GST leviable on AAI-Adani concessionaire pact for Thiruvananthapuram airport: Kerala AAR

The concessionaire agreement between the AAI and Adani Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd is not a transfer of business, but supply of services and hence is liable to GST, the Kerala bench of the GST Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has said.

The Kerala AAR ruling is contrary to the rulings passed by the Rajasthan and Gujarat Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) in the case of transfer of Jaipur and Ahmedabad airports and Uttar Pradesh AAR in the case of Chaudhary Charan Singh International Airport in Lucknow. These authorities had exempted such transfers from goods and services tax (GST).

The Airports Authority of India (AAI) in its application before the AAR said it has entered into a concessionaire agreement with Adani Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Ltd for the operation, management, and development of the airport for 50 years.