Goods and Services Tax

Penalty under GST section 73 not sustained, while delayed tax interest must be recomputed after adjusting excess payment.
Case-Laws
GST
Penalty under section 73 of the GST Act was found unjustified on the facts placed before the HC, and the petitioner was left free to make a proper representation on that issue. At the same time, once the tax liability was admitted, interest on belated payment remained payable under section 50(1). Because the order itself recorded an excess tax payment and there was doubt about the calculation, the interest had to be recomputed after adjusting the excess amount already paid. The matter was remitted for fresh determination of the correct interest payable, and only the balance, if any, could be demanded.
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Mandatory pre-deposit under GST appeal rules must be complied with once the appellate forum is functional.
Case-Laws
GST
A writ petition was entertained only to the limited extent that no statutory appellate forum was then available, but the Court held that this did not permit bypassing the GST Act's appeal conditions. Once the GSTAT became functional and the appeal period was notified, the aggrieved party had to pursue the statutory remedy before that forum. The mandatory pre-deposit under Section 112(8) was required to be strictly complied with, and writ jurisdiction could not be used to secure relaxation from that requirement. The petitioner was directed to make the deposit and file the appeal within the notified timeline, with the merits of the appellate order left open.
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Jurisdictional filing defect treated as procedural error; rejected statutory appeal restored and sent to the competent appellate authority.
Case-Laws
GST
The HC held that rejection of the statutory appeal on jurisdictional grounds was a departmental mistake where the office lacked a system to transmit the appeal to the correct appellate authority. Treating the defect as procedural rather than substantive, the Court set aside the impugned appellate order without examining the merits of the underlying dispute. The appeal was restored and directed to be transmitted to the competent appellate authority for consideration in accordance with law.
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Bail in CGST fraud cases granted where no extraordinary circumstances justified denial and custody had continued without antecedents.
Case-Laws
GST
Bail was granted in CGST prosecution for alleged fraudulent input tax credit offences under Section 132(1)(b), (c), (f) and (i) because no extraordinary circumstances were shown to justify continued custody. The Court noted that the offences were triable by a Magistrate and carried a maximum punishment of five years, the accused had been in custody since 28.11.2025, no similar criminal antecedents were placed on record, and the Union of India produced no material warranting denial of bail. Relying on Vineet Jain and Satender Kumar Antil, the Court held that bail should follow without prejudice to merits and directed release on conditions.
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Bank guarantee continuation for release of goods refused where taxpayer compliance record provided sufficient security
Case-Laws
GST
The High Court set aside endorsements refusing cancellation of a bank guarantee taken as security for release of goods and conveyance, holding that the guarantee was meant only to secure revenue if the confiscation order was ultimately upheld. On the petitioners' uncontroverted compliance record and absence of other confiscation proceedings, the Court treated them as prima facie bona fide taxpayers and found that their conduct itself provided adequate assurance for compliance with any final order. It therefore found no justification to keep the bank guarantee alive while other disputes remained pending, directed return of the guarantees, and stated that the direction was confined to the peculiar facts and would not operate as precedent.
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Electronic credit ledger blocking under Rule 86A cannot create a negative balance; available credit alone may be restricted.
Case-Laws
GST
Rule 86A of the GST Rules permits only a temporary restriction on debit of input tax credit actually available in the electronic credit ledger; it does not authorise the Commissioner or an authorised officer to create a negative balance or block credit beyond the amount standing to the taxpayer's credit. Following earlier High Court precedent and aligned decisions of other High Courts, the Court held that availability of credit is a condition precedent for invoking the rule. The negative blocking of the taxpayer's electronic credit ledger was therefore unsustainable, though the authorities were left free to pursue other lawful recovery through statutory remedies.
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After Zomato, Swiggy hikes platform fee by 17 pc to Rs 17.58 per order
GST
Dated:- 24-3-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) Food delivery platform Swiggy has hiked the platform fee it charges users to Rs 17.58 per order, its app showed on Tuesday, days after rival Zomato increased the charges.

Swiggy had last hiked its platform fee in September last year.

