Fraud Allegations Against CA Not Exceptional Ground To Invoke Writ Jurisdiction Against GST Demands: Punjab & Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition challenging GST demand orders raised against a manpower services firm, holding that its allegation that a Chartered Accountant misappropriated tax payments raised disputed questions of fact and did not constitute an extraordinary circumstance to bypass the statutory appellate remedy available under the GST law. A Division Bench of Justice Lisa Gill and Justice Ramesh Chander Dimri noted that the petitioner had itself...

'Would Not Benefit Revenue': Bombay High Court Directs Restoration Of Trader's GST Registration After Dues Paid

The Bombay High Court has held that where a taxpayer has cleared the entire GST liability, including tax, interest and penalty, continuing cancellation of GST registration serves no purpose and causes undue prejudice to the taxpayer. A Division Bench of Justices G.S. Kulkarni and Aarti Sathe was hearing a writ petition filed by Kishore Nichani, who challenged the State Tax Officer's refusal to restore his GST registration, cancelled for non-filing of returns for more than six months. The...

Karnataka High Court Quashes GST Demand On Solar Plant For Lack of Personal Hearing, Remands Matter

The Karnataka High Court has held that the denial of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on capital goods and input services used for setting up a captive solar power plant is unsustainable where the adjudicating authority acted without jurisdiction and in violation of the mandatory requirement of granting a personal hearing under Section 75(4) of the CGST Act. A Single Judge Bench of Justice Lalitha Kanneganti, passed the order on 21 January 2026, setting aside the GST demand raised against Shri Keshav...

GST Not Payable On Transfer Of Leasehold Rights: Gujarat High Court Directs Refund

The Gujarat High Court, recently relying on its earlier ruling, reiterated that transferring or assigning leasehold rights in land is equivalent to the sale of land and therefore does not constitute a taxable 'supply' under the GST frameworkA Bench of Justice A. S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi was hearing a petition filed by Aquaeva Chemtech Private Limited, which had challenged the withholding of its GST refund relating to the transfer of leasehold rights in an industrial plot. The court...

Two-Year GST Refund Limitation Starts From Date Of Correct Payment: Kerala High Court

Earlier this month, the Kerala High Court held that the two-year limitation period under the GST law to claim refunds begins from the date on which tax is paid under the correct head, and not from the date of an earlier mistaken payment. The ruling was delivered by Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. while allowing a writ petition filed by Pushpagiri Medical Society, a registered non-profit organisation running a hospital and medical education institutions in Kerala. The Bench observed: “The right to...

Gujarat High Court Sets Aside Rejection Of GST Appeal Over 13-Day Delay

The Gujarat High Court recently set aside an appellate order rejecting a GST appeal solely on the ground of a 13-day delay, holding that the appellate authority had failed to exercise its discretion under the law despite having the power to condone the delay. A bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held that the delay fell within the additional 30-day condonable period available beyond the 90-day statutory limitation under Section 107(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax...

“Very Easy To Blame A Professional”: Delhi High Court Rejects Plea To Restore GST Registration Blaming CA

The Delhi High Court has refused to restore a trader's cancelled GST registration, observing that it is “very easy to blame a professional” after the firm attributed its failure to respond to tax notices to its Chartered Accountant. A Division Bench of Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Justice Ajay Digpaul dismissed a batch of writ petitions filed by Fone Zone NXT, a proprietorship firm dealing in mobile phones and allied accessories. The firm had challenged the cancellation of its GST...

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...

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...