Advance Ruling Not Maintainable Under Section 97 Where No Supply Is Undertaken: AAR

The applicant, Shri M. C. Prasanth, has filed an application seeking the Kerala Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) under Section 97 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and the Kerala State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, clarifying certain queries in relation to its business. The applicant is the proprietor of the company M.C. Associates, located at Thana, Kannur, Kerala 670012.

Questions Raised by Applicant:

The following are the questions asked by the applicant seeking the AAR Kerala:

“Question 1: Whether rent paid by the applicant (a voluntarily registered person dealing exclusively in exempted goods) to an unregistered landlord for commercial space is liable to GST under the Reverse Charge Mechanism?

• If RCM applies, whether the liability arises under Section 9(3) or Section 9(4) of the CGST Act, 2017?
• If RCM does not apply, what is the legal basis for exemption?

Question 2: If the Applicant registers as a composition dealer for a furniture manufacturing unit, will the Applicant be liable to pay GST under the RCM on purchases of wood (a key raw material) from unregistered dealers under Section 9(3) or Section 9(4) of the CGST Act, 2017?”

Ruling Given by AAR Kerala:

The AAR Kerala has given the following ruling on the questions asked by the applicant:

The AAR Kerala has clarified that the advance ruling sought by the applicant is not allowed under Section 97 of the CGST Act, 2017 and the KSGST Act, 2017, because the raised question does not concern any supply of goods or services undertaken or proposed to be undertaken by the Applicant. Consequently, the application is rejected.