Recent AAR Rulings – Food, Beverages & Catering Services

AAR-Rulings

AAR Rulings – Canteen Services provided by outside vendors in offices and factories

Rashmi Hospitality Services, based out of Gujarat had filed an application, seeking an advance ruling on whether, the GST rate on supplies made to non-air conditioned canteens of offices and factories, needed to be taxed at 12% GST or 18% GST. In response to this application, the Gujarat bench of the Authority of Advance Rulings stated, that the catering service provided by Rashmi Hospitality Services to recipients who have in-house canteens, where meals, snacks, tea etc., are ultimately consumed by employees or workers, and thus, do not alter the nature of service provided. Thus, the GST rate for such a service will be considered as 18%.

Thus it was a given, that such a move would imply a higher compliance burden for companies, which would translated into higher cost for food. Thus most companies would, understandably, tend to recover the food expenses from employees. To attain further clarity on the same, Caltech Polymers, based out of Kerala had filed an application, seeking an advance ruling on whether, the recovery of food expenses from employees or canteen services would come under the definition of outward supplies, and whether it will attract GST or not.

In response to this application, the AAR Kerala bench stated, that recovery of food expenses from the employees, for the canteen services provided by the company, would indeed come under the definition of “outward supply”, and therefore be considered taxable as a supply of service under GST. However, the authority of advance ruling Kerala, did not clarified, whether the GST rate to be levied was 5% (without ITC), or 18%, treating the same as an outdoor catering service. Irrespective of the rate, such a move is bound to push up the cost of food for employees and factory workers, and also could lead to possible disputes on valuation, which will then need to get solved.

AAR Rulings – Canteen Services provided by outside vendors in educational institutions

Similar to the above scenario, quite a few applications were filed, asking for an advance ruling on the GST rate to be levied on services provided by canteens in educational institutions. In response to the same, the AAR as well as the Ministry of Finance clarified, that food and drinks, served in a mess or a canteen of an educational institution would attract 5% GST, without ITC. However, if schools (only up to higher secondary level) supplied food directly to students, then the same will be exempt from GST.

AAR Rulings – Supply of food and beverages in trains

Deepak & Co, based out of Delhi had filed an application, asking for an advance ruling on the GST rate to be levied on the supply of food and beverages in trains. Deepak & Co, had entered an agreement with the Indian Railways for the supply of food and beverages, packaged, cooked or at MRP, on mail and express trains, and thus needed immediate clarity on the same. The application had come in the aftermath of a circular from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in January 2018, which had announced a lower GST rate of 5% for foods and drinks served on trains, platforms or stations by Indian Railways or IRCTC. However, there were a faction of businesses who felt that serving food and drinks on train, was to be treated equivalent to outdoor catering, the rate for which was specified already at 18% GST.

In response to this application, the AAR Delhi bench clarified, that the train is after all, a medium of transport, and thus could not be treated equivalent of a restaurant, eating joint or canteen. Thus, the supply of food and beverages directly to passengers at a fixed rate on platforms or trains, did not have any element of services, and therefore, GST should ideally be charged on the individual items as per their respective applicable rates. The authority of advance ruling Delhi also noted that the mere heating and cooling of beverages were incidental and not eligible for any tax benefit. Thus, in a final AAR ruling, it was stated, that supply of food and beverages in trains will face GST as per the respective items being served and not at the concessional rate of 5% specified by the government earlier.

Intra State E-way Bill : Things to watch out for

Intra-State-E-way-Bill-and-inter-state-e-way-bill

It has been almost two months since the inter state e-way bill for movement of goods was rolled out across the nation on the 1st of April, 2018. In parallel, it was decided that intra state e-way bill too shall be rolled out in a phased manner from April 15th, once the system had sufficiently stabilised, with roughly four to five states coming on board every week. Karnataka was the first to join the bandwagon, as it adopted the intra-state e-way bill system from 1st April itself. As of now, a total of 22 states have now gone live – Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Sikkim, Telengana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Puducherry, Assam, Rajasthan – with Lakshwadeep and Chandigarh being the latest entrants, adopting the intrastate EWB on May 25th.

If official records are to be considered, the entire implementation of the system and the generation of inter-state e-way bills nationwide has been largely successful. Till the 13th of May, i.e. in a period of almost 45 days, more than 4.15 crore e-way bills have been successfully generated, which included more than 1 crore intra state e-way bills for movement of goods. The path thus looks smooth for rest of India to become part of the system as well – Maharashtra is looking to take the leap for intra-state e-way bill on May 31st and Punjab and Goa from June 1st. In any case, both interstate EWB as well as intra state e-way bills for movement of goods will become mandatory from June 3rd, 2018 – which implies that businesses across the country will need to factor in the same, while planning for their respective consignments.

