GST

Health and National Security Cess: Some Context

The Lok Sabha on 5th December 2025, passed the Health Security se National Security Cess Bill, 2025. The Health se National Security Cess (‘Health and National Security Cess’) is an unusual marriage of public health and national…

Case Study | Chief Commr CGST v Safari Retreats Pvt Ltd | 2018-2025 | Perspective of a Tax Lawyer

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…