Himachal Pradesh, Authority for Advance Rulings: The Division Bench of Rakesh Sharma, Additional Commissioner of State Taxes and Excise, Member (State Tax) and Abhay Gupta, Joint Commissioner of Central Tax, Member (Central Tax) held that input tax credit cannot be claimed for GST paid on hiring commercially licensed vehicles for transportation of employees if the service of providing the facility of transportation of employees is not obligatory under any law.
In the instant application, the applicant is a public service broadcaster, taxpayer availed services of hiring taxis for different purposes, such as:
- To pick up/drop shift duty-staff in odd hours.
- This facility is being provided in odd hours to lady-employees, handicapped & general employees.
- Taxis are hired for tour/OB recordings, etc. within the State of Himachal Pradesh on different occasions.
- Taxis are also hired to drop shift staff at High Power Transmitter during morning/evening & for office work during day time.
Question raised by the applicant was:
Whether input tax credit was available to the applicant on the services availed for the aforementioned items through contractors and what rate of GST will be applicable on the same?
Findings of the Authority
Bench noted that the applicant was a registered taxpayer and entered into an agreement for hiring commercially licensed vehicles for transportation of his employees.
As per Section 16 of the CGST/HPGST Act, 2017, every registered person shall be entitled to take credit of input tax charged on any supply of goods or services or both to him which are used or intended to be used in the course or furtherance of his business.
Availability of ITC as per the provision of the second proviso to Section 17(5)b is available only on the condition that such goods or service or both is obligatory for an employer to provide to its employees under any law for the time being in force.
Bench stated that since the applicant had not been able to cite any law under which the service of providing the facility of transportation to his employees was obligatory, hence ITC will not be available to him.
Conclusion
- As per Notification No. 20/2017 dated 22-08-2017, the applicable tax rate on renting of Cabs is 5% with limited ITC and 12% with full ITC.
- If the facility provided by a taxpayer for transportation of employees is not obligatory under any law, for the time being in force then no ITC will be available to such a taxpayer. The applicant will, however, be eligible to claim ITC for the service supplied at 12% GST Rate if the conditions laid down in the second proviso to Section 17(5) b are satisfied. [Prasar Bharti Broadcasting Corpn. of India (All India Radio), In Re., decided on 24-02-2020]