TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (9) TMI 780
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....l be binding unless the law, facts or circumstances supporting the original advance ruling have changed. 4. In terms of Section 104 of the Act, where the Authority finds that advance ruling pronounced by it under sub-section (4) of Section 98 or under sub-section (1) of Section 101 has been obtained by the applicant by fraud or suppression of material facts or misrepresentation of facts, it may, by order, declare such ruling to be void ab initio and thereupon all the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder shall apply to the applicant as if such ruling had never been made. 5. At the outset, we would like to make it clear that the provisions of both the Central Goods and Service Tax Act and the Tamil Nadu Goods and Service Tax Act are the same except for certain provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is specifically made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the Central Goods and Service Tax Act would also mean a reference to the same provisions under the Tamil Nadu Goods and Service Tax Act. M/s Angeripalayam Common Effluent Treatment Plant Limited, SF No. 89, CETP Garden, Kanjanpalayam, Mannarai Village, Pitch ampalayam, Pudur Post, Tiruppur - 641 603....
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....g water are also collected in equalisation tank. • The equalized effluent, is sent to biological treatment tank where it is subjected to activated sludge process to reduce organic load. This overflows into a secondary clarifier and the settled biomass is re-circulated back to aeration tank and excess is sent for sludge dewatering. The effluent then transferred to chlorine contact tank, where it is decoloured using liquid chlorine and then it is treated with sodium meta bi-sulphate/sodium thio sulphate to remove traces of chlorine. Then it enters the filtration system such Pressure sand filter, Micro filter, which remove suspended solids, turbidity and fines, organic, odour from effluent. • The output product is collected in the reverse osmosis feed tank. The treated effluent is fed into three stage (I,II,III) RO system for removal of dissolved inorganic salts and 80 to 85% of water will be recovered as reusable water. Additional fourth phase (IV) and fifth phase(V) of RO treatment is done through micron cartridge filter for desalination. RO IV & V reject is treated with Lime soda process in a Clarifier-I for hardness removal and pH correction then taken th....
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....re is no definition for 'de-mineralized water' in any of the rate notifications in GST. The dictionary meaning is the process of removing mineral matter or salts. The process of treating effluent water includes demineralization process and therefore, the water obtained at the end of the process is demineralized water. • Demineralized water is usually made by using ion exchange, electrode ionization or membrane filtration technologies in order to create ultrapure water. In this process, removal of virtually all ionic mineral contaminants from water, so that resultant water has sufficient purity for variety of industrial applications. • The water usually contains positively charged ions as Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Sodium and Potassium and also negatively charged ions as Chloride, Carbonate, Sulphate, Bi-carbonate, Nitrate etc. Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a process where water is demineralized by flowing under pressure through a semi-permeable membrane. The outlet of MF product is serially fed to 7 stage RO system through Micron Cartridge filter for demineralization. The inlet Total Dissolved Solids (TDS - Minerals) of RO system is around 10,000 ....
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....terated the submissions made in the application. He stated that the treated water is partly demineralized, which is used for Industrial purposes and not suited for human consumption. Therefore, it would fall under Chapter heading 2201 and applicable tax would be 18%. The Members asked the AR to submit test report conducted on ted both on the effluent water and treated water and certificate to that effect and also detailed flow chart showing the end products. Members also asked him to submit the details of all the byproducts obtained on treatment of effluent water other than demineralized water, whether they are sold back to the dyeing units or any other third party and bills pertaining to the same. 5.0. The Central jurisdictional authority and the State jurisdictional authority have reported that, there are no pending proceedings in respect of the questions for which Advance Ruling is sought by the applicant. 6.0 With the above background of facts, the Applicant is before us seeking ruling on the following question: 1. What is the appropriate classification of the treated water that would be sold by the Applicant, after carrying out various treatment process on the e....
