Bonded warehouse sales do not trigger a second IGST levy; tax arises only at customs clearance, with no GST registration required on these facts.

Imported goods kept in a Free Trade Warehousing Zone remain warehoused goods, so IGST is deferred until clearance for home consumption under the customs mechanism; a sale while the goods are still bonded does not trigger a second IGST levy, and only customs duties are payable on ex-bond clearance. On those facts, the foreign supplier was not treated as making a separate taxable supply in India, so GST registration was not required for the stated activity.

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Issues: (i) Whether sale of warehoused goods stored in a Free Trade Warehousing Zone to domestic customers attracts IGST at the time of removal from the FTWZ to the Domestic Tariff Area in addition to customs duties; (ii) Whether, on the stated facts, the foreign supplier is required to register under the GST law.

Issue (i): Whether sale of warehoused goods stored in a Free Trade Warehousing Zone to domestic customers attracts IGST at the time of removal from the FTWZ to the Domestic Tariff Area in addition to customs duties.

Analysis: The ruling proceeded on the basis that FTWZ goods are warehoused goods and that the levy of customs duty and integrated tax is deferred until clearance for home consumption. It was noted that under the GST Council's clarification and the later circular, supply of warehoused goods before clearance from the bonded warehouse is not subjected to integrated tax, and tax is collected only when the goods are cleared for home consumption under the customs mechanism. The value addition up to the point of clearance is taken into account at that stage, but no second IGST levy arises merely because the goods are sold while still bonded.

Conclusion: The goods are not liable to IGST again at the time of removal from the FTWZ to the DTA, apart from the customs duties payable on clearance.

Issue (ii): Whether, on the stated facts, the foreign supplier is required to register under the GST law.

Analysis: Since the applicant's activity was confined to importing goods into the FTWZ and selling them only when the domestic customer clears the goods on payment of the applicable customs duties, the authority held that no separate GST liability arose at the stage of bonded storage or removal from the FTWZ. On that premise, the applicant did not carry on a taxable supply in India requiring registration under the GST law.

Conclusion: The applicant is not required to obtain registration under the GST law on the stated facts.

Final Conclusion: The advance ruling granted relief to the applicant by holding that no additional IGST is payable on clearance from the FTWZ to the DTA and that GST registration is not required for the stated activity carried on in the bonded warehouse regime.

Ratio Decidendi: Where imported goods remain in a bonded warehouse or FTWZ and are cleared for home consumption only upon ex-bond clearance, integrated tax is leviable at the customs clearance stage and not again at the intermediate sale stage, and registration does not arise in the absence of a separate taxable supply.

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