Introduction Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval services, referred to in this article as “OIDAR services”, are taxed under a special scheme in the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, hereinafter referred to as the “IGST Act”. This scheme rests on three provisions. Section 2(17) defines what an OIDAR service is. Section 2(16)…
Introduction The question of whether a delayed remittance of statutory tax collected by an entity can be treated as absolute non-payment to trigger harsh penal provisions has long created friction between taxpayers and revenue authorities. This issue becomes particularly crucial when fiscal statutes prescribe strict penalties for failure to pay taxes, leading authorities to routinely…
Introduction The Hon’ble Supreme Court has recently clarified that Section 74 of the CGST Act cannot be invoked merely by reproducing the expressions “fraud”, “wilful misstatement” or “suppression of facts”. Where the Department seeks to invoke the extended period of limitation, the show-cause notice (“SCN”) must disclose the material facts and circumstances which form the…
Introduction In Babu Ram v. State of Rajasthan & Ors. Civil Writ Petition No. 17812/2026, the Rajasthan High Court set aside the termination of a government employee whose services were brought to an end solely on the strength of a subsequent medical board assessment that recorded a lower degree of disability than two earlier certificates…
Introduction The question of whether the Government can retain an amount collected as tax despite the absence of a lawful statutory liability has repeatedly arisen under the erstwhile service tax regime. The issue becomes particularly significant where tax has been paid under an erroneous classification and the assessee subsequently establishes that the underlying activity was…
Introduction The Hon’ble Supreme Court, in R.J. Gajendra Kumar v. Government of Tamil Nadu & Anr., 2026 INSC 911, has reiterated that amendments to Government Orders (“GOs”) modifying existing service conditions must be interpreted reasonably so as to avoid unnecessary hardship to persons who had no control over the subsequent change in the governing framework….
Introduction In Torrent Power Ltd. v. Union of India & Ors. Decided on 14 August 2026 (SCA/12175/2024), the Gujarat High Court examined the GST treatment of corporate guarantees furnished between related persons without consideration. The Court held that such guarantees can constitute a taxable supply under Schedule I of the CGST Act even where no…
Introduction Can an employee who has resigned, accepted the consequences of that resignation and used those consequences to move on to a new job later turn around and say that the resignation was never validly accepted? The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Delhi Technological University v. B.S. Rawat (Civil Appeal No. 9308 of 2024, 2026 INSC…
Introduction Foreign trade notifications routinely straddle the line between policy flexibility and legal certainty. Exporters plan shipments, price contracts and calculate margins around the incentive schemes announced by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), and any retrospective tinkering with those schemes whether to grant a benefit or to take one away has an outsized…
Introduction The intersection of tax recovery mechanisms under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the priority framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 has generated recurring litigation. A frequent point of contention is whether a statutory first charge created under tax statutes automatically confers the status of a secured creditor in…
Introduction The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India, in Commissioner of Service Tax, Mumbai v. M/s Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. & Ors., C.A. No. 2471-2473 OF 2015 : 2026 INSC 723, decided on 20.07.2026, restored service tax demands exceeding ₹16 crore against Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (“BPCL“) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (“HPCL“). The Hon’ble Court…
Introduction In Subhash v. Union of India & Others, O.A. 1077 of 2013, the Central Administrative Tribunal, Allahabad Bench has by an order dated 07.04.2026, rejected a case of regularisation, temporary position, and arrears of salary brought before the Tribunal by a claimant claiming to have continuously served as a casual worker of Bharat Sanchar…
Introduction Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench) in Azim Premji v. State of U.P. Application U/S 3261 of 2017, decided on 29.05.2024, the criminal complaint proceedings along with the summoning order and bailable warrant issued against the Chairman and Managing Director of a company for allegedly violating the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 by an independent third-party…
Introduction Proceedings under the Customs Act rarely remain confined to the importing entity alone. In cases involving alleged concealment or misdeclaration, customs authorities often proceed not only against the firm but also against the individuals connected with the transaction. A recent decision of the Ahmedabad Bench of the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal…
Introduction The Hon’ble Supreme Court of India clarified the use of Order XIII-A Code of Civil Procedure (“CPC”) for summary judgment in commercial matters through its landmark decision in Reliance Eminent Trading and Commercial Private Limited v. Delhi Development Authority (“DDA”), 2026 INSC 436. The judgment was delivered by Justices J.K. Maheshwari and Atul S….
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