The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), State Bench at Ranchi, has admitted Revenue’s appeal challenging an appellate order that treated various charges collected in connection with the transmission and distribution of electricity as exempt from GST.
The dispute concerns application fees, meter rent, testing fees, shifting charges, reconnection charges, duplicate bill charges, penalties for late payment or unauthorised use, and other ancillary charges collected by the assessee.
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The Bench of Tushsar Kanti Satapathy (Judicial Member) and Kant Kishore Mishra (Technical Member) in its order found that the department had raised arguable grounds warranting consideration.
The Tribunal has only admitted the appeal. It has not finally held the disputed charges taxable or overturned the exemption findings on merits.
Revenue filed the appeal under Section 112 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, challenging Order-in-Appeal dated July 10, 2025.
As recorded in the Tribunal’s order, the first appellate authority had held that the disputed charges were incidental or ancillary to the transmission and distribution of electricity and were therefore exempt from GST.
The department contested this conclusion, arguing that the charges represented distinct services that should be taxed independently of electricity supply. The dispute relates to the period from July 2017 to March 2020.
The department submitted that the first appellate authority had erred both in law and on facts in extending the exemption to the disputed charges.
Revenue argued that application fees, meter rent, testing fees, shifting charges, reconnection charges and other identified receipts were collected separately from electricity supply for distinct services rendered by the respondent.
According to Revenue, these charges constituted independent taxable supplies under Section 7, read with Sections 2(30) and 8 of the CGST Act.
The appeal consequently raises the question whether these services should receive the exemption treatment applicable to electricity transmission and distribution or be treated as independent supplies liable to GST.
The Tribunal’s admission order records this contention without deciding the issue.
Revenue also challenged the first appellate authority’s reliance on Notification No. 08/2024-CT (Rate) dated October 8, 2024, and Circular No. 234/28/2024-GST dated October 11, 2024.
The department submitted that these instruments were prospective and could not be applied retrospectively to the disputed period from July 2017 to March 2020.
On that basis, it argued that the appellate authority’s findings were legally unsustainable.
The applicability of the 2024 notification and circular to earlier tax periods is therefore another issue raised for consideration. The Tribunal has not yet ruled on that contention.
After examining the memorandum of appeal and the accompanying documents, the Tribunal found that Revenue had, prima facie, “made out arguable grounds warranting consideration”.
It accordingly admitted the appeal and directed issuance of notice to the respondent.
However, the Bench recorded that system-generated intimation was being sent to both parties and therefore considered further notice to the respondent unnecessary.
The respondent was given liberty to file a cross-objection within 45 days from the date of the order.
Salona Mittal, Advocate, appeared for the respondent. The short admission order does not separately reproduce detailed submissions advanced on the respondent’s behalf.
The proceedings will require further consideration of Revenue’s challenge to the exemption treatment of the specified electricity-related charges, including its objection to applying the 2024 instruments to earlier periods.
Admission of the appeal does not amount to acceptance of Revenue’s arguments on merits. The Tribunal has neither conclusively held the charges taxable nor finally affirmed their exemption.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on January 12, 2027.
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