GST

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…

Money Displaces Skill-Chance Distinction: Examining Taxation and Regulatory Approaches to Online Gaming

The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (‘CGST Act, 2017’) and The Promotion and Regulation of Online Gaming Act, 2025 (‘OGA, 2025’) use money as the criteria to differentiate between various kinds of online gaming. In both legislations…

GST Council | Anatomy of a Constitutional Body | Perspective of a Tax Lawyer

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…