In re Akhil Arun Naik (GST AAAR Goa)
The Goa Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) considered the issue of whether the supply of potable drinking water through tankers or in bulk quantities to IIT Goa for students was liable to GST. The applicant, a registered taxpayer, had received a work order from IIT Goa for staggered delivery of potable drinking water sourced from a well or an RCC storage tank maintained by the Public Works Department (PWD). The water was transported through tankers and supplied to IIT Goa for student use.
The matter reached the AAAR because the members of the Goa Authority for Advance Ruling (GAAR) delivered conflicting views. The SGST Member held that the supply was exempt under Entry No. 99 of Notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, treating it as a composite supply where the principal supply was water. The CGST Member agreed that it was a composite supply but held that the chlorinated water supplied by the applicant amounted to “purified” water and therefore fell outside the exemption, making it taxable at 18%.
The AAAR examined Entry No. 99 of Notification No. 2/2017-CT (Rate), which grants GST exemption to water except for specified categories such as aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized water, and water sold in sealed containers. The Authority noted that the word “purified” had been omitted from the exclusion list through Notification No. 7/2022-CT (Rate) dated 13.07.2022 with effect from 18.07.2022.
