Maharashtra Authority for Advance Ruling: Rajiv Mangoo, Additional Commissioner of Central Tax & T.R. Ramani, Joint Commissioner of State Tax held that the stipend amount is given to the trainees by the training institutes for the duration of their training is not a part of taxable value.
Factual Background of the case
The applicant is indulged in the business of human resource and skill development and had enrolled as a facilitator under the National Employability Enhancement Mission (NEEM) scheme and provides trainees to various institutes for which service charges were collected in addition to the reimbursement of the stipend payable to trainees.
An application was filed by the applicant, under Section 97 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) before the Maharashtra Authority for Advance Ruling to seek an Advance Ruling on the following:
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Whether the applicant, in the capacity of being a NEEM facilitator, acts as a ‘Pure Agent’ while receiving reimbursement of stipend amounts from the various trainer institutes and remitting the same to the trainees?
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If not, whether such a stipend amount forms a part of the taxable value?
Analysis and Decisions
The bench defined ‘advance ruling’ as a decision given by the authority to an applicant on matters or issues specified in sub-section (2) of Section 97, concerning the supply of goods and services. Therefore, the bench refrained from answering the first issue of the case as the matters specified in clauses (a) to (g) of Section 97 sub-clause (2) of the CGST Act as it was not applicable to the facts of the case.
Further, the bench observed that in regard to payment of stipend to the trainees, the actual service was provided by the trainees for which stipend was payable, the applicant was only acting as an intermediary in collecting the stipend from the training institutes and disbursing the same to the trainees in full without making any deductions.
At this juncture, the bench referred to the case of Yashaswi Academy for Skills 2019 SCC OnLine Mah AAR-GST 78 wherein the bench held that “the reimbursement by industry partner to the applicant, of the stipend paid to the trainees, does not attract tax under the GST Act.”
Hence, the bench applied the same principle as laid down in the aforementioned case and held that the stipend paid by entities/ training institutes to the trainees through the applicant does not attract GST and need not be added to the taxable value.
[Patle Eduskills Foundation, In Re. 2022 SCC OnLine Mah AAR-GST 13, decided on 08-06-2022]