LI Network
Published on: October 25, 2023 at 11:13 IST
The Bombay High Court has issued instructions to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities, preventing them from making any conclusive decisions regarding the GST demand notices served to Delta Corp without obtaining prior permission from the court.
This development comes in light of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence notifying Delta Corp and its subsidiaries about an alleged tax shortfall of INR 16,195 crore.
According to a disclosure made by the company in a stock exchange filing, the Bombay High Court has directed GST authorities not to issue final orders concerning the GST demand notices sent to casino operator Delta Corp without prior court permission.
This directive follows a writ petition submitted by Delta Corp and its subsidiaries, High Street Cruises and Entertainment Pvt Ltd, and Delta Pleasure Cruise Company Pvt Ltd.
As per the company’s statement, the concerned tax authorities have been instructed not to finalize orders related to the mentioned show-cause notices without obtaining prior approval from the High Court. The court has also scheduled dates for the completion of pleadings, hearings, and the final disposal of these writ petitions.
This legal development follows a recent decision by the Sikkim High Court to grant a stay on a GST demand order of around INR 628 crore against Delta Corp.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence in Hyderabad had issued three demand notices in September 2023, including a demand of over INR 628 crore for tax shortfalls related to Casino Deltin Denzong, located in Sikkim.
The government has thus far raised a cumulative GST demand of approximately INR 23,000 crore from the Delta Corp group, covering shortfalls in taxes associated with casino and online gaming businesses.
Delta Corp had disclosed in its financial performance report on October 11 that the company and its two subsidiary entities had received show-cause notices for an alleged underpayment of Goods and Service Tax (GST) amounting to INR 16,822.98 crores for the period from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2022.
On October 14, the company further informed stock exchanges that its subsidiary, Deltatech Gaming Limited, had received intimation from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence, Kolkata.
The intimation concerned a payment of INR 6,236.81 crore for tax shortfalls between January 2018 and November 2022 and INR 147.51 crore for the period between July 2017 and October 2022.
This recent notice brings the total GST demand against Delta Corp to over INR 23,200 crore.