Two Certainties

Notifications Cannot Go Beyond Recommendations of the GST Council

Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court in M/S Guru and Co v Union of India (‘M/S Guru case’) addressed question about the Union of India’s powers to issue notifications vis-à-vis the GST Council recommendations. And held that…

Wide Scope of Taxation Powers: Supreme Court Endorses Gambling-Related GST Amendments – II

The Supreme Court in Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (HQ) & Ors v Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited and Ors (‘Gameskraft case’) upheld one of the most contested amendments to the Central Goods and Services Tax…

Wide Scope of Taxation Powers: Supreme Court Endorses Gambling-Related GST Amendments-I

The Supreme Court in Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (HQ) & Ors v Gameskraft Technologies Private Limited and Ors (‘Gameskraft case’) upheld one of the most contested amendments to the Central Goods and Services Tax…

Gambling, Skill, and Money: Supreme Court Upends Decades Old Jurisprudence – II

In Part-I, my focus was on contextualising the dispute and providing a background. In this part, let me focus on the Supreme Court’s observations in Junglee Games case. The Supreme Court sub-divided the issues for consideration…

Gambling, Skill, and Money: Supreme Court Upends Decades Old Jurisprudence – I

I. Introduction  On 27 May 2026, a Division Bench of the Supreme Court - comprising of Justice P.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan - pronounced two inter-related judgments: The State of Tamil Nadu v Junglee Games India…

A Small Note from Tax History: Entertainment Tax Dispute of Delhi Racing Club

Introduction  In 2012, the Delhi Racing Club (‘Racing Club’) lost a tax dispute. The Government of National Capital Territory demanded payment of entertainment tax which the Racing Club unsuccessfully resisted. At first glance, the Delhi High…

No GST on Corporate Guarantees: The Bombay High Court Misses a Beat

A Division Bench of the Bombay High Court (‘High Court’) in M/S. DP Jain & Co Infrastructure Private Limited v Union of India (‘DP Jain case’) ruled that corporate guarantee, not accompanied by consideration, cannot be subjected to…

Not Tolerating an ‘Absurd’ GST Demand

On 30 April 2026, a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court (‘High Court’) in Tata Sons Private Ltd v Union of India through the Ministry of Finance (‘Tata Sons case’) set aside a ‘patently perverse’ Goods and…

Amendments to the IT Rules, 2026: Effectuating the Tiger Global Case 

On 31st March 2026, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (‘CBDT’) notified amendment to two sub-rules of Rule 128, The Income Tax Rules, 2026 (‘IT Rules, 2026’). Reactions to the amendments are neatly divided: while a few…

Amendments to the IT Rules, 2026