TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2026 (8) TMI 833
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....ant by fraud or suppression of material facts or misrepresentation of facts, shall render such ruling to be void ab initio in accordance with Section 104 of the Act. 5. The provisions of both the Central Goods and Services Tax Act and the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act (herein referred to as the Act) are the same except for certain provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is specifically made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the Central Goods and Services Tax Act would also mean a reference to the same provisions under the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act. M/s Symphony Polymers Private Limited, having place of business at Plot No. 18, SIDCO Industrial Estate, Manali New Town, Chennai 600103, Tamil Nadu (hereinafter called as the 'Applicant') is registered under the Goods and Service Tax Act, with GSTIN 33AAICS0641Q1Z3. They have filed an application for Advance Ruling under Sec. 97 of the CGST Act, 2017 and the corresponding provision of the TNGST Act, 2017. The Applicant has made the payment of Rs. 10,000/- towards application fees, under sub rule (1) of Rule 104 of CGST Rules, 2017 and TNGST Rules, 2017. 2. Statement of relevant facts having a bea....
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....ble plastics Vs. Compostable Plastics : (As provided under Rule 3 of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as amended by Plastic Waste Management (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022, issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change) (ac) "Biodegradable plastics" means plastics, other than compostable plastics, which undergoes degradation by biological processes under ambient environment (terrestrial or in water) conditions, without leaving any micro plastics, or visible, or distinguishable or toxic residue, which has adverse environment impacts, adhering to laid down standards of Bureau of Indian Standards and certified by the Central Pollution Control Board; (e) "compostable plastics" mean plastic that undergoes degradation by biological processes during composting to yield CO2, water, inorganic compounds and biomass at a rate consistent with other known compostable materials, excluding conventional petro-based plastics, and does not leave visible, distinguishable or toxic residue; B. That, as per the above definitions, • both 'Biodegradable plastics' and Compostable plastics' degrade through biological processes with....
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....ng proceedings against the applicant on the issues raised by the applicant in the ARA application and for comments on the issues raised. The jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner, vide letter in Rc. No.145/2026/A2, dated 04.07.2026, has submitted a report on the same and has stated that there are no pending proceedings against the applicant on the issues raised by the applicant in the Advance Ruling application. 6. Personal Hearing The applicant was given an opportunity to be heard in person on 06.07.2026. Shri CA Anoop Kumar, appeared for the personal hearing as the authorized representative (AR) of M/s. Symphony Polymers (P) Ltd. The AR reiterated the submissions made in their application for advance ruling. They further brought the attention of the Forum, to a press release (2243871 dated 23.03.2026) titled 'GST Rationalisation to Accelerate India's Green transition', of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and stated that the same confirmed the legislative intent behind the rate reduction introduced vide GST 2.0. The AR interpreted that this press release was meant to clarify that, the scope of rate reduction to 5% vide S.No.319 of Notification 9/202....
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....arry bags are tested for conformity with IS/ISO 17088:2021 and are certified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Plastic Waste Management Rules before they can be marketed or sold. The Applicant's product is manufactured using this very blend and is accordingly "starch-based" within the meaning of the Press Release. iv. Physical samples produced before the Authority: Physical samples of the compostable carry bags manufactured by the Applicant were produced and shown to the Hon'ble Authority at the time of the personal hearing on 06.07.2026, for the Authority's verification of the nature, composition, thickness and labelling/certification markings of the product. 7. Discussions and Findings: 7.1 We have carefully examined the submissions made by the applicant in their advance ruling application and the submissions made during the personal hearing. We have also considered the issue involved, the relevant facts and the applicant's submission / interpretation of law in respect of question on which the advance ruling is sought. 7.2 We find that the query is liable for admission as it gets covered under Section 97(2)(a) and Section 97(2)(b) of CGST/T....
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....Schedule I of Notification 9/2025-CTR, attracting 5% GST wef 22.09.2025? Entry 319 of Schedule I to Notification No.9/2025-Central tax (Rate) dated 17.09.2025, provides a concessional GST rate of 5% for 'Paper Sacks/Bags and bio-degradable bags' under Chapter 39 and 48. We find that this concessional rate of 5%, extended to paper sacks/bags falling under Chapter 39/48, is conditional in nature and hence is applicable only if the goods supplied are biodegradable. Therefore, it is imperative to prove that the product supplied is bio-degradable, to avail of this concession. 7.5.1 'Bio-degradable' /'Bio-degradability', per se is not defined under the GST law. We find that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a statutory organisation under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. The CPCB, established under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974, and later entrusted with the powers and functions under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981, is responsible for promoting cleanliness of streams and wells, improving air quality, and controlling pollution. It provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment, Forest, an....
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.... at SL. No. (i) or Sl. No. (ii) of Table 1 or SI. No. (i) of Table 2 of the IS 17899 T:2022: Provided that the provisional certificate shall be valid till 30th June 2023 with the condition that production or import of biodegradable plastics shall cease after the 31st day of March, 2023. (6) The interim test report shall be obtained from the Central Institute of Petrochemical Engineering and Technology or a laboratory recognised under the Laboratory Recognition Scheme, 2020, of the Bureau of Indian Standards or laboratories accredited for this purpose by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories, and they shall certify the bio-degradation of plastic is in line with IS 17899 T:2022." 7.5.2 It can be seen from the above legal provisions, that 'Biodegradable plastics' have to conform to tentative Indian Standard IS:17899 T:2022, as notified by the Bureau of Indian Standards.(relevant portion extracted below) IS 17899 T: Assessment of Biodegradability of Plastics in Varied Conditions (Tentative Indian Standard). 1 Scope: 1.1 This provisional standard specifies the procedures and assessment of biodegradability of plas....
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.... the Bureau of Indian Standards or laboratories accredited for this purpose by the National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories. • The SOP also details the steps for processing of applications by CPCB, for issue of certificate or reject the application in cases where information/ document submitted is found to be false/irrelevant. • The validity of the certificate issued by CPCB, to manufacture/sell biodegradable commodities, is also subject to compliance of the conditions stipulated. • A monitoring mechanism has also been prescribed in the SOP, to ensure compliance of all the stipulated conditions. • Finally, the CPCB is also empowered to cancel /suspend the certificate of the manufacturer/seller, if they fail to comply with any of the stipulated conditions, after due process of law. 7.5.4 In the backdrop of the above requisite legal stipulations issued for the manufacture of bio-degradable commodities, we now proceed to examine if the compostable bags and packing materials of the applicant, comply to such stipulations and if they are covered by entry 319 - 'Paper sacks/Bags and bio-degradable bags' (C....