Portal Service vs. Effective Service: Madras High Court Mandates Multi-Mode Communication The Legal Issue The central question is whether the tax authorities satisfy the requirements of Natural Justice and Section 169 by exclusively uploading notices to the GST portal when a taxpayer fails to respond. The Court evaluated whether “service” is a mere technical formality… Read More »
Conditional Restoration of GST Registration Despite Suppression of Facts The Legal Issue The case involves the restoration of GST registration under Section 29 of the CGST Act. A key legal aspect was the petitioner’s conduct: the assessee secured an interim stay on recovery by suppressing the fact that their registration had already been cancelled. The… Read More »
Registration Restoration Denied: Section 16(6) Benefits Not Retroactive for Closed Businesses The Legal Issue The central question is whether a taxpayer who voluntarily cancelled their GST registration due to business closure can seek restoration of registration solely to take advantage of the newly introduced Section 16(6). The court examined if Section 16(6) creates a fresh… Read More »
FMCG Anti-Profiteering: Failure to Reduce Prices After Rate Cut Leads to Recovery Order The Legal Issue The primary legal issue is the application of Section 171 regarding “commensurate reduction” in prices. Specifically, whether a supplier can maintain the same Maximum Retail Price (MRP) after a tax rate reduction (from 28% to 18%) by citing “commercial… Read More »
Delhi High Court Remands Real Estate Anti-Profiteering Probe Over Faulty Methodology The Legal Issue The central legal issue is whether the Director General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP) is justified in using a generic “ratio-based” methodology (comparing ITC to turnover) to calculate profiteering, or if it must adopt an “item-wise” data approach when requested by a developer.… Read More »
Portal Service is Valid but Not Always “Effective”: Madras High Court Orders Remand The Legal Issue The central legal question is whether tax authorities satisfy the principles of Natural Justice by solely uploading notices to the GST portal when a taxpayer remains unresponsive. The Court examined if “effective service” under Section 169 requires exploring alternative… Read More »
Writ Jurisdiction Refused: High Court Cannot Condon Delay Beyond GST Statutory Limits The Legal Issue The central question is whether the High Court, exercising its extraordinary writ jurisdiction under Article 226, can condone a delay in filing a GST appeal that exceeds the maximum outer limit of 120 days (3 months + 1 month extension)… Read More »
Portal Upload is Not “Automatic” Communication: Allahabad High Court Orders Fresh Hearing The Legal Issue The core legal dispute centers on whether uploading an order solely to the GST portal constitutes valid “communication” under Section 169 of the CGST Act, particularly when a taxpayer disputes receiving it via email. The Court examined if an ex… Read More »
Judicial Warning: AI-Generated “Fake” Case Laws Lead to Remand in GST Dispute The Legal Issue The case addresses a “very worrying trend” where a quasi-judicial authority (the GST Commissioner) relied on non-existent or entirely irrelevant judicial precedents—likely generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI)—to reject a taxpayer’s defense, thereby vitiating the entire adjudication process under Section 75.… Read More »
AAR Rejection: Pre-existing Scrutiny and DRC-07 Orders Bar Advance Ruling The Legal Issue The primary legal issue is the admissibility of an application for an Advance Ruling under Section 98(2) of the CGST Act. Specifically, whether the Authority for Advance Ruling (AAR) can entertain a question regarding tax liability when the Department has already initiated… Read More »