Indian Medical Association Vs Union Of India (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that the provisions of Section 7(aa) of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) will have prospective operation with effect from 01.01.2022.
Facts- The petitioner is an association under the provisions of the Travancore-Cochin Literary Scientific & Charitable Societies Registration Act, 1955. Only qualified modern medical practitioners with a valid registration in the State of Kerala under the Travancore Cochin Medical Practitioners Act, 1953, are eligible to become members of the petitioner association.
Notably, petitioner contends that the petitioner association is like a member’s club. Only qualified modern medical doctors are eligible to become members of the petitioner association. The property of the association is held for and on behalf of the members. There are also regional branches of the petitioner in various towns in Kerala, which are separate bodies. The petitioner association runs schemes as a self-help group. These schemes are run with the aim of helping one another or their family members to tide over difficulties such as disabilities, death, legal action, etc. The members pool in their money by way of admission and an annual subscription, which is distributed to individual members or their families upon the happening of the events (death, disability, etc.). The petitioner association has guest houses, and it lets out rooms to its traveling members and their guests. Many charitable activities, such as HIV awareness, End-TB campaigns, etc., have been carried out by the association. The activities of the Petitioner Society are like mutual self-help, and the petitioner association is a kind of charitable organization. The association is only a group of individuals serving themselves, and as per the doctrine of mutuality, there is no service by one person to another. Therefore, it cannot be said that there is a supply of goods and services in carrying out the activities by the petitioner association, and therefore, no GST is payable in respect of the activities of the petitioner association.
