Patna High Court Refuses To Quash Central Excise Show Cause Notices Against ITC Despite Delay In Adjudication

The Patna High Court has recently refused to quash multiple Central Excise show cause notices issued to ITC Limited, holding that the company could not seek quashing solely on the ground of delayed adjudication when it had not participated in hearings despite repeated opportunities. “For one reason or another, the petitioner did not participate in the hearing. In such circumstances, prima facie, we agree with the submissions of the learned counsel for the Central Excise that the delay in the...

ITC Claims Filed Before 30 November 2021 Cannot Be Rejected on Limitation Ground: Karnataka High Court

The Karnataka High Court has held that Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims rejected as time-barred under Section 16(4) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 must be reconsidered where GST returns for the relevant financial years were filed on or before 30 November 2021, in view of the retrospective insertion of Section 16(5) of the CGST Act. A Single Judge Bench of Justice S. Sunil Dutt Yadav allowed the writ petition filed by ABE Security Mechanics Private Limited, set aside the show cause...

Bombay High Court Quashes ₹10.25 Crore GST Demand Against Capital First Post-Merger With IDFC First Bank

The Bombay High Court has quashed a ₹10.25 crore GST demand raised against Capital First Limited post its merger with IDFC First Bank. It held that proceedings initiated against a company that had ceased to exist due to amalgamation are void ab initio and unsustainable in law.A Division Bench of Justice G.S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe observed that despite repeated intimations about the merger, the department continued proceedings against the non-existent entity. Relying on the Supreme...

Bombay High Court Quashes GST Action Over Infra Company's Corporate Guarantees Issued Without Consideration

The Bombay High Court has held that D.P. Jain & Co. Infrastructure Pvt. Ltd. cannot be subjected to GST for corporate guarantees it issued to State Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra to secure loans granted to its group companies, as the company received no consideration for furnishing those guarantees. A Division Bench of Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke and Justice Nivedita P. Mehta observed: “There was no flow of consideration for the rendering of services. Therefore, taxability does not...

Education Consultancy Services To Foreign Universities Not 'Intermediary Services' Under GST: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court on Friday reiterated that education consultancy, marketing, and recruitment support services rendered by an Indian entity to foreign universities would not qualify as “intermediary services” under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act and would instead constitute export of services eligible for GST refund.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul passed the ruling while allowing a writ petition filed by Fateh Education Consulting Private Limited,...

GST Law Does Not Bar More Than One Refund Application, Especially In Case Of Inadvertent Lapse: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has recently held that a GST refund claim cannot be rejected merely because the taxpayer had earlier filed another refund application for a broader tax period, where the later claim was filed within the limitation period and there is no statutory bar against such a claim. Referring to Section 54(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, which governs refund claims, the Court said: “Section 54 does not provide any bar for a party to maintain more than one application,...

Bombay High Court Quashes Post-Merger GST Demand Against Vodafone Mobile Services

The Bombay High Court has recently held that GST proceedings initiated against Vodafone Mobile Services Ltd. after it ceased to exist due to its merger with Idea Cellular Ltd. and Vodafone India Ltd. were void ab initio. The court set aside the adjudication order and held that the show cause notice itself was issued without jurisdiction. A Division Bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe observed that, “the show-cause notice itself having been issued without jurisdiction, the...

Bombay High Court Issues LOC, Non-Bailable Warrant Against Elitecon Director In DGGI Contempt Case

The Bombay High Court has recently directed issuance of a lookout circular and a non-bailable warrant against Elitecon International Ltd. director Vipin Sharma. The court acted after Sharma failed to remain physically present before it despite an undertaking given through his counsel in contempt proceedings arising from an alleged breach of an assurance to appear before Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) officers whenever summoned. The court said Sharma had been in “continuous...

Rajasthan High Court Upholds GST Penalty Order Despite Absence Of DIN, Says RFN Is Sufficient

The Rajasthan High Court has held that a GST order communicated through statutorily recognised modes such as the GST portal, registered post or e-mail cannot be invalidated merely because it does not mention a Document Identification Number (DIN), where the communication carries a verifiable Reference Number (RFN). “Once service has been effected in any of the recognised statutory modes, we are of the view that the requirement of lawful communication clearly stands satisfied,” a division bench...

Bombay High Court Directs Emirates To Pursue GST Appeal In Air Cargo Services Tax Dispute

The Bombay High Court recently disposed of a writ petition filed by Emirates challenging a GST demand order passed by the Maharashtra State Tax Department over taxation of air cargo transportation services. The airline argued that transportation of goods by aircraft from India to destinations outside India, along with ancillary services, formed part of a composite supply exempt from GST under a Central Government notification issued in 2018 granting exemption to export air cargo transportation...

No Fresh GST Demand For Same Amount Without Credit For Reversed ITC: Orissa HC Sets Aside Tax Demand

The Orissa High Court has set aside GST proceedings against an individual taxpayer, holding that once input tax credit (ITC) is reversed, the tax department cannot demand the same amount again without giving due credit for such reversal. “Once it is conceded by the Revenue that the amount of input tax credit for a sum of Rs.4,39,970/- has been reversed, raising demand to the same without giving due credit to such reversal is unethical and without authority of law. In such an event, since net...

University Affiliation, NOCs Not 'Supply', No GST On Statutory Functions: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court, on 27 April, held that services provided by universities, such as grant of affiliation and issuance of No Objection Certificates (NOCs), are not liable to GST, as these activities are statutory in nature and do not qualify as “business” or “supply” under GST law. A Division Bench of Justices R. Raghunandan Rao and T.C.D. Sekhar, while hearing a batch of writ petitions including those filed by Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada and other similarly...