The company has now raised it to Rs 17.58 per order inclusive of GST, whereas rival Zomato charges Rs 14.90 on a pre-GST basi

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Retrospective ITC time limit: HC preserves credit where returns were filed by 30.11.2021, despite limitation bar.
Case-Laws
GST
Retrospective amendment to the GST time limit for availing input tax credit preserved ITC entitlement for financial years 2017-18 to 2020-21 where the return under Section 39 had been filed up to 30.11.2021, despite the bar in Section 16(4). The HC, following its earlier common order on the amended provision, quashed the impugned reversal to the extent it denied ITC solely on limitation and protected the taxpayer from recovery on that basis. It left the Department free to proceed separately on other permissible grounds, including wrong, excess or fake ITC, if established independently of limitation.
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Anti-profiteering and input tax credit: unpassed benefit must be refunded with interest, and penalty may apply within the operative period.
Case-Laws
GST
Additional input tax credit benefit under anti-profiteering rules had to be passed on to homebuyers at the time of supply, and the Tribunal accepted the DGAP's revised computation showing that the benefit was not fully transferred. It directed refund of the unpassed amount with interest at 18% per annum from the respective dates of collection until actual repayment, treating retention of the benefit as excess consideration. It also held that penalty under Section 171(3A) applies to contraventions within its operative period, since the alleged profiteering overlapped the commencement date of that provision.
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Electronic commerce operator status denied for transport platform; GST applies to commission and TCS compliance is required.
Case-Laws
GST
An electronic platform that connects transporters with customers, without itself undertaking transportation, issuing consignment notes, or performing ancillary transport functions, is an electronic commerce operator and not a goods transport agency. It also does not qualify as an agent or pure agent where it merely facilitates bookings and lacks the contractual conditions required under Rule 33. The exemption for transportation of goods by road was therefore unavailable. GST was held payable on the commission earned from transporters, and the operator was required to comply with tax collection at source under the e-commerce framework. The deeming liability for notified services supplied through e-commerce operators did not apply to transportation services.
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Waste remediation services under GST classified in SAC 9994, with pure-service exemption available for municipal waste management work.
Case-Laws
GST
Waste dump remediation and legacy waste processing services, involving excavation, segregation, scientific disposal and conversion into RDF, compost, grit and inert fractions, were classified under SAC 9994 for sewage, waste collection, treatment, disposal and other environmental protection services, and held taxable at 18%. The supply to Goa Waste Management Corporation was nevertheless treated as pure services, because no goods were involved and the activity related to solid waste management and bio-remediation, a municipal function under Article 243W; exemption under Sl. No. 3 of Notification No. 12/2017-CT was therefore available. A separate query on the recipient's status was declined as outside the scope of advance ruling jurisdiction under Section 97(2).
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Input tax credit on mandated transport for women employees is allowed only within the statutory obligation and time limit.
Case-Laws
GST
AAR held that GST paid on leasing, renting or hiring of motor vehicles can qualify as input tax credit where the employer is under a legal obligation to provide transport and safety arrangements for women employees. Although such services are ordinarily blocked under section 17(5)(b), the proviso applies to the whole clause where the facility is mandatorily required, subject to fulfilment of section 16 conditions. The credit was confined to the extent of the statutory night-shift transport requirement under the Tamil Nadu shops and establishments framework and not to transport provided for all shifts. ITC was also held available only from 28.05.2019 onwards, subject to the statutory time limit for availment under section 16.
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Member subscriptions and seminars by an association are taxable supplies; mutuality does not exclude GST under section 7(1)(aa).
Case-Laws
GST
Collection of member subscription and provision of services, including educational seminars and workshops for member doctors, fall within the definition of business under section 2(17)(e) because facilities or benefits supplied by an association to its members for consideration are expressly covered. Those member-related activities also constitute supply under section 7(1)(aa), which deems the association and its members to be separate persons and displaces the mutuality argument for GST purposes. The healthcare exemption was held inapplicable to these stand-alone member supplies, so the subscription fees and related services were taxable.
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Bio-mining and site remediation services were classified under SAC 9994 but held exempt as pure municipal services.
Case-Laws
GST
