RBSE Examination Services Held Fully Exempt Under GST by AAR

The applicant, M/s Board of Secondary Education Rajasthan (RBSE), is a government authority responsible for conducting secondary and senior secondary examinations in the state. To facilitate these exams, RBSE procures various services from external suppliers, including the printing of question papers and answer sheets, online form filling, result processing, and annual maintenance of computers used exclusively for exams. There was a dispute regarding whether a recipient of services could seek an advance ruling and whether these specific services were exempt.

After an initial rejection by the AAR was challenged, the Hon’ble Supreme Court and the Calcutta High Court clarified that a service recipient is eligible to apply for a ruling. Therefore, the case was remanded for a merit-based decision on whether these services fall under the exemption notification for educational institutions.

Main Issue: Whether the various support services (printing, IT, maintenance, and data processing) provided by third-party suppliers to RBSE are exempt from GST under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate).

Authority Ruled: The Authority for Advance Ruling (RAAR) ruled that the services are exempt from GST. The Authority noted that as per Notification No. 14/2018, Central and State Educational Boards are treated as “Educational Institutions” for the limited purpose of conducting examinations. It specifically exempts services provided to an educational institution that relate to the “conduct of examination.”

The RAAR found that all the services listed, including printing of confidential materials, online application management, result processing, and the provision of computer operators, are integral and directly connected to the examination process. Therefore, these services qualify for a NIL rate of GST, and the applicant is not liable to bear the tax burden for these specific procurements.

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