Goods and Services Tax

Unsigned GST assessment orders are invalid and cannot be treated as served, affecting limitation and delay.
Case-Laws
GST
In GST assessment proceedings, an order in Form DRC-07 issued without the assessing officer's signature is invalid; the signature is indispensable, and the defect is not cured by the provisions considered in earlier decisions. An unsigned order is also not validly served, so delay in approaching the Court cannot be used against the taxpayer where no lawful service occurred. The unsigned assessment order was set aside, but the authority was given liberty to make a fresh assessment after notice and issue a signed order, with the intervening period excluded for limitation purposes.
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Jurisdictional defect in composite GST notices: consolidation of multiple tax periods was quashed as void
Case-Laws
GST
Composite GST proceedings covering multiple tax periods were treated as without jurisdiction because the statutory scheme contemplates assessment with reference to a definite tax period, not consolidation of several financial years in one show cause notice. The composite notice, adjudication order and consequential recovery action were therefore void, and fresh notices may be issued separately for the relevant financial years if otherwise permissible in law. A void proceeding could not be validated by admission of liability, a request for instalments, estoppel, waiver or acquiescence, and the existence of an alternate statutory remedy did not bar writ interference where inherent jurisdiction was lacking.
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GST assessment orders without DIN treated as patently defective; delayed writs entertained on conditional deposit
Case-Laws
GST
Absence of a DIN in a GST assessment order was treated as a patent defect sufficient to invalidate the order. Although the writ petitions were delayed, the court noted practical difficulties with electronic portal service under the GST regime and held that such delayed challenges to patently irregular orders could still be entertained subject to deposit of 20% of the disputed tax. The impugned assessment was set aside and the matter remanded for fresh assessment after due hearing, with any amount already paid or recovered adjusted against the required deposit and the pendency period excluded for limitation purposes.
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Ineligible input tax credit refunds may face recovery proceedings; demand stayed pending second appeal after portal glitch.
Case-Laws
GST
Where refund of unutilised input tax credit is rejected because the credit is alleged to be ineligible, the circular permits notice and recovery proceedings under the GST recovery provisions; clause 22 applies only when refund is refused for reasons other than ineligibility, so the objection based on that clause failed. The challenge to the circular was therefore rejected, while the question whether the correct recovery route was one provision or another was left open. Because the statutory second appeal had not been taken on file due to a portal glitch and the required amount had been deposited, the impugned order was kept in abeyance until disposal of the appeal, with liberty to raise all available grounds if the appeal failed.
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DIN compliance invalidates GST assessment summary uploaded without a DIN, but fresh proceedings may be initiated after notice.
Case-Laws
GST
DIN compliance was treated as mandatory for a GST assessment summary in FORM GST DRC-07; the HC noted that the impugned order carried no DIN and, applying settled law and the CBIC circular, held that the omission affected the validity of the proceeding. On that procedural defect alone, the uploaded assessment summary could not be sustained and was set aside. Liberty was reserved to the authority to undertake fresh assessment after notice and issuance of a DIN-compliant order, with the intervening period excluded for limitation.
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Personal hearing in GST assessment cannot be denied when an adverse order is proposed; assessments were set aside and remanded.
Case-Laws
GST
Denial of a personal hearing before adverse GST assessment was held to violate principles of natural justice and the hearing requirement under Section 75(4). Although there was a dispute about the assessing officer's physical availability, the attendance register showed that the authorised representative attended, reiterated the reply, and expressly sought another hearing before any negative order. The Court treated the unanswered request for personal hearing as determinative, set aside the assessment orders, and remanded the matters for fresh decision after granting an opportunity of personal hearing.
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Govt extends excise duty exemption to higher ethanol-petrol blends
GST
Dated:- 11-6-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) The government has extended excise duty exemption to petrol blended with higher levels of ethanol, according to a government notification.

