India: Sales Taxes: VAT, GST

The GST Council, at its 57th meeting held on 8 October 2026, recommended a package of measures intended to facilitate the export of services from India. For enterprises that deliver services through overseas branches, the most consequential recommendation is the proposed removal of the restriction under which a supply between an Indian establishment and its own foreign branch could not qualify as an “export of services”. The Council has also recommended system-based processing of refunds and a wider eligibility for refund of accumulated input tax credit (“ITC”), both of which bear directly on working capital.

Globalization has undoubtedly transformed the way the world does business. With international trade acting as a key driver of economic progress, goods, services, and capital now move across borders with unprecedented ease. But this seamless flow also presents significant regulatory challenges, particularly in the form of sophisticated financial crimes that exploit the very systems meant to facilitate growth.

In the present case, a show cause notice was issued to M/s M.M. Motors (‘the Petitioner’) on 20 December 2023, alleging tax short-payment/wrong availment of ITC for the period April 2018 to March 2019. The time limit prescribed for passing the adjudication order under Section 73 was extended up to 30 April 2024 through various notifications under Section 168A of the CGST Act.