TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (6) TMI 246
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....es Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the 'CGST Act, 2017' and the 'SGST Act, 2017') are in pari materia and have the same provisions in like matter and differ from each other only on a few specific provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is particularly made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the CGST Act, 2017 would also mean reference to the corresponding similar provisions in the SGST Act, 2017 or vice-versa. 1. This Appeal has been filed by M/s. Webel Support Multipurpose Service Co Operative Society Limited (hereinafter referred to as "the appellant") on 05.03.2025 against Advance Ruling Order No. 16/WBAAR/2024-25 dated 20.12.2024, pronounced by the West Bengal Authority for Advance Ruling (hereinafter referred to as the 'WBAAR'). 2. The appellant is a provider of pure labour service to its client M/s. Webel Technology Limited (hereinafter referred to as "WTL"), a State Govt. Company. WTL received work order for providing manpower services to the Public Health Engineering, Directorate of the Govt. of West Bengal for executing "JAL JEEVAN MISSION" project. The appellant has been appointed as a sub-contractor to WTL in the above-mentioned....
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.... providing services to WTL, the second condition, which requires the appellant to provide services to the Central Government, State Government, Union Territory, or local authority, is not satisfied in the present case. Accordingly, the WBAAR pronounced its ruling dated 20.12.2024, as under: "The applicant provides services to Webel Technology Limited and not to the Public Health Engineering Department, Government of West Bengal. The instant supply of services would not qualify to be an exempted supply under serial number 3 of the Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, as amended." Submissions of the appellant: 7. The Appellant has filed the instant appeal against the above-mentioned Advance Ruling dated 20.12.2024 with a prayer to set aside/modify the said order; grant a personal hearing or to pass any such further or other orders as may be deemed fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the case. 8. The appellant has submitted in the grounds of appeal that the service they provide is actually provided to the Government of West Bengal and not to WTL under the "JAL JEEVAN PROJECT," which falls under articles 243G/243W of the Constitut....
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....e GST Act, the rulings passed by the other states do not have any implication on this case. Personal Hearing: 11. During the course of hearing held on 19.05.2025, the Appellant's authorised representative presented their written submission to the Appellate Authority, which in additions to the contents of their appeal, primarily articulates the following: i. That the present matter relates to a scheme, 'Har Ghar Jal', initiated by the Ministry of Jal Shakti of the Government of India under the 'Jal Jeevan Mission' (for short JJM) in 2019 with the aim to provide 55 liters of tap water to every rural household per capita per day regularly on a long-term basis by 2024. ii. That to implement the said project, the Government of West Bengal through its Public Health Engineering Department (for short PHE) had likewise initiated the said Water Supply Scheme for the benefit of the general public. iii. That for providing tap water connection to every rural household by March, 2024, the PHE stepped into its implementation, where intense monitoring and supervision of work was required all 40,000+ villages of the State. iv. That to achieve the goals with....
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....upply Scheme for the benefit of the general public by PHE department to supply contractual junior engineers to execute JJM project in the State of West Bengal. x. That WBAAR in its Order passed in respect of the Advance Ruling Application filed by WTL held that as WTL has satisfied all the three conditions as mentioned in paragraph 5, above, hence, the supplies of Data Entry Operator and Junior Engineer (System Administrator, Software Support Personnel) made to PHE for executing JJM is exempted from payment of GST vide serial no.3 of the Notification No.1136 F.T. dated 28.06.2017, as amended. xi. That the appellant also made a similar application dated 02.09.2024 under section 97 (1) of the GST Act and Rules framed thereunder, fundamentally on two questions framed therein, which are as follows: Question 1: Whether Jal Jeevan Mission is correct in classifying the services provided to Government entities as exempted services? Question 2: Whether the services are exempted under notification no. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017? xii. That in respect of the application filed by the appellant, it was held by the WBAAR that the suppl....
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.... xviii. That the appellant also referred to section 16 (2) (b) of the GST Act, pointing out that though section 16 (2) (b) (ii) is primarily for claim of Input Tax Credit (ITC) but it supports the contention of the appellant i.e., in the instant case. It was stated that though WTL is deemed to have been received the services from the appellant but the services were provided by the supplier, the appellant herein, to any person (the PHE) on the direction of and on account of such registered person (the WTL). xix. That the appellant further referenced work order No. WTL/WO/ 23-24/1052, WTL/WO/24-25/0932 and WTL/WO/24-25/1330 dated 22.09.2023, 17.09.2024 and 16.12.2024 respectively and other relevant documents enclosed with their written submission, concluding that the requisite Junior Engineers were deployed by the appellant to PHE. xx. That the appellant submitted that for administrative convenience of the State Government, WTL has been provided with the contract by PHE but for actual performance, the same was assigned on back-to-back basis, to the appellant. In other words, WTL has contracted or instructed the appellant to supply/provide services to PHE and there....
