PURCHASES FROM URP & LAND RTC

[Sadanand Bulbule]

Dear Sirs,

Wish you all joyful Sunday.

Your are all aware that, the taxable persons purchase goods like Arecanut,Pepper,Copra etc., from unregistered persons (URPs). SuchURPs may or may not be agriculturists or farmers. The purchase of goods made from URPs are duly reflected in the books of account and applicable tax is being paid whenever it is due.

However the GST authorities are issuing summons to the taxable persons to produce the Land RTC Records in respect of purchase of goods from URPs without indicating any specific reason for that.

The issue is when there is correct payment of tax on purchase of taxable goods made from URPs, in what way the Land RTC records are necessary and helpful to the taxable person to be maiantined? The second issue is, imporatantly the taxable person has no legal authority to ask the Land RTC details of the URPs. In case he asks for RTC details, no URPs would sell the goods to the taxable person for their own apprehension.

In my considered opinion, the GST Act does not impose any such obligation either to the URPs to furnish the Land RTC details while selling the taxable goods nor can the taxable person demand it while buying the goods nor on the Proper Officers.

Taxable person cannot furnish the details what he does not have. At the end of the day, what is essential is whether correct tax is being paid or not on such transactions.That's all. Factual position being so, under what authority the GST officers can issue summons to the taxable persons to produce the Land RTC details in respect of URP purchases, which are not the prescribed part of the regular books of account to be mainlined by the taxable person under the GST Act?

Kindly throw flood-light on these issues.

Regards.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Sir, I agree with your views.

AI Summary

Production of land records unnecessary for GST purchases from unregistered sellers where tax is correctly paid. The query challenges summonses requiring production of Land RTC records for purchases from unregistered persons, asserting that where GST is correctly accounted for the law does not obligate the taxable person to obtain or retain the seller's land records, and a taxable person cannot be compelled to produce documents it does not possess.