In re HP India Sales Private Limited (GST AAR Maharashtra)
M/s. HP India Sales Private Limited filed an application under Section 98 of the CGST Act, 2017 seeking advance ruling on (i) classification of ElectroInk supplied along with consumables under GST, and (ii) determination of time and value of supply under the Indigo Press contract.
The Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), by order dated 08.06.2018, held that the supply of ElectroInk along with consumables constituted a mixed supply under Section 2(74) and also a continuous supply of goods under Section 2(32). It further ruled that the time of supply would be the earlier of the date of invoice or receipt of payment, and the value would be the transaction value as reflected in the invoice issued under Section 31(4).
The Appellate Authority upheld the AAR’s order on 17.02.2019. A rectification application was rejected on 04.11.2019. The applicant then filed a writ petition before the Bombay High Court, which, by order dated 16.07.2025, set aside the earlier orders and remanded the matter to the AAR for fresh consideration after examining additional evidence, including the Chartered Engineer’s certificate and customer declarations.
Upon remand, the applicant contended that ElectroInk supplied with consumables under the Click Model qualified as a composite supply under Section 2(30). The applicant argued that the bundle satisfied all four statutory tests: (i) involvement of two or more taxable supplies; (ii) naturally bundled; (iii) supplied in conjunction in the ordinary course of business; and (iv) one supply being the principal supply.
