AAR Affirms GST Exemption for Processing & Scanning of Exam Results

There should be no GST levied on the scanning and processing of exam results, said Andhra Pradesh Authority for Advance Ruling recently, in an application filed before it.

The mentioned ruling was incurred by the Authority of Advance Ruling when an application was furnished to it by M/s. Universal Print Systems, the petitioner held within the business of printing including high-end security printing products from the year 2011.

The petitioner is involved in the supply of the examination answer sheets that comprise optical character reading facilities, and optical mark recognition features, printed only in the needed numbers beneath strict confidentiality supervised by the educational administrations according to the approved design and pattern as furnished via such educational authority/board, the petitioner was indeed engaged in the printing of different kinds of certificates with security features so that the authenticity of these documents could be controlled from unauthorized misuse or duplication.

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The petitioners mentioned activity indeed comprises the approved printing under the design/pattern/data, similar to that furnished via the customer under their supervision.

The major query consists inside the furnished application via the petitioner is if the scanning and processing of results of examinations referred to the mentioned activities be considered as an exempted supply of service as a result of the terms of Serial Number 66 of GST Notification NO. 12/2O17-CGST [Rate] dated 28-6-2017 as revised, the petitioner provided that prior to the onset of the goods and services Tax, the Applicants activity was considered as manufacture by categorizing the products under chapter 49148 of the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985. With that, the clearance was considered to be the sale in the terms of the AP VAT act 2005.

Petitioner mentioned that with the onset of the goods and services tax in 2017, a distinct purpose would be accorded by considering these activities as the supply of services rather than the supply of goods as much as the petitioner does not secure goods at any stage, for the security specifications or the kind of goods which could not be sold to any other individual because of the fiduciary value, the services provided for the printing industry, specifically for the cases in which the design/data/pattern would be furnished via the client would be treated to be the service, the Andhra Pradesh Authority for Advance Ruling has secured with the members Sri. D. Ramesh, the Commissioner of State Tax and Sri. RV Pradhamesh Bhanu, the Joint Commissioner of Central Tax Marked as follows:

“With reference to the services provided by the applicant, they are nothing but services relating to admission to, or conduct of examination by, such institution, falling under Sl No 66 of the said exemption notification of No. 12/2017-CGST [Rate], dated 28.06.2017 as amended.”

Hence specifying its ruling in confirmation, the exemption scanning, and processing of the exam result from GST, the Andhra Pradesh Authority for Advance ruled that- “In view of the above foregoing, we concur with the opinion of the applicant .”