The Karnataka State Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has recently ruled that the sub-letting and sub-leasing services provided by a tenant would be subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The ruling was delivered while considering an application by a tenant, a GST registered proprietary concern wherein the applicant said that he sub-let about 42 to students for periods ranging between three months to 11 months.
While disposing of the application, the AAR noted that the property given out for sub-renting matched that of a hotel room with attached bathrooms and they cannot be termed as a residential dwelling or a house.
After verifying the contract between the applicant-tenant and the Company (the owner of the building), the authority noted that “what is given is an immovable property consisting of only rooms with attached toilets as per the Layout of the leased premises annexed to the Lease agreement and does not fit into the meaning of a dwelling which means a house. They are like hotel rooms and the entire leased premises have 42 rooms, which can by no imagination be termed as a residential dwelling. Even if the same is given for residential purposes, the services provided are not for use as a residence by the lessee. Services by a hotel, inn, guest house, club site or campsite, by whatever name called, or other commercial places for residential or lodging purposes are covered by different entries in the schedule of this notification or under different notifications and this shows that rooms though given on rent for residential purposes would not amount to a residential dwelling and hence the entry is not applicable for the transaction of the lessor with the lessee.”
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