Charitable Trust running medical store is liable for GST Registration: Says AAR

Sale of medicines at lower rates by charitable trust, also amounts to business activity as per CGST Act. Authority held that as per the definition of ‘business’ - any trade, commerce, manufacture, profession, vocation, adventure, wager or any other similar activity, whether or not it is for a pecuniary benefit is termed as business.

Facts of case

The applicant is a Charitable Trust and running a medical store where medicines are given at a lower rate and the motive of the trust is not profit.

Applicant has raised following questions for advance ruling authority:

1. Whether GST Registration is required for medical store run by Charitable Trust?

2. Whether medical Store providing medicines at a lower rate amounts to supply of goods?

Held by Authority

The applicant is a charitable trust which appears under the definition of ‘person’ and falls at clause (m) of sub-section 84 of Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017. As per definition, a charitable trust is a person as per clause (m) of sub section 84 of section 2 of CGST Act, 2017.

The applicant is providing medicines from its medical store at lower rate, so activity of dealer is to provide medicines with less pecuniary benefit. As per the definition of ‘business’ any trade, commerce, manufacture, profession, vocation, adventure, wager or any other similar activity, whether or not it is for a pecuniary benefit is termed as business. Hence, it is clear that any trade carried out whether for pecuniary benefit or not is a business as per CGST Act, 2017. Therefore, the applicant is carrying out business activity as per CGST Act, 2017.

Applicant is selling medicines from its medical store. Medicine is goods as per subsection 52 of Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017. Medicine is a taxable supply as per sub section 108 of section 2 of CGST Act, 2017 and GST is leviable on medicine as per Chapter-30 of HSN code. Therefore, sale of medicine by the applicant is a taxable supply of goods. Applicant is providing medicines from its medical store at lower rate so price paid by the customers is consideration for the applicant as defined in sub-section 31 of Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017. Further, the activity of supply of goods by the applicant does not fall under the list appearing in Schedule-III of the CGST Act, 2017. Therefore, we conclude that the applicant is making taxable supply from its medical store, so as and when aggregate turnover (here medicine) of applicant exceeds threshold limit as specified in sub-section (1) of Section 22 of the CGST Act, 2017, the applicant has to obtain registration under the relevant provisions of the CGST Act, 2017.

Therefore the applicant is required to obtain GST Registration for medical store run by Charitable Trust as per the relevant provisions of the GST Act, 2017. The Medical Store providing medicines at a lower rate amounts to supply of goods as per the relevant provisions of the GST Act, 2017.

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