In re Flipkart India Private Limited (GST AAAR West Bengal)
The West Bengal Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (WBAAAR) examined an appeal filed by the Joint Commissioner, State Tax, against the advance ruling granted to Flipkart India Private Limited regarding classification of its proposed transportation model under GST law.
The respondent had proposed a business model under which it would provide transportation services for goods purchased through electronic commerce operator (ECO) platforms. Under this arrangement, sellers would deliver goods to a “Source Mother Hub,” after which the respondent would transport the goods by road to the customer’s delivery address. The respondent contended that it would issue a consignment note, assume responsibility for the goods during transit, and act as a Goods Transport Agency (GTA). It also claimed that services provided to unregistered end customers would qualify for exemption under Entry No. 21A ofNotification No. 12/2017- Central Tax (Rate)
The West Bengal Authority for Advance Ruling (WBAAR) accepted the respondent’s contentions and ruled that the proposed activity qualified as GTA service. It also held that services supplied to unregistered end customers would be exempt from GST under Entry No. 21A. The ruling relied on the respondent’s claim that transportation would be exclusively by road and supported by issuance of consignment notes. The WBAAR further held that the activity could not be treated as courier service because courier services generally involve multimodal transportation, whereas the respondent’s proposed model involved road transportation only.
