GST Not Payable On Interest, Penalty For Delayed Chit Payments: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently held that interest and penalties collected by a chit fund foreman from subscribers who delay payment of installments do not attract Goods and Services Tax, ruling that such amounts are exempt under GST law. A Division Bench of Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T. C. D. Sekhar said the foreman is legally required to ensure timely payment of the prize amount even if subscribers default. On this basis, the court, setting aside the rulings of the...

Can GST Be Levied On Sale of Vacant Land? Rajasthan High Court To Examine

The Rajasthan High Court at Jaipur has issued notice to the Rajasthan State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation Ltd on a petition raising the issue of whether GST can be levied on the sale of vacant land in relation to an e-auction.Justice Maneesh Sharma, while hearing the matter, directed that the respondents shall not cancel the subjected e-auction if the petitioner deposits the demand amount excluding the disputed GST component within 15 days. The petition challenges a demand...

Bombay High Court To Consider Whether Corporate Guarantees Constitute "Supply" Under GST

On 17 January, the Bombay High Court took up a significant GST question: whether corporate guarantees extended by a holding company to its subsidiaries can be treated as a “supply” liable to tax? A Division Bench comprising Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Aarti Sathe, while granting interim protection to the petitioner Atlanta Infra Assets Limited, observed that the legal question raised is already engaging the Court's consideration in several pending matters. The petitions challenge...

Bombay High Court Quashes Order In Vistex ITC Refund Case, Remands Issue For Holistic Review

The Bombay High Court has set aside an appellate order rejecting the refund of unutilised input tax credit (ITC) claimed by Vistex Asia Pacific Pvt. Ltd., holding that the appellate authority must examine ITC refund claims on export of services in light of the full service agreement and relevant circulars before treating a provider as an intermediary. The Court observed that a selective reading of clauses is insufficient and that the matter requires fresh and holistic consideration in accordance...

“Can't Be Blind Spectator to Article 14 Breach”: Delhi High Court Sets Aside Retrospective GST Cancellation

The Delhi High Court has set aside the retrospective cancellation of GST registration despite the assessee's/taxpayer's delay in challenging the action, holding that a vague and non-speaking show cause notice denies the opportunity of a hearing to the assessee and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.A division bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul observed, “we cannot be a blind spectator to the denial of opportunity of hearing as guaranteed under Article 14 of the...

Physical Service Of Notices Necessary After Cancellation Of GST Registration: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court on 19 January held that any adjudication notice issued after the cancellation of a GST registration must be served physically to the assessee to comply with the principles of natural justice. A Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Indrajeet Shukla was hearing a challenge against a notice issued to the petitioner three years after its GST registration was cancelled. The petitioner argued that it could not access the portal to which the notice had been...

No Review Of Writ When GSTAT Appeal Is Available: Madhya Pradesh High Court

In a case involving bogus invoicing, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on 16 January reiterated that when an appellate remedy is available before the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), review of an earlier order which declined a writ petition was not warranted. A Division Bench of Justice Vivek Rusia and Justice Binod Kumar Dwivedi was hearing a review petition against its 5 August 2025 decision, which had relegated the petitioner to the remedy of appeal before GSTAT. The Bench...

Kerala High Court Upholds Order Against Detention Of Hindustan Coca-Cola's Goods In GST Dispute

The Kerala High Court has dismissed a writ appeal filed by the state tax authorities against Hindustan Coca Cola Private Limited over the detention of its goods during transit under the GST Act. The court held that the detention was not justified because the consignment was accompanied by all required documents. A Division Bench of Justice V.G. Arun and Justice Harisankar V. Menon said proceedings under Section 129 of the Central and State GST Acts were not called for in the facts of the...

Kerala HC Grants Interim Relief To Retired Union Bank Employees From GST On Group Health Insurance Premium

The Kerala High Court on Monday granted interim relief to retired employees and family pensioners of Union Bank of India. It directed the Union government, GST authorities, and Union Bank of India not to levy GST on health insurance premiums paid under the group medical insurance policy for the policy year 2025–26. A Division Bench of Justices V.G. Arun and Harisankar V. Menon passed the order while admitting a writ appeal against a Single Bench decision. The Bench said, “Till then, there...

Calcutta High Court Sets Aside GST Demand Over Reliance On Undisclosed Back Portal Data

The Calcutta High Court recently set aside a GST demand raised against a transport company after holding that the tax department relied on undisclosed back-office data.Justice O.M. Narayan Rai held that the tax department relied on “data available in GST B.O. portal”, leaving the petitioner without an effective opportunity to respond. The court focused on the manner in which the demand was raised in this case. It noted that the show-cause notices were founded on figures drawn from the GST...

Karnataka High Court Refuses Daughter's Plea For Parents' Interim Bail In GST Evasion Case

The Karnataka High Court has declined to grant interim bail to a husband and wife arrested in a GST enforcement action, holding that the case did not present circumstances warranting the court's intervention at the writ stage. A Single Judge Bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna, in an order pronounced on January 12, noted that the court did not find any illegality in the manner of arrest and that statutory remedies for seeking bail were already available under criminal law. “Therefore, the facts in...

Gauhati High Court Stays GST Demand On Flats Given For Free To Landowners

The Gauhati High Court on 7 January stayed coercive action pursuant to a GST demand raised on flats provided free of cost to landowners under a development agreement. A Bench of Justice Soumitra Saikia was hearing a writ petition filed by a developer challenging a consolidated show cause notice issued under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST), covering multiple financial years from 2017–18 to 2022–23. The notices proposed a levy of GST on flats handed over free of...