According to the Kerala Authority for Advance Ruling, the fees charged for exams by the Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board are required to include Goods and Services Tax (GST). Additionally, the board must register for GST once it earns more than Rs 20 lakh in a year.
The ruling was delivered by a coram including Jomy Jacob, Additional Commissioner of Central Tax, and Mansur M. I., Joint Commissioner of State Tax. The Recruitment Board conducts selection exams for Devaswom Boards across Kerala. It had approached the Authority asking for clarification on whether GST registration was required and whether GST applied to application and examination fees.
The board mentioned that the same is a government-regulated, grant-in-aid body. It mentioned the fees were obtained merely to fulfil the costs of administration, and their nature is not commercial.
The same claim has been denied by the authority. It stated that the candidates pay fees in return for clear services, which consist of conducting exams, evaluating answer scripts, publishing results, and enabling recruitment. It held that the activity is not a sovereign or exempt government function. The Authority recruitment examinations, stated, are not operationally assigned to local bodies under the constitution.
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The authority said that the services do not come under any GST exemption. It is mentioned that GST becomes obligatory once the taxable turnover surpasses the threshold fiscal year.
The AAR concluded that tax is to be charged on the recruitment services of Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board. Under the GST, registration is obligatory after surpassing the threshold.
| Applicant Name | Kerala Devaswom Recruitment Board |
| GSTIN of the applicant | 322500000475ARZ (TEMР) |
| ARN | AD3203250294973 |
| Kerala GST AAR | Read Order |
