Tendering as a residual service under GST, with registration-related fees held outside the cited exemption.

Online and offline tendering are treated as services because they involve intangible procurement-related processes rather than goods, and the proper residual classification is Heading 9997 under Chapter 99 as miscellaneous services. The ruling also states that tendering is not separately enumerated under a specific service heading, so it falls within services nowhere else specified. The Dental Council's registration-related activities do not qualify for the cited exemption notification because the services are not specifically covered in its table, and the corresponding registration fees remain taxable under GST.

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Issues: (i) Whether online and offline tendering constitute supply of services and, if so, the appropriate service classification; (ii) whether tendering falls under miscellaneous services or specific services; (iii) whether the activities of the Dental Council and the corresponding registration fees are exempt under the cited exemption notification.

Issue (i): Whether online and offline tendering constitute supply of services and, if so, the appropriate service classification.

Analysis: Goods are movable property, while services are defined broadly to mean anything other than goods, money and securities. Online tendering involves an internet-based and largely automated process for procuring goods or services, and therefore does not fall within the definition of goods. Offline tendering, though conducted manually, also consists of intangible processing activities such as application, fee payment, bid submission, verification and allotment, and likewise does not amount to supply of goods. Both forms of tendering are therefore treated as services. Since tendering is not specifically covered elsewhere in the service tariff, the appropriate residual classification is Heading 9997.

Conclusion: Online and offline tendering are supply of services and are classifiable under Heading 9997.

Issue (ii): Whether tendering falls under miscellaneous services or specific services.

Analysis: The tariff structure for services places unclassified and residual services within Chapter 99. As tendering is not separately enumerated under any specific heading, it is treated as a residual service, namely miscellaneous services including services nowhere else specified.

Conclusion: Tendering falls under miscellaneous services including services nowhere else specified.

Issue (iii): Whether the activities of the Dental Council and the corresponding registration fees are exempt under the cited exemption notification.

Analysis: The exemption notification applies only to the intra-State supply of services specifically described in its table. The services rendered by the applicant do not find specific mention in the notification. Accordingly, the registration-related activities do not qualify for the claimed exemption, and the related fees remain taxable.

Conclusion: The exemption is not available and the registration fees are not exempt from GST.

Final Conclusion: The ruling treats tendering as a taxable service under the residual service heading, while rejecting the claimed exemption for the council's registration-related activities.

Ratio Decidendi: A composite tendering process consisting of application, fee payment, bid submission and verification is a service rather than goods, and unenumerated services are classified under the residual tariff heading unless specifically exempted by notification.

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