Under the notification, excise duty has been reduced to nil on petrol containing 22 per cent, 25 per cent, 27 per cent and 30 per cent ethanol blends, expanding the existing exemption that was available for blends of up to 20 per cent ethanol.

Officials said the move should not be interpreted as an immediate rollout of higher ethanol blends in the retail market. The exemption is a regulatory requirement because blending ethanol with petrol at fuel depots is considered a

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Limitation bars GST tax determination when the order is passed after the statutory cut-off, making it without jurisdiction
Case-Laws
GST
GST tax determination for April 2019 to March 2020 was held time-barred because the order-in-original was passed and uploaded after the statutory cut-off of 31.08.2024. The Department's explanation that the officer was handling a heavy workload did not cure the defect, since limitation went to the root of jurisdiction to impose tax liability. The appellate authority also erred in overlooking this jurisdictional infirmity and dismissing the appeal on delay. The original adjudication and appellate orders were set aside as unsustainable in law.
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Bona fide input tax credit cannot be denied for supplier default; collusive transactions may still be challenged.
Case-Laws
GST
Input tax credit cannot be denied to a bona fide purchasing dealer merely because the supplier failed to deposit the tax collected, where the purchaser dealt with a registered supplier and complied with statutory requirements. The Department's remedy lies against the defaulting supplier, not by imposing vicarious liability on the purchaser or raising a consequential demand against a genuine transaction. The denial may still be revisited if material shows the purchases were not bona fide or were entered into in collusion with the supplier; on that footing, the impugned demand order was set aside with liberty to proceed afresh in accordance with law.
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GST registration restoration after six months' non-filing depends on filing pending returns and Rule 22(4) compliance
Case-Laws
GST
GST registration cancelled for continuous non-filing of returns may be restored where the taxpayer files the pending returns and complies with the proviso to Rule 22(4) of the CGST Rules. The text notes that, on facts similar to an earlier Gauhati HC decision, the petitioner was allowed to apply within sixty days for restoration, and the competent authority was directed to consider the request in accordance with law after statutory compliance. It also records that the period under Section 73(10) was to run from the date of the order, except for FY 2024-25, which was to be governed by Section 44, with arrears of tax, penalty, interest and late fee to be paid.
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Section 122(1A) extends penalty to persons who benefited from and caused contravening transactions, even for earlier conduct.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 122(1A) is construed to cover “any person” other than the taxable person where that person retained the benefit of the contravening transactions and acted at whose instance they were done; on that basis, partners of a firm can be proceeded against if those factual conditions are recorded. The provision is treated as complementary to Section 122(1), not as creating a new independent offence, so it may apply to transactions predating 1 January 2021 if the show-cause notice was issued after the provision came into force. The writ challenge was rejected, while the petitioners were left free to contest the factual findings before the Appellate Tribunal.
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Late fee and general penalty upheld for non-filing of annual GST return; liability extends beyond belated filing
Case-Laws
GST
Late fee is leviable for failure to furnish the annual return by the due date, not only for belated filing after eventual submission; on that construction, non-filing of Form GSTR-9 attracts liability under the late-fee provision up to the prescribed cap. Where no separate penalty is prescribed for failure to file the annual return, the general penalty provision may still be invoked, and the existence of late-fee liability does not bar that recourse. The High Court upheld both the late fee and the penalty and dismissed the writ petition.
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Mandatory personal hearing safeguards invalidate ex parte adjudication when no effective opportunity is granted before adverse order.
Case-Laws
GST
A personal hearing is a mandatory procedural safeguard before an adverse adjudication order under Section 73; where the date for hearing and reply filing are the same, the opportunity is not effective and violates audi alteram partem. Applying Mahaveer Trading Company, the High Court treated this defect as going to the root of the adjudication and held that the order could not stand. The impugned order was quashed and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication after granting a proper hearing.
