A division bench of the Telangana High Court, consisting of Justice P Sam Koshy and Justice Laxmi Narayana Alishetty, has dismissed the pleas of Care College of Nursing and 34 others, challenging the demand notice issued by the Kaloji Narayana Rao University of Health Sciences (KNRUHS) for the payment of GST on the affiliation and inspection fees, along with arrears dating back to July 2017.
The demand for GST on these fees arose after the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs and the Additional Director General of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence raised demands on KNRUHS.
Counsel for the petitioners argued that as per Serial No. 66 of the June 28, 2017 notification, services provided by educational institutions were exempt from GST.
They contended that the term “educational institution” was clearly defined in the same notification, thus reinforcing their exemption from GST. Additionally, they claimed that imposing GST on these fees would force them to transfer the financial burden to the students.