TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (8) TMI 977
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.... their opinion in deciding one of the two issues/questions raised by the applicant before them. Accordingly, the said issue, which remain undecided by the Authority for Advance Ruling, has been referred before this appellate authority under the provision of Section 98(5) of the CGST Act, 2017. BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE 1. The Appellant is having cash management network pan India. During the course of providing the cash management services, the appellant is engaged in the following activities: • Providing ATMs and installing the same at various locations across India. • Managing cash circulation through transporting cash from currency chest to bank branches. • Cash pick-up and delivery from and to dedicated banks. 2. Such transportation of cash is done through the security vans popularly known as "cash carry vans". The appellant purchases raw motor vehicles and requisite fabrication, get them converted to cash carry vans. The appellant also pays GST on fabrication. For this purpose, the appellant purchases motor vehicle and pays GST. Credit of GST is not availed by the appellant presently. While purchasing Cash Carry Vans during pre-GST ....
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....s Limited on purchase of such motor vehicles i.e. cash carry vans which are used for cash management business and supplied, post usage, as scrap, there was difference in opinion on this particular issue between two members of the Advance Ruling Authority. Therefore, the matter has been referred to the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling for giving the appropriate ruling in this regard. GROUNDS OF APPEAL 7. The Appellant submitted that they are lawfully eligible and entitled for input tax credit of the GST paid on standard motor vehicle and also GST paid on the fabrication of the vehicles to suit the need for cash carrying vehicle. 8. According to Section 17(5)(a) of CGST Act, 2017, input tax credit on motor vehicles and other conveyance is not available; however, the exception has been carved out inter-alia to the motor vehicles and other conveyances used for transportation of goods. In other words, if the motor vehicles and conveyance is used for transportation of goods, input tax credit on motor vehicles is available. The relevant portion of the said section 17(5)(a) is reproduced below: "Section 17 Apportionment of credit and blocked credit:- (1)...................
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....der of another denomination would be considered as "money". 12. In the instant case, the currency transported by the appellant is for the purpose of carrying out the business of maintaining ATMs by the Appellant and hence, the Appellant are not using the same as a consideration for settling of any obligation. The job assigned to the appellant is for the transportation of currency to the desired destination as per their customer banks and while carrying out the activity of transportation, the said currency is plain goods for the Appellants and cannot be used/is not used in exchange of other Indian legal tender of another denomination. 13. In other words, although in general understanding, what is being transported by the appellants is currency or cash or money, from the Appellant's point of view or for the appellant, what is transported is 'goods' and not 'money' as the said goods being transported would not serve the same purpose of 'money' as in the normal circumstances the money in hands of a person would serve i.e. for the payment of purchases/settlement of dues/discharge of debts etc.; 14. It is once again re-iterated that currency/cash is b....
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.... anything (other than equipment ordinarily used with the vehicle) carried by a vehicle except living persons, but does not include luggage or personal effects carried in a motor car or in a trailer attached to a motor car or the personal luggage of passengers travelling in the vehicle; (14) 'goods carriage' means any motor vehicle constructed or adapted for use solely for the carriage of goods, or any motor vehicle not so constructed or adapted when used for the carriage of goods; (47) 'transport vehicle' means a public service vehicle, a goods carriage, an educational institutions bus or a private service vehicle; ............... ............... 20. Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 at Sr. No. 117 provides full exemption for Rupee notes when sold to Reserve Bank of India falling under chapter/heading 48/4907 would also substantiate the Appellants' claim that currency is covered under "goods". 21. The certificate of registration and also certificate of fitness issued by the Motor Vehicle Department of Govt, of Maharashtra certifying cash carrying vans to be a 'goods carrier' and 'goods vehicle' also sup....
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.... purpose vehicle which is deployed to collect the currency under the security guards with arms and with 2 supervisors as per the Guidelines of Reserve Bank of India letter dated 06th April, 2018. 29. The appellant transports and manages "the money" which is different from 'goods' even in the eyes of the banking industry and RBI. It is because of this reason that the RBI has prescribed special safeguards specifically for "the money". The fact that these safeguards are prescribed by the RBI are not applicable to goods clearly establishes that RBI considers the money as different from goods. Similarly, in the eyes of the banking industry also the money is not goods. Therefore, in the context of the situation in which the appellant is working, 'money' cannot be considered as 'goods'. Accordingly, only because the definition of 'goods' under the CGST Act, 2017, contains the phrase "unless the context otherwise require" does not mean that, the context of the appellant requires a definition of goods is different from one as prescribed in the CGST Act, 2017. 30. The appellant contention that provision of Motor Vehicle Act and the exclusion of money fro....
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....#39;goods' defined under the GST law, since the above said safeguards prescribed by the RBI for the transportation of cash are not applicable on other 'goods'. DISCUSSION AND FINDINGS 34. On going through all the relevant case records, oral & written submissions made by the Appellant and the Respondent, we find that the issue before us is to determine whether the money being transported by the Appellant in the cash carry vans is "goods" or otherwise for the purposes of availing Input Tax Credit under the GST law. 35. For this purpose, we observe from a plain reading of the definition of the 'goods' provided in the Section 2(52) of the CGST Act, 2017, that the very first line of the definition, i.e., 'goods' means every kind of movable property other than money/clearly excludes money from the purview of goods under the GST law. Now, coming to the definition of money under the Section 2(75) of the CGST Act, 2017, we find that "money" means the Indian legal tenderbut shall not include any currency that is held for its numismatic value. Since the cash carry vehicles are deployed to carry cash and bullion for other than for numismatic purpo....
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....ortation of money for or by a banking company or financial institution, which were previously not available to them, clearly shows that the intention of the legislature was earlier to not treat 'money' as 'goods', as defined under Section 2(52) of the CGST Act. Now the GST Council have recommended to the Government to lay before the legislature an amendment in the provision which will extend the benefit of ITC in respect of the motor vehicles, used for transportation of money for or by a banking company or financial institution. Thus, this proposed amendment recommended by the GST Council during its 28th meeting, further strengthens our findings above that money being transported by the Appellant in the cash carry van is certainly not "goods" as is being claimed by the Appellant. In fact, given the collective mind of the GST Council on the subject, the argument stands clinched in favour of the Respondents. 37. Accordingly, the arguments extended by the Appellant in the support of their appeal, including ruling by the courts, are distinguished as below: (a) Printers (Mysore) Ltd. And Another v. Asstt. Commercial Tax Officer and others [(1994)2 SC Cases 43....
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....lector of Customs, New Delhi [1994(71) E.L.T. 724 (Tri)]. The cited case is related to the confiscation of the foreign currency exported by post parcels in violation of the provisions and rules prescribed under Customs Act, 1962 and Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1973. In the instant case, the money, which has been clearly defined in the CGST Act, is being transported by the Appellant at the behest of the Banks under the contracts entered with them. Further, "goods" has also been defined in the CGST Act, which clearly excludes money from its ambit. Thus it is very much clear that the things which are being transported by the Appellant is "money" which cannot be treated as "goods" as explained above. Therefore, in the instant case, there is no need to derive the interpretation of the "goods" from the Customs Act or Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, when the same is clearly defined under the CGST Act. Thus, the ratio of this judgment also cannot be applied in the instant case by virtue of entirely different facts and circumstances. (d) Anyanwu Marteena Uchechi [ 2015(329) E.L.T. 750 (GOI)]. It is observed that the above said case involved refund of the seized forei....