TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (8) TMI 977
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....wo 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 era, the appellant has paid the Central Excise Duty as well as Value added Tax....
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....nagement 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)............... (2)............... (5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section(l) of Sectionl6 and sub se....
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....ss 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 being transported by the Appellants and in support thereof, copy of CA Certificate dated 25.09.2017 and Draft Red Herring prospectus dated 27.09.2017 is enclosed. 15. In view of t....
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.... 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 support the Appellant stand. 22. From the certificate of registration, certificate of fitness issued under Motor Vehicle Act and after considering the meaning assigned to the 'goods' under Section 2(13),....
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....anages "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 from the scope of e-Way bill should take precedence over the provisions of the CGST Act, 2017, has been made without having any rational or basis. It is emphasized that the CGST Act has provided an unambiguous and clear definition of '....
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.... 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 purposes, the cash carried by them is to be construed as money and not goods. 36. It has also come to our notice from the Press Note dated 21st July 2018, available in open source, on the subject of Recommendations made during the 28l meeting of t....
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.... 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 434]: Here the Hon'ble Supreme Court had held that the Appellant cannot be bereft of the earlier benefits which were already available to them prior to the amendment in the definition of the "goods" under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 and hence interpreted that "goods" occurring for the fourth time i....
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....as 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 foreign currency after adjustment of redemption fine and penalty from the seized amount , which is entirely different from the facts and circumstances of the instant case, which involves the determination of the money as goods or otherwise under the light of CGST law and its provisions. Hence, the said citation is not relev....