TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (7) TMI 193
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....ssued there under shall include a reference to the corresponding provisions of the KSGST Act, Rules and the Notifications issued thereunder. 3. The applicant has sought an advance ruling under section 97(1) of the CGST/KSGST Act 2017 on the matter specified above. 4. Contentions of the Applicant: 4.1. The applicant seeks clarification on the taxability of potable drinking water supplied through tanker lorries to both Government institutions and private customers. The water is collected from various sources such as dug wells, bore wells, and occasionally from the Kerala Water Authority. Water collected from sources other than the Kerala Water Authority is filtered to remove suspended solids and organic matter, and subsequently chlor....
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....per Serial No. 46B of Schedule II to Notification No. 01/2017-Central Tax (Rate). As per Serial No. 24 of Schedule III to Notification No. 01/2017-Central Tax (Rate), water-including natural or artificial mineral water and aerated water-not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured, is taxable at 18% GST. However, Circular No. 52/26/2018, dated 09.08.2018, clarifies that the supply of water, other than those excluded from Serial No. 99 of Notification No. 02/2017-Central Tax (Rate), dated 28.06.2017, is exempted. Therefore, the applicant asserts that drinking water supplied in bulk, not in sealed containers, is eligible for exemption from taxation under GST. 5. Comments of the Jurisdictional Officer: The applicat....
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....fall within the purview of clause (a) and (b) of sub-section (2) of Section 97 of the CGST Act-namely, "classification of any goods or services or both" and "applicability of a notification issued under the provisions of this Act." Hence, the application is admitted based on its merits. 7.2. The issue here is the applicability of GST exemption on drinking water supplied by the applicant to various customers through tanker lorries based on mutually accepted agreements. The customers include Government institutions, Indian Railways, local authorities, other Government offices, and private customers such as hotels and contractors. The applicant collects water from various sources such as dug wells and bore wells and carries out an initial p....
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.... Notification No. 1/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated. 28-06-2017. 2201 Drinking water packed in 20 litres bottles CGST:6% SGST: 6% 24 Schedule III of Notification No.1/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated. 28-06-2017. 2201 Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters and aerated waters, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured (other than Drinking water packed in 20 litres bottles) CGST: 9% SGST: 9% 99 Exemption Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated. 28-06-2017 2201 Water [other than aerated, mineral, [***], distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container]. Nil 7.5. Now, with regard to the tax rate, the applicant submits t....
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....s due to the presence of high mineral content. e) Ionic water: Water that contains dissolved ions altered through processes like electrolysis. f) Battery water: Special water used in batteries. g) Demineralized water: Water prepared by removing most of the dissolved mineral content through processes like distillation, de-ionization, or reverse osmosis. 7.7. The process of purification and the contents dissolved in the above categories of water have no similarities with the drinking water supplied by the applicant. Chlorination and filtration are the basic purification methods used by any public utility engaged in water distribution to make the water potable. Also, the applicant does not supply the water in seal....