Polypropylene Leno Bags Are Plastic, Not Textile Products For GST Classification: Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court has recently dismissed Mega Flex Plastics Limited's challenge to a GST ruling that treated its polypropylene leno bags as plastic products rather than textile products. A Division Bench of Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Md. Shabbar Rashidi upheld the order of the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR) and a Single Judge's decision refusing to interfere with it. At the heart of the case was the classification of polypropylene leno bags made by weaving...

Kerala High Court Holds Section 16(5) Overrides Section 16(4), Bars ITC Denial For Delayed Returns

The Kerala High Court on 19 May held that authorities cannot deny Input Tax Credit (ITC) to a registered taxpayer merely on the ground of delayed filing of returns under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act, where the taxpayer satisfies the conditions prescribed under Section 16(5), a subsequent relaxation provision. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. allowed a writ petition filed by We Match and quashed the assessment order passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act, which had disallowed ITC claims for the...

Gauhati High Court Holds DRC-01 Cannot Replace Statutory Show Cause Notice Under GST Act

The Gauhati High Court on 13 May held that GST authorities under the Assam GST Act cannot initiate and conclude proceedings under Section 73 solely on the basis of a Summary Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01, reiterating that issuance of a proper statutory show cause notice is a mandatory precondition for raising a tax demand. Justice Manish Choudhury allowed the petition filed by Riyan Enterprises and set aside the adjudication order passed under Section 73 of the Assam GST Act for alleged...

GST Is Levied On Actionable Claims Arising From Stakes, Not Dependent On Whether A Game Is Of Skill Or Chance: Supreme Court

The Supreme Court has recently held that GST liability on online gaming transactions does not depend on whether the underlying game is one of skill or chance, ruling that the levy is attracted by the supply of actionable claims arising from money staked on uncertain outcomes. A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said the taxable event under the GST framework is the supply of actionable claims generated by staking money on uncertain outcomes and not the underlying game itself. The...

Punjab & Haryana High Court Rules PLC Not Separately Taxable, Sets Aside DLF Advance Ruling Orders

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on 13 May held that Preferential Location Charges (PLC) collected by developers for offering a preferred location within a housing project form part of the composite construction service and cannot attract separate taxation. A Division Bench of Justices Deepak Sibal and Lapita Banerji allowed a writ petition filed by DLF Limited and quashed the Advance Ruling Authority order dated 28 August 2020 and the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling order dated 28...

BOT Concessionaire Liable To Pay GST On Toll Rights Received As Consideration: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court on 22 May held that toll collection rights granted under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession agreement constitute consideration for taxable works contract services and are not exempt from GST merely because toll collection itself enjoys exemption. A Division Bench of Justices Arun Monga and Sandeep Shah dismissed a writ petition filed by CG Tollway Ltd challenging orders of the GST authorities that had demanded Rs. 16.36 GST, interest and penalty on services...

FTS Receipts Of Thai Company Not Taxable Under India-Thailand DTAA's Residuary Clause: ITAT Delhi

The Delhi Bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has held that Fee for Technical Services (FTS) received by Thailand-based Denso International Asia Co. Ltd. from its Indian group companies cannot be taxed in India under the residuary clause of the India-Thailand Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). A bench comprising Judicial Member Vikas Awasthy and Accountant Member Renu Jauhri allowed the assessee's appeal for AY 2021-22 and deleted an addition of ₹17.28 crore made by the...

CESTAT Chandigarh Holds Rent Paid For Advertising Walls Includible In Taxable Value Of Advertising Services

The Chandigarh Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has partly allowed a batch of appeals filed by Punjab Advertising Co. It held that rent paid for walls used to display advertisements formed part of the taxable value of the advertising services provided by it. At the same time, it held that the value of printed flex material supplied by Sonia Plastics could not be included in the value of the taxable service. The decision was delivered by a division bench...

CESTAT Chennai Backs Load-Port CE Certificate Over Local CE Report, Restores Declared Import Value

The Chennai Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) has set aside Customs authorities' enhancement of the value of imported second-hand machinery after finding that the enhancement was based on a local Chartered Engineer's certificate that did not disclose the basis for the revised valuation. A bench of Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member Vasa Seshagiri Rao observed that Customs authorities had discarded the load-port Chartered Engineer's...

CESTAT Delhi Sets Aside ₹22.59 Lakh CENVAT Credit Demand Against Honda Motorcycle Over Manufacturing Waste, Scrap

The tribunal held that waste and scrap arising during manufacture are neither manufactured goods nor by-products, and therefore do not attract proportionate reversal of CENVAT credit under Rule 6(1)

Service Of Order On Representative Authorized To Appear Before Excise Department Is Valid: CESTAT Bengaluru

The Bangalore Bench of the Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT), by a majority ruling, has held that when an adjudication order is received by an authorized representative of an assessee, it amounts to valid service under Section 37C of the Central Excise Act, 1944. The Tribunal held that the limitation period for filing an appeal begins from the date the representative receives the order. The case arose from a refund claim filed by Simplilearn Solutions Pvt. Ltd. under...

CESTAT Chennai Quashes ₹1.59 Crore Service Tax Demand Against RRB Energy Over Foreign Technology Agreements

The Customs, Excise & Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) at Chennai has set aside a ₹1.59 crore service tax demand raised against RRB Energy Ltd on payments made to overseas entities for technology transfer and wind turbine development services.The tribunal held that the department failed to establish that the transactions were taxable as Intellectual Property Service or Consulting Engineering Services. A coram of Judicial Member Ajayan T.V. and Technical Member M. Ajit Kumar passed...