AAR: No ITC for firm on executive’s hotel bill

The Maharashtra Authority of Advance Ruling (AAR) held that a Pune-based company (a step-down arm of South Korean steelmaker Posco’s Indian arm) is not eligible to claim input credit tax (ITC) for goods and services tax (GST) paid on the hotel stay provided to its executive in lieu of residential rent-free lodging as it doesn’t amount to furtherance of business.

The AAR said that the company executive could have been provided with any other residential accommodation and still would have performed their duties for the applicant. “The hotel accommodation was being used by the applicant as a residential premises of their executives, which is for the personal comfort and therefore, in view of the provisions of Section 17(5)(g) of the CGST Act, 2017, they are not eligible to claim the ITC for the same,” the ruling said.

Further, the AAR also ruled that the company isn’t eligible to claim ITC of GST paid on health insurance provided to employees if it is partly recovered from them subsequently. The ruling said that the company was creating this fiction of providing health insurance to their employees only to avail 100% ITC of payments made to the insurance companies.

“Since there is no supply of services there is no question of time and value of the supply. The applicant cannot claim input tax credit of GST paid to the insurance company,” the ruling added.

ITC Limited