Educational institution or not— introduction of the IIM Act w.e.f.31/01/2018—In the instant application question before authority is that—

After the introduction of the IIM Act w.e.f 31/01/2018, whether or not the Applicant should be considered an “Educational Institution”?

If the Applicant is eligible for Exemption under Entry No. 66(a) of the Notification No. 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28/06/2017 and from which date it should be effective.
Whether or not the Applicant is eligible to get Refund of the Tax amount already paid by the Applicant.

Held that— The issues that can be taken up by the Authority of Advance Ruling are determined by Section 97(2) of the GST Act. Queries regarding the date of effect of any change in the tax rate and regarding refund are not covered under Section 97(2) of the GST Act - The Authority for Advance Ruling can only take up for consideration the queries related to whether or not the Applicant is an “Educational Institution” and is liable to be exempted under of the Entry No. 66(a) of the Exemption Notification.

The IIM Act does not mention any specific degree/diploma/program that can be or shall be undertaken by the Applicant. In absence of such specification, reference should be made to the degrees/programmes recognized and approved by the University Grants Commission Act 1956 (hereinafter referred to as “the UGC Act”) and the All India Council for Technical Education Act, 1987 (hereinafter “the AICTE Act”) that can be lawfully awarded by any higher educational institution in the country. It can be seen that the AICTE Act and the UGC Act are very specific and detailed about the approved courses/programmes under it. Neither of the above-mentioned Act mentions courses like PGPEX-VLM and CES-MIM.

Whether the Applicant should now continue to enjoy Exemption under Entry no. 67, which has not been deleted even after the IIM Act came into being, or be considered for exemption under Entry no. 66(a) of the Exemption Notification? - Held that:- The Applicant is an “Educational Institution” within the meaning of sub-clause (ii) of clause 2(y) of the Exemption Notification in terms of the IIM Act. Exemption under Entry no. 66(a) is applicable to such educational institutions as such, especially as the law mentions that the qualifications awarded are to be “recognized by any law for the time being in force”. As Entry No. 67 specifically concerns IIMs, courses mentioned therein, will be eligible for Exemption under the specific entry, even if not mentioned elsewhere under any law for the time being in course - the provisions of the law are available to the Applicant.

Ruling— The Applicant is an ‘educational institution’ within the meaning of sub-clause (ii) of clause 2(y) of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) dated 28/06/2017.

The Applicant is eligible for benefit for exemption under Entry No. 66(a) of Notification No. 12/2017-CT(Rate) dated 28/06/2017, being an educational institution in terms of clause 2(y) of the said notification.[AUTHORITY FOR ADVANCE RULING, WEST BENGAL][2018] 6 TAXLOK.COM 02 (AAR-WB)