Voucher Transactions and GST: commission is taxable as service while voucher sale is not supply; matter remitted for fresh hearing.

Treatment of voucher transactions under GST is clarified: vouchers are instruments creating an obligation, not supplies themselves, and the taxable event is the supply of underlying goods or services; where intermediaries deal in vouchers on principal agent lines, only commission or fees paid to them constitute taxable services. The impugned order that treated voucher sale/purchase as supply and taxed the petitioner's entire turnover was found unsustainable prima facie; the matter was remitted for de novo reconsideration after hearing, noting also a statutory amendment affecting time of supply treatment of vouchers.

---

---

Issues: Whether the Order-in-Original dated 26 December 2023 confirming a demand of Rs. 12,66,19,880/- under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017 (read with corresponding provisions) against the petitioner in respect of transactions in vouchers is sustainable.

Analysis: The Court examined the statutory definition of "voucher" (Section 2(118) of the CGST Act, 2017) and the definition of "money" (Section 2(75) of the CGST Act, 2017), and considered relevant authority and administrative clarification. The Board's Circular No. 243/37/2024-GST dated 31.12.2024 was relied on to clarify that transactions in vouchers themselves are instruments creating an obligation to accept them as consideration or part consideration and, therefore, transactions in vouchers are not themselves supplies of goods or services; rather the supply of the underlying goods or services for which vouchers are used as consideration may be taxable. The Court noted paragraph 4.3 of the circular which treats distributors/sub-distributors/agents as acting on a principal-agent basis and makes commission/fee payable to such agents taxable as services. The impugned order treated voucher sale/purchase as within the scope of supply under Section 7 of the CGST Act, 2017 and confirmed tax demand on the petitioner's entire turnover. The Court found that, prima facie, where the petitioner receives commission/fees in dealing with vouchers, only such commission/fees would be liable to GST and not the entire turnover. The Court also noted the subsequent legislative change by deletion of sub-section (4) of Section 12 of the CGST Act, 2017 by the Finance Act, 2025 (notified 17.09.2025), affecting the time of supply treatment of vouchers. In view of these considerations, the Court held that the specific portion of the impugned order confirming the stated demand requires fresh examination by respondent no. 2 after affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing.

Conclusion: The portion of the Order-in-Original dated 26 December 2023 confirming the demand of Rs. 12,66,19,880/- under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017 is quashed and set aside and remitted to respondent no. 2 for de novo consideration in accordance with law after granting the petitioner an opportunity of hearing; the petition is disposed of accordingly (favouring the assessee on this issue).

---