In re M/s. Rotary Club of Mumbai Western Elite (GST AAR Maharashtra)
Question: – The amount collected by Rotary club is towards convenience of members and pooled together for paying meeting expenses, communication expenses, RI per capita dues, subscription fees to the Rotarian or Rotary regional magazine, district per capita assessment and the same is deposited in single bank account. As there is no furtherance of business in this activity and neither any services are rendered nor are any goods being traded, whether the above transaction can be considered as supply of goods or services to its Members under GST’?
Answer :- The said transaction by the applicant to its members is a supply of goods/services and is liable to GST.
FULL TEXT OF ORDER OF AUTHORITY OF ADVANCE RULING, MAHARASHTRA
The present application has been filed under Section 97 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 [hereinafter referred to as “the COST Act and MGST Act” respectively] by M/s Rotary Club of Mumbai Western Elite, the applicant, seeking an advance ruling in respect of the following question.
“The amount collected by Rotary club is towards convenience of members and pooled together for paying meeting expenses, communication expenses, RI per capita dues, subscription fees to the Rotarian or Rotary regional magazine, district per capita assessment and the same is deposited in single bank account. As there is no furtherance of business in this activity and neither any services are rendered nor are any goods being traded, whether the above transaction can be considered as supply of goods or services to its Members under GST”?
At the outset, we would like to make it clear that the provisions of both, the CGST Act and the MGST Act are the same except for certain provisions. Therefore, unless a reference is specifically made to any dissimilar provisions, a reference to the CGST Act would also mean a reference to the same provision under the MGST Act. Further to the earlier, henceforth for the purposes of this Advance Ruling, the expression ‘GST Act’ would mean CGST Act and MGST Act.
2. FACTS AND CONTENTION – AS PER THE APPLICANT
“1 Rotary International is an International organization whose stated purpose is to bring together business and professional leaders in order to provide humanitarian service and to advance goodwill and peace around the world. It is a non-political and nonsectarian organization open to all people regardless of race, color, creed, religion, gender, or political preference.
2. Rotary members believe that they have a shared responsibility to take action on our world’s most persistent issues. They have 35,000+ clubs which work together to:
