GST
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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…
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Powers of Arrest under CGST Act, 2017 and Customs Act, 1962: Constitutionality and their Scope
The Supreme Court in a recent judgment upheld the constitutionality of arrest-related provisions contained in Customs Act, 1962 and CGST Act, 2017. The Court also elaborated on the scope of arrest powers under CGST Act, 2017 and safeguards…
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Long Wait for GSTATs: July 2017 … and Counting.
GSTATs have been envisaged as the first appellate forum under GST laws. And yet, 7.5 years since implementation of GST, not a single GSTAT is functioning. Reason? Many. Some are easy to identify, others are tough…
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CERC Is Exempt from GST: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court in a recent judgment held that the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission and Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (‘Commission’) were not liable to pay GST. The Revenue sought to levy on the fees and tariff that…
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Assignment of Leasehold Rights is Immovable Property under GST: Guj HC
Introduction In a recent and much discussed judgment, the Gujarat High Court has held that assignment by sale and transfer of leasehold rights of a plot of land amounts to transfer of benefits arising out of immovable…
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Telecommunication Towers are Movable Property under GST: Delhi HC
The Delhi High Court in a recent decision held that telecommunication towers are best characterized as movable property under Section 17(5), CGST Act, 2017 and are eligible for input tax credit (‘ITC’). Facts Indus Towers filed a writ…
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Safari Retreats: Supreme Court Adopts a ‘Strict’ Stance
The Supreme Court pronounced its judgment in the Safari Retreats case a few days ago. The judgment involved interpretation of Section 17(5), CGST Act, 2017, specifically clauses (c) and (d) read with two Explanations contained in the Section.…
