Supreme Court Transfers To Itself Petitions Pending In High Courts Challenging GST On Online Gaming

The Supreme Court on Friday (April 5) transferred to itself the petitions pending in the High Courts challenging the imposition of 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) on online gaming companies.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra ordered the transfer of 27 writ petitions pending in eleven High Courts and tagged them with the petition pending in the Supreme Court filed by GamesKraft. The order was passed allowing a transfer petition filed by the Union of India. The matter will be posted in the last week of April 2024.

Several online gaming companies have filed writ petitions before the Supreme Court challenging the GST imposition.

In the Gameskraft matter, the Supreme Court had stayed the Karnataka High Court's judgment which had quashed the GST Intimation Notice to the tune of Rs 21,000 crore issued to the the gaming company.

In a brief hearing held in January 2024, Senior Advocate Harish Salve, for the online gaming companies, argued that there is no supply of 'actionable claim' to impose GST on the 100% of the face value of the bet or the amount paid into the totalisator.

Case Title :  Union of India v. Deltatech Gaming Ltd and Another, T.P.(C) No. 755-781/2024

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