GST liability on annuities: Where does the buck stop?

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its 22nd meeting in October 2017 recommended tax exemption to “annuity paid by National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and state authorities or state-owned development corporations to concessionaires for the construction of public roads”. Surprisingly, the above recommendation was implemented by the government through notification no. 32/2017 – cent…