Goods and Services Tax

Input tax credit fraud permits Section 74 recovery where invoices and payments do not prove receipt of goods.
Case-Laws
GST
Input tax credit claimed on invoices issued by non-existent suppliers may attract Section 74 where the notice sets out foundational facts indicating fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression. The claimant must establish actual receipt and physical movement of goods; invoices and banking records alone do not prove transaction genuineness. A consolidated notice may cover multiple financial years because the statutory wording permits proceedings for connected periods. Conversely, reverse charge liability cannot be pursued under Section 74 merely from omissions when relevant expenses were disclosed in accounts and financial statements; deliberate non-disclosure is required. Input tax credit mismatch and reverse charge demands were sustained under Section 73 with consequential interest and penalty, while fraudulent credit demands were restored under Section 74.
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IAAPI Calls for GST Rationalisation to Support Growth and Consumer Demand in India’s Amusement Industry
GST
Dated:- 3-9-2026
PTI
Industry survey highlights strong support for a 5% GST rate without ITC, with operators expecting lower ticket prices, higher footfalls and fresh investments New Delhi, September 2026: For families looking to spend a weekend at an amusement park, water park or indoor entertainment centre, ticket prices are often an important part of the decision. For the businesses operating these attractions, however, the equation is more complex. High operating costs, significant investments in infrastructure and changing consumer spending patterns continue to put pressure on the industry.

Against this backdrop, the Indian Association of Amusement Parks and Industries (IAAPI) is calling for a more rational GST structure for the amusement industry. The association believes that bringing down the GST burden can help make entertainment more affordable for con

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y operators, particularly smaller and mid-sized businesses, the current GST structure adds to the pressure on an already capital-intensive business. A more rational rate can create a win-win situation — consumers can benefit through more affordable tickets, while operators can focus on improving their facilities, creating new experiences and expanding their businesses.” Notably, overwhelming majority (approx. 80%) of the visitors to amusement parks belong to middle and lower-middle-class households, the very demographic that the GST 2.0 reforms sought to protect. Present GST rate adversely impacts footfall, muting customer demand.

Amusement parks are an integral part of the tourism industry and contribute significantly to the growth of tourism, employment, local businesses, and the overall economy. However, the sector is treated unequally compared with other important components of the tourism industry, such as hotels and airlines. Hotel accommodation with room rent up to ?7,5

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cted impact goes beyond ticket prices. 64.9% of operators identified increased customer demand as a key benefit of a 5% GST rate, while 62.3% expect facility expansion, 61% anticipate revenue growth and 54.5% see the possibility of new investments in projects.

What stands out from the survey is that the industry is not looking at GST rationalization simply as a way to improve margins. Operators are looking at it as an opportunity to attract more customers, reinvest in their facilities and build a stronger amusement ecosystem.” IAAPI believes that a simpler and more rational GST structure can support the industry's growth while making leisure and entertainment more accessible to consumers. The association will continue to engage with policymakers and stakeholders, using industry data and member feedback to make a constructive case for GST reform.

(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with NRDPL and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the

