Point of Law: Provisions of CGST Act is crystal clear that services rendered are liable for payment of service tax and more specifically, with reference to Section 7 r/w Schedule II, services rendered by the Railways to writ petitioners/contractors and writ petitioners/contractors to the end users, are falling within scope of Section 7 r/w Schedule II of CGST Act and therefore all writ petitioners are liable to pay tax, as applicable and as demanded by Southern Railways.

JUDGMENT :

(Prayer: Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the fourth respondent with reference to instructions vide his letter No.M/C.300/Vehicle Parking/2017 dated 29.06.2017 and letter No.M/C.300/Policy dated 24.07.2017, respectively and quash the same as prima facie illegal, improper and not in accordance with the provisions of the GST Act and consequently, direct the respondents to permit the petitioner to collect GST on the usage of the vehicle parking lot from the recipient of the said service.

Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the third respondent herein dated 29.06.2017 in No.M/C.300/Vehicle Parking/2017 and quash the same and consequently, direct the 3rd respondent to allow the petitioner to collect GST at 18% from the customers in addition to the parking charges.

Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the fourth respondent with reference to his Letter of Information No.M/C.300/Cycles/CGL-Site No.I dated 22.03.2018 with reference to the requirement of payment of 18% GST on then Licence Fee and quash the same as prima facie illegal, improper and not in accordance with the provisions of the GST Act and consequently, direct the respondents to permit the petitioner to collect GST on the usage of the vehicle parking lot from the recipient of the said service.

Writ Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying for the issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records of the 5th respondent with reference to his Letters of Acceptance No.M/C.300/Cycles/KBT, dated 12.04.2017 with reference to the requirement of payment of 18% GST on the Licence Fee and quash the same as prima facie illegal, improper and not in accordance with the provisions of the GST Act and consequently, direct the respondents to permit the petitioner to collect GST on the usage of the vehicle parking lot by collecting the same from the recipient of the said service.)

These writ petitions were filed questioning the demand made by the Southern Railway to pay 18% of GST in respect of the license fee granted to the Private Contractors to run parking of vehicles.

2. At the first instance, this Court would like to look into the provisions of law with reference to collection of 18% GST as far as the parking areas, more specifically, in these batch of cases by the Southern Railway through their Private Contractors.

3. Section 2 of the CGST Act enumerates definitions. Section 2 (102) defines:-

“services” means “anything other than goods, money and securities but includes activities relating to the use of money or its conversion by cash or by any other mode, from one form, currency or denomination, to another form, currency or denomination for which a separate consideration is charged;

[Explanation : For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the expression “services” includes facilitating or arranging transactions in securities;]”

4. Let us now consider Chapter III levy and collection of tax. Section 7 denotes the scope of supply, which reads as under:-

“7. Scope of supply.––

(1) For the purposes of this Act, the expression 'supply' includes––

(a) all forms of supply of goods or services or both such as sale, transfer, barter, exchange, licence, rental, lease or disposal made or agreed to be made for a consideration by a person in the course or furtherance of business;

(b) import of services for a consideration whether or not in the course or furtherance of business; [and]

(c) the activities specified in Schedule I, made or agreed to be made without a consideration; and

(d) the activities to be treated as supply of goods or supply of services as referred to