RavPratapSingh
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In Applause of a Repeal: Place of Supply for Intermediary Services
The Goods and Services Tax Council (‘GST Council’) in its 56th meeting took multiple decisions and made a series of recommendations. The headline, of course, was dominated by the change in tax rates of various goods. An equal,…
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Time Restraint on Power of Provisional Attachment under GST
Introduction The Supreme Court in Kesari Nandan Mobile v Office of Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (‘Kesari Nandan Mobile’) held that an order of provisional attachment under Section 83 of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (‘CGST…
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Parallel Proceedings under GST: Supreme Court Misses an Opportunity
Introduction Recently, the Supreme Court in M/S Armour Security (India) Ltd v Commissioner, CGST, Delhi East Commissionerate & Anr (Armour Security case) clarified scope of the terms ‘proceedings’ and ‘same subject matter’ used in Section 6(2)(b) of the…
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Taxation of ESOP-Related Compensation: Reviewing the Flipkart Cases
Introduction In April 2023, the Board of Flipkart Private Limited (‘FPS’), Singapore decided to pay a one-time voluntary compensation - 43.67 US dollars per stock option - to all the option grantees of its Employee Stock…
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The Monsoon of Tax ‘Reform’
It’s raining tax ‘reform’. Income Tax Bill, 2025 (‘IT Bill, 2025’) will soon replace the six decades old Income Tax Act, 1961. Goods and Services Tax (‘GST’) will ostensibly be simplified by Diwali of 2025. And we will…
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Shelf Drilling Judgment: A Case of Interpretive Disagreements
The Supreme Court in a split judgment left unresolved the long standing issue of interplay between Section 144C-Section 153 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘IT Act, 1961’). The absence of a clear resolution while not ideal, provides…
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Competition Law and the IBC: An Alternate Perspective on the Supreme Court’s Balancing Act
Introduction Recently, the Supreme Court (‘Court’) in Independent Sugar Corporation Ltd v Girish Sriram Juneja & Ors resolved an interpretive uncertainty involving the interface of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (‘IBC’) with the Competition Act, 2002.…
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Service Charge, its Similarity with Tax, and a ‘Double Whammy’ for Consumers: Some Thoughts
Introduction The Delhi High Court (‘High Court’) recently ruled that levy of mandatory service charge by restaurants violates customer rights. The High Court’s reasoning, anchored in consumer protection laws, termed a mandatory service charge as deceptive and misleading…
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Fraudulent Sale is Supply Under GST: Three Errors of the Advance Ruling
A recent advance ruling by Gujarat AAR is a frustrating read. AAR held that sale by a seller constitutes as supply under GST laws even if the seller was defrauded and did not receive any consideration for such…
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Legislative Intent or Error: Puzzle of Indian Tax Policy
Introductory Questions Let me start with a question: how does one discover legislative intent in a provision of tax statute? Through a plain reading of the provision or through a subsequent statement by the State’s legal…
