IIT-Delhi, Anna varsity told to cough up ~125.4-cr GST dues over research grants
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 18
The Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax (GST)-Intelligence has issued a show-cause notice to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, asking it to pay ~120 crore in GST, along with interest and penalties, on research grants received between 2017 and 2022.
A senior official from the IIT-Delhi confirmed that the institute had received the notice. It has been asked to respond to the notice within 30 days.
Notices slapped
- IIT-Delhi told to pay ~120 cr in GST along with interest and penalties for grants received from 2017-22
- Anna University-Chennai to pay ~5.4 crore in GST for research funding between 2017 and 2022
“The IIT-Delhi has received the notice. We have been given 30 days to respond to the notice. As of now, we have not responded to the notice. I cannot comment further on the issue,” the official said.
This year, the Industrial Research and Development wing at the IIT-Delhi sanctioned 299 research projects worth ~352.2 crore. Last year, the institute had published more than 4,000 research papers, according to an official at the premier institute.
There has been no official statement on the issues either by the IIT-Delhi or the Ministry of Education.
M Vidyasagar, senior professor at the IIT-Hyderabad, said: “When the GST was introduced, IITs paid 5 per cent tax on equipment. We prepared the budget of our grant proposals accordingly. One fine day, the GST Council decided to increase it from 5 per cent to 18 per cent. Naturally, there was no increase in research grants to cover this gap.”
Similarly, the Chennai zonal unit of the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Intelligence has issued a show-cause notice to Anna University to pay Rs 5.4 crore in GST for research funding acquired between 2017 and 2022. The Tamil Nadu Education Department will respond to the notice. “This will impede the research work,” said a senior official from the Tamil Nadu Higher Education Department.