Bio-mining of legacy waste, including excavation, screening, shredding, segregation, treatment and scientific disposal with dump-yard reclamation, was classified under SAC 9994 as waste treatment, disposal and site remediation services and stated to attract GST at 18%. The Authority nevertheless held the supply to Ariyalur Municipality exempt under Sl. No. 3 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax because it was a pure service, involved no supply of goods, and related to municipal functions such as public health, sanitation and solid waste management entrusted under Article 243W. The separate query on the recipient's status was held outside advance ruling jurisdiction, so no ruling was given on that question.
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Advance ruling jurisdiction limited to applicant's own services; recipient's application was withdrawn without merits review.
Case-Laws
GST
Advance ruling jurisdiction was found unavailable where the applicant sought rulings on transportation, leasing and grazing-related services as a recipient rather than as the supplier liable to discharge tax. The Authority noted that questions on determination of tax liability and notification applicability must relate to services undertaken or proposed to be undertaken by the applicant, and that liability to pay tax vests with the service supplier. On that basis, the application was not admissible. The applicant then requested withdrawal, and the Authority recorded the request and disposed of the application as withdrawn without examining the merits.
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Composite supply of healthcare services: hospital pharmacy medicines for in-patients are exempt as part of treatment.
Case-Laws
GST
Medicines and consumables supplied by a hospital pharmacy to in-patients during diagnosis or treatment are treated as part of a composite supply of healthcare services, not as separate retail sales. The Authority states that in-patient care includes the full bundle of medical, pharmaceutical, paramedical, nursing, laboratory and allied services from admission to discharge, and that such supplies are naturally bundled with the principal healthcare service in the ordinary course of business. Applying section 8(a), the composite supply assumes the character of healthcare services and is exempt under Entry 74 of Notification No. 12/2017-C.T. (Rate); the circular on in-patient healthcare was also relied on as supporting this treatment.
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DDP export valuation includes reimbursable delivery costs in taxable supply, while refund questions fall outside advance ruling scope.
Case-Laws
GST
Under Section 15 of the CGST Act read with Section 20 of the IGST Act, transaction value for exports on DDP terms includes incidental and reimbursable expenses incurred up to delivery, because the supplier bears responsibility and risk until the buyer's designated destination. As the applicant was not a pure agent and such costs were intended to be charged to the recipient, ocean freight, insurance, foreign import duties, delivery charges and similar expenses were includible in the value of taxable supply for IGST. The Authority also held that refund is not a matter within advance ruling jurisdiction under Section 97(2), so the refund query was not admitted or answered.
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GST registration restoration turns on compliance with return filing and procedural verification before reinstatement.
Case-Laws
GST
GST registration cancelled for non-filing of returns may be restored where the taxpayer shows compliance with the prescribed procedure and the dues or penalty have been addressed. The HC noted that returns had been filed up to the cancellation date and the penalty amount deposited, and followed the approach adopted in a similar matter. It therefore directed the taxpayer to file an application for restoration before the competent authorities, and required those authorities to verify compliance and consider restoration of the registration in accordance with law within the time fixed by the Court.
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Natural justice in refund appeals requires a chance to file a legible Bill of Lading before reconsideration on merits.
Case-Laws
GST
The High Court held that the petitioner should be given an opportunity to place a legible copy of the Bill of Lading and any other required documents before the appellate authority, where the refund claim had been rejected because the document was illegible and the shipping-line contention was treated as unsubstantiated. The matter was directed to be reconsidered afresh on merits after permitting production of the legible Bill of Lading and supporting material, reflecting the application of natural justice in the refund appeal process.
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Effective personal hearing requires reply time first; assessment order quashed for breach of natural justice.
Case-Laws
GST
A personal hearing fixed before the expiry of time allowed for filing a reply to the show cause notice was not an effective opportunity, and the procedure adopted breached principles of natural justice. The assessment order passed under Section 73(9) was therefore unsustainable and quashed by the HC. The matter was remitted to the Assessing Officer to proceed again from the show cause notice stage, with liberty to the taxpayer to file a reply and a fresh personal hearing to be fixed thereafter.
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Gujarat maintaining fiscal discipline, says FM Desai; Cong flags debt, spending pattern
GST
Dated:- 23-3-2026
PTI
Gandhinagar, Mar 23 (PTI) Gujarat Finance Minister Kanubhai Desai on Monday asserted that the state government is maintaining strict fiscal discipline and meeting all prescribed financial targets, even as it continues to increase capital expenditure for development.