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Specific GST late fee bars general penalty for delayed returns, while late-fee liability remains payable
Case-Laws
GST
Where the GST enactments prescribe a specific late fee for delayed filing of annual returns, recourse to the general penalty provision is impermissible. The general penalty imposed for the relevant period was therefore set aside, while the liability to pay late fee under the GST enactments was preserved. The writ petition was partly allowed, and the bank attachment was to be lifted subject to payment of the late fee demanded.
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Defective GST cancellation notice requires disclosure of contraventions; cancellation and appellate orders cannot stand under prescribed procedure
Case-Laws
GST
A show cause notice seeking cancellation of GST registration must disclose the alleged contraventions and follow the procedure prescribed in Rules 21 and 22. In the absence of a detailed notice setting out the shortcomings, the cancellation order and the appellate order were treated as unsustainable and were set aside. The authority was permitted to issue a fresh notice and proceed afresh in accordance with law, while the taxpayer was directed not to avail input tax credit until the proceedings are finalised.
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Article 226 writs are not used for disputed contractual dues without a public law element.
Case-Laws
GST
Article 226 writ jurisdiction is ordinarily not used to enforce purely contractual monetary claims where liability is disputed and no public law element is shown. The source decision turned on contested issues about supplies, invoice genuineness, an alleged settlement, the parties' relationship, contractual performance, and account correctness, all requiring oral and documentary evidence. The fact that official respondents benefited from the work did not itself create a right to divert amounts payable to the contractor. The writ petition was therefore not amenable to adjudication under Article 226, leaving the claimant to pursue remedies in accordance with law.
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IGST export refund cannot be defeated by a circular inconsistent with statutory rules and binding precedent.
Case-Laws
GST
IGST refund on exports could not be denied merely because the exporter had taken higher duty drawback, since the rejection rested on Circular No. 37/2018-Cus, which had already been found inconsistent with the governing rules. The HC held that an executive circular cannot override statutory provisions or binding precedent, and the claim had to be examined under the applicable rules rather than the circular. The rejection order was set aside, and the matter was remanded for fresh consideration after granting the exporter a reasonable hearing.
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Writ maintainability and alternate remedy bar applied where amalgamation plea raised for the first time in GST dispute.
Case-Laws
GST
Writ challenge to GST show cause notice, order-in-original and demand was not entertained where the petitioner raised an amalgamation-based plea for the first time in the writ court. The text notes that the petitioner had already replied on merits to the input tax credit dispute before the department, but had not disclosed the fresh incorporation or new GST registration, and had also not replied to the show cause notice or attended personal hearings. Because the challenge turned on disputed facts better examined by the statutory forum, the petitioner was relegated to the appellate remedy, with liberty to file an appeal within the stipulated time with the required pre-deposit and to seek condonation of delay, which was to be considered sympathetically.
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Retrospective input tax credit re-availment barred where section 16(5) extends time limit only and section 150 blocks refund.
Case-Laws
GST
Retrospective input tax credit under section 16(5) was held to relax only the time bar in section 16(4) for specified returns and not to waive other eligibility conditions. Because the credit had already been denied for excess availment under rule 36(4) and related circulars, the later amendment did not reopen any right to reclaim the reversed credit. Re-availment of reversed input tax credit was also treated as a refund barred by section 150 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024, since the provision expressly covers reversed credit and a narrower reading would produce absurd results.
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Govt waives excise duty on ethanol-blended petrol
GST
Dated:- 11-6-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Jun 11 (PTI) The government has waived excise duty on variants of ethanol-blended petrol, a notification by the finance ministry said.

