Indian Wire Products Company, In re
In favour of the revenue
The ruling in brief
On appeal, the West Bengal Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (Appeal Case No. 02/WBAAAR/APPEAL/2026, 10 July 2026) considered Indian Wire Products Company’s restaurant model involving supply of tobacco-based and herbal hookah flavours through hookah apparatus alongside food and beverages. The issue was whether such supplies were composite restaurant service under paragraph 6(b) of Schedule II and Notification No. 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate), or separate supplies of goods. The AAAR held that merely bundling hookah flavours with restaurant facilities did not bring those flavour supplies within the restaurant service entry; they remained supplies of goods to be classified and rated under applicable goods notifications, with Sections 7, 8 and 9 CGST governing scope and levy. Outcome favoured revenue’s characterisation as non-restaurant service supplies. Operators mixing hookah retail with dining should treat flavour supplies as goods unless facts differ materially.
For information only — not legal advice. Read the full judgment and applicable law before relying on this summary.
Provisions considered
- CGST S.9 — Levy of CGST; includes reverse-charge liability in notified cases.
- CGST S.7 — Section 7 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
- CGST S.8 — Section 8 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
Source documents
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