Here’s listing 7 things you can keep in mind, as you prepare your business for the intra state e-way bill:

  • You can generate the intra state e-way bill using your GSTIN by logging on to http://ewaybillgst.gov.in. The e-way bill registration process can be completed in a matter of minutes
  • E-way bill generation will be done when the value of the taxable consignment, along with the tax value, is more than INR 50000
  • If you have sent material for Job Work then either you or the Job Worker can generate the e-way bill
  • As a supplier, you can authorize the transporter, e-commerce operator or the courier agency to fill Part A of the e-way bill
  • If the distance between your primary place of business and that of the transporter is less than 50 KMs, only Part A of the e-way bill is required to be filled, and Part B is not required to be filled
  • Once the e-way bill is generated, the recipient of goods can confirm or deny the receipt of goods before the actual delivery or 72 hours, whichever is earlier
  • In cases where the goods are being transported by railways, aeroplane or ship, the e-way bill can only be generated by the supplier or a recipient, and not by the transporter. However, in such cases, an e-way bill can be generated even after the goods shipment has started

It can be safely said that with businesses adhering to these intra state e-way bill guidelines, and with the tax authorities working in tandem to ensure the right compliances for the inter state e-way bill, the nation-wide single e-way bill will soon be a successful reality. Coupled with the obvious advantages of robust technology that businesses will look to use, this will surely ensure seamless commerce across state borders, something which is bound to give both businesses as well as the government authorities a lot of relief in the time to come.

Prosecution and Compounding under GST

Prosecution-and-Compounding-under-GST

Prosecution under GST

Prosecution, is defined as the act of conducting legal proceedings against someone, in respect of a criminal charge. Under GST, any taxable person who commits an offence amounting to deliberate intention of fraud, becomes liable for prosecution, or in other words, criminal charges.

Offenses liable to attract Prosecution under GST

The following are the offences, for which a taxable person can become liable for prosecution under GST:

  • Supply of any goods and / or services without an invoice, in order to evade taxes
  • Issue of any invoice without the supply of any goods and / or services, thus taking ITC or refund by fraud
  • Collection of GST (even if it is done against the provisions), but failure to submit the same to the government, within the specified time limit of 3 months
  • Obtaining of refund of CGST / SGST by fraud
  • Submission of fake records or documents or filing of fake returns to evade taxes
  • Obstruction of the proper officer during his duty, for instance, while conducting audit
  • Acquisition or receipt of any goods and / or services with full knowledge that it is in violation of the GST rules, and is liable for confiscation
  • Destruction of evidence
  • Not providing information or providing false information during proceedings
  • Helping any taxable person to commit fraud

Punishment for Prosecutable Offences

As per the provisions of prosecution in GST, the taxable person committing any of the above listed offences i.e. prosecutable offences shall be punished as follows:

Amount of Tax Involved in Offence Bail Applicability Term of Jail
INR 100 to 200 Lakhs Bail-able Up to 1 year
INR 200 to 500 Lakhs Bail-able Up to 3 years
Above INR 500 Lakhs Bail-able* Up to 5 years

*Note: However, if a taxable person commits the following offences and the amount of tax involved in the offence exceeds INR 500 Lakhs, then the offences will be deemed as non-bail-able:

  • Supply of any goods and / or services without an invoice, in order to evade taxes
  • Issue of any invoice without the supply of any goods and / or services, thus taking ITC or refund by fraud
  • Collection of GST (even if it is done against the provisions), but failure to submit the same to the government, within the specified time limit of 3 months

Other specified punishments for Prosecutable Offences

  • For obstruction of the proper officer during his duty, destruction of evidence, falsifying information during proceedings & helping another taxable person to commit fraud – Up to 6 months imprisonment with fine
  • Repeat Offences – Up to 5 years imprisonment with fine

Compounding under GST

Compounding of offences under GST is a method, wherein litigation time, and time of judicial procedures can be cut down. Generally, in the case of prosecution for an offence in a criminal court, the accused has to appear before the Magistrate at every hearing by using the services of an advocate. Given, that court proceedings are both expensive and time-consuming, the accused taxable person may make use of the compounding provisions under GST, wherein, he will not be required to appear in Court personally. Also, under the same provisions, he may be discharged on the payment of a compounding fee, which will not be more than the maximum fine which can be levied under the relevant provisions of prosecution and compounding under GST.

However, compounding under GST will not be available to the following entities:

  • Any taxable person who has already committed any of the offences mentioned under prosecution, detailed above i.e. repeat offenders
  • Any taxable person who has committed an offence involving supplies above INR 1 Crore and has been allowed to compound before
  • Any taxable person who is also being tried under other acts such as Narcotic Drugs Act, FEMA etc.
  • Any taxable person convicted by a court under GST
  • Any taxable person guilty of destruction of evidence, falsifying information during proceedings or preventing an officer from doing his duty

Amount Payable for Compounding under GST

Compounding in GST will be allowed only after the full payment of all taxes, interests and penalties which are due. As per the provisions of prosecution and compounding under GST, the amount payable for compounding under GST is defined as follows:

  • Minimum Limit – 50% of the tax or INR 10,000 whichever is less
  • Maximum Limit – 150% of the tax or INR 30,000 whichever is more

On payment of the compounding amount, no further proceedings shall be initiated against the accused taxable person for the same offence and all criminal proceedings, if already initiated, will be abated immediately. In conclusion, to avoid any kind of loss, businesses should be aware of the functioning of prosecution and compounding under GST.