GST exemption cannot be carried over from earlier tax laws without statutory basis; prior practice cannot override the statute.

Under the GST regime, exemption or zero-rated treatment cannot be claimed merely because similar relief existed under earlier tax statutes. The GST law contained no exemption for the petitioner's products, and prior exemption practice could not be carried forward without a statutory basis. The principle that there can be no estoppel against a statute was applied, so earlier administrative or tax practice could not defeat the operation of the GST charging provisions. The exemption claim was rejected and the assessment was sustained, leaving recourse to the statutory appellate remedy.

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Issues: Whether the petitioner was entitled to exemption or zero-rated treatment under the Goods and Services Tax regime on the basis of exemptions available under earlier tax statutes.

Analysis: The petitioner's claim for exemption rested on the position prevailing under the pre-GST regime. The GST law was found to contain no exemption or zero-rated treatment for the petitioner's products, and the earlier exemptions could not be carried forward in the absence of a statutory basis. It was also held that there can be no estoppel against a statute, and therefore the applicability of the taxing provisions could not be defeated by reference to prior exemption practice.

Conclusion: The claim for exemption was rejected and the assessment was sustained, leaving the petitioner to pursue the statutory appellate remedy.

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