Affiliation and inspection fees charged by an educational institution are taxable under GST without specific exemption in the law.

COMMON ORDER :

Since the grounds of challenge and the petitioners and respondents, all being the same, we proceed to decide the batch of writ petitions by this common order.

2. This batch of writ petitions are filed by the educational institutions assailing the demand notice raised by the 1^st respondent-University so far as payment of G.S.T. on the affiliation fee and inspection fee together with arrears from July, 2017 onwards.

3. For proper appreciation of facts, it would be more relevant to take note of the contents of the demand notice issued by the 1^st respondent to each of the petitioners in all the writ petitions, which is extracted as under :

“With reference to the subject cited and vide references cited, the University has been directed by GST authorities to collect and deposit the GST dues from July, 2017 onwards on affiliation and inspection fees paid by private institutions affiliated to K.N.R.U.H.S. In this regard, you are hereby directed to submit 9% S.G.S.T. and 9% C.G.S.T. (a total of 18% as G.S.T.) on the affiliation and inspection fee paid to the University from July, 2017 onwards in the form of Demand Draft in favour of the Registrar, K.N.R.U.H.S. payable at Warangal within 10 days. Kindly note that the D.D.s are to be submitted separately for each financial year and also please provide the details of affiliation fee and inspection fee paid in a table form year-wise for each Financial Year. Any further orders from the G.S.T. authorities shall be communicated to you for further course of action.”

4. For convenience, we are referring to the facts in Writ Petition No.34617 of 2022 as facts for the rest of the batch of writ petitions as well. However, the other connected batch of matters, which are also heard and decided together, are matters where the impugned demand notice have been raised in the present year, i.e., 2023.

5. Heard Mr. Gaddam Srinivas, learned counsel for the petitioners; Mr. Dominic Fernandes, learned Senior Standing Counsel, appearing on behalf of respondent Nos.2 and 3; and Mr. V. Rajeshwar Rao, learned Government Pleader for Commercial Tax Department, for respondent Nos.4 and 5 in Writ Petition No.24617 of 2022. None appeared for the 1^st respondent - Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (K.N.R.U.H.S.)

6. All the petitioners in the present writ petition as also in the other connected writ petitions are educational institutions / colleges primarily imparting nursing course. All the colleges before this Court in the various writ petitions are all affiliated with the 1st respondent-Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (K.N.R.U.H.S.), (for short, ‘the 1^st respondent- University’).

7. The 1^st respondent is a University which has been established under the provisions of Act 6 of 1986. The colleges which intend to get affiliation the 1^st respondent-University are required to undergo certain procedure. For the purpose of granting affiliation, the 1^st respondent-University is required to first conduct an inspection and for this purpose, the University charges inspection fees as also affiliation fees from the respective colleges. All the colleges in this batch of writ petitions have paid the inspection fees for the inspection conducted as also the affiliation fees for the affiliation granted.

8. The G.S.T. law came into force w.e.f. 01.07.2017.

9. Recently, the respondent Nos.2 and 3 have raised demand of G.S.T. on the affiliation fees and inspection fees from the 1st respondent-University. Based upon the said demand, so raised by the respondent Nos.2 and 3, the 1st respondent-University in turn demanded payment of G.S.T. on the affiliation fees and inspection fees paid by each of these petitioners before this Court in the present batch of writ petiti