'Consignment note' sine-qua-non for GTA taxability; Ancillary services liable to GST, explains CBEC

CBEC explains taxability of GTA services under GST regime, states that issuance of consignment note is a sine-qua-non for supplier of service to be considered as GTA and that services provided by such individual transporters who do not issue a consignment note will be exempt under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate); Explains that GTA service can be taxed at 5% subject to condition that ITC of goods & services used therein has not been taken, whereas GTA can opt to discharge liability at 12% with no restriction on ITC availment; Where recipient is a factory / society / cooperative society / person with GST registration / body corporate / partnership firm / casual taxable person, liability to pay GST devolves on such recipient unless GTA avails forward charge option (12%), but in all other cases where recipients do not fall in said categories, liability will be on GTA service supplier; Definition of ‘GTA’ includes not only the actual transportation of goods but any intermediate/ancillary service provided in relation thereto like loading/unloading, packing/unpacking, trans-shipment and temporary warehousing and hence, liable to GST unless they are provided as independent activities; States, “The law recognises that pure transportation of goods services are mostly provided by persons in the unorganised sector and hence has specifically excluded such operators from the tax net” : CBEC