The duty waiver is applicable on E22, E25, E27 and E30 variants of petrol.

In the notification, the ministry said excise duty will be 'nil' on petrol with 22 per cent, 25 per cent, 27 per cent and 30 per cent ethanol blend.

The excise duty waiver is aime

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Govt highlights tax reforms, investor confidence as Modi completes 12 years as PM
GST
Dated:- 10-6-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Jun 10 (PTI) From tax reforms to digital push, and ease of doing business to moving towards becoming the fastest-growing economy, the government on Wednesday highlighted the achievements during the 12 years of Narendra Modi as India's longest-serving elected prime minister.

Modi surpassed Jawaharlal Nehru's record of 4,398 days as an elected prime minister.

A booklet released by the Centre on the occasion said the reduction in income tax burden over the past 12 years reflects the government's vision of 'Ramrajya', adding reforms like GST, faceless tax, and Digital India have helped build trust in the publi

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t, and carried out banking reforms, which led to a reduction in non-performing assets (NPAs).

“Twelve years of reforms have become twelve years of trust. Whether it is GST, faceless tax, or Digital India, every step has made citizens feel that they too are nation-builders. India is moving towards a 5-trillion-dollar economy. This is not just a figure, it is the flight of every Indian's dream,” the booklet said.

Highlighting the achievements of the government's digital push, an official document released on Wednesday said the cost of 1 GB of data plunged by 97 per cent to around Rs 8-10 from Rs 269 in 2014, which led to an increase in internet usage in rural areas and opened a new world of opportunities for the people.

In the last 1

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, launched in February 2019, the government provides Rs 6,000 to eligible farmers annually in three equal instalments.

Industry leaders lauded the government's reforms and policies, and said the nation has emerged as an influential global voice under Modi's transformative leadership.

They highlighted the government's emphasis on improving ease of doing business, saying that it has benefited from the enabling environment marked by increased investor confidence and that India Inc stands firmly with the prime minister in realising the Vision of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

Confederation of Indian Industry President R Mukundan said the growing confidence in India's capabilities is reflected in its resilience, ambition, and continued progress

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GST registration cannot be used to bypass prior state-wise non-compliance; denial upheld where returns were not filed.
Case-Laws
GST
Under the parallel CGST and State GST framework, State-wise registration does not permit a taxpayer to evade compliance by shifting business to another State. Where a company has obtained registration in one State but failed to file returns, leading to cancellation or suspension of that registration, it remains a defaulter under the GST scheme. That default can justify refusal of registration in another State until the earlier statutory obligations are complied with. The HC upheld denial of GST registration in Rajasthan based on non-compliance in Tamil Nadu and dismissed the writ petition.
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Bona fide purchaser protection: input tax credit cannot be denied merely because the supplier failed to remit tax.
Case-Laws
GST
Input tax credit could not be denied to a bona fide purchasing dealer who bought from a registered supplier and complied with statutory requirements merely because the supplier failed to deposit the collected tax. The Department's remedy lies against the defaulting supplier, not against the purchaser, unless there is material showing that the transactions were not bona fide or were entered into in collusion. On that basis, the impugned demand and appellate orders were set aside, while the authorities were left free to proceed afresh if evidence of collusion or lack of bona fides exists.
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Consolidated GST show cause notices across financial years are permissible, with limitation tested year by year.
Case-Laws
GST
Sections 73 and 74 of the GST law do not bar a consolidated show cause notice or consolidated adjudication covering multiple financial years. Limitation must be tested separately for each financial year, but that does not deprive the proper officer of jurisdiction to issue one common notice or pass one common order. The scheme also permits statements for other periods on the same grounds, supporting multi-period proceedings. If one included year is time-barred, the entire proceeding is not void; the barred portion can be severed because each financial year is a distinct cause of action.
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Portal service of GST notices upheld, and extended limitation applied for suppression-based short payment assessments.
Case-Laws
GST
Service of a show cause notice through the GST common portal was treated as valid where the taxpayers later admitted the notice was available there, so the non-service challenge failed and the best judgment assessment stood. The limitation objection also failed: the court accepted that lesser tax payment despite knowledge of the applicable rate amounted to suppression, attracting the extended period, and relied on the notification extending the annual return due date to hold that the order was passed within time. The writ petition was dismissed and the order-in-original upheld.
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