Authority rejects application on GST liability for joint property owners' rent income & maintenance charges under CGST Act, 2017.

The Authority for Advance Ruling, Maharashtra, deemed an application inadmissible under the CGST Act, 2017, regarding the liability of joint property owners for GST on rent income and maintenance charges. The applicant's request to bifurcate input tax credit among co-owners was rejected as not falling within the Authority's purview. The ruling clarified that the questions raised were not admissible for a ruling, leading to the rejection of the advance ruling application.

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Issues:
1. Liability of joint property owners for GST on rent income and maintenance charges.
2. Transfer of input tax credit among joint property owners under CGST Act, 2017.

Analysis:
1. Liability of Joint Property Owners for GST:
- The applicant sought an advance ruling regarding the liability of joint property owners for GST on rent income and maintenance charges. The applicant, along with three other co-owners, leased out properties and raised separate tax invoices for their respective shares. However, the society later issued a consolidated tax invoice in the name of one co-owner, charging GST accordingly.
- The applicant argued that separate tax invoices should be raised for each co-owner based on their ownership share ratio to claim input tax credit as per Section 16 of the CGST Act, 2017.
- The jurisdictional officer contended that there is no provision to bifurcate input tax credit among co-owners when a lump sum GST is charged to only one co-owner.
- The Authority observed that the question raised by the applicant was related to the procedure followed by the society in issuing invoices for common area maintenance charges, not directly linked to the applicant's supply of goods or services. Therefore, the application was deemed inadmissible under Section 97(2) of the Act.

2. Transfer of Input Tax Credit among Joint Property Owners:
- The second question raised was whether there are provisions under the CGST Act, 2017 to transfer the credit of lump sum GST charged to one co-owner to others proportionately.
- The Authority reiterated that the application was not maintainable under Section 97(2) of the CGST Act, 2017, as the question did not fall within its purview.
- Consequently, the application for an advance ruling was rejected under Section 98(2) of the CGST Act, 2017, as the questions raised were deemed not admissible for ruling by the Authority.

This detailed analysis of the judgment from the Authority for Advance Ruling, Maharashtra, highlights the issues of liability of joint property owners for GST and the transfer of input tax credit among co-owners under the CGST Act, 2017. The ruling clarified the inadmissibility of the application based on the specific provisions of the Act and the nature of the questions raised by the applicant.

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