ICICI Prudential Life has received a GST demand notice of Rs 492.06 crore from tax authorities. A central agency tasked with preventing the leakage of Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue has completed its probe into at least six of the 30 insurance firms it is investigating over alleged malpractices regarding commission payments to their agents. The central agency is now in the process of sending them show-cause notices, as per the ET report.
ICICI Prudential Life is one of the 30 to receive the notice for an alleged GST liability of nearly Rs 492 crore.
Sector 74 of the CGST Act allows the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) to issue a notice upon completion of a probe in cases where input tax credit (ITC) has been wrongfully availed. Multiple wings of DGGI are investigating these insurance firms over the alleged malpractices and suspected GST evasion in excess of Rs 5,500 crore.
The late evening filing said the insurer has received a show cause cum demand notice (SCN) from the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), asking the company to show cause as to why a tax of Rs 492,06,48,296 pertaining to the period July 2017 to July 2022 should not be demanded.
The company said it will take appropriate steps in due course to respond to the notice and contest the matter.
As per the insurer, it has deposited Rs 190 crore without accepting any liability in this regard.
Last week, HDFC Life Insurance Co also received a show-cause cum demand notice from GST authority over liabilities of Rs 942.18 crore for the period July 2017 to March 31,2022. HDFC Life said that the company will contest the matter; it has deposited Rs 250 crore with DGGI. HDFC Life told the stock exchange that the ITC case is an industry-wide issue, and that it will take ‘appropriate steps’ in due course.