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....hase the raw effluent and proposes to treat the same. The applicant proposes to sell the resultant products at market rates. 6.7 The first question to be examined is 'what is the appropriate classification of the treated water that would be sold by the Applicant, after carrying out various treatment process on the effluent water purchased by them'. The Applicant is of the view that the treated water recovered is demineralized water, which is classifiable under HSN 2201 and is liable for GST rate of 18% under S. No. 24 of Schedule III of Notification No. 01/2017-CT(Rate) dated 28.06.2017 and the benefit of exemption from payment of GST as per SI. No. 99 of Notification No. 02/2017-CT(Rate) elated 28.06.2017, cannot be claimed by them. 6.8 In this context, the Applicant has referred the advance rulings pronounced in the following eases. 1. M/s. Kasipalayam Common Effluent Treatment Plant Private Limited (AAR Tamilnadu-23/AAR/2021, Dated: 18.06.2021. 2. Gujarat AAR in the ease of Aquaa Care (Surat) RO Technologies Pvt. Ltd. - GAAR/11/2019, Dated: 24.07.2019. 3. Karnataka AAR in the ease of Water Health India Pvt. Ltd. -KAR ADRG 12/2020, Dated: ....
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....re classified in heading 28.53. The heading excludes sweetened or flavoured water (heading 22.02) (B) Mineral Waters, whether natural or artificial Natural mineral waters contain mineral salts or gases. The composition of these waters varies considerably and they are generally classified according to the chemical characteristics or their salts, e.g.:- (1) Alkaline waters (2) Sulphated waters (3) Halide waters (4) Sulphuretted waters (5) Ferruginous waters Such natural mineral waters may also contain natural or added carbon dioxide. Artificial mineral waters are prepared from ordinary potable water by adding the active principles (mineral salts or gases) present in the corresponding natural waters so as to produce waters of the same properties. (C) Aerated Waters (carbonated waters), i.e. ordinary potable waters charged with carbon dioxide gas under pressure. They are often called "soda waters" or "Seltzer" waters although true "Seltzer" water is a natural mineral water. The heading excludes sweetened or flavoured aerated waters (heading 22.02) (D) Ice and snow, i.e. ....
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....he RO treatment, the TDS of the treated water is higher, which can be seen from the test report. As per the report furnished by The South India Textile Research Association (SITRA) Textile Testing and Service Centre, test report No. V2300305 dated 09.08.2023 of Sample given for testing, in the case of the Applicant, it is seen that the recovered water contains chlorides, sulphates, Bicarbonates, etc. The TDS levels of the treated water as per the test report is 444 mg/1, which clearly shows the treated water is not demineralized as per the standard norms. From the above, it is clear that treated water cannot be construed as de-mineralized water. 6.15. As already discussed, treated water will not fit into Sl.No. 24 of Notification No. 01/2017-CT (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. Also treated water is not demineralized water as claimed by them but water, without any special characters as indicated in the tariff entries. 6.16. SI.No. 99 entry in Notification No. 2/2017 - Central Tax (Rate) dated 28th June 2017, includes ordinary water and excludes all special category water and the same reads as: SI.No. Heading Description of Service Rate 99 2201 Water [other than ae....
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....d water in the present case would not fit into any of the above mentioned in the exclusion clause. 6.21. In a similar issue, the AAAR, Maharashtra, in it its ruling MAH/AAAR/AN-RM/02/2022-23, dated 01.04.2022 in the case of M/s. Rashtriya Chemicals & Fertilizers Ltd., has held that as the water coming out from Sewage Treatment Plant still contains organic and inorganic substances, such as suspended particles, grit, clays, pollutants like nitrogen, phosphorus, etc. is not pure due to presence of the said impurities and foreign elements and therefore will be eligible for exemption in terms of entry at SI. No. 99 of Notification No. 02/2017, CT (Rate), dt. 28.06.2017. 6.22. In this regard, it is observed that the process carried out by the Applicant involves conversion of effluent water into treated water to make it suitable for reuse by the member units. At the same time, the treated water cannot be put into any other usage, as the same is not completely free of impurities, bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms and chemicals. 6.23. The above facts reiterate that the ultimate intention behind the effluent treatment process is to treat the effluent water discharged by tex....