TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (2) TMI 1066
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....GS PACKAGING PRIVATE LIMITED, E-1006, Ground Floor, RIICO Industrial Area SITAPURA, Jaipur Rural, JAIPUR -302022, Rajasthan (hereinafter "the applicant") is fit to pronounce advance ruling as they have deposited prescribed Fee under CGST Act and it falls under the ambit of the Section 97(2)given as under: (a) classification of goods and/or services or both A. SUBMISSION OF THE APPLICANT (in brief) :- Brief facts of the case: 1. M/s SGS Packaging Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as the "Applicant") is engaged in the manufacture and supply of paper bags used for packaging purposes. The Applicant is registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law. 2. The applicant seeks an Advance Ruling on the applicability of GST rate in respect of paper bags manufactured and supplied by them, and whether the same would fall under the 5% or 18% rate slab in terms of Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate) dated 17.09.2025, which supersedes the earlier Notification No. 01/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. 3. Taxability The products manufactured by the Applicant, i.e., paper bags, are classifiable under Chapter 48, Heading 4819 of the First Schedule to the C....
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....ore clarity, the applicant is also providing herewith the images of product which are as under: - Images B. INTERPRETATION AND UNDERSTANDING OF APPLICANT ON QUESTION RAISED (IN BRIEF) 1. The applicant understands that the paper bags manufactured and supplied by them falls in Entry No. 185 in Chapter heading 481920 of Schedule II of Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate), attracting GST @ 18%. 2. The classification of the Applicant's product under Heading 481920 is also in consonance with the HSN, as adopted under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The said heading specifically covers sacks and bags, and therefore, there exists no interpretational ambiguity in this regard. [Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate), dated17.09.2025] (Relevant Extracts) GSR ... (E)-In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 5 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (13 of 2017) and sub-section (5) of section 15 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017(12 of 2017), and in supersession of the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No. 01/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate), dated the 28....
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....) (3) (4) 198 48 Paper Sacks/Bags and bio-degradable bags 18% to 5% C. QUESTIONS ON WHICH THE ADVANCE RULING IS SOUGHT: Q-Whether "Paper Bags" manufactured and supplied by the Applicant, classifiable under Heading 4819 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, are covered under: (a) Entry No. 319 of Schedule I to Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate), attracting GST @ 5%, (b) Entry No. 185 of Schedule Il to the said Notification, attracting GST @ 18%. D. COMMENTS OF THE JURISDICTIONAL OFFICER:- Comments received from the Office of Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Circle-H-I, Zone-JAIPUR-II, Room No. 319, Divisional Kar Bhawan, Jhalana dungri, JAIPUR, Rajasthan vide letter No. AC/ZONEII/H1/202526/367 dated 03.11.2025 are as under: The taxpayer has sought AAR for determination of tax rate on paper bags. In this respect the taxpayer has submitted entry number 319 & 322 of Schedule I taxable at 5%and entry number 185 of schedule II taxable at 18%. The taxpayer's query in ARA01 that {whether "paper bags" ... classifiable under heading 4819 of the custom Tariff Act 1975 are covered under: a. Entry number 319 of schedule....
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....CARTONS, BOXES AND CASES, OF CORRUGATED PAPER OR PAPERBOARD: The overall context may be seen in the rule of interpretation and chapter classification. The Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate) (effective September 22, 2025) highlight the rationalization of rates in Chapters 48 (paper articles) and 39 (plastics). A. Non applicability of chapter 39 and entry no. 319 (Sch-I) The chapter 39 appears to be applicable as the Chapter 39 is related to "Plastic and articles thereof. The entry s.no. Number 319 of Chapter / Heading / Sub-heading / Tariff item 39, 48 for Paper Sacks/Bags and bio-degradable bags does not appears to be applicable as the Chapter 39 is related to "Plastic and articles thereof". In a conjoint reading too chapter 48 appears to be aligned with chapter 39 and thus, may not be considered as a specific entry 4819 is stated at entry number 322 (SCh I) and 185 (Sch-II). Chapter 39 pertains to "Plastics and articles thereof". Although Entry No. 319 covers "Paper Sacks/Bags and bio-degradable bags" under Headings 39 and 48, the inclusion of Chapter 39 indicates an intent to cover plastic-based and bio-degradable variants. Therefore, this entry does not cove....
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.... liable to GST at the rate of 18% as per Entry No. 185 of Schedule Il of Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate) dated 22.09.2025. In view of the above, it is submitted that the supply of "Paper Bags" made by M/s SGS Packaging Private Limited merits classification under Heading 4819, subheading 4819 30 00/4819 40 00, and is liable to GST at the rate of 18% as per Entry No. 185 of Schedule II of Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate) dated 22.09.2025. E. PERSONAL HEARING: In the matter, personal hearing was granted to the applicant on 04.11.2025. Mr. Ranjan Mehta (Advocate), Veena Babani (C.A.) Authorized Representative appeared for personal hearing. They reiterated the submission already made by them. F. DISCUSSIONS AND FINDINGS 1. We have carefully examined the statement of facts, the application filed by the applicant, the submissions made during the hearing, and the comments from the jurisdictional Tax Authority. We also considered the issues involved for which the advance ruling is sought, along with other relevant facts. 2. The applicant M/s SGS PACKAGING PRIVATE LIMITED, E-1006, Ground Floor, RIICO Industrial Area SITAPURA, Jaipur Rural, JAIPUR -302....
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.... Box files, letter trays, storage boxes and similar articles 5. We further examine the relevant entries of Notification No. 09/2025-CT(R). Entry 319 of Schedule I prescribes a GST rate of 5% for "Paper Sacks/Bags and bio-degradable bags" under Chapters 39 and 48. However, its wording does not extend to ordinary paper bags falling under Heading 4819 unless the goods specifically qualify as biodegradable bags. We observe that no material has been submitted to establish that the applicant's product is a biodegradable bag or that it falls within an environmentally-classified category under the said entry. Even no claim has been made of bio-degradability for the product by the applicant. Therefore, Entry 319 cannot be applied merely because the product is a paper bag. 6. In the case of Safari Retreats Pvt. Ltd. v. Chief Commissioner of CGST, the Hon'ble Supreme Court observed that the expression "plant or machinery" used in the statute must be interpreted in its natural disjunctive sense, meaning that the two expressions operate independently and cannot be blended or substituted. The Court contrasted this with the phrase "plant and machinery," which carries a conjunctive....