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Omission of GST refund restriction rule ends its application to proceedings pending on its omission date.
Circulars
GST
Omission of rule 96(10) of the CGST Rules without a saving clause applies to all proceedings pending on the date of omission, preventing the rule's restrictions from governing those matters. Section 6 of the General Clauses Act does not preserve pending proceedings after omission of a rule; their continuation requires an express saving provision or a statutory legal device. Unlike the Central Excise and Customs laws, GST law contains no comparable saving clause. CBIC may accept the Supreme Court's stated position.
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Security-based bail conditions for alleged tax liabilities were modified when disclosed family assets could secure the alleged dues.
Case-Laws
GST
Bail conditions requiring a security bond equivalent to alleged tax and penalty liability may be modified where the accused stands on the same footing as a co-accused whose condition was found onerous and vague. Disclosed family assets, supported by affidavit, may constitute security instead of the stipulated bond. The impugned security-bond requirement was not to be enforced, and the declared family assets were treated as security for the alleged dues.
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Reasonable cause protects service-tax defaulters from Section 78 penalties when departmental guidance creates genuine interpretational uncertainty.
Case-Laws
GST
Reasonable cause under Section 80 of the Finance Act, 1994 can shield an assessee from penalty under Section 78 for non-payment of service tax where contemporaneous departmental communications supported a bona fide belief that consultancy services provided to Government institutions were non-taxable. Interpretational uncertainty, the Department's initial view, and the absence of fraud, wilful misstatement, suppression with intent to evade, or deliberate default support reasonable cause. Service tax for the normal limitation period and applicable interest remained payable, but the Section 78 penalty was set aside.
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GST refund restriction omission applies to pending proceedings, requiring related notices, orders and refund claims to be processed accordingly.
Case-Laws
GST
Omission of Rule 96(10) of the CGST Rules, effective from 8 October 2024, applies to all pending proceedings and extends its benefit to affected assessees. The Supreme Court upheld this position, settling challenges concerning the deleted provision. Pending matters involving notices, orders-in-original, consequential refund claims and remittances must therefore be processed in accordance with the omission and applicable law. Challenges pending before High Courts are to be placed before the appropriate roster courts for orders consistent with the settled position.
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Input tax credit for leased construction requires binding precedent consideration; unlawful ledger recovery must be reversed.
Case-Laws
GST
Input tax credit claims for construction intended to be leased or licensed require consideration of the principle that such construction is not undertaken on the taxable person's own account. Assessment findings rejecting a leasing-based claim without applying the Supreme Court ruling in Safari Retreats required fresh consideration; the assessment and consequential DRC-07 orders were set aside without deciding ITC entitlement on merits. Recovery by debiting electronic cash or credit ledgers also required prior electronic intimation in Form GST DRC-01D and seven days to pay under Rule 142B. Non-compliant recoveries were to be re-credited or refunded after the underlying assessments were set aside.
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Retrospective input tax credit protection overrides delayed-return limits, requiring reconsideration where statutory eligibility under Section 16(5) is met.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, inserted retrospectively, grants input tax credit to taxpayers who furnished returns by its prescribed cut-off date, notwithstanding the time limit in Section 16(4). A circular cannot restrict that statutory entitlement. A notification requiring a rectification application within a specified period does not govern a taxpayer who had already filed an appeal against the assessment order before the amendment. Denial of March 2020 input tax credit and consequential demands therefore require reconsideration under Section 16(5), subject to other eligibility conditions.
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Electronic gift vouchers can validly pass GST rate-reduction benefits when unconditional, traceable e-wallet credits reach identified customers.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 171 permits GST rate-reduction benefits to be passed through electronic gift vouchers where e-wallet credits carry monetary value, are unconditional, have no expiry or usage restrictions, and are traceable to identified customers, invoices and supplies. System-generated labels such as “Offers and cashback” do not negate the documented link to the benefit. Benefits not traceable to identifiable recipients remain unpassed; after accounting for cancelled or returned supplies, the residual amount must be deposited in the Central Consumer Welfare Fund with applicable interest. The anti-profiteering penalty provision does not apply to conduct occurring before it came into force, so no penalty is leviable for that earlier period.
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School-affiliation charges remain taxable where not directly connected with examinations, while extended limitation requires proof of deliberate tax evasion.
Case-Laws
GST
GST treatment of school-affiliation, annual registration and late-registration charges turns on whether services directly relate to admission to or conduct of examinations. Affiliation and related administrative charges are treated as independent taxable supplies, with the examination-services exemption construed strictly; affiliation regularisation remains limited to its specified period. A consolidated show cause notice may cover multiple tax periods absent prejudice or jurisdictional defect. GST Council-based circulars on affiliation remain binding on departmental authorities. Amounts collected without separately charging GST require cum-tax valuation. Extended limitation requires affirmative proof of fraud, wilful misstatement or deliberate suppression with intent to evade tax; non-payment and delayed registration alone are insufficient. Interest and penalties survive only to the extent of sustained tax demands.
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Taxpayer confidentiality restricts external AI use while requiring officers to verify outputs and independently decide quasi-judicial matters.
Circulars
GST – States
Taxpayer confidentiality bars officers and staff from transmitting identifiable taxpayer information or departmental data to public or commercial AI tools, third-party online platforms, external systems, browser extensions or personal accounts unless expressly authorised in writing. Permitted AI use is limited to generic, wholly hypothetical legal or procedural research and drafting support, with independent verification against primary sources. Officers remain personally responsible for disclosures made by themselves or persons acting under their control; breaches may lead to disciplinary action, criminal liability, data-protection consequences and challenges to affected proceedings. Notices and quasi-judicial orders must reflect the signing officer's independent assessment of facts and law, not unverified or mechanically adopted AI-generated content.
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CBI Arrests CGST Additional Commissioner and Two others in Rs. 40 Lakh Bribery Case in Raigad, Maharashtra
GST
Dated:- 2-9-2026

