CGST Act | Right To Cross-Examine Is Not An Unfettered Right At SCN Stage, Party Must Specify Reasons: Delhi High Court

While dealing with a case under the Central Goods & Services Tax Act 2017, the Delhi High Court has held that though cross-examination can be granted in certain proceedings if it is deemed appropriate, the right to cross-examine cannot be an unfettered right.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta observed,“The rationale behind setting aside an order/judgment on the grounds of non-provision of the right to cross-examine is to safeguard the affected party from...

Delhi HC Expresses Concern Over “Harrowing Experience” Of Widow Seeking Refund Of Balance In Electronic Cash Ledger Of Deceased Husband's Firm

The Delhi High Court recently recorded the “harrowing experience” that a widow had to go through for obtaining a refund from the GST Department.The GST registration of the firm owned by her now deceased husband was cancelled in view of his death. However, his widow sought a refund of ₹10,45,793/- balance in the electronic cash ledger of the firm.The said application was rejected by the Department and subsequently, the amount was debited from the Ledger without either being paid to the petitioner...

CBIC Introduces Goods & Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 2025, Mandates All Appeals To Be Uploaded On GSTAT Portal

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) through Notification 256(E), under the Union Ministry of Finance, has officially released a comprehensive set of rules outlining the functioning of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal. As per the notification the GST Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 2025 took effect on 24th April, 2025. The rules have been introduced with an objective of promoting uniformity, procedural clarity and digital efficiency in the...

Assessee's Business Cannot Be Prejudiced By Complete Attachment Of Bank Accounts Pending Adjudication By GST Authority: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has asked the GST authority not to prejudice the business of an assessee, involved in manufacturing of mild steel products, by attaching its complete bank account pending adjudication of ₹15.09 crores tax evasion proceedings.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta noted that one year had elapsed since the provisional attachment order was passed but no show cause notice was issued. It also noted that in any case the entire amount alleged would...

GST Demand Of Over ₹10 Crores Raised Without Considering Assessee's Stand: Delhi High Court Orders Fresh Adjudication

The Delhi High Court has asked the Adjudicating Authority under Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017 to undertake fresh adjudication of the show cause notice issued to an assessee, raising demand of more than ₹10 crores.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta did so after noting that such a “substantial” demand was made without even considering the assessee's reply.“Clearly, a substantial demand of more than Rs.10 crores has been raised without considering the...

Whether Roof-Mounted Air Conditioners For Trains Attract 18% GST Or 28% GST? Delhi High Court To Decide

The Delhi High Court will soon decide the GST rate applicable to roof-mounted air conditioners of specific designs manufactured for the railways.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta are seized with a petition filed by railways and aerospace technology company StesaLIT Limited, challenging a Circular issued by the Union Finance Ministry in 2024, stipulating that above said AC units shall be classified under HSN 8415 and not HSN 8607.HSN code 8415 attracts GST...

Delhi HC Sets Aside ₹12 Crore GST Demand On Exide Industries But Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost For Laxity In Responding To Hearing Notices

The Delhi High Court has set aside a GST demand of over ₹12 crores raised on storage battery manufacturer Exide Industries, for wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta however imposed a cost of ₹1 lakh on the Indian multinational for “laxity” in responding to the repeated hearing notices issued by the Department.The petition was filed by the company assailing final order and Form DRC-07 issued by the Adjudicating Authority to...

S.107(6) Of CGST Act Does Not Grant Discretion To Court For Waiving Pre-Deposit At Time Of Filing Appeal: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that it has no discretion to allow a prayer seeking waiver of pre-deposit condition prescribed under Section 107(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for preferring an appeal under the statute.In terms of Section 107(6), insofar as the admitted tax, interest or penalty is concerned, the entire amount would have to be deposited. In so far as the disputed amount is concerned, 10% of the tax would have to be deposited as a pre-deposit along with...

Send RPAD Reminders If No Reply Received After Repeated Uploading Of Notices In GST Portal: Madras High Court Tells Revenue

The Madras High Court stated that if the taxpayer is not at all participating in the proceedings, even after repeated uploading of notices and reminders in GST portal, the Department should have resorted to other mode of service, viz., Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due (RPAD), so that considerable time of officers, assessee and the Court could be saved. The court extensively referred to the provisions of the Information Technology Act and concluded, while service through portal...

Service Of Notices & Orders Through Common Portal Is A Valid Mode Of Service U/S 169 Of GST Act: Madras High Court

In a recent ruling, the Madras High Court held that service of notices and orders through Common portal is a valid mode of service in terms of Section 149 of the GST Act. The bench rejected the argument that the GST portal is not a “designated computer resource of the assessee” and hence as per Sec. 13 (2) (a) (ii) of the Information Technology Act, receipt occurs only when the communication is retrieved. “Service by making it available in the common portal is a valid mode of...

Same Rate Tax And Interest Applicable On IGST In Course Of Inter-State Trade And Supplies In Course Of Imports: CESTAT

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has stated that same rate tax and interest applicable on IGST in the course of inter-state trade and supplies in the course of imports. The Bench of Dilip Gupta (President) and P.V. Subba Rao (Technical) has observed that, the taxable event to levy IGST is the inter-state supply of goods and services (including supplies in the course of international trade). If there is no supply, there is no scope to ...

GST Authorities Can't Deny Refund Of Pre-Deposit On Grounds Of Limitation, Violates Article 265: Jharkhand High Court

The Jharkhand High Court has held in a recent judgement that rejecting a refund claim for a statutory pre-deposit which has been made under Section 107(6)(b) of the GST Act, on the ground that the claim was filed after the 2-year limitation under Section 54(1), is legally unsustainable. The Division Bench comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Deepak Roshan stated, “There is no dispute to the effect that once refund is by way of statutory exercise, the same cannot be retained...