The Hon’ble Gujarat High Court has pronounced the much-awaited decision on levy of GST on assignment of leasehold rights in land and building in the case of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors. vide Order dated 3 January 2025. In the said judgment, the High Court has held that the transfer of leasehold rights in a GIDC land by lessee-assignor to assignee qualifies as transfer of an immovable property being a ‘benefit arising out of an immovable property’ thereby treating it as sale of immovable property. The High Court in conclusion held that the said transaction would not qualify as ‘supply of service’ under Section 7(1) read with Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017.
Further, the court also noted the legislative intent for introduction of GST was to subsume the existing indirect taxes, like service tax, under GST. Since service tax was not levied on transfer of immovable property, the Court held that the same principle should also continue even under the GST regime.
Keeping in mind the above, Lakshmikumaran & Sridharan Attorneys (LKS) is organising a virtual webinar on 16 January 2025 from 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM, with the aim to dissect the judgement in a simplistic manner and discuss the course of action to be adopted for past positions taken as well as for future transactions.
The webinar will inter-alia cover the following:
- A brief background on the prevailing issue of assignment of leasehold rights in the land and building.
- In-depth analysis of the judgment and understanding the key legal principles laid down by the Court.
- Industry-vide impact of the judgment.
- Course of action to be adopted for past positions taken as well as for future transactions.
The panel of speakers will be led by -
Mr. V. Sridharan,
Co-Founder, LKS and Senior Advocate, Bombay High Court