TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (4) TMI 87
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.... not develop / modify any software prior to selling it to a customer. The applicant has sought advance ruling in respect of the following question: a) Does the supply of licenses for internet downloaded software fall within the ambit of Notification No. 47/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 14th November 2017. b) Does the supply of licenses for internet downloaded software fall within the ambit of Notification No.45/ 2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 14th November 2017? 3. Admissibility of the application : The applicant, filed the instant application, in relation to classification & applicability of notification, on the issues covered under Section 97(2)(a) & 97(2)(b) of the CGST Act 2017 and hence the application is admitted. 4. The applicant furnishes the following facts, relevant to the questions raised in the instant application, that they are the authorized resellers for various IBM SPSS Software in India; they are providing various statistical modelling software to various publicly funded research entities; they are a pure trader in such software and do not develop/modify any software prior to selling it to a customer and such software is used for advanced ....
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....e Government of India and such institution produces a certificate to that effect from an officer not below the rank of the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India or the Deputy Secretary to the State Government or the Deputy Secretary in the Union Territory in the concerned department to the Applicant at the time of supply of the specified goods. Further the applicant furnished a sample copy from National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubanesneswar and contends that they are eligible for concessional rate of tax on supply of goods at the rate of 5%. Accordingly, the Applicant is of the view that if their products fall under the "Description of Goods" they should be able to supply at a reduced rate of GST and the "goods", include computer software, Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (CD-ROM), recorded magnetic tapes, microfilms, microfiches. 6.4 The applicant, with regard to the issue whether the supply of software licenses is a supply of Goods or Services, stated as under: The word "goods" is defined in Section 2(52) of the CGST Act 2017, as under: "goods" means every kind of movable property other than money and securities but includes action....
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....tions and therefore the applicant can charge a reduced rate of tax when supplies of internet downloaded software are made to various public funded scientific and research institutions. PERSONAL HEARING: / PROCEEDINGS HELD ON 15-12-2020 7. Sri. Tushar Jalan, GSTP & Authorized Representative of the applicant appeared for personal hearing proceedings held on 15-12-2020 before this authority & reiterated the facts narrated in their application. FINDINGS & DISCUSSION 8. We have considered the submissions made by the applicant in their application for advance ruling. We also considered the issues involved on which advance ruling is sought by the applicant and relevant facts. At the outset, we would like to state that the provisions of both the CGST Act and the KGST Act 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 mean a reference to the same provisions under the KGST Act. 9. The applicant filed the instant application in relation to the applicability of the notification No.45/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 14.11.2017 to the transaction of supply of IBM SPSS ....
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....ed the software licence to National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar, along with a copy of certificate issued by Deputy Secretary (R&D), from which it is observed that the said Institution falls under 'Public funded research institution' and is under the administrative control of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. It is also certified, in the said certificate, that "the purchase of goods by the National Institute of Science Education and Research, for which GST exemption is claimed, is required for research purpose only and goods shall be used for such purposes only by the Institute and Institute is not engaged in any commercial activity" which fulfills the conditions at Colum (4) of the Notification No.45/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 14.11.2017. The extract of relevant portion of the Notification supra is appended below: S.No. Name of the Institutions Description of the goods Conditions (1) (2) (3) (4) 1 Public funded research institution or a University or an Indian Institute of Technology or Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore or a Regional Engineering College, other than a hospital (a) ....