GST Notices And Orders Issued Only In Summary Forms Without Details Are Unsustainable: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has quashed a GST adjudication order passed solely through summary online forms, holding that tax liability cannot be imposed without clearly setting out the allegations and reasons as required under law. A single-judge bench of Justice Om Narayan Rai said the manner in which the proceedings were conducted could not be sustained. “The order that has been passed and communicated to the petitioner has remained in summary form. It is bereft of any detail and sans any...

Mere Stock Shortage Not Proof Of Clandestine Removal: CESTAT Allahabad

The Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Allahabad has held that a shortage of goods found during a departmental inspection cannot, by itself, justify allegations of clandestine removal. The final outcome came after a split verdict was resolved by a third member, S.S. Garg, who agreed that stock shortages alone cannot be treated as proof of illegal clearances. Garg underlined that “mere shortage of goods does not lead to the conclusion that the goods have been removed...

Crop Compensation Paid To Farmers For Transmission Lines Passing Their Land Not Taxable: CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has held that crop compensation charges paid to farmers for laying electricity transmission lines are not liable to service tax. A coram of Judicial Member Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha and Technical Member Satendra Vikram Singh said these payments are compensatory in nature and not consideration for any service. The tribunal held that developing and maintaining a transmission network is a statutory duty of a...

GST Authorities Cannot Pass Orders Against Deceased Taxpayer, Recover From Heirs: Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has held that while GST law allows proceedings to be pursued against a legal heir after the death of a taxpayer, authorities cannot determine tax liability in the name of a deceased person and then recover it from the heir. The court ruled that Section 93 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, permits recovery from legal representatives only after a valid determination against them, and not through orders passed against a dead assessee. A bench of Justice Shekhar B...

GSTAT Seeks Proof Of Applicable Pre-GST Service Tax Rate In LIC HFL Care Homes Case

The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) at Delhi has narrowed a profiteering dispute involving LIC HFL Care Homes Limited to a single question: what rate of service tax was applicable in the pre-GST regime, and how much tax was actually paid?A division bench of President Justice (Retd.) Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Technical Member A. Venu Prasad, while hearing an appeal by the Director General of Anti-Profiteering, said the disagreement between the parties now centres on the...

No Statutory Mechanism To Revise GST Return For ITC: HP High Court Allows Manual Filing Of Monthly Return

In the absence of any statutory mechanism under the GST law to revise or correct GSTR-3B, the monthly GST return used to declare tax liability and claim Input Tax Credit, a taxpayer cannot be left without a remedy for a bona fide mistake, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has held. A division bench of Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Romesh Verma allowed a registered taxpayer to file the GSTR-3B return manually for the quarter ending March 2021 so that its unclaimed Input Tax Credit (ITC) could be...

Can Service Tax Be Levied On Transfer of Development Rights? Delhi High Court To Decide

The Delhi High Court on Monday took up a Revenue appeal that squarely raises the question of whether the transfer of development rights constitutes a taxable service under the Finance Act, 1994. A Division Bench of Justices Nitin Wasudeo Sambre and Ajay Digpaul issued notice in an appeal filed by the Service Tax Department against an order of the Delhi Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), which had quashed a service tax demand of nearly Rs 5 crore raised on a real estate...

Royalty Under Mining Lease Executed Before 1 April 2016 Not Taxable; CESTAT Delhi Remands Service Tax Demand Case

The New Delhi Principal Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has remanded a service tax demand raised on mining royalty paid to the State Government, holding that where the mining lease was executed prior to 1 April 2016, the applicability of service tax must be examined in light of the negative list regime under the Finance Act, 1994 . The Bench, comprising Ms. Binu Tamta (Judicial Member) and Ms. Hemambika R. Priya (Technical Member), noted that the...

Service Tax | Penalty U/S 78A Cannot Be Imposed On Director Without Proof Of Knowledge Or Wilful Default: CESTAT Mumbai

The Mumbai Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that a penalty under Section 78A of the Finance Act, 1994, cannot be imposed on a director unless it is established that the director was responsible for the company's business and was knowingly involved in the tax evasion. C J Mathew (Technical Member) referred to Section 78A of the Finance Act, 1994 and noted that the prerequisites for imposition of penalty under Section 78A of the Finance Act,...

Service Tax | Co-Op Society Paying Rent Arrears To Local Municipality For Gas Transportation Pipeline Not Liable Under Reverse Charge : CESTAT Ahmedabad

The Ahmedabad Bench, Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has quashed the demand of service tax by treating payment of Rs. 60 lakhs to Vallabh Vidhyanagar Municipal Corporation as rent arrears and not consideration for tolerating/refraining from an act. The Bench comprising, Dr. Ajaya Krishna Vishvesha (Judicial Member) and Mr. Satendra Vikram Singh (Technical Member) examined whether Rs. 60 lakhs paid to Municipal Administration of Vallabh Vidhyanagar i.e. Vallabh...

Delhi High Court Allows Use Of Transitional CENVAT Credit For Mandatory Pre-Deposit Before CESTAT

The Delhi High Court, in a 'rare' scenario where an appeal was sought to be admitted before the CESTAT on the strength of pre-deposit made using through DRC-03, has clarified that pre-deposit was partial component of the demand just as tax, interest and penalty. In a recent judgment dated December 22, 2025, the Delhi High Court dealt with whether CENVAT credit transitioned into the GST regime as on July 01, 2017 could be utilised for the purpose of making pre-deposit or not. A ...

No Service Tax Payable On Laying Of Cables Under Or Alongside Roads: CESTAT Kolkata

The Kolkata Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) held that consideration received for laying of underground telecom/optical fibre cables under or alongside roads is not liable to service tax. Ashok Jindal (Judicial Member) and K. Anpazhakan (Technical Member) opined that the entire demand confirmed in the impugned order under these specific categories is not liable to Service Tax, as all the amounts received by the assessee pertain to laying of cables...