Airtel GST refund – Supreme Court allows government appeal against ₹923 crore relief

• The Supreme Court has allowed the government to appeal against the ₹923 crore GST refund to Airtel.
• The Delhi High Court in May 2020 had ordered the government to verify and refund excess taxes paid to the telco.
• Airtel had claimed that it paid an excess amount of GST as the GSTR-2A return form was not operational.

In a major setback to Indian telecom operator Airtel, the Supreme Court (SC) has allowed the Indian government’s appeal against the Delhi High Court’s order granting ₹923 crore in tax refunds to the company.

In May 2020, the Delhi High Court had ordered the government to verify and refund the ₹923 crore of excess goods and services tax (GST) paid by Airtel between July and September 2017.

Soon after the verdict, the government moved the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi High Court order.

The Sunil Mittal-led telco had claimed that it had paid an excess amount of GST as the GSTR-2A return form was not operational during the period. GSTR-2A is a system-generated return that includes all the outward supplies.

Authorities had claimed that the telco had under-reported input tax credit during the period.

Bharti Airtel was trading at ₹694.60 at 12:40 p. m., down by over 1% on October 28.

Airtel applies for AGR dues moratorium

Earlier this month, Airtel $4 for the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues moratorium offered as part of the $4 by the government. The telco is expected to free up its cash-flow by up to ₹40,000 crore due to the moratorium.

In addition to Airtel, Vodafone Idea has also opted for the moratorium and is expected to free up its cash-flow by up to ₹60,000 crore for four years.

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