Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Vs Union of India (Madras High Court)
The writ petition was filed seeking a declaration that the statutory functions performed by the petitioner University under the Manonmaniam Sundaranar University Act, 1990 and the Statutes framed thereunder, along with the collection of fees or other consideration for such functions, do not constitute a taxable supply of service under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and therefore are not subject to GST.
When the matter was previously heard on 05.06.2024, the petitioner sought time to distinguish earlier decisions of the Court in W.P. No. 15333 of 2020 dated 12.10.2023 and in Sree Ramu College of Arts and Science vs. Authority for Clarification and Advance Ruling, reported in (2024) 14 Centax 218 (Mad.), where similar issues had been decided against the petitioner’s position.
Upon subsequent hearing, the petitioner failed to produce any material to distinguish those judgments. In view of this, the Court held that the issue stood covered by the earlier decisions and dismissed the writ petitions. The dismissal was without costs, and it was left open to the authorities to proceed further against the petitioner in accordance with law. The connected miscellaneous petition was also closed.
