GST on mining royalty upheld after royalty was held not to be a tax, and challenge to notices failed.

GST can validly be levied on royalty paid by a mineral concession holder for a mining concession because royalty is not a tax, following the later Constitution Bench position. On that binding legal basis, the challenge to the levy failed and the impugned notices were found to disclose no legal infirmity. The notices demanding GST were therefore sustained, and the petition was dismissed, with each party bearing its own costs.

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Issues: Whether GST can be levied on royalty paid by a mineral concession holder for a mining concession granted by the State, and whether the notices demanding such tax were liable to be quashed.

Analysis: The challenge rested on the earlier view that royalty was a tax. That basis no longer survived after the later Constitution Bench ruling which held that royalty is not a tax. In view of that binding position, the levy of GST on royalty was held to be within the respondents' authority, and the impugned notices were not shown to suffer from any legal infirmity.

Conclusion: The levy of GST on royalty was upheld, and the challenge to the notices failed.

Final Conclusion: The petition was dismissed and the impugned notices were sustained, with the parties left to bear their own costs.

Ratio Decidendi: Royalty paid for a mining concession is not a tax, and GST can validly be levied on such royalty.

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