Indian Supreme Court announces final hearing date for GST cases

Several cases have been consolidated at the Supreme Court.

India.- The Supreme Court is to hear all pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) cases from online gaming companies and casinos on May 5. Several companies lodged challenges to amendments that imposed a 28 per cent GST on wagers, replacing the 18 per cent on revenue collected from each game.

There were 27 petitions challenging the government’s decision pending at nine different high courts across the country. The Union government petitioned to have these consolidated at the Supreme Court so it could address the fundamental issues on the classification of gaming activities and the implications for GST.

After a previous hearing, the court sent notifications to the union government and GST authorities, instructing them to address the companies’ claims.

Senior advocate Harish Salve is representing the gaming firms, while additional solicitor general Venkatraman is representing the GST department and the Union of India. Online gaming companies, including Head Digital Works, Games24x7, and Dream11, argue that the tax could impact the viability of their businesses and have opposed its retrospective application.