India Supreme Court Clarifies GST Exemption for Residential Rentals

The Indian Supreme Court Dec. 4 issued a judgment clarifying the GST exemption for residential rentals. The taxpayers, residential building owners, leased the building to a company that subleased it as a hostel to students and professionals. The Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling found that the exemption under GST Exemption Notification No. 9/2017 didn’t apply, which the High Court of Karnataka overturned. On appeal, the Supreme Court found that: 1) renting the residential building as a hostel to students and professionals was exempt under the notification because the ultimate use of the property as a residence remained unchanged; 2) imposing ...