Stay on action against OYO in fake booking, GST notice matter:

In a case involving alleged profits inflation through fraudulent resort reservations, a Rajasthan High Court single judge bench on Tuesday issued an interim stay on punitive action against Oravel Stays Limited, often known as OYO. As a result of the event, the resort operator received a GST notice for Rs 2.7 crore. While considering a plea submitted by the corporation, Justice Praveer Bhatnagar granted the stay and asked the other parties to respond within two weeks. In a FIR, Samskara Resort in Jaipur claimed that OYO had inflated its profits by displaying fictitious reservations of Rs 22.5 crore, which led to the resort receiving a GST notice. According to the FIR, OYO employed same strategies at several hotels and resorts throughout the state, which led to tax recovery notifications being issued to them. Senior attorneys for Oyo stated that Samskara Resort had previously appealed the GST department's tax recovery in the High Court, but the appeal had been denied. “The resort operators filed an FIR against OYO on April 9 to evade tax liability. OYO operates solely on commission basis and all booking payments go directly to hotels and resorts. Responsibility to pay tax on booking lies with respective hotel. To escape tax dues, baseless allegations are being levelled against OYO,” he said. Citation: CRL.M.PET. 2358/2025