In re Imtiyaz Kaiyum Barvatiya (GST AAR Gujarat)
In the case of In re Imtiyaz Kaiyum Barvatiya before the Gujarat Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR), the central issue was whether the supply of certain marine equipment could be reclassified under specific GST entries to avail a 5% GST rate. The applicant, Imtiyaz Kaiyum Barvatiya, engages in the import and supply of critical marine equipment, claiming these items are essential for making ships “sea-worthy.” They argued that despite the Customs classification, these goods should be classified under headings related to ship parts, which could potentially lower their GST rate from the standard 18% to 5% under GST Notification No. 01/2017-Central Tax (Rate).
The AAR determined that the classification of the goods, as per their Customs tariff classification, should remain unchanged for GST purposes. The ruling emphasized that the GST classification must align with the Customs classification at the time of importation. The AAR rejected the applicant’s argument for reclassification, citing that the goods’ nature and purpose, as declared during import, did not change. Furthermore, the ruling highlighted that relying on previous case laws was not applicable due to differences in the specifics of the cases. Consequently, the supply of the goods would continue to be taxed based on their initial tariff classification and not benefit from a different GST rate.
