ONGC gets GST Demand Notice of Rs.6.72 Crore over IGST Payment Discrepancies

The GST authorities have issued a tax demand of Rs 6.72 crore on India’s largest oil and gas producer, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC). According to the company’s exchange filing, the demand, which includes tax, interest, and penalties, is for the company’s IGST liabilities for specified months in 2017.

The tax authorities have issued an order under Section 74(9) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, citing the difference in the ONGC’s IGST payments for July, October, and November of 2017.

The total demand consists of-

• Aside from tax recovery, ONGC demanded Rs.1.64 crore in interest. The same charge under Section 50(1) of the CGST Act demonstrates the delay in paying the IGST amount.
• In addition, a tax penalty of Rs.2.54 crore has been levied under Section 122(2)(b) of the CGST Act, read in conjunction with Section 74.1. The same penalty specifies the severity of the claimed non-compliance.
• The main part of the demand is Rs.2.54 crore, which the authorities believe ONGC owes for the three months in question. The same amount was requested under Section 74(1) of the CGST Act, demonstrating the significant compliance challenges.

In its filing, the company stated that the GST payment was made on time. However, the delay in precise appeared due to technical challenges with the offshore GST registration (other territory), which was not initially mapped on the GST portal through the relevant authorities. Following that, the company stated that the delay has no effect on the scale of operations.