New Delhi, December 03, 2020: The Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of imposing Goods and Services Tax (GST) on sale of lotteries across India. The Court has held that keeping lottery and gambling under GST’s ambit is legally valid, upholding validity of tax imposition on lottery tickets and the prize money.

The Supreme Court Bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, R. Subhash Reddy, and M. R. Shah was disposing of a batch of pleas were filed by various lottery dealers who contended that the petitions filed by lottery dealers, including Skill Lotto Solutions Ltd., argued that the Central GST Act of 2017 and notifications wrongfully viewed lotteries as goods when lotteries are actionable claims. Therefore it was not correct for the GST Council to recommend imposition of tax on lottery tickets  they were mere valueless pieces of paper.

The petitioners, including Skill Lotto Solutions Ltd, had argued before the Apex Court that under the GST Act, rates prescribed on the sale of lottery tickets are 12% if the lotteries are sold within the same State, and 28% if a State sells the lottery tickets in other States, which is arbitrary, discriminatory, unreasonable and clearly violative of Articles 14 of the Constitution. It was therefore alleged that imposition of 12% GST on lotteries sold within the same State and 28% GST for sale of tickets from other States was discriminatory.

According to the petition, Section 2(52) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and notifications levying tax on lottery is violative of the fundamental rights and contrary to a judgment of Supreme Court in Sunrise Associates Vs. Government of NCT of Delhi of 2006, where it was held that lotteries could not be defined as goods and were merely actionable claims.

News Courtesy:PIB | Hindu| DC | LE | LI | LO | IE | LL | PTI |ht | ET | UNI | DNA | FP | Jurist |IndToday|

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