GST Liability on Oil Tanker Hire Charges Explained
The key issue is which liability has to be borne on the charges collected by the owner of an oil tanker leased out to petroleum companies; in other words, is the GST to be paid by the owner or the petroleum company on hire charges? Under Notification 12/2017, specifically Entry 22(b) of the Services Exemption Notification, the supply of GTA services, of providing a GTV to a GTA, has been exempted from GST.
In clarification, the CBIC had upheld that hiring of a motor vehicle by a corporate body, shall be covered under the Reverse Charge Mechanism, of GST, and not the owner. An advance ruling in M/s Prahallad Ray Rekhraj Agarwal has confirmed that the service is GST-exempt where a GTA employs a GTV. In the case of GTA, the issuance of consignment notes is an essential requirement for determining the taxability of the service. As the owner of the oil tanker does not issue consignment notes, the service will not qualify as a GTA service and will not be liable for GST.
Accordingly, the petroleum companies (HPCL, BPCL, IOCL) are liable to pay GST on the transport service under RCM and the oil tanker owners are not required to discharge any GST on the hiring charges. The disputed question is about the tax liability on charges collected by the owner, towards hiring oil tankers from petroleum companies under GST Act. The main doubt is whether the owner of the oil tanker has to pay tax or the petroleum company, who received services from the owner of the Oil tanker.