TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (7) TMI 1182
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....g provisions of the KSGST Act, Rules and the notifications issued thereunder. 3. The details of the issues on which advance ruling is sought are given above and are not being reproduced. 4. The contentions of the applicant: 4.1 The applicant, M/s. Additional Skill Acquisition Programme Kerala (ASAPK), is a Section 8 company (incorporated 22.01.2021) fully owned by the Government of Kerala, succeeding an undertaking of the Higher Education Department established in 2012. Its primary objectives are to enhance youth employability through skill training, STEM education, and capacity building for stakeholders, targeting students, NEET youth, workers, returnees, women, and disadvantaged groups. ASAPK designs courses, conducts examinations, issues certifications, and delivers training via accredited agencies, collecting fees from students and disbursing service charges to agencies. It has established Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in advanced technologies (AR/VR, Drones, EV, Automotive, Semiconductor, 5G) across Kerala and is empanelled by the State Government as a Professional Skill Training Agency for the Four-Year Under Graduate Program (FYUGP). Previously, the Kerala Advance Ruling A....
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....l education and training). Subsidiary claims are made under Entries 4 and 5 of Notification 12/2017-CT(Rate) (services by governmental authorities). Jurisdiction under Section 97(2) is affirmed for: (a) Classification of services; (b) Applicability of exemption notifications; (e) Determination of tax liability. 5. Personal Hearing: The applicant was granted an opportunity for a personal hearing on 19.05.2025. Shri. Unnikrishnan M, Chartered Accountant represented for the applicant in personal hearing. In the hearing the representative reiterated the contentions in the application. 6. Comments of the Jurisdictional Officer: The application was forwarded to the jurisdictional officer as per provisions of Section 98(1) of the CGST Act. The jurisdictional officer has not offered any comments and hence it is presumed that the jurisdictional officer has no specific comments to offer. It is also construed that there are no proceedings pending on the issue against the applicant. 7. Discussion and Findings: 7.1. On carefully reviewing the advance ruling application, the statement of facts, and the submissions made during the personal hearing, we have found that the questions fo....
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....17-CT (rate) applies to the services supplied as per Entries 4,66,69 of the said notification. The third question is whether the applicant is liable to pay tax on the said supplies of services. 7.4.1 With regard to point 7.2 (a) above, it is seen that the 102 courses in question are approved by the Government of Kerala. It is further observed that these courses are to be conducted by ASAP at Centres of Higher Education as part of the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP). The FYUGP is a major reform introduced under the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, providing for a four-year bachelor's degree structure with multiple exit options, thereby replacing the traditional three-year model. As per Entry No. 66 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28-06-2017, services provided by an educational institution to its students, faculty, and staff are exempt from GST. The term' "educational institution," as defined in the said notification, includes any institution imparting education as part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by any law for the time being in force. Based on the details submitted by the applicant, along with the Government ....
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....T(Rate), dated 08.10.2024. This Notification substituted the text of Entry 69 with effect from 10.10.2024. The revised Entry 69 now exempted services provided by: (a) NSDC (b) NCVET (c) an Awarding Body recognized by NCVET (d) an Assessment Agency recognized by NCVET or (e) a Training Body accredited with an Awarding Body recognized by NCVET. The exemption covered services in relation to (i) the National Skill Development Programme or any other scheme implemented by NSDC; (ii) vocational skill development courses under, the National Skill Certification and Monetary Reward Scheme or (iii) any NSQF-aligned qualification or skill approved by NCVET. While this amendment appropriately expanded the scope to include NCVET-recognized entities (such as the applicant, ASAP Kerala, recognized as an Awarding Body by NCVET), it inadvertently removed the express reference to NSDC-approved training partners. As a result, from 10.10.2024 onwards, NSDC training partners who were not accredited under NCVET temporarily lost the benefit of the exemption under Entry 69. Realizing this unintended consequence, the GST Council in its 55th meeting recommended restoring the exemption to NSDC training partne....
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....ate to NSDC schemes or NSQF-aligned qualifications approved by NCVET. In this regard, vide letter dated 30-06-2025, they provided certain details, including information available on their website and the NCVT website regarding the approval of courses. From the website of ASAP, it is seen that 16 courses, as listed below, offered by them are approved by NCVET. The NSQF level of each course and validity etc. are given in the website (www.nqr.gov.in) maintained by national qualification register. However, the course at SI No 15 in the website of ASAP., Communicative English Teacher could not be found in the website of NQR. S.No. QP Code Name of the Course 1 2022/ITES/ASAP/06361 AI-Machine Learning Developer 2 2020/ITES/ASAP/03802 Certificate course in coding skills 3 2022/ITES/ASAP/06360 Business Analytics 4 QG-04-CO-00088-2023-V1-ASAP Marine Structural Fitter and Fabricator 5 QG-04-IT-00404-2023-V1-ASAP Rust Developer 6 QG-04-AG-01972-2024-V1-ASAP Hydroponics Producer 7 QG-5.5-ME-02601-2024-V1-ASAP Advanced Communicative English and Professional Skills Trainer 8 NM-04-ME-02706-2024-V1-ASAP Fundamentals of Content Writing 9 NM-4.5-IT-02990-20....
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....ased on the limited information available, this Authority is unable to render a ruling on this question. 7.4.6 Since the applicant has sought clarification on whether the services rendered by them are exempt under Sl. No. 4 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28-06-2017, the same needs to be examined. The said serial number provides exemption for services provided by the Central Government, State Government, Union Territory, local authority, or a governmental authority, by way of any activity in relation to any function entrusted to a municipality under Article 243W of the Constitution. However, on examining the Kerala Municipality Act, it is observed that while the responsibility for the "promotion of cultural, educational, and aesthetic aspects" is entrusted to municipalities under Article 243W, the actual imparting of education does not fall within their mandated functions. Hence, it is our opinion that the services provided by the applicant do not qualify for exemption under SI. No. 4 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28-06-2017. 8. Given the observations stated above, the following rulings are issued; RULING Question:1. What is the appro....