- Indian Medical Association runs mutual schemes for member doctors, including Social Security Schemes and Professional Disability Support Scheme.
- Member doctors pay fees and contributions for benefits like support for widows, disabled doctors, or those with specific illnesses.
- Each scheme is managed by an elected committee with separate bank accounts and independent audits.
- IMA believed it was not liable for GST on services to members due to the principle of mutuality.
- An amendment to Section 7(1)(aa) of the CGST Act changed this understanding, defining activities between a person and its members as supply.
- The issue is whether certain provisions of the CGST Act and Kerala GST Act are unconstitutional and violate specific articles of the Indian Constitution.
- The High Court noted that the concepts of supply and service require at least two persons, unlike goods.
- Article 246A allows both the Centre and States to levy GST, using the term supply without an artificial meaning.
- The CGST Act amended the definition of supply to include transactions by a body of persons to its members but did not deem it a service.
- The Supreme Court’s interpretation of constitutional terms cannot be contradicted by legislative bodies.
Source: taxand.com
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
