Cold storage leasing is taxable, but agricultural produce storage and warehousing remain exempt under GST.

A bare lease of cold storage premises is treated as renting of immovable property and remains taxable under GST at the residuary rate, because the exemption for agricultural produce covers storage or warehousing services, not an independent supply of premises. By contrast, storage or warehousing of agricultural produce falls within the exemption when the service itself relates to agricultural produce, and the benefit is not limited by the recipient's status as farmer or trader. The ruling therefore separates taxable leasing of cold storage space from exempt agricultural storage services, applying the notification only to the latter.

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Issues: (i) Whether leasing charges for use of cold storage premises for agricultural produce are taxable under GST. (ii) Whether storage or warehousing services for agricultural produce, including services provided to farmers and traders, are exempt under the exemption notification.

Issue (i): Whether leasing charges for use of cold storage premises for agricultural produce are taxable under GST.

Analysis: A pure lease of cold storage premises is renting of immovable property and does not itself amount to storage service. Renting of immovable property is treated as a supply of service under the GST framework and, for non-residential property, falls under the residuary taxable entry. The exemption for storage or warehousing of agricultural produce applies to the service of storage, not to the independent supply of lease of premises.

Conclusion: The leasing charges are taxable at 18%, against the assessee.

Issue (ii): Whether storage or warehousing services for agricultural produce, including services provided to farmers and traders, are exempt under the exemption notification.

Analysis: The exemption entry for services relating to agricultural produce covers loading, unloading, packing, storage and warehousing of agricultural produce. The exemption is service-based and not person-specific. Therefore, where the service is for storage or warehousing of agricultural produce as defined in the notification, the exemption applies irrespective of whether the recipient is a farmer or a trader.

Conclusion: The storage or warehousing service is exempt if it relates to agricultural produce, in favour of the assessee.

Final Conclusion: The ruling distinguishes between taxable leasing of cold storage premises and exempt storage or warehousing service for agricultural produce, and grants exemption only to the latter to the extent covered by the notification.

Ratio Decidendi: A bare lease of cold storage premises is taxable as renting of immovable property, while exemption for agricultural produce applies only to the actual storage or warehousing service and not to the lease of the premises itself.

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