Supreme Court Grants Interim Stay on ₹123 Crore GST Notice to Baazi Games

Issue: Whether the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) could proceed with a tax demand notice against an online gaming company (Baazi Games) on the ‘full face value of bets’ after the Supreme Court had already reserved its judgment on the larger, industry-wide issue regarding the retrospective GST levy on online gaming.

Facts:

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) issued a GST notice of ₹123 crore to Baazi Games in August 2025.
The core industry dispute is whether the 28% GST should be levied on the “full face value of bets” (the total amount wagered, as claimed by the government) or only on the “actual transaction value” (the platform’s commission/revenue, as argued by the industry).
The Supreme Court had already concluded hearings and reserved its judgment on a batch of similar cases, including the high-profile Gameskraft case, involving a disputed tax amount of over ₹2 lakh crore.
Baazi Games argued that the DGGI notice and subsequent hearing requests were violative of procedural fairness as the larger issue was sub-judice.

Decision:

The Supreme Court granted an interim stay on the ₹123 crore GST notice issued to Baazi Games and stayed any further proceedings by the DGGI. The Court noted the pending judgment in the Gameskraft case, which is of a similar nature.

Key TakeDowns:

Consistency and Clarity: The stay order reinforces judicial consistency in the Court’s approach, bringing a measure of clarity to the online gaming industry while it awaits the final, definitive judgment on the tax valuation dispute.
Controversial Tax: The case highlights the highly contentious and retrospective tax demand that has plagued the online gaming sector since the government issued a notification clarifying that a 28% GST is applicable on the full-face value of bets.
Protection from Coercion: The stay prevents tax authorities from taking coercive steps against the company during the pendency of the crucial constitutional matter before the apex court. ***

Source:- Money control