High Court
Retaining Tax Paid Twice Violates Article 265, Section 54 CGST Limitation Not A Bar: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court at Cuttack held that tax authorities cannot retain amounts deposited twice under a mistaken belief, as such retention would violate Article 265 of the Constitution. A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman set aside an order rejecting the refund claim filed by the petitioner, Rajendra Narayan Mohanty, and allowed him to seek a fresh refund. It held: “There is no escape than to say that the Revenue is unjustified to withhold or...
Failure To Reply To SCN Or Absence From Hearing Not Ground To Cancel GST Registration: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court on 17 March held that GST registration cannot be cancelled merely because a taxpayer fails to reply to a show cause notice or appear on the date fixed for hearing, and that authorities must record reasons before taking such a drastic step. A Bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Vivek Saran set aside the cancellation of GST registration of Jubair Enterprises and granted the petitioner liberty to file a reply to the show cause notice. The judges held: “A...
After Cancellation Of GST Registration, Show Cause Notice Should Be Served Physically: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has recently held that adjudication notice ought to be served through physical mode after cancellation of GST registration, as the taxpayer cannot access the portal thereafter. A bench of Justice Saumitra Dayal Singh and Justice Vivek Saran held: “Once the registration is cancelled and the registered persons thus disabled from working on the Common Portal and in any case, are relieved of obligation to check the Common Portal thereafter, it is wholly natural and...
Telangana High Court Disposes Plea After State Assures Missing GST Documents Won't Be Relied Upon in Adjudication
The Telangana High Court has disposed of a writ petition filed by Bengal Cold Rollers Pvt. Ltd., recording the State's statement that seized documents whose originals are missing will not be relied upon in adjudication, while permitting proceedings to continue on the basis of available material. A Bench of Chief Justice Apresh Kumar Singh and Justice G.M. Mohiuddin observed that once the State clarified that such missing documents would not be relied upon, the grievance of the petitioner stood...
Bombay High Court Stays Retrospective GST Demand On Insurance To SEZ Units Allegedly For Employee Benefits
The Bombay High Court has stayed GST demands on insurers over policies issued to SEZ units, which the department claimed were for employees, prima facie finding the retrospective levy may be without jurisdiction prior to October 1, 2023.A Bench of Justice G. S. Kulkarni and Justice Farhan P. Dubash held, "Prima-facie, we find much substance in the contention urged on behalf of the petitioners that the designated officer would not have jurisdiction to retrospectively levy tax on the petitioners...
Gauhati High Court Asks Authorities To Consider GST Registration Restoration If Taxpayer Clears Dues And Files Returns
The Gauhati High Court has directed authorities to consider restoration of GST registration where a taxpayer is willing to furnish pending returns and clear dues, observing that cancellation entails “serious civil consequences.” Justice Anjan Moni Kalita held that if the taxpayer complies with Rule 22(4) of the CGST Rules, the proper officer shall consider the case and pass appropriate orders. The case arose from a writ petition filed by Apurba Enterprise challenging cancellation of its GST...
Cross-State ITC Transfer Cannot Be Denied on Amalgamation: Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court has held that Input Tax Credit (ITC) cannot be denied on the ground that the transferor and transferee companies are located in different States in a case of amalgamation. A Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Pranav Trivedi held, "The transfer of the ITC on amalgamation of the company is permissible as per the provision of Section 18(3) of the CGST Act read with Rule 41 of the CGST Rules. Neither of the provision prohibits or debars transfer of the ITC on the...
Karnataka High Court Holds Bona Fide Purchaser Entitled To ITC, Reads Down Rules In Favor Of Instakart
The Karnataka High Court on 9 February 2026 held that a bona fide purchaser cannot be denied input tax credit (ITC) merely because the selling dealer failed to deposit tax with the government. A Single-Judge Bench of Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar read down Section 16(2)(C) of the CGST / KGST Act and Rule 36(4) of the CGST / KGST Rules to set aside the order denying ITC to Instakart Services Private Limited. He held: “The impugned provisions contained in Section 16(2)(C) of the CGST / KGST Act...
Uttarakhand High Court Declines Bajaj Auto Writ Against GST Order; Pre-Deposit Requirement Not Ground To Bypass Appeal
The Uttarakhand High Court has declined to entertain a writ petition filed by Bajaj Auto Limited challenging a GST adjudication order, holding that the requirement of pre-deposit for availing the appellate remedy cannot be a ground to bypass the statutory appeal mechanism under the GST Act. The bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay noted that an effective alternative remedy of appeal was available against the impugned order and, in such circumstances,...
Illegality Of Search Does Not Make Evidence Gathered Inadmissible In GST Fraud Cases: Karnataka High Court
The High Court of Karnataka at Bengaluru has ruled that the legality of search and seizure proceedings does not, by itself, make the material collected during such proceedings inadmissible for initiating action under Section 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, so long as such material is relevant to the issues involved.Section 74 of the CGST Act covers cases of tax not paid, short-paid, erroneously refunded, or Input Tax Credit (ITC) wrongly availed due to fraud, wilful...
Gujarat High Court Grants Bail To Accused In ₹42 Crore GST ITC Fraud Case
The Gujarat High Court has granted regular bail to Keyur Dipakkumar Shah, accused of allegedly availing and passing on fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) of around Rs 42 crore under GST laws, noting that he has no criminal antecedents and faces a maximum sentence of five years. “Without discussing the evidence in detail, prima facie, this Court is of the opinion that this is a fit case to exercise the discretion and enlarge the applicant on regular bail,” Justice Nikhil S. Kariel said while...