The High Court of Karnataka has ruled that the $21,000 crore tax notice against an online gaming corporation would be nullified if it can be demonstrated that the games are the same ones that have already been deemed “games of skill” by the courts.
The firm has filed a high court appeal in response to the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Intelligence’s intimation notice of 21,000 crores over the Karnataka-based online gaming platform Gameskraft.
The notification from September 8 attempted to levy a 28% GST on the business’s transactions. In its brief on Thursday, the corporation contended that the platform only holds “games of skill” and not “games of chance” before the high court panel of Justice SR Krishna Kumar.
Rummy made up 96% of the games played on the internet platform, and it has been deemed a “game of skill” by various high courts and the Supreme Court. On behalf of the business, senior counsel Abishek Manu Singhvi submitted the arguments.
He also argued that the court had already declared the games available on the platform “games of skill” in a dispute involving the All India Gaming Federation and the State of Karnataka. The site was also claimed to have already paid 1,500 crores in taxes.
On Thursday, experienced attorneys Mukul Rohtagi and Arvind Datar appeared on behalf of the case’s intervenors. A federation of online gaming applications denied an intervenor application.
The Deputy Solicitor General said that the notice has a thorough justification for it when the question of whether tax officials are qualified to decide on the type of games played was raised to him. The site is allegedly utilized for gambling, according to GST intelligence.
The notification issued by the GST Intelligence had already received a stay from the high court on September 23. On Friday, the hearing will go on.
