TMI Blog2020 (3) TMI 1043X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pended solids, organic matter, chlorine, obnoxious taste and smell from raw water and then sent to Reverse Osmosis membranes to remove total dissolved solids, bacteria and pathogens. During this process raw water converted into purified drinking water and this purified drinking water is supplied to the public - the word and used before the water sold in sealed container in the Sl. No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 is disjunctive nature and lays down that Water sold in a sealed container is the another type of water excluded from the said entry along with the aerated water, mineral water, purified water, distilled water, medicinal water, ionic water, battery water, de-mineralized water. Therefore, supply of purified water whether in sealed container or unsealed container not entitled for GST exemption as the purified water excluded from the Sl. No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. Thus, supplying of purified drinking water to the general public in an unsealed container is not entitled for exempt from GST. - KAR ADRG 12/2020 - - - Dated:- 18-3-2020 - DR. RAVI PRASAD M.P. AND SRI MASHHOOD UR REHMAN FAROO ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tandards of IS 10500 as well as WHO guidelines; e) The applicant is maintaining the TDS level of purified water at 109 mg/l which is in between the desired TDS level as per IS 10500:2012 i.e., 100-500 mg/l; 4. The applicant supplied this purified water to the public at the rate of ₹ 8/- for 20 litres water cans or such amount as is reasonable. Further agreement also enables the applicant to recover capital and operational expenses in case such amount collected falls short to recover its capital and operational expenditure. This may be subjected to revision with prior approval of concerned person with whom the applicant has an agreement. 5. In this background, the applicant had sought Advance Ruling on i. Whether supply of purified water to public in empty unsealed cans is exempt under GST law. 6. THE APPLICANT S INTERPRETATION OF LAW 6.1 The applicant submits that the Entry No.99 of the Notification No. 2/2017 - Central Tax (Rate) dated 28th June, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as Notification ) exempts the supply of water and applicant reproduced the relevant extract of the notification as under: Water [other than aerated, mineral, purifie ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ordingly, supply of water, other than those excluded from Sl. No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, would attract GST at NIL rate. Therefore, it is clarified that supply of drinking water for public purposes, if it is not supplied in a sealed container, is exempt from GST. 6.5 On perusal of the aforesaid Circular, applicant submitted that exemption under Sl. No. 99 of the Notification has been clarified to be applicable if the following conditions are fulfilled: - (i) Supply should be of drinking water; (ii) Supply should be for a public purpose; and (iii) Supply of drinking water should not be in sealed container. 6.6 In support of this applicant submitted that they have entered into an agreement with Municipalities and Panchayats to purify raw water by removing all impurities making it fit enough to drink. This purified water is supplied to general public in unsealed containers brought by the public themselves and therefore does not pertain to supply of water in sealed containers and applicant claims that they are exempted from GST. PERSONAL HEARING 7. The applicant authorized Sri. Abhinav Srivastav, Advoc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... aid entry reproduced as under: Water [other than aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container] is exempt from GST . 13. This entry has been clarified by the CBEC vide Circular no. 52/26/2018 dated 09th August 2018 wherein, it is clarified as under: In this circular, attention is drawn to the entry at St. No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28th June 2017, by virtue of which water [other than aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container] falling under HSN code 2201 attracts NIL rate of GM . Accordingly, supply of water, other than those excluded from SI. No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, would attract GST at NIL rate. Therefore, it is clarified that supply of drinking water for public purposes, it is not supplied in a seated container, is exempt from GST. 14. On perusal of the aforesaid Circular No. 52/ 26/2018 dated 09th August 2018, and entry No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 and the nature of the activity carried o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... to be produced by the of semi-automatic process to be entitled for exemption. 18. We find that in ordinary usage and is conjunctive. From the well-known dictum of the Supreme Court that grammar is a good guide to meaning but is a bad master to dictate, it will appear that there is no hard and fast rule as to the meaning of the word and and this word gets its proper meaning from the particular context from which it has been used. Author Maxwell on the Interpretation of Statutes, p. 244 (Edn. 9) referred by the Honourable Allahabad High Court in the case of Sukhnandan V. Suraj Bali = 1950 (10) TMI 23 - ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT and stated as follows: fundamental principle of construction is that the words used in a Statute must be understood in their ordinary grammatical sense. It is clear that, in that sense, the word and is used as a conjunction. This will, however, not prevent the Court from departing from the ordinary grammatical meaning of a word if it appears, from the context or a consideration of the other provisions of the Statute that it was the intention of the Legislature to give it another meaning. Similarly, if the ordinary grammatical meaning o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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