Institute of Education and Examination Management Private Limited, the applicant, is engaged in providing examination and recruitment management services. They provide pre and post examination services from online registration to preparation of results to educational boards, council and universities. The applicant has sought an advance ruling to clarify whether services such as the printing of pre-examination materials, the creation and management of web-based exam applications, and post-exam services like the scanning and processing of exam results fall under educational services for GST exemption.

The applicant has provided details that they have entered into agreements with various universities within the state of Bengal. They also submitted work orders that included scope of work as per contract entered between them and Controller of Examinations to ascertain the nature of supply made. They want to ascertain if GST exemption is available on these services.

The ruling authority examined the definition of “Educational Institution” as per GST norms. As per the definition “educational institutions include establishments that offer education up to the higher secondary level or its equivalent, education that is part of a curriculum leading to a recognized qualification, and education provided in approved vocational education programs. They clarified that central and state educational boards are considered educational institutions when it comes to administration services by way of examinations. It was highlighted that the comprehensive nature of education, encompasses not only teaching and learning but also the administration of examinations and the granting of certificates or degrees through educational boards and universities.

Based on these considerations, the ruling authority issues following ruling:

Services related to various aspects of conducting examination i.e., pre-examination, examination itself and post examination should be considered as services directly connected to the conduct of examinations. Consequently, these services are exempt from paying the GST based on existing GST notifications and amendments.