Maruti Suzuki Receives GST Order from West Bengal Authorities

Maruti Suzuki India Limited (MSIL) has received an adjudication order from the West Bengal GST Authority, demanding ₹2.44 million including tax, interest and penalty related to the availment of GST credit for the period April 2018 to March 2023.

The country's largest carmaker disclosed the order under Regulation 30 of the SEBI Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements Regulations, 2015. The total demand includes a tax amount of ₹0.02 million, interest of ₹1.22 million and penalty of ₹1.2 million in connection with GST credit availment issues.

Maruti Suzuki has stated that there is no major impact on the financial, operational or other activities of the company due to this order. The company has announced its intention to file an appeal against the order to the first appellate authority.

This is not the first instance of Maruti Suzuki receiving GST-related intimations from tax authorities. In August 2024, the company received an adjudication order from Karnataka GST Authority, which was actually a favourable order dropping an earlier show cause notice. The Karnataka order was issued for the same period of April 2018 to March 2023. 

Other major automotive manufacturers have also faced similar GST-related scrutiny from tax departments. Hyundai Motor India has received multiple GST demands, including a substantial ₹517.34 crore demand from Tamil Nadu GST authorities in July 2024 for allegedly underpaying GST compensation cess on certain SUV models sold between September 2017 and March 2020. The company also received a show cause notice from Maharashtra State Tax Authority in November 2024, demanding ₹2.741 crore in taxes and ₹2.279 crore in interest for alleged excess input tax credit claims for FY 2020-21.  

Mahindra Group companies have similarly faced GST issues. Mahindra Logistics received multiple penalty orders in April 2024 from authorities in Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana and Haryana, totalling over ₹6 lakh in penalties for alleged excess input tax credit claims for the period April 2018 to March 2019. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services was also issued a penalty of ₹40,000 by Rajasthan GST authorities in April 2024 for allegedly wrong availment of GST input tax credit. 

The automotive industry has been under increased scrutiny from GST authorities, particularly regarding input tax credit claims and compensation cess payments. These cases highlight ongoing compliance challenges faced by automotive manufacturers in navigating the complex GST framework.

Despite these regulatory challenges, the automotive sector has benefited significantly from recent GST reforms. The implementation of GST 2.0 from September 2025 has reduced tax rates on small cars from 28% plus cess to 18%, leading to increased demand and record sales figures across the industry.