Travancore Devaswom Board Vs Commissioner of State Goods And Service Tax (Kerala High Court)
The Travancore Devaswom Board filed a writ petition challenging Ext.P5, an order by the 3rd respondent refusing to exercise jurisdiction under Section 98 of the CGST Act. The petitioner, registered under the CGST Act from 27.02.2018, stated that registration was required because it regularly executed construction contracts. Proceedings under Section 73 had earlier been initiated concerning taxability of several income categories, including rent or lease income from temple properties beyond exemption limits, income from temporary transfer of rights within temple precincts through auctions, sale of advertisement space in print media, sale of printed forms, fees collected from Purohits for appointment for rituals, miscellaneous supplies such as sales of stock and materials, and hire of elephants. The petitioner had also been alleged to have not discharged reverse charge liability on legal charges. These proceedings were closed through Ext.P3 after the petitioner remitted the tax demanded, without any decision on the merits of taxability.
Subsequently, the petitioner submitted Ext.P4, an application seeking an advance ruling on the taxability of multiple transactions. The queries included the taxability of auctioning rice collected from offerings, auctioning broken coconuts, transfer of rights to collect cloth left by devotees in the Pamba river, and auction or tendering of agricultural produce such as coconut yields. The petitioner also sought clarity on GST liability under reverse charge on honorarium and sitting fees paid to the Board’s President and members, GST liability on legal fees, taxability of transfer of rights to perform religious rituals such as Pulluvan Pattu and Balithara, transfer of right to manage public toilets and washrooms for devotees, and transfer of right to sell pooja items within temple precincts through tender or auction. The petitioner asserted that many activities involved disposal of offerings, performance of religious rituals, maintenance of devotees’ facilities, and auxiliary services to religious functions.
