GST authority upholds ₹173.9 crore tax demand against Maruti Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki India in a regulatory filing has said that the GST authority has upheld the tax demand of ₹173.9 crore along with a penalty of ₹17.4 crore against its arm Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMGPL). The auto manufacturer also said in the regulatory filing that it will now move the first appellate authority to challenge the order.

The largest passenger vehicle manufacturer in India previously said in a regulatory filing that it received an adjudication order in late September 2023 from the Gujarat GST Department for the period ranging from July 2017 to August 2022. Now, the car manufacturer has said that the Gujarat GST authority upheld the demand of ₹173.9 crore along with a penalty of ₹17.4 crore related to tax liability under a reverse charge basis on certain services.

Maruti Suzuki, in its regulatory filing further added that its arm Suzuki Motor Gujarat Pvt Ltd (SMGPL) had already paid the tax amount of ₹173.9 crore before the issuance of show cause notice by the GST authority. The automaker further said that it would file an appeal against the order to the first appellate authority. The company also claimed that this order will have no major impact on its financial, operational or other activities.

Besides the adjudication order from the GST authority in September last year, almost immediately after that, the automobile manufacturer also received a ₹2,159.7 crore income tax draft assessment order in early October. In a regulatory filing, the car manufacturer said that it had received a draft assessment order on October 3 from the Income Tax Authority for the financial year 2019-2020. The regulatory filing had also revealed that according to the order, certain additions or disallowances amounting to ₹2,159.7 crore with respect to returned income had been proposed.