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2019 (8) TMI 90 - AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULINGS, NEW DELHILevy of GST - Accommodation services - GST on Service Fee / Convenience Fee charged by the applicant - pure agent - Tour Operator Services - Is there any option available to a ‘Tour Operator’ to either charge GST@ 5% (with no ITC) or charge GST @ 18% (with full ITC)? Whether the applicant is acting as an "agent" defined under Section 2(5) of the CGST Act, 2017 while booking hotel accommodation in foreign countries for its clients in India? - HELD THAT:- From the combined reading of Sections 2(5), 2(105), 2(107), 22 and 24 of the CGST Act, 2017, it is clear that the applicant is covered in the definitions of "Agent", "Supplier" and "Taxable Person". Further, the applicant is falling under the categories of persons under Section 22 and also under Section 24 requiring compulsory registration while booking Hotel Accommodation in foreign countries for its clients in India. Pure Agent - Whether in the case of above mentioned booking of 'Accommodation only' Services, the applicant is acting as a "pure agent" in respect of amount received for hotel room, while supplying the main taxable service of booking of hotel rooms, for which it gets service fee / convenience fee from Indian B2B or B2C clients? - HELD THAT:- as far as service of hotel accommodation is concerned, the same are supplied by the applicant to their clients on behalf of foreign hotels / hotel aggregators as their agent. Since, the applicant is charging the same amount from their client as is paid by them to the hotel aggregators and all other conditions of "pure agent" are also satisfied, the value of hotel accommodation cannot be added to value of their main service which is booking of hotel accommodation. Rate of tax on booking of hotel accommodation - HELD THAT:- The consideration for rendering such services is partly received from the Indian clients as service fee / convenience fee and partly received from the foreign Hotel aggregator as target based sales commission. The applicant has not disputed their liability to pay GST @ 18% on all such amounts whether received from the clients or from the Hotel Aggregators. Who is liable to discharge GST liability - whether GST is payable on the amount received by the applicant from the clients as pure agent and is paid by them to the foreign hotel / hotel aggregator - HELD THAT:- in respect of such services, the applicant is covered in the definition of "Agent", 'supplier' and Taxable Person' under sections 2(5), 2(105) and 2(107) respectively of CGST Act, 2017. Hence, any liability to pay GST on such amount has to be discharged by the applicant. Rate of Tax on tour operators services - Whether any option is available to the 'Tour operators' to either pay GST @ 5% (with no ITC) or to pay GST @ (with full ITC)? - HELD THAT:- The ‘tour operators services’ are covered under entry (i) of S. No. 23 of Notification No. 11/2017- Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 and they are required to pay GST @ 5% (2.5% CGST + SGST) (without ITC) subject to fulfilment of conditions and they are not covered under entry (ii) of the S. No. 23 of the said Notification before 25.01.2018 and entry (iii) of S. No. 23 of the said Notification from 25.01.2018 and hence option to pay GST @ 18% (9% CGST + 9% SGST) (with ITC) is not available to them.
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