In re Zigma Global Environ Solutions Private Ltd (GST AAR Kerala)
Question 1: Classification of the services i.e., ‘Bio-mining and scientific closure of legacy wastes at the dumpsite in Kureepuzha, Kollam’ to be provided by the Applicant to the Superintending Engineer, Kollam Municipal Corporation.
Ruling: The above services are classifiable under SAC 9994 as per the Annexure to Notification No. 11/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017
Question 2: Whether aforesaid services provided by the applicant are exempted under S1.No.3 of Notification No.12/2017 dated28.06.2017 as amended?
Ruling: The aforesaid services provided by the applicant are exempted under Si. No. 3 of the Notification No. 12/2017-C.T. (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 as amended.
FULL TEXT OF THE ORDER OF AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULING, KERALA
1. M/s. Zigma Global Environ Solutions Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as the applicant) are the service provider of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) management solutions.
2. At the outset. it is clarified that the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as CGST Act) and the Kerala State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as KSGST Act) are the same except for certain provisions. Accordingly, a reference hereinafter to the provisions of the CGST Act, Rules and the notifications issued there under shall include a reference to the corresponding provisions of the KSGST Act, Rules and the notifications issued there under.
3. The Applicant requested an advance ruling on the following:
3.1. Classification of the services viz “Bio-Mining and Scientific Closure of Legacy wastes at the dumpsite in Kureepuzha, Kollam ” to be provided by the Applicant to the Superintending Engineer, Kollam Municipal Corporation?
3.2. Whether aforesaid services provided by the Applicant are exempted under SI.No.3 of Notification No.12/2017 dated 28.06.2017 as amended?
4. Contentions of the Applicant:
4.1. The applicant is the service providers of the Muncipal solid waste management solutions.They are offering solutions involving segregation, treatment, recycling of municipal solid waste (MSW) and thus clearing MSW landfills. ZGES’s team of design experts and environmental engineers are working with a mission of transforming the waste in the dump yards to add immense value in enabling circular economy and thus free the country from the perils of air pollution, water pollution and soil contamination. The services provided by Zigma are mandated under the Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM), 2016 and Central Pollution Control Board Guidelines for Disposal of Legacy Waste, February, 2019.The Kollam Municipal Corporation (KMC), have invited request for proposal for Bio-Mining and Scientific Closure of Legacy wastes at the dumpsite in Kureepuzha, Kollam.With reference to this, the applicant wishes to know the classification of the services provided, taxability of the services rendered by them to the Municipal Corporation, Kollam. It is also submitted that at present. the applicant has not registered with GSTN and hence obtained user id for the purpose of advance ruling and payment only.
4.2. The applicant submitted that Kollam Municipal Corporation (KMC) invited detailed proposals (bid) from interested parties having at least 3 years of experience in rehabilitation of dumpsites in India or abroad for Bio-Mining and scientific closure of legacy wastes at the existing dumpsite in Kureepuzha, Kollam. The project is based on ‘Design and Build Basis’ In accordance with the Solid Waste Management Rules (SWIM), 2016 it is required to carry out the treatment and disposal of the municipal solid waste in a scientific manner. As per the provisions of the SWM Rules, the existing landfill sites (dumpsites) should be improved in accordance with the specifications given in Schedule III of the Rules, complying the conditions in Clause J, Schedule 1 of SWM Rules. The scope of work includes recovery of 5.80 acres of land at Kureepuzha site as indicated in the enclosed drawing by adopting a combination of Bio-mining and clearing of site (within 5 months) and Capping rejects (7 months) methods or the successful bidder is free to adopt for a zero residue / reject methodology where the whole land is reclaimed. The successful bidder shall process approximately 1 lakh cum of old garbage as (a) >80% of waste shall be bio-mined to recover compost and RDF material, (b) <20% of waste shall be capped as per SWM Rules and PC guidelines or, (c) 100% of the bio-mined waste must be removed from site as per CPHEEO manual and CPCB guidelines. The bidder shall design and construct the project in accordance with the requirements as set out in this section of ‘Technical Bid document’. The design and drawings including detailed constructional drawings are to be submitted by the Contractor before construction and as per site conditions, which shall be implemented after verification and approval by KMC.
4.3. It is submitted that the contractor shall carry out baseline environmental survey of the site as per Environment Management Plan and specification. The contractor shall conduct its own due diligence for site investigation analyzing the characteristics, composition and quantum of the waste at the project site. Dumpsite reclamation will be done by dividing the site into suitable sectors / loops in consultation with the Engineer-in-charge based on the priority of land reclamation. Excavating the existing mixed compacted waste in the land portion allocated / earmarked by the authority and sieving them by mechanical sieving machine or any other suitable technology proposed and accepted by the Engineer-in-charge. The contractor shall deploy sufficient machinery, manpower and required resources to execute the project scope within the project duration. Provision, installation, operation and maintenance of plant. machineries, infrastructure facilities and amenities for excavation, sieving of the excavated waste, storing the segregated materials, reuse, marketing, selling, and transporting them from the project site.
