2018 (10) TMI 1869 - AAR - GST

Person supplying tax-free goods exempt from GST registration but processed seeds attract reverse charge liability

In Re: M/s. Acsen Hyveg Private Limited,

AAR Haryana ruled that a person engaged exclusively in supplying tax-free goods is not required to register under GST Act per Section 23(1)(a) of CGST ... Supply of tax free goods - requirement of registration - liability of tax under RCM u/s 9(3) of CGST Act,2017 for transportation services for transporting tax free goods - requirement of registration for interstate supply/sales of tax free goods - Whether GST registration can be surrendered if we are not liable to pay RCM us 9(3) of CGST Act 2017 and not liable to be registered under GST Act? Whether registration is required in case of supply of tax free goods under GST Act? - HELD THAT:- As per Section 23 (1) (a) of CGST Act, 2017, any person engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or both that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Service Tax Act shall not be liable to registration subjected to requirement in other section of the Act - Therefore, when the person is engaged in supply of exempted goods or services or both, which are not liable to be taxed, then such person shall not be liable to be registered under Act. Whether assessee is liable to pay tax under RCM U/S 9(3) of the CGST Act, 2017 for transporting tax free goods? - HELD THAT:- Agriculture produce has been defined under Para 2 (d) of Notification No.12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dt.28.06.17, as any produce out of cultivation of plants and rearing of all life forms of animals, except the rearing of horses, for food, fibre, fuel, raw material or other similar products, on which either no further processing is done or such processing is done as is usually done by a cultivator or producer which does not alter its essential characteristics but makes it marketable for primary market - As regards the goods supplied by the applicant, the same are seeds which are covered under chapter heading 1209 of the first schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. As per the list of activities undertaken by the applicant, the harvested raw seeds are dispatched to the processing unit with the Production advice to Gurgaon or Bangalore as per requirement, where the seeds are processed with machines, quality checks are done thereafter the seeds are chemically treated and packed. Such chemically processed and treated seeds can no more be regarded as agriculture produce in terms of Para 2 (d) of the Notification No.12/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dt.28.06.17 - therefore, the applicant is required to pay GST under reverse charge mechanism in case of transportation services received for transporting the aforesaid goods from a Goods Transport Agency (GTA) - registration not required under GST Act. Whether registration is required under GST Act, 2017 for interstate supply/sales of tax free goods? - HELD THAT:- Section 23 of CGST Act, 2017 provides that any person engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or both that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act shall not be liable to registration. Therefore, in case the applicant is engaged exclusively in supply of exempted goods [and also not receiving any taxable services liable to RCM under GST provisions], registration is not required under the CGST Act, 2017. Whether GST registration can be surrendered if we are not liable to pay RCM us 9(3) of CGST Act 2017 and not liable to be registered under GST Act? - HELD THAT:- The applicant is liable to pay GST under RCM, in terms of Section 9(3) of the CGST Act, 2017, they are liable to registered under the CGST Act, 2017. Issues Involved:1. Requirement of registration for supply of tax-free goods under the GST Act.2. Liability to pay tax under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) for transportation services.3. Registration requirement if not liable to pay tax under RCM.4. Registration requirement for interstate supply/sales of tax-free goods.5. Surrender of GST registration if not liable to pay RCM and not required to be registered.Detailed Analysis:1. Requirement of Registration for Supply of Tax-Free Goods:The applicant, engaged exclusively in the supply of exempted goods (sowing seeds), questioned whether registration is required under the GST Act. As per Section 23(1)(a) of the CGST Act, 2017, any person engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax is not required to register. Therefore, the applicant, dealing exclusively in exempted goods, is not liable to be registered under the Act.2. Liability to Pay Tax under RCM for Transportation Services:The applicant sought clarity on whether they are liable to pay tax under RCM for transporting tax-free goods. Section 24 of the CGST Act, 2017, mandates registration for persons liable to pay tax under RCM. Entry No. 21 of Notification No. 12/2017-CTR exempts certain transportation services by a goods transport agency (GTA). However, the applicant's seeds, after processing and chemical treatment, do not qualify as 'agricultural produce' under Para 2(d) of the Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Consequently, the applicant is required to pay GST under RCM for transportation services received from a GTA, and thus must register under the Act.3. Registration Requirement if Not Liable to Pay Tax under RCM:This query was deemed unnecessary to address as the answer to the previous query confirmed the liability to pay tax under RCM.4. Registration Requirement for Interstate Supply/Sales of Tax-Free Goods:According to Section 23 of the CGST Act, 2017, any person engaged exclusively in the supply of exempted goods is not required to register under the Act, provided they are not receiving any taxable services liable to RCM. Therefore, the applicant, engaged exclusively in the interstate supply of exempted goods, is not required to register under the GST Act.5. Surrender of GST Registration if Not Liable to Pay RCM and Not Required to be Registered:The applicant questioned whether they could surrender their GST registration if not liable to pay RCM and not required to register under the Act. Since the applicant is liable to pay GST under RCM for transportation services received from a GTA, they are consequently required to register under the CGST Act, 2017, and cannot surrender their registration.Conclusion:The advance ruling concluded that the applicant is not required to register for the supply of exempted goods but must register and pay GST under RCM for transportation services received from a GTA. Consequently, they cannot surrender their GST registration.