Kutch Railway Company Limited vs. Union Of INDIA & Ors.
Facts
The petitioners, Kutch Railway Company Limited, Adani Tracks Management Services Limited, Bharuch Dahej Railway Company Limited, Angul Sukinda Railway Limited, and Haridaspur Paradip Railway Company Ltd., filed writ petitions challenging communications from the Railways. These communications asserted that Goods and Services Tax (GST) was leviable on activities undertaken by the petitioners for the Railways through project-specific Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), and vice-versa. The dispute concerned the applicability of GST on these inter-entity transactions.
Held
The Court noted that both parties were in agreement regarding the impact of a Notification dated 12.07.2024 and a clarification dated 15.07.2024. These documents, which were placed on record, exempted services provided by SPVs to the Ministry of Railways and maintenance services supplied by the Ministry of Railways to SPVs from GST. Consequently, the respondents confirmed that the impugned communications, which asserted the levy of GST, would not be enforced against the petitioners. Given this consensus and the issuance of the exemption notifications, the Court found no further orders to be necessary in the writ petitions.
Key Issues
1. Whether GST is leviable on activities undertaken by the petitioners for the Railways through project-specific SPVs and vice-versa, in light of existing notifications and clarifications? The petitioners contended that GST should not be leviable on the said activities. The respondents (Union of India and others) conceded that by virtue of a Notification dated 12.07.2024 and a clarification dated 15.07.2024, services provided by SPVs to the Ministry of Railways and services of maintenance supplied by the Ministry of Railways to the SPVs have been exempted from the levy of GST. Therefore, the respondents stated that the impugned communications would not be applied to the petitioners.
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W.P.(C) 655/2024 & Connected matters versus UNION OF INDIA & ORS. .....Respondents Appearance:- Mr. Vivek Sharma & Ms. Saumya Mehrotra, Advocates for Petitioners in Item Nos. 48, 50 to 52. Mr. Rishi Agarwala, Mr. Manu Krishnan, Mr. Jimut Mohopaha & Mr. Yash Jain, Advocates for Petitioners in Item Nos.
Mr. Akshay Am
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