4.4. Further construction of temporary shed, platform and creation of facilities for handling. separating. segregating, storing and quantifying of the excavated waste and processing of the material will be the responsibility of the bidder, and the additional payment will be made for the same. Excavating the soil which lost its stability due to MSW dumping with necessary dewatering works in the portion of the land earmarked at the cost of the contractor. Excavated waste brought for segregation and processing from the earmarked land portion shall be quantified (in cubic meter, and weight based on number of vehicles trips and capacity) after excavation and record of the same shall be maintained by the contractor and authority jointly. Segregate the excavated MSW in the land portion earmarked into as many kinds and categories as possible of useful material such as compost, soil conditioner, recyclables, raw RDF, filler material (soil, C&D) and un-useful material such as residual solid waste. Packing, storing, stacking, selling, diverting for recycling, marketing and recycling of all useful materials shall be completed within thirty days of segregation at the cost of the contractor, so that no accumulation at the storage facility at the project site beyond thirty days. Baling, packing. stacking, storing and sale of non-recyclable fraction of high calorific value as raw material to RDF producer / user or sale to waste to energy plant or co-processing in cement plants or to thermal power plants. Scientific disposal / capping of residual solid waste / inert waste shall be carried out as per SWM Rule 2, 2016, SWM CPHEO Manual, 2016 and instructions of the engineer-in-charge within thirty days of segregation at the cost of the contractor, without accumulation in the storage facility at the site beyond thirty days. The contractor shall hand over reclaimed land and scientific residual solid waste disposal site to the authority in a good and acceptable condition as per SWM Rule, 2016.Record of the residual solid waste disposal quantity (in cubic meter, based on number of vehicles trips and capacity) shall be maintained by the contractor. Carrying out the entire project work in accordance with the detailed plan of action and schedule proposed by bidder and approved by the authority at the cost of the contractor. Create facilities and make arrangements for controlling / mitigating the emission, pollution and contamination (environmental impact) including air, water and solid including mitigation for of dust, odor and noise pollution at the cost of the contractor and measures for dust mitigation shall be displayed prominently at site for public viewing. Construction of temporary site office, providing water, power, sanitation facilities and accommodation facilities for workers at the project as per statutory standards at the cost of the contractor. Providing security arrangement for the project site, machineries, equipment etc. at its own cost. Bio-mining process is as follows: pre-stabilization – the entire landfill site is converted into equal sized windrows and turned frequently along with spraying of bio-culture and de-odouriser. This would ensure removal of stench, reduction of files, elimination of pathogenic activities, complete bio-degradation and reduction of moisture. Sorting and segregation – in this stage, the mobile state of the art system separates the excavated landfill waste into soil, stones and combustibles with utmost accuracy thus ensuring an impeccable quality of aggregate. Disposal – in this stage. the non-combustible fractions namely soil and stones are disposed for construction / earth filling and combustible factions as Refuse Derived Fuel to Cement companies.
4.5. It is also submitted that the applicant is providing solid waste management as per the provisions of Solid Waste Management Rule, 2016 and Central Pollution Control Board Guidelines for Disposal of Legacy Waste, February. 2019. Bio-remediation and Bio-mining of old municipal dumpsites refers to the excavation of old dumped waste and make windrow of legacy waste thereafter stabilization of the waste through bio-remediation i.e., exposure of all the waste to air along with use of composting bio-cultures, i.e., screening of the stabilized waste to recover all valuable resources (like organic fines, bricks, stones, plastics, metals, clothes, rags etc.) followed by its sustainable management through recycling, co-processing, road making etc.The first step is to excavate legacy waste, loosen it and make windrows so as the leachate can be dried of through solar exposure and all the entrapped methane is removed from the heap. All biodegradable waste, like discarded food, fruit, flower and garden waste, needs air to decompose it in an odourless way without producing leachate. So. the first step in stabilizing and bringing down airless legacy waste is to expose as much of it as possible to air. Addition of composting bio-cultures speeds up decomposition and rapidly creates biological heat within the waste that helps to dry it out and reduce its volume 35 to 40%. This happens through loss of moisture and by decomposition of some of the aerated waste to carbon dioxide and water vapour. This is called bio-remediation and makes the waste dry enough for screening. Waste is called stabilized when there is no more generation of heat or landfill gas or leachate, and seeds are able to germinate in it. The land which was hosting waste dumps is now fully recovered for alternate uses. Bio-mining and bio-remediation processes should be adopted as early as possible to ensure holistic solid waste management. “Guidelines for disposal of legacy waste (old municipal solid waste) explains the various steps involved in bio-mining as: Bioremediation and bio-mining of old municipal dumpsites; processing bioremediation and bio-mining; processing equipment’s for processing legacy waste, treatment process, use of screened fraction, process management, space management, leachate management, use of recovered space, bio-mining below ground waste.
4.6. With reference to the classification of the services provided by the applicant, the predominant characteristic of the work is ”Solid Waste Management” and the applicant is of the view that the services to be provided by them falls under SAC Code No. 9994 “Sewage and waste collection, treatment and disposal and other environmental protection services” and in particular Group 99943 Waste treatment and disposal services” as per Annexure to Notification No. 11/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017.With reference to the rate of GST for the services provided by the applicant. it is submitted that the services provided by the applicant are exempted under SI.No.3 of Notification No. 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 as amended.
