TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (3) TMI 576
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....a), F. P. No. 235, Ring Road, Surat to M/s. INI Design Studio Pvt. Ltd. Now, there had been a dispute between said Contractor and the SMC about applicability of GST on the said Contract. SMC is of the opinion that it is exempted by virtue of Entry No. 3 of the Notification No. 12 / 2017 - CT. Hence, the SMC had preferred this Advance Ruling Aplication. 3. Accordingly, the applicant sought the Advance Ruling on the following question : "Whether the Supply made by M/s. INI Studio Pvt. Ltd. would qualify for Exemption under Entry No. 3 of the Notification No. 12 / 2017 - CT as a "Service" in relation to any functions entrusted to a municipality under article 243W of the Constitution as a "Pure Service" having no element of goods so as to construe it as "Works Contract' as defined under Section 2 (119) of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (CGST Act, 2017)"? APPLICANT'S INTERPRETATION OF LAW AND/OR FACTS 4. The applicant submitted that basically, the issue involved here is of applicability of Exemption of Notification No. 12 / 2017 - CT. There is no dispute that this is the "Supply". Now, the question arises as to whether this will be termed as "in relation to Article 243W o....
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....8. The applicant further submitted that the thrust is given to both, the State Law Obligation and Matters listed in the Twelfth Schedule. Thus, it is not like that the Corporations are duty bound only to perform the functions which are mentioned in Twelfth Schedule only. The Corporations are equally duty bound to perform the functions as mentioned under the State Legislature i.e. GPMC Act (Section 63 (1) & 66). Thus, the duties mentioned Section 63 (1) & 66 of the GPMC Act is also indirectly mentioned under the Article 243W of the Constitution of India. Thus, the duties as mentioned in Article 243W are wide enough to include the duties of GPMC Act. 9. The applicant submitted that for ease of reference relevant entry No. 3 of Not. No. 12/2017-CT (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 is reproduced hereunder: 3 Chapter 99 Pure services (excluding works contract service or other composite supplies involving supply of any goods) provided to the Central Government, State Government or Union territory or local authority or a Governmental authority by way of any activity in relation to any function entrusted to a Panchayat under article 243G of the Constitution or in relation to any function entrust....
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....er their duties as mentioned hereinabove. The New Office Building will increase the public convenience hence, "Design & Comprehensive Consultancy" for "State of Art Office Building" will certainly in relation to the duties which are given under either Section 63 (1), 66 or the Article 243W. 13. The applicant submitted that for implementation of schemes as may be entrusted to SMC including those in relation to the matters listed in the twelfth schedule etc., it is imperative that SMC must have an office/s for their staff who are employed to perform the services of SMC. The jurisdiction of all Municipalities in India including SMC consists of Wards and Administrative Buildings. Further it was submitted that Ward Offices/Administrative Blocks are necessary to enable the execution or performance of all of their functions including those mentioned under Article 243W of the Constitution. In the absence of the establishment by way of a Ward Office, SMC would find it impossible to function. 14. The applicant submitted that even at the cost of repetition, they would like to discuss the word "In Relation To" hereunder which was discussed in their earlier opinion also. The word used in the ....
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....in relation to any function entrusted to Municipality under Article 243W of the Constitution. 15. The applicant submitted that they would like to place reliance on the judgment of AAR of the Maharastra State in the case of M/s. CIDCO, Maharashtra Dt. 13.04.2019 where in AAR had given the ruling in favour of the Applicant in the similar matter. Personal Hearing 16. Personal hearing was accorded to the applicant through Virtual Platform (Video conferencing) on 23.12.2020. However neither applicant nor Authorised Representative of the applicant appeared in the Personal hearing. DISCUSSION & FINDINGS 17. We have considered the submissions made by the applicant in their application for advance ruling as well as the arguments/discussions made by their representative. We have also considered the issues involved on which Advance Ruling is sought by the applicant. 18. At the outset, we would like to state that the provisions of both the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are the same except for certain provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is specifically made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the CGST Act would also....