HC held that works contract services for railway infrastructure...

HC held that works contract services for railway infrastructure development executed between petitioner and RVNL qualifies for concessional GST rate of 12% under relevant notifications. The term "railway" in notification extends beyond Indian Railways to include works pertaining to railway infrastructure broadly. The contract involving track doubling, construction of bridges, platforms, maintenance facilities and associated infrastructure constitutes "original work pertaining to railway." Court rejected narrow interpretation based on Indian Railways Act definition, noting exemption provisions should not be restricted by importing external conditions. Impugned orders demanding 18% GST were set aside as they contradicted existing advance rulings and would create legal inconsistency. Petition allowed confirming 12% tax rate applicability.

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