Karnataka imposes 12% GST on maintenance of railway housing complexes

The Karnataka Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) has ruled that services for repairs, maintenance, renovation, and alterations of residential complexes for railway employees are subject to a 12% GST. The applicant, Bindu Projects, is a registered person under the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act, 2017 and the Karnataka Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and is engaged in providing works contract services to South Western Railways. The applicant has requested an advance ruling on whether GST rates apply to works contract services performing original work for South Western Railways. The AAR noted that the applicant claims that a contract is a single contract that consists of multiple works when it comes to the question of the tax rate. When it comes to determining whether this contract is a composite supply, mixed supply, or a collection of separate supplies, it is clear that it is not a composite supply of works contract because there is no principal supply and the works are not bundled naturally. It also can't be a mixed supply because each supply of works is valued separately, resulting in separate contracts. As a result, all of the contracts have different prices. As a result, it is safe to assume that each of the works listed in a schedule is a separate contract in and of itself, as evidenced by the fact that the works are not in the same location and are different. The AAR determined that the services of repairs, maintenance, renovation, and alterations of residential complexes intended for use by Railway employees are covered by entry 3(vi) of the Notification and thus subject to CGST and SGST of 6% and 6%, respectively. Image Source