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TMI Blog2022 (12) TMI 1449X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... r. No. 99 of Notification No. 2/2017-Central tax (rate) (as amended), Water [other than aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container] are exempt from GST. The water obtained from CETP is not "purified water", and is thus, eligible for exemption from GST under Sl. No. 99 of Notification 02/2017 - Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. 4. The applicant has submitted that the treated water is water other than aerated, mineral, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container, the only question remain is whether the treated water can be said as purified water. 5. It is submitted by the applicant that the term "purified" is not defined under the CGST Act, 2017, accordingly, referred the dictionary meaning of the term "purified". As per the website Dictionary.com, the term "purify" means:- 1. To make pure; free from anything that debases, pollutes, adulterates, or contaminates; 2. To free from foreign, extraneous, or objectionable elements; As per the Cambridge Dictionary, the term "purify" means:- 1. To remove bad substances from something to make it pure. 5.1. Thu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nal, ionic, battery de mineralized and water sold in sealed container" mentioned in the exclusion clause of the entry under consideration as the said CETP treated water can be readily replaced by municipal water. 11. The applicant submits that all these groups of specific water mentioned under the exclusion clause of the relevant entry are supplied in the packaged form, i.e., in the sealed container, in order to preserve their characteristics and specificity, while the same is not the case with the impugned product, i.e., CETP treated water, which are supplied through pipelines without any such concerns. Thus, the term "purified", mentioned under the exemption clause of the relevant entry, will definitely not include the CETP treated water Hence, applicant is of the view that the impugned product, i.e., CETP treated water, is rightfully eligible for exemption under entry at Sl. No. 99 of the exemption notification No. 02/2017-C.T. (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. 12. The applicant submits that it has never been the intention of the Government, i.e., either Central Government or State Government, to levy any indirect tax on water of general purposes. Even under the erstwhile indirect tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ubmits that in their opinion the supply made by them is covered under exemption and is not liable to tax. 17. Question on which Advance Ruling sought: 1. Whether 'Treated Water' obtained from CETP (classifiable under Chapter 2201) will be eligible for exemption from GST by virtue of Sl. No. 99 of the Exemption Notification No. 02/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate), dated 28-06-2017 (as amended) as 'Water (other than aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medical, ionic, battery, demineralized and water sold in sealed container)'? or 2. Whether 'Treated Water' obtained from CETP (classifiable under Chapter 2201) is taxable at 18 per cent by virtue of Sl. No. 24 of Schedule - III of Notification No. 01/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate), dated 28-6-2017 (as amended) as 'Waters, including natural or artificial mineral waters, and aerated waters, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter nor flavoured (other than Drinking water packed in 20 liters bottles)' Personal Hearing: 18. Personal hearing granted on 26-09-22 was attended by Shri Mihir D. Gandhi (C.A.) and he reiterated the submission. The representative of the applicant during the course of Per ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... .6. If all the stages work perfectly, this treated sewage will not burden the environment and clog our water bodies. Function of Effluent treatment plants (ETP) 21. Effluent treatment plants work in several stages to remove all sorts of impurities from industrial waste water. They can screen out solid waste and dust, disinfect the water and purify it on a molecular level. 21.1. This treated water is safe to be released into water bodies without disrupting the ecological balance. 21.2. In the primary stage of an effluent treatment plant, mostly solid and visible waste is removed. Dust and debris are also removed in the first stage. Screenings are done to separate solid waste from the effluent. 21.3. Coagulants are used to have the contaminants clump together and sink to the bottom of the tank. From there, they can be separated easily. Wastewater is also put in a tank where the growth of bacteria is abundant. The contaminants get broken down by bacteria in that stage. 21.4. The secondary stage of an effluent treatment plant finely cleanses the water. Activated carbons are used in this stage to capture chemicals and heavy metals. 21.5. Chlorine and ultraviolet rays are frequent ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... relevant facts & the applicant's interpretation of law. 24. At the outset we would like to make it clear that the provisions of CGST Act and GGST Act are in pari-materia and have the same provisions in like matter and differ from each other only on a few specific provisions. Therefore, unless a mention is particularly made to such dissimilar provisions, a reference to the CGST Act would also mean reference to the corresponding similar provisions in the GGST Act. 25. The main issue here is to decide whether the treated water obtained from CETP is eligible for exemption from GST under entry at Sr. No. 99 of Notification No. 12/2017-CT (Rate), dated 28-06-2017 as amended. 26. We find that the applicant is a company promoted by cluster of textile processing industries for setting up of Common Effluent Treatment Plant to treat and recycled the effluent for Conveyance, Treatment & Disposal of waste water generated from the industries. The applicant received the effluent from such textile units for treatment and supply treated water obtained from ETP to the industries which required for their various processes. 27. We find that effluent received from industries is passed through ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ST on supply of safe drinking water for public purpose: Representations have been received seeking clarification regarding applicability of GST on supply of safe drinking water for public purpose. 6.2 Attention is drawn to the entry at S. No. 99 of notification No. 2/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017, by virtue of which water [other than aerated, mineral, purified, distilled, medicinal, ionic, battery, de-mineralized and water sold in sealed container] falling under HS code 2201 attracts NIL rate of GST. 6.3 Accordingly, supply of water, other than those excluded from S. 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. 28.5. We find that the applicant has submitted his own that treated water obtained from CETP is not purified water and cannot be used in drinking by the public but supplied to the Industry and can be used by the industries for their process. 28.6. The treated water obtained from CETP do not cover under the category of 'purified water' then what type of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... when its levels run low. The water used in battery water is usually distilled water or deionized water. It's never tap water, as tap water may contain impurities. (vii) De-mineralized water: De-mineralized water is virtually free from minerals and related substances, there can be very tiny amounts of dissolved minerals that will always remain. This water is also called soft water because all the hardness is removed by the de-mineralization process. De-mineralized water is water completely free (or almost) of dissolved minerals as a result of one of the following processes: distillation. Deionization, membrane filtration (reverse osmosis or nano-filtration) 28.7. We have discussed various types of water at (i) to (vii) above and observed that the applicant impugned treated water do not falls under the category of aerated water, mineral water, distilled water, medicinal water, ionic water and battery water. Now, we discuss the applicant impugned product i.e. treated water as under. 28.8. The applicant has submitted that in CETP they screen out solid waste, dust, disinfect the water and purify it on a molecular level. Various Coagulants are used to have the contaminants clumps ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... se as the applicant treated water is de-mineralised water and obtained from Common Effluent Treatment Plant where as circular has clarified the 'purified water' obtained from Sewage Treatment Plant. Both type of water are different as such treated water obtained from CETP is used in Industry for the process whereas treated water obtained from Sewage water is water is nearly safe enough to release into the environment. 29. The applicant has referred the Ruling pronounced by the Appellate Authority in case of M/s. New Tripura Area Development Corporation Limited (ORDER-in-Appeal No. AAAR/17 & 18/2021 (AR), wherein the Appellate Authority inter alia held that "In chemical terms, purified water is pure H20 and only contains Hydrogen and Oxygen and no minerals; Distilled water is the most common form of pure water". The facts of the case and issue are not similar to the applicant case and cannot be applied. 30. We find that Authority for Advance Ruling, Tamilnadu in the case of M/s. Kasipalayam Common Effluent Treatment Plant (P.) Ltd. has given the Ruling as, Classification of goods - Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 - Demineralized Water - Heading No. 2201 - App ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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