Supreme Court Stays GST Assessment Order Treating JDA As ‘Supply’, Issues Notice to Centre [Read Judgaement]
The Supreme Court stayed a CGST assessment order treating a Joint Development Agreement as a taxable supply and issued notice to the Union of India in the Arham Infra Developers case.
![Supreme Court Stays GST Assessment Order Treating JDA As ‘Supply’, Issues Notice to Centre [Read Judgaement]](https://images.taxscan.in/h-upload/2025/10/27/2100254-supreme-court-of-india-gst-case-taxscan.webp "Supreme Court Stays GST Assessment Order Treating JDA As ‘Supply’, Issues Notice to Centre [Read Judgaement]")
In a recent order, the Supreme Court of India stayed the operation of a Central GST assessment order that treated a Joint Development Agreement (JDA) between a developer and a landowner as a taxable “supply.” The Court also issued notice to the Union of India to respond within four weeks.
The case arose from a special leave petition filed by Arham Infra Developers AOP challenging the Bombay High Court’s judgment. The High Court had dismissed the petitioner’s plea against an assessment order passed by the Assistant Commissioner, CGST and Central Excise while granting liberty to file an appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, 2017.
Before the High Court, the petitioner had questioned the taxability of the Joint Development Agreement, arguing that no supply occurred between the landowner and the developer that could attract GST.
GST READY RECKONER: Complete Topic wise Circulars, Instructions & Guidelines Click here
The Bombay High Court observed that the petitioners had incorrectly claimed that no alternative remedy was available. The court explained that determining whether a JDA amounted to a taxable supply required examining the specific clauses and factual circumstances of each agreement. It pointed out that such an exercise was best suited for the appellate authority and not for a writ court. The High Court dismissed the petitions
Challenging this decision, the petitioner approached the Supreme Court. The matter came up before the Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice R. Mahadevan on 13 October 2025. After hearing senior advocate Vinay Navare for the petitioner, the Supreme Court issued notice to the respondents, returnable in four weeks, and stayed the operation of the Assistant Commissioner’s order dated 27 January 2025.
Clear all Your Doubts on RCM, TCS, GTA, OIDAR, SEZ, ISD Etc... Click Here
By granting interim relief, the Supreme Court effectively protected the developer from recovery or enforcement of the GST demand while the case remains under consideration. The petition raises an important question on whether Joint Development Agreements between developers and landowners constitute a taxable “supply” under the CGST Act.
The case will be listed for further hearing after the Union of India files its response to the notice issued by the Court.
Support our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