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested an IRS officer serving as Additional Commissioner of Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), in Raigad district of Maharashtra, along with a Superintendent of CGST, Raigad, and a private person, on 27.08.2026, in a bribery case.

The CBI registered the instant case on 26 August, 2026 against the accused Superintendent of CGST on the allegations that he had demanded an undue advantage of Rs.1.50 Crore for settling the GST/royalty matter relating to the stone-quarrying firm of the complainant. After negotiation, the demand was subsequently reduced t

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Haryana: SGST collections grow 29 pc in first 5 months of 2026-27
GST
Dated:- 2-9-2026
PTI
Chandigarh, Sep 2 (PTI) Haryana recorded a 29 per cent growth in state Goods and Services Tax (SGST) collections – the highest expansion among the states – in the April-August period of the current fiscal, an official statement said on Wednesday.

During the first five months of the financial year 2026-27, the state collected Rs 24,662 crore in SGST, as against Rs 19,174 crore during the corresponding period of the previous financial year, registering a growth of 29 per cent. This is nearly double the national growth rate of 16 per cent, it said.

In August 2026, Haryana generated revenue of Rs crore from SGST (post-settlement), compar

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Cross-examination in GST penalty proceedings protects natural justice where witness statements support the proposed penalty.
Case-Laws
GST
Cross-examination of persons whose statements are relied upon in GST penalty proceedings is necessary to satisfy principles of natural justice where the affected party specifically requests it. Denial of that opportunity before imposing penalty constitutes a serious procedural defect. The penalty order and consequential notices were set aside, with fresh consideration required after supplying relevant documents, granting a personal hearing, permitting cross-examination of relied-upon persons, and allowing a fresh reply. The merits of the underlying allegations remained open for independent reconsideration.
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Alternative statutory remedy governs GST adjudication challenges where evidence and limitation objections require appellate review.
Case-Laws
GST
GST adjudication challenges involving the extended-demand provision, audit objections, input tax credit, reverse-charge liability, export transactions and factual demand heads require statutory appellate review where the taxpayer participated in proceedings and had an opportunity to present its defence. A disagreement over the evaluation of replies, documents or evidence differs from a denial of natural justice and does not by itself justify writ jurisdiction. A consolidated show cause notice may cover multiple financial years because the statutory language permits notices for periods, while limitation for the order is calculated by financial year. Limitation for an individual year remains available for determination in appeal. Writ interference is unavailable absent patent lack of jurisdiction or manifest breach of natural justice.
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Opportunity to answer a GST show-cause notice required restoration of demand proceedings for fresh adjudication.
Case-Laws
GST
Opportunity to contest a GST show-cause notice may warrant restoration of demand proceedings where failure to reply resulted from bona fide and unavoidable circumstances. On acceptance of sufficient cause, the adjudication and appellate orders were set aside and the proceedings remitted to the reply stage. Fresh adjudication must permit the assessee to file a reply, produce documents and receive a hearing, subject to imposed conditions.
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GST audit findings in Form GST ADT-02 communicate observations but cannot independently authorise tax recovery proceedings.
Case-Laws
GST
Form GST ADT-02 issued after a GST audit under Rule 101(5) communicates audit findings to the registered person as required by section 65(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The communication is administrative in nature and does not by itself create authority to recover tax or other dues. Any action consequential to the audit findings, including recovery proceedings, must be initiated and pursued separately in accordance with the Act.
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Reasoned Decisions in Kara Samadhana applications require disclosed grounds and a hearing before adverse action.
Case-Laws
GST
Rejection of a Kara Samadhana Scheme application for waiver of penalty and interest must disclose material particulars and reasons under section 128A of the CGST/KGST Act, 2017. An unreasoned adverse notice is illegal and arbitrary where the applicant is denied a sufficient and reasonable opportunity of hearing. The rejection notice was quashed, requiring fresh consideration of the representation after hearing, with coercive steps restrained until that decision.
