TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (3) TMI 1740
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ppellate Authority for Advance Ruling, constituted under Section 99 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Act, 2017, within a period of thirty days from the date of communication of this Ruling, or within such further time as mentioned in the proviso to Section 100 (2) of the GST Act. Every such appeal shall be filed in accordance with Section 100 (3) of the GST Act and the Rules prescribed thereunder, and the Regulations prescribed by the West Bengal Authority for Advance Ruling Regulations, 2018. 1. Admissibility of the Application 1.1 The Applicant, New Town Kolkata Development Authority (hereinafter called NKDA), seeks a ruling whether the services it supplies are exempt under Notification No 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28/06/20....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....nafter WBTR). The Applicant also submits a copy of letter no. 4866 dated 08/11/2012 from the Urban Development Department, Government of West Bengal, informing the Principal AG (A&E), West Bengal that NKDA has come under the control of the said department of the State Government and the department would bear all its liabilities for salary and other grants and that NKDA has no Local Fund of its own. The Government, therefore, has requested the AG to open a Local Fund for NKDA. The Applicant submits letter dated 28/04/2014 from Principal AG (A&E), West Bengal, to the PAO, Kolkata Pay & Accounts Office - III, informing the latter that it has given approval to NKDA to operate a Local Fund. All these, according to the Applicant, establishes that....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....onomous entities may not be regarded as local authorities for the purpose of the GST Act. 4. Observations & Findings of the Authority 4.1 Section 2(69) of the GST Act defines a local authority as below. "Local authority" means- (a) Panchayat as defined in clause (d) of article 243 of the Constitution; (b) a Municipality as defined in clause (e) of article 243P of the Constitution; (c) a Municipal Committee, a Zilla Parishad, a District Board, and any other authority legally entitled to, or entrusted by the Central Government or any State Government with the control or management of a municipal or local fund; (d) a Cantonment Board as defined in section 3 of the Cantonments Act, 2006 (41 of 2006); (e) a Regional Council or a Di....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....The purpose and object are, therefore, to cover those bodies, which are discharging municipal functions but are not covered by the definition of municipalities as required to be constituted under Art 243Q of the Constitution [refer to the apex court judgment dated 12/10/2018 on Urban Improvement Trust (Case No. CA 10577 of 2018)] = 2018 (10) TMI 874 - SUPREME COURT. The words 'Body of Port Commissioners' are not relevant in the context of section 2(69)(c) of the GST Act. 4.4 It appears from the objects and reasons for enactment of the NKDA Act that it intends to provide for the planned development in the areas within New Town, Kolkata, and matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Section 16 of the NKDA Act lays down that NKDA sha....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....d to be constituted under Art 243Q of the Constitution and is fit to be included as 'other authority' under section 2(69)(c) of the GST Act. It will also be a local authority within the meaning of the above section of the GST Act if the Applicant is legally entitled to or entrusted by the State Government with the control or management of a municipal or local fund. 4.6 NKDA is not a Municipality. It cannot, therefore, be entrusted with the control or management of a municipal fund, as described under section 67 of Chapter VII of Part III of the West Bengal Municipal Act, 1993. 4.7 The GST Act does not define a local fund. Section 2 of the Local Authorities Loans Act, 1914, defines a local authority as a person legally entitled to the cont....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... shall be guided by such directions as the State Government may provide in conformity with the provisions of the NKDA Act (sections 169 and 170 of the NKDA Act). In short, NKDA is a body which by law comes under the control of the State Government, as envisaged in TR 6.29 (a) of WBTR. 4.9 Section 19 of the NKDA Act provides for constitution of a Development Fund for the purpose of the Act and all amounts received by NKDA, including the charges levied under section 35, grants received from the State Government, shall be credited to the said fund. Correspondence mentioned in para 2.2 above also establishes that NKDA has come under the control of the State Government which would bear its liabilities for salary and other grants and that the Pr....