Supply of Metering Equipment and Ancillary Electricity Services Exempted from GST: CBIC [Read Notification]

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ), vide notification no. 08/2024 dated 8th October 2024 has exempted various ancillary services related to electricity from the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ).

This exemption was followed by the GST Council recommendations, where it was recommended to exempt several services that are integral to the transmission and distribution of electricity.

This includes application fees for electricity connections, rental charges for metering equipment, testing fees for meters, transformers, and capacitors, labour charges for shifting meters or service lines, and charges for issuing duplicate bills. The exemption applies when these services are provided as part of a composite supply by transmission and distribution utilities to their consumers.

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Moreover, the notification addresses past GST liabilities by allowing for the regularisation of past dues on an 'as is where is' basis. This means that utilities will have the opportunity to settle any outstanding GST liabilities without penalties, simplifying compliance and encouraging operational efficiency. The 'as is where is' approach aims to provide clarity and ease for service providers, thereby promoting smoother transactions between electricity utilities and consumers.

The notification states that:

“(A) after serial number 25 and the entries relating thereto, the following serial number and entries relating thereto in columns (2), (3), (4) and (5) shall be inserted, namely: -

(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
“25A	Heading 9969 or Heading 9986	Supply of services by way of providing metering equipment on rent, testing for meters/transformers/capacitors etc., releasing electricity connection, shifting of meters/service lines, issuing duplicate bills etc., which are incidental or ancillary to the supply of transmission and distribution of electricity provided by electricity transmission and distribution utilities to their consumers.	Nil	Nil

Complete Supreme Court Judgment on GST from 2017 to 2024 with Free E-Book Access, Click here

The head 9969 is about Electricity, gas, water and other distribution services and the head 9986 is on Support services to agriculture, hunting, forestry, fishing, mining and utilities.

To Read the full text of the Notification CLICK HERE

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