Delhi High Court stays GST levy on CCI for penalties etc received from parties
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday granted a stay on the imposition of Goods and Services Tax (GST), along with interest and penalties, on the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for consideration received by the Commission from various parties in dispute before it.
A bench of Justices Yashwant Verma and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar issued the stay in a writ petition filed by the CCI challenging the order issued by the Additional Commissioner of CGST (Delhi South).
The CCI argued that the CGST Commissioner’s order was flawed, as it failed to take into account a recent ruling of the Delhi High Court in which it was held that the activities of the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) were not taxable under the CGST Act, 2017, since statutory regulatory functions do not qualify as ‘business’ and are exempt under Schedule III of the CGST Act.
The CCI also emphasised that it had successfully contested similar issues in earlier service tax proceedings, where authorities ruled that its activities were not taxable. The orders in those proceedings determined that all fees collected by the CCI are statutorily mandated, and no ‘service’ is inherent in its functions. However, the GST Department appealed that decision, and the matter remains pending before the Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT).
The CCI sought parity with the CERC and DERC, which the Court accepted.
CCI was represented by Senior Advocate Sujit Ghosh and Advocate Manu Sanan of Sanan Law.