In re Thermo Fisher Scientific India Private Limited. (GST AAAR Odisha)
The Authority for Appellate Advance Ruling, Odisha decided an appeal against an advance ruling that had held repair and maintenance activities carried out in Odisha—through Field Service Engineers (FSEs) under Annual Maintenance Contracts (AMC) and Comprehensive Maintenance Contracts (CMC)—to constitute a “place of business” and a “fixed establishment” in Odisha, thereby requiring separate GST registration in the State.
The appellant is engaged in pan-India trading of analytical and laboratory equipment and provides post-sale repair and maintenance services. All AMC/CMC contracts with customers in Odisha are executed by the head office in Maharashtra, which also raises invoices, receives consideration, reports supplies in returns, and controls inventory from a mother warehouse in Maharashtra. To ensure timely service, FSEs are deployed in Odisha to attend service requests. Where spare parts are required, the head office dispatches them from Maharashtra directly to the customer or to the FSE for installation. Under CMC, spare parts are covered in the contract price; under AMC, replacement parts not covered are supplied separately upon customer request. The appellant does not maintain stock in Odisha as a matter of course; only minimal, unused spare parts may be temporarily retained by FSEs for operational efficiency and are returned to the mother warehouse within a short period.
