‘Pure Services’ are eligible for the Exemption from GST: AAR [Read Order]

The Gujarat Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) ruled that services provided by the applicant are eligible for the exemption from Goods and Service Tax(GST) if they are ‘pure services’.

The applicant Shri Jayesh Anilkumar Dalal has been providing services to various municipal authorities/departments since under Services Tax Law and also continued in the GST regime and made invoices for their services by charging GST. However, the applicant submitted that some of the departments are of the view that his services are exempted from CGST and Gujarat GST as per of Notification No.12/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated June 28, 2017, and Notification No.12/2017— (Gujarat) State Tax (Rate) dated June 30, 2017, respectively.

The applicant has mentioned in Statement II, of the application, that the word “Pure Services” referred to in notification has nowhere been defined in the Act, Rules or notification themselves. They also do not provide any mechanism to determine a particular service as “Pure Services”.

The applicant sought advance ruling on the issue whether or not my supply of services in nature as mentioned in point 12(B), provided to Local Authorities, Urban Development Authority, District Panchayat R&B Div. and other Government Departments which are entrusted with the functions mentioned under article 243G and 243W of the Constitution of India can be termed as “Pure Services”.

Nature of Services mentioned under Point 12(B) of the application includes structural Designing & architectural Planning; project management consultancy services including complete project supervision, monitoring & quality Assurance; providing third party inspection services for road & building construction work; preparation of DPR (detail project report); preparation of HFAPOA (House for all plan of action) and DPRS for BLC (Beneficiary led Construction) under different verticals of housing for all (HFA) (Urban mission/pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY); and Technical Audit and Quality Assurance.

The authority consisting of the members R.B. Mankodi and G.C. Jain ruled that services provided by the applicant are eligible for the exemption from Goods and Service Tax if they are ‘pure services’ and are provided to the Central Government, State Government or Union territory or local authority or a governmental authority by way of any activity to a Panchayat under an article in relation to any function entrusted to a Panchayat under article 243G of the Constitution or in relation to any function entrusted to a Municipality under article 243W of the Constitution.