Uploading Show Cause Notice on 'Additional Notices' Tab Ineffective, Delhi High Court Reiterates

The Delhi High Court, on 21 January 2026, remanded a matter back to the Proper Officer, noting that uploading a show cause notice under the 'Additional Notices' tab was not a valid service. A Division Bench comprising Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul set aside the demand order, allowing the petitioner to file a reply to the show cause notice and avail a personal hearing. The Bench noted: “we are of the view that the petitioner has made out a case for remand for the...

Jharkhand High Court Quashes Order Denying Tax Credit For Late Returns In Light Of New GST Amendments

The Jharkhand High Court on 21 January, set aside an appellate order that denied Input Tax Credit (ITC) to a taxpayer, clarifying that credit cannot be denied solely for filing returns beyond the original deadline if subsequent statutory amendments expressly allow it.In a case where the taxpayer claimed ITC for FY 2018-19, the Court noted that once Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, 2017 was inserted, registered persons became entitled to claim ITC for past financial years provided their...

Appellate Authority Cannot Enhance GST Liability Without Hearing Taxpayer: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court on 14 January reiterated that a GST appellate authority cannot enhance taxable turnover or impose a higher rate of tax on grounds that were never part of the original adjudication, without giving the taxpayer an opportunity to be heard. A Bench of Justice Om Narayan Rai set aside an appellate order which enhanced the petitioner's taxable turnover by adding zero-rated supplies of Rs. 27 lakh and imposed GST at 18%, holding that such enhancement at the appellate stage...

Tax Authorities Cannot Exceed Scope of Show Cause Notice: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court emphasised that a GST adjudicating authority cannot deny tax exemption on grounds that were never raised in the show cause notice. A Bench of Justice Om Narayan Rai set aside an adjudication order passed against M/s Duakem Pharma Pvt. Ltd., observing that the proper officer exceeded the scope of the show cause notice by deciding an issue that was never put to the assessee for explanation. The Court noted: "The question as to whether the products/items dealt in by the...

GSTAT Delhi Says Pan Realtors Not Liable For Profiteering On Flat Sales After Occupancy Certificate

The Delhi Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) has held that, in this case, no issue of profiteering arose in respect of residential units sold after the issuance of an occupancy certificate in Pan Realtors Private Limited's Noida project while closing a buyer's complaint relating to alleged input tax credit benefits under GST.The tribunal, however, closed the complaint after recording the developer's undertaking to refund the computed profiteered amount of over Rs 40...

GSTN Issues Advisory On RSP-Based Valuation For Tobacco Products

Ahead of the rollout of the Retail Sale Price (RSP)–based valuation mechanism from 1 February 2026, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an advisory for taxpayers.The advisory provides guidance on reporting taxable value and tax liability under the RSP-based valuation in e-invoices, e-way bills, GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, and the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF).As part of the RSP-based system, GST on notified tobacco products has been computed at 40% and the taxable value will now be...

Developer Not Liable For Profiteering When ITC Benefits Are Fully Passed to Buyers: GSTAT Delhi

On 20 January, the Delhi Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) closed anti-profiteering proceedings against Arkade Developers, holding that no contravention of Section 171 arises when Input Tax Credit (ITC) benefits are fully passed on to homebuyers. The Tribunal noted that the developer had not only fully passed on Input Tax Credit (ITC) benefits to homebuyers but also slightly exceeded the statutory requirement A Bench of Technical Member Anil Gupta took note of the...

Rectification Of GST Returns Permissible Where There Is No Revenue Loss: Gujarat High Court

Earlier this month, the Gujarat High Court held that inadvertent errors in GST returns can be rectified, provided there is no loss of revenue, and directed the authorities to facilitate amendment of GSTR-01 and GSTR-3B for the initial years of GST rollout. A Division Bench comprising Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi allowed the writ petition filed by an authorized dealer of TATA Motors, permitting rectification of monthly returns electronically or manually. The Bench referred to...

Orissa High Court Directs GST Dept to Pay 6% Interest On IGST Refunds For Ocean Freight

The Orissa High Court on 22 January directed the GST authorities to pay interest to M/s. Paradeep Phosphates Limited, a fertilizer company on the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) refunded on ocean freight. It held that the tax had been collected without the authority of law and that interest must follow as a matter of restitution.A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman allowed the company's writ petition challenging the rejection...

Gujarat High Court Clarifies GST Treatment Of Amalgamations, Declines IGST Refund Relief To Alstom

The Gujarat High Court on 23 January dismissed a batch of writ petitions seeking IGST refunds on exports made prior to amalgamation, while authoritatively clarifying the statutory framework governing registration, refund claims and transfer of input tax credit in cases of corporate amalgamation under the GST regime. A Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi dismissed the petitions filed by Alstom Transport India Limited, holding that both the taxpayer and the...

Vague Show Cause Notice Can't Justify Retrospective GST Cancellation: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court recently held that a GST registration cannot be cancelled retrospectively on the basis of a vague show cause notice, even where the appeal against such cancellation is delayed. A Division Bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digipaul said the court cannot be a "blind spectator" to the denial of a proper opportunity of hearing, even where the proceedings are time-barred. “A vague Show Cause Notice is nothing less than a document which is not providing...

Bombay High Court Sets Aside GST Notices Issued For Multiple Financial Years Together

The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has set aside two GST show cause notices issued to AR Traders after finding that the tax department had wrongly combined multiple financial years into single proceedings. A Division Bench of Jutsices Anil L. Pansare and Nivedita P. Mehta held that the GST law does not permit consolidation of multiple financial years in a single proceeding. The court said the notices issued to the firm did not follow the statutory framework governing tax...