M/S Sohan Singh Meet Singh and Sons v. Union of India and Others
Case brief
What is this about?
GST on royalty; mineral concession holder; mining concession granted by the State; Mineral Area Development Authority v. M/s Steel Authority of India, 2024 INSC 554 (nine-judge Bench); India Cement Ltd. v. State of Tamil Nadu, (1990) 1 SCC 12, overruled; Notification No.11/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017; Notification No. 1/2017 Central Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017; Himachal Pradesh Govt. Notifications No.11/2017 and No. 1/2017 dated 30.06.2017; Notification No.27/2018 dated 31.12.2018; notice dated 16.02.2024 (Annexure P-11); summon dated 15.03.2024 (Annexure P-15); certiorari refused; writ petition dismissed; CWP No. 3750 of 2024; Himachal Pradesh High Court.
What did the court decide?
Since the nine-judge Bench of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Mineral Area Development Authority v. M/s Steel Authority of India (2024 INSC 554) has held that royalty is not a tax (thereby overruling the seven-judge holding in India Cement Ltd. that royalty itself is a tax), the respondents are well within their rights to levy GST on the royalty paid by the mineral concession holder for any mining concession granted by the State.