Levy of GST— In the instant case, the applicant (Shell Energy India Private Limited) owns and operates a Liquefied Natural Gas re-gasification terminal at Village Hazira, District Surat, Gujarat and is, inter alia, engaged in providing services of re-gasification of LNG imported by Customers at the Hazira Port.
M/s Shell has submitted that the process of re-gasification also involves certain process losses. The said possible/potential losses during the process of re-gasification are understood by the parties as System Use Gas (SUG).
Question on which Advance Ruling sought—
Whether value attributable to SUG stipulated in the Agreement between the Applicant and Customers is subject to the levy of GST and therefore, liable to be included in the consideration for re-gasification services determined as per Section 15 of the CGST Act?
What is before us is whether this GST invoiced amount on its customers is part of transaction value for re-gasification service supply.
Held that— 1. The scope of Re-gasification Services covers not only the services related to regasification of LNG into RLNG on behalf of M/s Shells customers but includes allied, incidental and ancillary services such as receipt of LNG Carriers at the Port, unloading of LNG from LNG carriers and its receipt at Terminal receipt point, temporary storage of LNG in storage tanks and delivery of RLNG to the customers, as detailed at para2
2. Thus this SUG [(a) gas used as fuel by Shell in GTG/ SCV;
(b) gas used by M/s Shell for safety procedures by flaring/ venting out, even in cases of shutdown/ breakdown/ power failure when gas is vented out for safety reasons in the process of draining, purging and cooling down;
(c) gas used by M/s Shell in maintenance of re-gasification equipment;
(d) gas vented out by M/s Shell for cooling of BOG compressor;
(e) gas flared out by M/s Shell to maintain tank pressure;
(f) gas used by M/s Shell on account of unloading arms purging and warming, so gas is vent out into the atmosphere without flare] is a cost for Supplier of Service M/s Shell and thereby to be allocated into cost of provision of Regasification Service Supply. Vide this business contract, M/s Shell translates the cost of SUG required into SUG value by raising GST Tax invoices to its customers under item description- value of SUG.
3. Further, in cases where measurement uncertainties are in negative, this translates that System use gas provided by its customers, as per contract is retained by M/s Shell, as negative measurement means excess of Gas and not shortage of gas.
4. Thus value of SUG is an indispensable part of taxable value, for Re-gasification service supply by M/s Shell and liable to GST.