Karnataka High Court Quashes Rs 85.51 Crore IGST Demand On Salaries Paid To Foreign Nationals By Huawei India

The Karnataka High Court has recently quashed a show cause notice issued to Huawei Technologies India Private Limited demanding Rs. 85.51 crore in Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST), along with interest and penalty, on salaries paid to foreign national employees. Justice S R Krishna Kumar held that this was not a case of secondment at all, but one where Huawei India had a direct employer-employee relationship with the foreign nationals working for it. The Court made it clear that once...

Bombay High Court Restores Trader's GST Registration After Defective 'Cyclostyled Notice'

The Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court recently restored the cancelled GST registration of a trader, observing that the grounds cited in the show‑cause notice and those relied upon in the cancellation order were materially different. A Bench of Justice R.G. Avachat and Justice Ajit B. Kadethankar examined the effect of retrospective cancellation of GST registration and emphasised the need to issue a reasoned notice rather than a generic, template-based communication. The Bench observed: ...

Andhra Pradesh High Courts Rejects Sales Tax Exemption Claim Over Defective Form A-5

The Andhra Pradesh High Court on 9 February, refused to interfere with orders withdrawing sales tax exemption on commission sales, holding that Form A-5 declarations not bearing the official seal of the assessing authority cannot be treated as valid under the Andhra Pradesh General Sales Tax Rules, 1957. A dealer files Form A-5 to claim sales tax exemption on commission sales. A Division Bench of Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar was hearing a tax revision case filed by ...

Supreme Court To Examine If Delay In Filing ITR Can Be Condoned Under Section 119(2)(b) Of Income Tax Act

The Supreme Court is to examine whether a delay in filing a return of income can be condoned under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K.V. Viswanathan issued notice in a Special Leave Petition filed by Sirez Limited challenging the judgment dated December 8, 2025, of the Delhi High Court. “The short point that falls for our consideration is whether delay in filing the Return of income can be condoned under Section 119(2)(b) of the Act,...

CPC Summons Procedure Not Applicable to GST Inquiry; No 7-Day Notice Required: Bombay High Court

Interpreting Section 70 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the Bombay High Court has held that the civil court summons procedure under the Code of Civil Procedure cannot be read into GST investigations and that tax authorities are not required to give seven days' prior notice before summoning a person for inquiry.A Division Bench of Justices Sandipkumar C. More and Y.G. Khobragade at the Aurangabad Bench dismissed the Criminal Writ Petition filed by Kanhaiya Nilambar Jha, who...

No Separate GST On Chemicals Supplied Under Mud Engineering Contracts: Andhra Pradesh High Court

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently held that GST cannot be levied separately on mud engineering services and the supply of drilling chemicals, ruling that such contracts constitute a composite supply under the Goods and Services Tax law. A Division Bench comprising Justice R Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar allowed a writ petition filed by Halliburton Offshore Services Inc., setting aside orders passed by the Authority for Advance Ruling and the Appellate Authority for Advance...

Sales Directly Linked To Export Cannot Be Taxed Under Central Sales Tax: Andhra Pradesh High Reaffirms

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has recently reiterated that where export is the direct result of a sale and the two form an integrated transaction that cannot be dissociated, such a sale is protected under Article 286 of the Constitution and cannot be subjected to State taxation. Explaining the law, the Division Bench of Justice R. Raghunandan Rao and Justice T.C.D. Sekhar held that a sale is “in the course of export” under Section 5(1) of the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956, when the sale itself...

Supreme Court Reverses 'Alien Modality' Of Refunding IGST To Torrent Power, Orders Credit To Consumer Welfare Fund

The Supreme Court has set aside the Gujarat High Court's judgment that had quashed the transfer of ₹19.28 crore in GST refunds to the Consumer Welfare Fund and directed that the amount be refunded to Torrent Power Ltd. for adjustment in electricity tariff. Holding that such a mechanism was “not contemplated by Section 54 of the CGST Act and the Rules framed therein,” a Bench of Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice K. Vinod Chandran directed the company to transfer the amount to the authorities...

GST Show Cause Notices Can Be Issued On Monthly Returns Without Waiting For Annual Return: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently ruled that a show cause notice under Section 74A of the GST law can be validly issued for F.Y. 2024-25 on the basis of discrepancies noticed in monthly returns, without awaiting the filing of the annual return.Section 74A of the GST Act, applicable from FY 2024-25 onwards, governs the determination of tax not paid or short paid or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised.Referring to Section 74A(1) to 74A(4) of the GST Act, the bench clarified that "the...

Gujarat High Court Sets Aside TDS Order For Failure To Apply 'Make Available' Test Under India–Singapore DTAA

The Gujarat High Court has recently set aside a tax deduction at source order against Solvay Specialities India, holding that the Income Tax Department failed to apply the mandatory “make available” test under the India–Singapore tax treaty. Under this test, tax authorities are required to first determine whether the foreign service provider actually passed on any technical knowledge, skill, or know-how in a way that allows the Indian company to use it independently in the future. Without...

Forfeited Security Deposits And Tender Fee Do Not Attract Tax: CESTAT Delhi

The New Delhi Bench of Customs, Excise, and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) on 3 February held that forfeiture of the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), Security Deposit (SD) and collection of tender fee do not attract service tax, as such amounts cannot be treated as consideration for a declared service under the Finance Act, 1994. A Bench comprising Judicial Member Dr. Rachna Gupta and Technical Member Hemambika R. Priya, allowed the appeal filed by RajComp Info Services Limited, an...

Affiliation Fees Collected By Universities Liable To GST: Madras High Court

On Wednesday, the Madras High Court held that affiliation fees collected by universities from affiliated colleges are liable to GST and are not exempt under Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate). A Division Bench of Justice G. Jayachandran and Justice K.K. Ramakrishnan delivered the ruling. The judges were hearing a writ petition filed by Bharathidasan University, challenging the GST demand notices issued for the assessment years 2019-2020 to 2022-23. They held: "In India, there are...