GST treatment of DMF and NMET mining contributions turns on royalty linkage and later exemption clarification

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....Statutory contributions to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) were treated as mandatory incidents of mining operations, because the payments were fixed as a percentage of royalty and non-payment would affect the right to extract coal. On that basis, they were considered part of mining royalty paid in the course or furtherance of business. DMF contribution was nevertheless held not liable to GST because a later clarification treated State-formed DMF trusts as Governmental Authorities eligible for exemption. NMET contribution remained liable to GST, as no similar clarification applied, and the lower ruling was upheld to that extent.....