Government Unlikely to Offer Relief to IT Giant Infosys in Rs 32000 crore GST Case

The global IT giant Infosys is unlikely to escape Rs. 32,000 crore goods and services tax, as the Indian government is not considering any tax relief as per the Reuters report.  

The company had a meeting with the Indian Income Tax department and consequently, has sought ten days to submit its reply as per the report.  

The tax authorities had sent a tax demand of nearly Rs. 32,000 crore for the services received by Infosys from its overseas branches for five years between 2017-2022.   

Earlier this month the company said in a filing on BSE, “The Company has now received a communication from DGGI closing the pre-show cause notice proceedings for the financial year 2017-2018. The GST amount as per the pre-show cause notice for this period was Rs. 3,898 crores.”  

Infosys said it is adhering to central and state regulations and has paid its dues. Recently, the Karnataka government withdrew Rs 32,000 crore tax evasion notice served by it to Infosys. “If the company is probed both by the state and the central GST departments, an issue of double jeopardy could be raised by the company,” said a senior official in a (an) ET report while commenting on the withdrawal of the notice. 

The tax notice served to the IT giant met with criticism from industry. NASSCOM said that the GST notice shows lack of understanding of the IT industry by the enforcement authorities. 

The company had a good start for the financial year 2024-25 in the Q1 results. Its revenue went up by 3.64 per cent and a profit of 7.12 per cent. The giant performed well in the D-street where its Earnings Per share (EPS) for Q1 stood at Rs 15.35 showing a 5.78 per cent increase year-on-year basis.  

The operating income reflected an increase of 8.75 per cent on quarter-to-quarter basis and 5.03 per cent year-on-year. Compared to the results of the previous quarter, the revenue grew by 3.67 per cent. However, the profit decreased by 20.09 per cent compared to the same period. 

At 4:05 pm, the shares of Infosys were trading at Rs 1,756 price level, up nearly 0.23 per cent on the National Stock Exchange.