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Statutory limits on customs bank-account attachments bar continued debit freezes after investigation, adjudication, and expiry of permitted duration.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 110(5) limits provisional attachment of bank accounts under customs law to six months, with one recorded-reasons extension of up to six months. A debit freeze continuing beyond one year, after investigation culminates in adjudication, lacks statutory support. Where an appeal against the adjudication order is filed with the mandatory pre-deposit, continued freezing is coercive and unlawful; the affected bank accounts must be defreezed.
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Natural justice in GST rectification requires consideration of submissions and reasonable hearing before rejection and fresh determination.
Case-Laws
GST
Rejection of a GST rectification application without addressing the contentions raised or providing sufficient and reasonable opportunity violates principles of natural justice. The deficiency arose from summary dismissal despite multiple submissions in the rectification application. The rejection was set aside, and the application was remitted for fresh consideration in accordance with law. The petition consequently succeeded.
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GST detention penalties for invoiced goods must proceed against the owner, not under unregistered-person provisions after registration restoration.
Case-Laws
GST
For goods detained while accompanied by a tax invoice, penalty proceedings fall under section 129(1)(a) where the taxpayer can be regarded as the owner of the goods. Subsequent restoration of GST registration prevents treating the consignor or consignee as bogus or maintaining proceedings under section 129(1)(b) on the basis that the taxpayer was unregistered. The penalty was therefore enforceable under section 129(1)(a), and the orders were modified accordingly.
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GST appellate delay: lack of control justified condonation and merits review, while alleged duplicate recovery required verification and refund.
Case-Laws
GST
GST appellate limitation bound the Appellate Authority, but delay caused by circumstances beyond the taxpayer's control was treated as sufficient cause for condonation to prevent prejudice from denial of a merits hearing. A fresh statutory appeal could therefore be filed within the permitted period for adjudication on merits. Alleged duplicate recovery of GST demand required verification rather than an immediate factual finding; any excess recovery identified on verification was to be refunded with applicable interest.
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Authentication of electronic GST notices is mandatory; unsigned portal documents cannot sustain adjudication or recovery without effective hearing.
Case-Laws
GST
Rule 26(3) requires electronic GST notices and orders to be authenticated by a digital signature certificate, e-signature or another notified mode; a system-generated reference number establishes issuance and tracking but does not replace authentication. Signature verifies origin, accountability and application of mind, so an unsigned notice or order is treated as non-existent in law. Portal upload under an additional-notices section, without other service, may deny an effective hearing where the taxpayer remains unaware and unrepresented. Such denial breaches natural justice and permits writ intervention despite an appellate remedy. Unsigned proceedings, consequential orders and recovery action may be set aside, with fresh action permissible after authenticated service and a meaningful hearing.
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GST appellate adjournments require sufficient cause; the three-adjournment limit is a ceiling, not an automatic litigant entitlement.
Case-Laws
GST
Under the CGST/WBGST appellate framework, the maximum of three adjournments is a ceiling, not an entitlement to obtain three postponements. Each adjournment requires sufficient cause and written reasons, consistent with the requirement for expeditious disposal of appeals. Physical incapacity may justify a final hearing opportunity where adequately demonstrated, but does not create a right to further adjournments. The appellate authority may reject subsequent requests and must determine the appeal independently on merits.
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GSTR-2A mismatches require invoice-wise credit verification, while adverse GST adjudication requires a mandatory personal hearing.
Case-Laws
GST
GSTR-2A is a facilitation tool rather than a statutory bar to input tax credit. Credit claimed within the extended period for FY 2017-18 requires invoice-wise reconciliation; non-reflection in GSTR-2A for FY 2018-19 alone cannot establish supplier default. Section 75(4) requires a personal hearing before an adverse GST decision, even without a specific request. Return scrutiny under Section 61 and demand proceedings under Section 73 are independent, so absence of FORM GST ASMT-10 does not itself invalidate a direct demand proceeding. Interest and penalty remain consequential to sustainable tax liability. The disputed credit was remanded for verification and fresh adjudication after hearing.
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