High Court
Calcutta High Court Upholds Service Tax On C&F and Transport of Steel, Excludes Bending & Bundling
On 4 February, the Calcutta High Court held that service tax applies to “Clearing and Forwarding” (C&F) services and transport expenses for steel products. The Court clarified that activities such as transporting, storing, forwarding, and record-keeping fall within the scope of C&F services, while bending, bundling, and stock verification of goods do not. A Division Bench of Justices Rajasekhar Mantha and Ajay Kumar Gupta dismissed an appeal by Naresh Kumar & Co., which claimed...
Police Security Services Exempt From Service Tax Prior To June 2012: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court has allowed a plea seeking service tax exemption for police guard charges and escort duties, holding that such activities carried out by the State Police do not fall within the service tax net prior to 1 June 2012.A Division Bench of Justice Anita Sumanth and Justice Mummineni Sudheer, in a judgment delivered on 12 December 2025, examined service tax liability by referring to the definition of 'person' under the General Clauses Act.They noted that the Service Tax law...
Services For Private Railway Sidings Are Exempt From Tax: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court on 8 January held that services rendered for the construction of private railway sidings are eligible for service tax exemption. A Division Bench comprising Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice K.V. Aravind was hearing an appeal filed by the Commissioner of Central Tax, Bengaluru East Commissionerate, challenging an order of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT). The Bench held: “There is no indication in the notification, nor any exception...
Assessee Entitled To Discharge Certificate Under Sabka Vishwas Scheme Despite Portal Closure
On 19 January, the Kerala High Court held that the Central tax authorities are legally obliged to issue a discharge certificate under the Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Disputes Resolution) Scheme, 2019, once the assessee has paid the full settlement amount within the prescribed time. The Court clarified that the non-functioning of the online portal cannot justify withholding the certificate. In such an event, the certificate had to be issued manually, establishing that payment under the scheme creates a...
Legal Heirs Not Assessees Under Service Tax; Proceedings Abate After Death: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court has recently held that legal heirs of an individual service provider cannot be treated as assessees under the service tax law and that proceedings abate upon the assessee's death even if a show cause notice was issued earlier. A Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman set aside a service tax demand raised against the deceased assessee, observing that the Finance Act, 1994, does not authorise the tax department to proceed against legal...
Differential GST On Pre-GST Works Contracts To Be Reimbursed By State Agencies: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court ruled that the additional GST liability arising out of the shift from the pre-GST VAT (Value Added Tax) regime to the GST regime in ongoing works contracts cannot be imposed on contractors.The bench consists of Justice M Nagaprasanna, who directed the State Departments and government agencies to reimburse the differential GST to contractors.All the contracts were awarded prior to July 2017 under the KVAT regime, where the contract rates factored in VAT and...
Gauhati High Court Rejects Bail Plea In ₹8.59 Crore GST Fraud Case
The Gauhati High Court has recently denied bail to a petitioner in Rs. 8.59-crore fake Input Tax Credit (ITC) scam, observing that the allegations disclose an organized and well-planned fraud involving misuse of the GST system. A bench comprising Justice Pranjal Das noted that custodial interrogation was necessary as the investigation was at a crucial stage and that granting bail could hamper efforts to unearth the larger conspiracy. Bahadur Islam, the petitioner, was arrested for alleged...
Procuring Authority Liable For Differential GST In Government Contracts: Madras High Court Reiterates
Reiterating that additional GST arising from the rollout of the GST regime in government works contracts must be borne by the procuring authority, the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Housing Board to consider a contractor's claim for reimbursement of differential tax.A Bench of Justice N Sathish Kumar relying on settled law, held that contractors cannot be fastened with liability for differential GST, interest, or penalties when tax was discharged strictly in accordance...
Kerala General Sales Tax Act | Once Limitation Lapses, Assessment Cannot Be Revived: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that assessment proceedings initiated beyond the statutory limitation period under the Kerala General Sales Tax Act, 1963 (KGST Act), are unsustainable in law and liable to be set aside. Justice Harisankar V. Menon noted that the pre-assessment notice under Section 17(3) of the KGST Act was issued against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. for the assessment year 2007–08 only on August 25, 2017. The assessment order was passed later, on January 28, 2019. This was...
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...
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...