TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (1) TMI 1095
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....et, we would like to make it clear that the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (the CGST Act, for short) and the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (the WBGST Act, for short) have the same provisions in like matter except for certain provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is specifically made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the CGST Act would also mean reference to the corresponding similar provisions in the WBGST Act. Further to the earlier, henceforth for the purposes of these proceedings, the expression 'GST Act' would mean the CGST Act and the WBGST Act both. 1.2 The applicant Swapna Printing Works Pvt Ltd is stated to be engaged in the business of printing books and other items. The applicant submits that Jharkhand Council of Educational Research and Training, Ranchi (the JCERT, for short) has awarded contracts to him for printing and supply of text books under State Plan for academic session 2023-24 on the basis of content provided by the JCERT, printing and supply of Atlas, Dictionary, Grammar and General Knowledge Book. It is submitted that the applicant will have temporary copyright over the content of the text books against consideration ....
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.... benefiting students, and featuring all the designs and logos of the Jharkhand government. (c) Note book which are supplied to Assam government- It is similar to the notebook which is supplied to JCERT. It is an integral part of Assam government's curriculum, providing direct benefits to students. Furthermore, it prominently displays the designs and logos of the Assam Government. Additionally, the phrase 'NOT FOR SALE' is clearly stated in the notebook, signifying that the notebook is exclusively intended for students and not for commercial sale in the open market. 2.2 According to the agreement between the applicant and JCERT, the applicant have acquired the temporary copyright over the content of the books. By virtue of the copyright, the applicant shall be authorized to print and supply books meant for Free Distribution (that will be purchased by JCERT under the contract). Further, in case of excess sale of books, additional amount of royalty will be deposited by the applicant. 2.3 The applicant has relied on the judgement of Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Tata Consultancy Service v. State of Andhra Pradesh, (2005) 1 SCC 308 wherein it was he....
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.... the title in goods is a "supply of goods" and if the supplier owns the books and has legal right to sell the same on its own account, such supply would tantamount to supply of goods. Here, the applicant possess title of books and has the legal right to sell the books on his own account as per agreement with JCERT. • Further, referring section 14 of the of the Copyright Act 1957, the applicant asserts that permission to print and publish pre-determined quantity of books awarded by the/Government which retains ownership of the copyright at all times and represents a temporary transfer of copyright. Furthermore, it is submitted by the applicant that as per section 19 of the Copyright Act 1957, temporary copyright holder can avail all such rights such as printing, publishing of copyright works which are available to the copyright owner, if they have been granted such rights pursuant to the assignment/agreement. • According to the agreement, title of the books printed out of the copyrighted material would automatically stand transferred to the Government. Moreover, it is agreed between both the parties that the title to the books printed out of such copyrighte....
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....ervations & Findings of the Authority 4.1 We have gone through the records of the issue as well as submissions made by the authorized representative of the applicant during the course of personal hearing. 4.2 We first take the issue to decide whether the activities being undertaken by the applicant for printing and supply of text books would be considered as supply of goods or the same would be treated as supply of services. The applicant has submitted that JCERT has awarded contract to him for printing and supply of text books under State Plan for academic session 2023-24. As per the agreement between the applicant and the JCERT, there will be a temporary transfer of copyright of the content by JCERT for which royalty is to be paid by the applicant. The relevant part of the agreement is reproduced herein under: 'The printer will have temporary copyright over the content of the text books to be printed by him under this contract. By virtue of this copyright, the printer shall be authorized to print and supply books meant for Free Distribution (that will be purchased by JCERT under this contract). This supply/ sale shall be made by the printer on his own account to JC....
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.... a supply of services by JCERT to the applicant in terms of aforesaid entry 5 (c) of Schedule II. Thus, the agreement between the applicant and JCERT involves two distinct supplies out of which, the applicant is liable to pay tax under reverse charge mechanism in respect of supplies made by JCERT for temporary transfer of copyright. 4.5 The applicant has also drawn attention to clarification given in para 4 of Circular No. 11/11/2017-GST dated 20.10.2017 issued by the Tax Research Unit, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance which reads as follows: "In the case of printing of books, pamphlets, brochures, annual reports, and the like, where only content is supplied by the publisher or the person who owns the usage rights to the intangible inputs while the physical inputs including paper used for printing belong to the printer, supply of printing [of the content supplied by the recipient of supply] is the principal supply and therefore such supplies would constitute supply of service falling under heading 9989 of the scheme of classification of services." 4.6 In this context, we are in agreement with the view taken by the applicant that the aforesaid clarification ....
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....A date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is also a physical record (often paper) of such a system. A calendar can also mean a list of planned events, such as a court calendar, or a partly or fully chronological list of documents, such as a calendar of wills.' As per Cambridge Dictionary, 'calendar' inter alia means a list of events and dates within a particular year that are important for an organization or for the people involved in a particular activity. It therefore appears that if a calendar is designed for a specific purpose e.g., showing the activities to be undertaken on different dates, still it bears the basic characteristic of a calendar. From the specimen copy of the calendar produced before us in course of personal hearing, we find that the calendar aims to provide parents with a simple and easy to access repository of resources and daily activity plans to promote meaningful and sustained engagements between parents and children. Undisputedly this calendar is meant for a specific group of people. But this very purpose cannot qualify the calendar to be a booklet, as contended by the applicant. 4.10 It has been clarified i....
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....lum for obtaining a qualification recognised by any law for the time being in force; (iii) education as a part of an approved vocational education course; Further, following explanation has been inserted vide Notification No.14/2018-Central Tax (Rate) dated 26.07.2018 [corresponding West Bengal State Notification No. 1030 F.T. dated 27.07.2018]: For removal of doubts, it is clarified that the Central and State Educational Boards shall be treated as Educational Institution for the limited purpose of providing services by way of conduct of examination to the students. 4.13 The process of conducting examination includes pre-examination works, the examination itself and post-examination works and for that purpose, printing of comprehensive report progress card may be treated as services relating to conduct of examination. However, in the instant case, the supply is provided to Education Department, Government of Assam and not to an educational institution. We are therefore of the opinion that the instant supply shall not be covered under the aforesaid entry for exemption. 4.14 In regard to supply of notebooks, the applicant submits that it is a fundamental element ....