leasing of land etc. are exempt as per Notification no. 12/2017 CTR dated 28.06.2017 as amended from time to time, under entry specified at S.No. 4 of said notification? D. PERSONAL HEARING In the matter personal hearing was granted to the applicant on 06.09.2022. On behalf of the applicant CA, Manish Maliwal & CA Virendra Parwal (Authorized Representatives) (Authorized Representatives) appeared for PH. During the PH, they reiterated the submissions already made in the application. Applicant made additional submission on dated and dated E. COMMENTS OF THE JURISDICTIONAL OFFICER In the matter, Assistant Commissioner, CGST Div. H Jaipur has given his comments vide letter V(H)30/02/Advance ruling /03/2022 dated 19.07.2022 that Rajasthan Housing Board may be considered as Governmental Authority and exemption under SI.No.4 of Notification 12/2017 dated 28.06.2017 is av ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... b-section 2(53) of the Rajasthan Goods and service Tax Act, 2017 provided that "Government" means the Government of Rajasthan; Further the "government Authority" is being defined in the clause (zf) of notification no. 12/2017 dated 28.06.2017 of Central Goods and service Tax Act 2017as amended is as under- "Governmental Authority" means an authority or a board or any other body, - (i) Set up by an Act of Parliament or a State Legislature; or (ii) Established by any Government, With 90 percent. or more participation by way of equity or control, to carry out any function entrusted to a Municipality under article 243W of the Constitution or to a Panchayat under article 243G of the Constitution. 5) We observes and found from records that RHB is constituted by State Government under Rajasthan Housing Board Act 1970 (Act No. 4 of 1970) and fully controlled by state government, Thus its amply clear for us that RHB is Governmental Authority under GST Act. 6) Now for arriving at a decision as to whether the nature of service supplies being provided by the RHB falls under 12th schedule, Article 243W of the Indian Constitution, the following works enumerated under Article 243W need ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ertake Housing Schemes. - (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act and subject to the control of the State Government, the Board may, from time to time incur expenditure and undertake works in any area in which this Act is in force for the framing and execution of such housing Schemes as it may consider necessary. (2) The Housing Schemes may be of one of the following types, or combination of any two or more of such types or of any special features hereof, namely:- (a) a house accommodation scheme with special emphasis for the scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other economically backward classes: (b) a rebuilding scheme; (c) a rehousing or rehabilitation scheme; (d) a city or town or village expansion scheme; (e) a commercial or commercial-cum residential scheme; (f) an Urban Renewal Scheme including of Slum Clearance of Slum Improvement Schemes: (g) a subsidized industrial Housing Scheme; or (h) any other scheme with the approval of the State Government. (3) The State Government may, on such terms and conditions as it may think fit to impose, entrust to the Board the framing and execution of any housing scheme whether provided for by this Act or not, an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lamation or reservation of lands, for markets, gardens, playing-fields, schools, dispensaries, hospitals and other amenities in the scheme; (p) the letting out, management and use of the Board premises.' (q) the provision of sanitary arrangements required for the area comprised in the scheme, including the conservation of, and prevention of any injury or contamination to reverse or other sources and means of water-supply; (r) the provision of accommodation for any class of inhabitants: (s) the advance of money for the purpose of the scheme; (t) the provision of facilities for communication and transport: (u) the collection of such information and statistics as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act: (v) any other matter for which, in the opinion of the State Government, it is expedient to make provision with a view to provide housing accommodation and to the improvement or development of any area comprised in the scheme or any adjoining area or the general efficiency of the scheme. 7) In light of submissions made by applicant, We found that applicant asked advance ruling against certain services provided by him which are such as permission for building con ..... 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