GST reimbursement under works contract denied where quoted contract price was found inclusive of taxes and later communications confirmed it.

A works contract dispute turned on whether GST, or tax on the service portion, was separately reimbursable under the tender documents and later correspondence. Although the tender and pre-bid clarification arose in the pre-GST period, the contractor's later letters and the work order showed that GST had been factored into the quoted rate and that the contract amount was inclusive of all taxes. After GST was introduced, no separate payment could be claimed outside the GST regime on the same contractual footing. On the facts, the reimbursement claim was unsupported by the contract record and was rejected.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to reimbursement of GST or tax on the service portion of the works contract under the tender documents, pre-bid clarification, and subsequent correspondence.

Analysis: The tender and pre-bid clarification were issued in the pre-GST period, but the petitioner's own later letters and the work order showed that GST had been considered in quoting the rate and that the contract amount was inclusive of all taxes. After the introduction of GST, there was no separate scope for payment of service tax outside the GST regime, as the levy on goods and services stood subsumed under the new tax structure. On the facts, the petitioner's claim for reimbursement was unsupported by the contractual record.

Conclusion: The petitioner was not entitled to reimbursement of GST or any separate tax on the service portion, and the claim was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the contract, read with the contractor's own subsequent communications and the work order, shows that the quoted amount is inclusive of taxes, no separate reimbursement of GST can be claimed merely because the pre-GST tender documents referred to service tax being paid extra.

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