In re Waystar Properties LLP (GST AAR Gujarat)
The Gujarat Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) in the matter of Authority for Advance Ruling Gujarat considered an application filed by a co-developer operating within GIFT SEZ regarding documentary requirements for claiming zero-rated supply benefits under Section 16 of the IGST Act for services supplied to SEZ units and developers. The applicant sought clarity on whether supplies “for authorized operations” could be established through documents such as Letter of Approval (LOA), eligibility certificates, agreements, invoices, and declarations, or whether endorsement from the Specified Officer of the SEZ on each invoice was mandatory. The applicant also raised questions regarding intra-SEZ supplies between SEZ entities and practical difficulties in obtaining invoice endorsements where SEZ authorities themselves stated that endorsement procedures applied only to DTA-to-SEZ supplies and not intra-SEZ transactions.
The applicant submitted that it was a co-developer in GIFT SEZ engaged in leasing commercial premises to SEZ units for authorized operations. According to the applicant, Section 16(1)(b) of the IGST Act required only that supplies be made “for authorized operations” and did not prescribe endorsement as the exclusive method of proof. The applicant argued that authorized operations were already recognized through LOAs issued under Section 15(9) of the SEZ Act and that substantive documentary evidence should suffice. The applicant further relied on provisions of Rules 27 and 30 of the SEZ Rules, 2006 to contend that endorsement requirements were specifically designed for DTA-to-SEZ supplies and not for intra-SEZ transactions. It was also argued that absence of any formal mechanism for invoice endorsement in intra-SEZ transactions created an impossible compliance situation.