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....that they qualify for the benefit of the subject exemption: i. Ruling of Uttar Pradesh AAR in M/s Rudrabhishek Enterprises Limited, vide Ruling No. UP ADRG-20/2023 dated 02.03.2023, [(2023) 151 taxmann.com 503]; ii. Ruling of Chhattisgarh AAR in M/s Aarav Consultancy Services Pvt. Ltd, vide Ruling No. STC/AAR/10/2021 dated 10.03.2022, [(2023) 146 taxmann.com 534]; iii. Ruling of Rajasthan AAR in M/s Sunrise Construction Company, vide Ruling No. RAJ/AAR/2019-2010/28 dated 18.12.2019, [(2020) 113 taxmann.com 502]; and iv. Ruling of Maharashtra AAAR in M/s Shree Construction, vide Ruling No. MAH/AAAR/SS-RJ/15/2018-19 dated 03.01.2019, [(2019) 103 taxmann.com 448]. 12. The Advocates on record of the appellant reiterated the points in their grounds of appeal and written submission during the personal hearing, as previously mentioned. 13. The Deputy Commissioner of the Large Taxpayer Unit of the WBGST also reiterated his written submission during the personal hearing, which concluded that the aforementioned exemption notification is not applicable in this case. Discussion and Findings: 14. We have considered the rival submissions carefully.....
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...." in relation to the supply of goods or services or both includes- a) any payment made or to be made, whether in money or otherwise, in respect of, in response to, or for the inducement of, the supply of goods or services or both, whether by the recipient or by any other person but shall not include any subsidy given by the Central Government or a State Government; b) the monetary value of any act or forbearance, in respect of, in response to, or for the inducement of, the supply of goods or services or both, whether by the recipient or by any other person but shall not include any subsidy given by the Central Government or a State Government; Provided that a deposit given in respect of the supply of goods or services or both shall not be considered as payment made for such supply unless the supplier applies such deposit as consideration for the said supply; iii. "Supplier" in Section 2 (105) of the CGST Act, 2017 has been defied as: "supplier" in relation to any goods or services or both, shall mean the person supplying the said goods or services or both and shall include an agent acting as such on behalf of such supplier in relation to....
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....as received by WTL from the Public Health Engineering Department of the Government of West Bengal. Subsequently, WTL has contracted the appellant to supply the aforementioned manpower services. Therefore, PHED would not be accountable for the appellant's payment; rather, WTL would be responsible for paying the appellant for the services they provided. 20. The appellant in his submission has stressed that the supply of pure service is being provided to the Dir. of PHE, Govt. of West Bengal on behalf of WTL and under the capacity of a sub contractor. So, it is beyond any doubt that the appellant is the Supplier and WTL is the recipient of such supply of service. This raises the question of whether WTL is a Local Authority, a State Government, a Union Territory, or a Central Government. 21. From website of WTL, it is found that the constitution of WTL is a West Bengal Government Undertaking Company where the share of holding by the Govt. of West Bengal is more than 50%. Therefore, in terms of Sec. 2 (69) (c) of the GST Act, WTL cannot be termed as local authority having no power to control or manage the municipal or local fund. It is working as PSU only. 22. Moreover, the....
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....h supply is provided to the Central Government, State Government, Union territory or a local authority, as well as when such supply is provided by a sub-contractor to the main contractor providing services specified above to the Central Government, State Government, Union territory or a local authority, have been made in Sl. no. 3(vii) and 3(x) of the CGST Rate Notification No. 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and corresponding WBGST Rate Notification No. 1135-F.T., both dated 28.06.2017, as amended from time to time. 26. Therefore, in our opinion, there is no ambiguity regarding the meaning of the phrase "Pure Services (excluding works contract service or other composite supplies involving the supply of any goods) provided to the Central Government, State Government, Union Territory, or local authority" as it is defined in entry sl. no. 3 of the CGST Rate Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and corresponding WBGST Rate Notification No. 1136-F.T., both dated 28.06.2017. This term refers to a direct supply to the Central Government, State Government, Union Territory, or local authority, without the involvement of any other supplier, as has been the case in this instance. 27.....