In re Amit Kumar Mukherjee (GST AAR West Bangal)
The Authority for Advance Ruling, West Bengal, examined an application filed under Section 97 of the GST Act by a registered entity engaged in multiple activities relating to water supply management for the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) of the Government of West Bengal. The Authority clarified that references to the GST Act include both the CGST Act and the WBGST Act unless stated otherwise. The applicant performs field-level data validation of Functional Household Tap Connections (FHTC), organizes orientation programmes for Implementation Support Agencies (ISAs), District Project Management Units (DPMU), and Engineer Officers on functionality assessment using the Jal Mitra web and mobile application, and evaluates performance under Support Activities of the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). The applicant also intends to engage in collection of information relating to components of Piped Water Supply Schemes (PWSS), land information at headwork sites, and visualization of key features with functionality assessment.
The application seeks advance rulings on whether these services qualify as exempt “pure services” under Entry 3 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), which grants exemption to pure services provided to government bodies in relation to functions entrusted to Panchayats under Article 243G or Municipalities under Article 243W. The applicant asserted that its supplies qualify as pure services because they involve no transfer of goods; they are supplied directly to a government department (PHED); and they relate to drinking water—an activity listed under the Eleventh Schedule of the Constitution. The applicant submitted that PHED’s responsibilities include rural and urban water supply, water quality monitoring, piped water supply schemes, and support under JJM. The Department oversees 6,851 PWSS in the state and operates an extensive digital and GIS-based data management ecosystem for water supply. The applicant described how PHED uses technologies such as digital asset management systems, mobile and web applications for data entry and reporting, satellite-based GIS tools, and sensor-driven monitoring systems for operational management. These tools help in identifying coverage areas, monitoring progress, tracking assets, and improving planning under JJM.
