No, Government has not levied 18% GST on Crematorium Services; Here’s the truth…

GST is not applicable on Crematorium Services. 

Image Credit: Chandan Khanna/AFP

Former union minister and veteran Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had tweeted that Goods and Services Tax (GST) on crematorium has been increased to 18%. Apart from Mr. Ramesh, many social media users also made the same claim on Twitter. You can see a few such tweets below:

Twitter | Archived Link

Twitter | Archived Link

Twitter | Archived Link

So, is it true that government has decided to levy 18% GST on crematoriums? The answer is No! Let’s find out what the truth is.

Fact Check

We checked the GST website and searched for GST on crematorium and services related to it. However, we could not find anything related to it in the list. We also examined The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. We found that ‘services of funeral, burial, crematorium or mortuary including transportation of the deceased’ is classified as ‘activities or transactions which shall be treated neither as a supply of goods nor a supply of services’. This means that these items are exempted from GST.

The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017

Thus, crematorium and services related to it are exempted from GST. However, the works contract services supplied by way of construction, erection, commissioning, and installation, completion, fitting out, repair, maintenance, renovation, or alteration of a structure meant for funeral, burial or cremation of deceased are not exempted from GST. This comes under work contract services. The Works Contracts has been defined in Section 2(119) of the CGST Act, 2017 as:

 “works contract” means a contract for building, construction, fabrication, completion, erection, installation, fitting out, improvement, modification, repair, maintenance, renovation, alteration or commissioning of any immovable property wherein transfer of property in goods (whether as goods or in some other form) is involved in the execution of such contract.”

Initially, the construction work of funeral grounds and crematoria were levied 12% GST. 

Work Contracts in GST

PIB Fact Check that falls under the Information and Broadcasting ministry of the Central Government has also dismissed the claims as misleading. PIB has clarified that:

 This claim is misleading.

There is no GST on funeral, burial, crematorium, or mortuary services. 

In this reference, GST @ 18% is only applicable for work contracts and not the services.

Archived Link

Thus, it is clear that there is no GST on crematorium or its related services. There is, however, 18% GST on work contracts related to crematorium or mortuary services.

Conclusion

The viral claim that the GST on crematorium has been increased to 18% is misleading. GST is not applicable to Crematoriums, Burial and funeral grounds. 18% GST is applicable only for work contracts such as construction, erection, commissioning, and installation, completion, fitting out, repair, maintenance, renovation, or alteration of a structure meant for funeral, burial or cremation of deceased.