The Bombay High Court has provided temporary relief to several insurance companies, including ICICI Lombard General Insurance, Aditya Birla Health Insurance, and Tata AIG General Insurance, by staying Goods and Services Tax (GST) demands on co-insurance premium and ceding commission. The court’s decision was based on the argument that the levy was contrary to circulars issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). The insurance companies had approached the court challenging orders passed by GST authorities in Palghar, Maharashtra, confirming the GST demands.
The petitioners, represented by senior advocates Arvind Datar and Rohan Shah, argued that the demands were in violation of CBIC circulars dated October 11, 2024, and January 28, 2025, which were issued pursuant to decisions made by the GST Council. They also pointed out that similar GST demands had been dropped by jurisdictional officers in other cases in Meerut, Delhi, Pune, and Mumbai, following the CBIC circulars. The court was shown an order from one such case to demonstrate the consistent departmental approach elsewhere.
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence had investigated over two dozen insurance companies for allegedly creating shell entities to pay excess commissions and misclassifying expenses to reduce GST liability. The Income Tax Department had also conducted parallel investigations into alleged tax evasion and violations of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India rules. The GST probe focused on alleged fake input tax credit and misclassification of expenses, while the income tax investigation examined suspected tax evasion arising from commission payments in excess of regulatory limits.
The court’s decision has provided much-needed relief to the industry, according to Amit Maheshwari, managing partner at CA firm AKM Global. The court’s intervention highlights the importance of predictable tax administration and consistent field-level implementation. The ad-interim stay will remain in place until the next date of hearing, which is scheduled for after the respondents file their reply affidavits by February 12. The insurance companies will have to wait until then to know the final outcome of their petitions.