Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd, a health insurance company, has received 25 tax demand orders from various Goods & Services Tax (GST) and Central Excise authorities. The total demand amounts to approximately Rs 49 crore, inclusive of penalties. The tax demands relate to alleged non-compliance with GST rules, specifically regarding coinsurance transactions and failure to issue invoices for coinsurance services. The violations also include non-disclosure of coinsurance transactions in statutory returns.
The orders were received at the company’s regional offices in six states: Haryana, Delhi, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Karnataka. Maharashtra’s Mumbai and Andheri East offices received the highest number of tax notices, totaling Rs 19.4 crore. Tamil Nadu’s Chennai-North office received five tax demand orders worth Rs 16.2 crore, while Karnataka’s Bengaluru West office received one order worth Rs 12.8 lakh. In north India, Haryana’s Office of the Additional Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Gurgaon (North) Ward, issued five tax demand orders worth Rs 4.9 crore, while Delhi’s South Delhi office issued four orders worth Rs 4.7 crore. Telangana’s Secunderabad office received five orders worth Rs 3.8 crore.
The company has stated that it will contest the tax demands by filing an appeal or writ petition with the relevant authorities, following legal counsel’s advice. This incident highlights the importance of strict compliance with tax regulations and the consequences of non-compliance.