Participating in the discussion on demands for the Finance Department in the assembly during the ongoing Budget session, Desai said the government is managing finances as per prescribed standards and traditions of good governance.

His remarks came in response to concerns raised by senior Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar over the state's financial manage

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5, 14.43 per cent in 2025-26 (revised), and is estimated at 14.65 per cent in 2026-27.

“The state's debt is an important resource for development works and capital expenditure. The state has never defaulted on debt repayment. Due to the effective financial management, Gujarat has not taken a single overdraft for the last 22 financial years and has not taken a single advance for the last 21 years,” he said.

The 2026-27 budget, pegged at Rs 4.08 lakh crore, has allocated Rs Rs 1,57,358 crore for capital expenditure, accounting for 39 per cent of total expenditure, compared to 25.1 per cent in 2021-22, Desai informed the House.

“This shows a significant increase and continuous progress towards asset creation. Capital expenditure has g

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ere has been an increase in non-developmental expenditure this time,” Parmar said.

He pointed out that while developmental expenditure for 2026-27 has increased by Rs 26,144 crore compared to 2025-26, non-developmental expenditure has also risen by Rs 25,185.84 crore during the same period.

“If we look at these figures every year, it seems clear that in the next one or two years, both figures will equalise,” the Congress MLA said.

Raising concerns over the state's debt, Parmar said it stood at Rs 3,99,363 crore for 2024-25, adding that the government increased debt by Rs 1,094.88 crore every day on average.

He further said Rs 28,024.73 crore was paid as interest in 2024-25, amounting to Rs 71.8 crore daily, while Rs 29,086 crore

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Anti-profiteering under GST: retained input tax credit benefit must be refunded with 18% interest, while penalty was declined
Case-Laws
GST
Failure to pass on input tax credit benefits under GST was found to constitute profiteering, as the post-GST ITC-to-purchase ratio increased on verified audited figures and the respondent retained the additional benefit instead of passing it to homebuyers. The determined profiteered amount was ordered to be refunded to eligible homebuyers with interest at 18% per annum from the respective dates of collection until refund. Penalty under Section 171(3A) was not imposed because the violation period predated its commencement and the respondent had refunded the amount, attracting the statutory proviso against penalty.
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Statutory limitation for refund claims under Section 54: Article 226 permits condonation if corresponding time extensions are granted.
Case-Laws
GST
Filing a refund application within two years under Section 54 is a mandatory statutory limitation that bars the proper officer from entertaining belated claims; the absence of any provision to condone delay means the officer lacks jurisdiction except where the statute permits relief. Where the Act provides no remedy, a writ under Article 226 may be entertained to seek condonation of delay, subject to consideration of laches and bona fides. Any judicial condonation must be conditional: the taxpayer may obtain relief only if a corresponding extension is granted to enable the authorities to invoke and apply consequential remedial assessment provisions; on the facts delay was condoned.
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Clubbing of Tax Periods invalid: consolidated anti evasion notices quashed; reissue must follow year wise limitation and procedure.
Case-Laws
GST
Clubbing of tax periods in a single Section 74 show cause notice is impermissible because the CGST statutory scheme treats each financial year as a distinct tax period with separate limitation and procedural rights; aggregating years conflates distinct limitation dates and denies year wise rights, and allegations of fraudulent input tax credit do not authorise consolidation. Applying that principle, the court quashed the consolidated notice covering multiple financial years but permitted respondents liberty to reissue notices strictly year wise in accordance with the statutory scheme and to revive proceedings if higher forum decisions permit.
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Time limit for refund scrutiny bars post period deficiency memos, requiring sanction of the refund with statutory interest.
Case-Laws
GST
Failure to comply with statutory timelines for refund scrutiny means issuance of a deficiency memo after the prescribed period is impermissible, so the refund claim must be processed and allowed in accordance with the applicable acknowledgement and scrutiny rules; the prior direction to sanction refund with statutory interest therefore remains operative and requires enforcement. The writ seeking mandamus for compliance was allowed, directing the respondent to sanction the refund for the specified period together with statutory interest and to complete compliance within the time directed by the Court.
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