Delhi HC Dismisses GST Dept Review, Says It Could Have Withdrawn SCN Instead Of Inviting Order On Merits

The Delhi High Court has dismissed a review petition filed by the GST Department against an earlier ruling restricting retrospective cancellation of a firm's GST registration. The court observed that in the facts of the case, the Department, having chosen to invite a decision on merits instead of withdrawing the defective show cause notice and seeking liberty to issue a fresh one, could not subsequently seek to reopen the issue in review jurisdiction.A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo...

Delhi High Court Quashes State GST Order Citing Overlapping Proceedings With CGST Authority

The Delhi High Court has quashed an order passed by the State GST Authority against an engineering firm, holding that in the facts of the case, where proceedings had already been initiated earlier by the Central GST authority and involved overlapping entities, the State authority ought not to have proceeded further having regard to the mandate of Section 6 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul was dealing with a...

Delay In GST Appeal Condonable On Showing Sufficient Cause: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on 17 April, held that a short delay in filing an appeal under the GST regime can be condoned if the appellant demonstrates “sufficient cause”, and that appellate authorities must apply their mind to the reasons instead of mechanically rejecting appeals on limitation. A Division Bench comprising Justices A.S. Supehia and Pranav Trivedi allowed the writ petition filed by Manjulaben Vinod Patel and quashed the appellate order rejecting the appeal as time-barred. The judges...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside GST Demand Order Despite Delay In Filing Writ, Cites Denial Of Hearing

The Delhi High Court has recently set aside a GST demand order after finding that the taxpayer was not given an opportunity of hearing, even though the writ petition was filed belatedlyA bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul set aside a GST demand order passed under Section 73 of the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, while imposing costs and granting conditional relief to the petitioner.Petitioner had challenged an Order-in-Original confirming a tax demand of over Rs. 20...

Corpus Fund By RWAs Taxable As Advance For Future Services, GST Payable On Receipt: Karnataka AAR

The Karnataka Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that corpus or sinking funds collected by residential associations constitute consideration for future supply of services and are liable to Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the time of receipt, treating such collections as advances under the GST law. A Bench comprising Members Kalyanam Rajesh Rama Rao and Sivakumar S Itagi, while hearing an application filed by Liberty Square Apartment Owners Association, ruled that GST liability arises...

Concessional GST On Irrigation Rubber Rings Conditional On Hard Rubber Use: Rajasthan AAR

The Rajasthan Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) has held that rubber rings used in sprinkler or drip irrigation systems will qualify for concessional Goods and Services Tax (GST) only if they are made of hard rubber and used exclusively for irrigation purposes, and not otherwise. The Bench comprising Members Utkarsha and Dr Akhedan Charan was hearing an application filed by Arti Pitaliya, a Jaipur-based manufacturer of rubber components used in irrigation systems. It held: “yes, if rubber...

Relevant Date Under GST Refund Varies By Claim Type; 2019 Amendment Not Retrospective: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has clarified that the determination of the “relevant date” for computing limitation under Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) depends on the nature of the refund claimed, and that the 2019 amendment to the provision cannot be applied retrospectively to defeat vested rights of taxpayers.A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain was dealing with petitions challenging rejection of refund claims for unutilised input tax...

ARN Cannot Be Equated With Valid GST Registration Certificate: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently upheld Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's (ONGC) decision to reject a bid for failure to submit a valid Goods and Services Tax registration certificate at the time of bidding, holding that an Application Reference Number (ARN) cannot substitute a GST certificate in tender processes. A Division Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, while dismissing a writ petition filed by Anantaa-MRKR-Arinfra (JV) Pvt. Ltd., said: “An ARN is only an...

GST Refund Limitation Mandatory; Delay Can Be Condoned Under Article 226 In Cases Of Genuine Hardship: Karnataka HC

The Karnataka High Court held that the two-year limitation under Section 54 of the CGST Act is mandatory, and cannot be relaxed by tax authorities. However, in cases of genuine hardship, delay in filing refund claims may be condoned by invoking writ jurisdiction under Article 226, subject to safeguards protecting the Revenue.The Division Bench comprising Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice K.V. Aravind made the ruling. Section 54 of the CGST Act provides provisions for claiming refunds of...

Biodegradable Carry Bags Eligible For 5% GST Subject To Notification Conditions: Rajasthan AAR

The Rajasthan Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) in February, held that concessional GST at 5% applies to biodegradable carry bags only if the goods satisfy the condition of being biodegradable under the relevant notification. It also held that it cannot determine whether a product meets scientific standards of biodegradability or compostability. The Authority Bench comprising Utkarsha and Dr. Akhedan Charan disposed of an application filed by Pradeep Verma concerning classification and GST...

Semen Sorting Services Exempt From GST As Support To Animal Husbandry: Gujarat AAR

The Gujarat Bench of the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) on 3 March, held that semen sorting services using specialised technology qualify as support services to animal husbandry and are exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST). The Authority Bench comprising Sushma Dora and Vishal Malani decided on an application filed by Jiva Sciences Private Limited, which undertakes separation of X and Y chromosomes from bovine semen using proprietary technology. It ruled: “'Semen Sorting Services' are...

Delhi High Court Declines Writ Against GST SCN Corrigendum Allegedly Expanding Tax Period, Cites Appeal Remedy

The Delhi High Court has recently declined to entertain a challenge to a corrigendum allegedly expanding the scope of a show cause notice by including an additional financial year, holding that such issues require factual examination and are not suited for adjudication under Article 226 when an efficacious statutory remedy is available. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul dismissed a writ petition filed by Manpar Icon Technologies challenging a show cause notice...