TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2025 (12) TMI 547
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....7, which prescribes the following service description: "Transport of goods in containers by rail by any person other than Indian Railways." However, certain customers contend that the transportation of empty containers should fall under Entry No. 9(i) of the same Notification, which prescribes a GST rate of 5% (2.5% CGST + 2.5% SGST) for: "Transport of goods by rail (other than services specified at item No. (iv))." 3. The applicant has therefore sought a ruling on the following question: - i. What is the correct GST rate applicable for the transportation of empty containers by rail? ii. What are the legal and tax implications if GST is charged at 5% on the transportation of empty containers instead of 12%? iii. Under what conditions would Entry No. 9(i) (transport of goods by rail, other than services specified at item No. 9(iv)) apply to the transportation of empty containers? 4. The applicant has submitted their grounds for seeking the advance ruling as under: - (i) Prior to 01.09.2009, services provided by the Indian Railways were not liable to service tax. However, an amendment was made in the definition of taxable....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
...., different rates of tax are being charged by the different rail operators. For example, CONCOR is charging the rate of tax of 5% while some other operators are charging the tax at the rate of 12%. As different rates are charged by the different rail operators, there is confusion prevailing in the industry regarding the rate of tax on the transportation of empty cargo containers. Hence, the need for advance ruling. 5. Personal hearing was granted on 16.10.2025 wherein Shri Pradeep Jain, CA and Shri Arvind Swamy, Authorised Representative appeared on behalf of the applicant and reiterated the facts & grounds as stated in the application. Discussion and findings 6. At the outset, we would like to state that the provisions of both the CGST Act and the GGST Act are the same, except for certain provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is specifically made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the CGST Act would also mean a reference to the same provisions under the GGST Act. 7. We have considered the submissions made by the applicant in their application for advance ruling as well as the submissions made both oral and written during the course of personal hearing. We ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....general, Clause (iv) deals with a specific service performed through rail and by specified category of persons i.e. the transport of goods in containers by rail by any person other than Indian Railways. Thus, if the goods are transported in containers by a person other than the Indian Railways, he would fall under Clause (iv). Thus, the conditions which are to be satisfied if a service is to fall in Clause (iv) is that: - (a) the transportation of goods should be through rail (b) the goods should be transported in containers (c) it should be transported by a person other than Indian Railways. 11. We find that there is no ambiguity when the applicant transports the goods in containers as they fulfil all the conditions of Clause (iv), supra. The only issue is when the empty containers are transported by the applicant, as there is no specific entry for such service. Further, in such cases, the intention is not to transport any goods in the container but the container itself, thus bringing it outside the scope of Clause (iv). We find that Clause (i) covers transport of goods by rail other than those services mentioned in Clause (iv). Thus, according to us,....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....he empty containers which are goods and transported by rail is covered vide Clause (i) of Sr No. 9 of Notification No. 11/2017-CT(R) dtd. 28.06.2017. 14. We would also like to deal with the residual Clause no. (vii) of Sr No. 9 of Notification No. 11/2017-CT(R) dtd. 28.06.2017, which deals Goods transport services other than (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (via) of Sr. No. 9 of the said notification. As mentioned earlier in para 9 supra, the clauses (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), (vi) and (via) deal with Transport of goods in a vessel, Service of GTA in relation to transportation of goods, Transportation of natural gas, petroleum crude, motor spirit, High Speed Diesel or aviation turbine fuel through pipeline, Multimodal transportation of goods where at least two different modes of transport are used by a multimodal transporter and Transport of goods by ropeways. Thus, we feel that this residual entry deals with those services other than the services provided using these modes i.e. Rail, Vessel, GTA, Pipeline, Ropeways or multimodal transport, and therefore, will not include transport of goods by rail. 15. Therefore, we answer the first question of the applicant that the ....