Reinsurance and coinsurance not under tax ambit
Reinsurance and coinsurance are not the supply of a service and, hence, not liable to tax, according to a decision by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday. This spells a significant breather to insurance companies facing thousands of crores in tax demands.
The GST Council also recommended clarifications on taxability of reimbursements of securities or shares as employee stock option plans given by a company to its workers. Officials said exemptions would be conditional and notified later. Coinsurance, in this instance, refers to insurers sharing insurance-bearing liabilities. Reinsurance is the cover an insurer buys to insure itself through the payment of premiums.
The industry has contended that GST should only be paid by one company in this chain. However, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) last year issued notices to about 20 insurance companies raising tax demands of about Rs 12,000 crore for non-payment of GST on coinsurance and reinsurance premiums. Apex grouping General Insurance Council had lobbied the government, seeking clarity. It submitted that the levy of GST on all firms amounted to double taxation.
“Coinsurance premium apportioned by the lead insurer to the coinsurer for the supply of insurance service by lead and coinsurer to the insured in coinsurance agreements, may be declared as no supply under Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, and past cases may be regularised on ‘as is-where is’ basis,” the GST Council noted. A senior official said
