Corporate card rebates on excise duty payment are not taxable as GST, being a monetary adjustment and exempt discount.

Rebates received by an applicant from a bank for paying excise duty through a corporate card were treated as a post-transaction monetary adjustment, not as consideration for any independent supply of goods or services. The arrangement was viewed as a transaction in money under the CGST Act and therefore outside the scope of supply under section 7. It was also characterised as a short-term financial accommodation, with the rebate falling within the exemption for services by way of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is by interest or discount under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). Accordingly, the rebates are not liable to GST.

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Issues: Whether rebates received by the applicant from the bank for payment of excise duty through a corporate card are liable to GST.

Analysis: The rebate was found to be a post-transaction monetary adjustment linked to corporate card usage and not attributable to any independent or identifiable supply of goods or services by the applicant. Such adjustment was treated as a transaction in money within the meaning of section 2(75) of the CGST Act, 2017 and therefore outside the scope of consideration for supply under section 7 of the CGST Act, 2017. The ruling also noted that the arrangement functioned as short-term financial accommodation and that the rebate operated as a discount falling within the exemption for services by way of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is by interest or discount under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017.

Conclusion: The rebates do not constitute supply of goods or services and are not liable to GST.

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