GST: Supreme Court Consolidates 27 Writ Petitions from High Courts

GST: Supreme Court Takes Control of 27 High Court Writ Petitions

On April 5, the Supreme Court took the decision to consolidate and handle the pending petitions from various High Courts regarding the imposition of a 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online gaming companies. Under the leadership of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, alongside Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, the bench ordered the transfer of 27 writ petitions from eleven different High Courts to the Supreme Court. These petitions will now be addressed alongside the petition originally filed by GamesKraft, as per the request of the Union of India, which was granted by the court. The hearing for this matter is scheduled for the last week of April 2024.

Numerous online gaming companies, including Dream 11, Games 24×7, and Head Digital Works, have challenged the imposition of GST in the Supreme Court as well. Regarding the GamesKraft case, the Supreme Court had previously stayed the Karnataka High Court’s decision, which had invalidated the GST Intimation Notice amounting to Rs 21,000 crore issued to the gaming company.

During a brief session held in January 2024, Senior Advocate Harish Salve, representing the online gaming companies, argued against the imposition of GST. He contended that there is no basis for taxing the entire face value of the bet or the amount paid into the totalisator, as there is no supply of an ‘actionable claim.’

The case titled Union of India v. Deltatech Gaming Ltd and Another, T.P.(C) No. 755-781/2024, remains under scrutiny by the Supreme Court.