Mumbai: Don’t judge a book by its cover – this saying has gained a new meaning.
Given the covid pandemic, learning at home is the norm and picture of the book has become very popular in households with young people.
The Madhya Pradesh Bench from the GST-Authority Advance Case (AAR) must decide whether this home-learning box kit book – Most are intended for pre-school to develop their linguistic, logical, sensory, cognitive, creativity and other skills – will attract levels nil gst.
The child image book under the 4903 tariff is subject to GST nihil level.
Kit box, called ‘Class Monitor Home Learning Kit’ and is produced & marketed by private Riseom company solutions, consisting of cards, pamphlets and sheets that contain photos and images.
After going through a study kit, Aar who observes that this is not in a book or bound form.
Thus, the learning kit will be classified in the 4901 post, which includes ‘pamphlets, booklets, brochures, leaflets and a type of printed goods’.
This will attract the GST level of 5%.
Manufacturing companies explain that the contents of the kit box in the form of separate sheets are grouped together according to sub-topics, say animals, vegetables, etc.
All sheets are part of a book box kit, which is suitable for binding.
“However, if we bind all the sheets together, it will be hard for a child to use it easily,” the company submitted.
He added that the methodology based on activity was adopted with instructions on the back of the sheets and various supporting materials such as paper crafts, ribbons, fevicol tubes, etc., “to keep children happy in the learning process”.
However, all of that comes down to the fact that the sheets are bound and thus this kit box book is not eligible for the GST nil level.
It should be noted that the decision GST is not a judicial precedent.
However, they have a persuasive impact during a similar case assessment.