GSTAT Principal Bench Directs Payment of Profiteered Amount with Interest to Home-Buyers Under Rule 133(3)(b) of CGST Rules

In a significant order dated 23 March 2026, the Principal Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT), New Delhi, presided over by Justice Mayank Kumar Jain, accepted the report of the Director General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP) and directed the respondent, Duville Estates Pvt. Ltd., to pay the profiteered amount to eligible home-buyers in accordance with the CGST Rules.

The proceedings arose from an investigation by the DGAP into allegations of profiteering by the respondent under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The DGAP’s report, dated 18 December 2024, calculated the total profiteered amount as Rs. 17,75,622. During the hearing, the DGAP’s authorised representative informed the Tribunal that efforts had been made to contact all 109 home-buyers to verify whether they had received the benefit of Input Tax Credit (ITC) as required. Of these, only 34 home-buyers confirmed receipt of the ITC benefit, corresponding to an amount of Rs. 4,99,539. Two home-buyers had already sold their properties, and 40 others had not responded despite repeated attempts by the DGAP.

The respondent, through its Chartered Accountant, submitted that in order to bring the litigation to an end, it was willing to accept the findings and report of the DGAP. The Tribunal, taking note of this submission and the details provided in the DGAP’s report, formally accepted the report and directed the respondent to pay the entire profiteered amount of Rs. 17,75,622, along with applicable interest, to the eligible home-buyers as identified in Annexure 21 of the DGAP’s report. This direction was issued in accordance with Rule 133(3)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Rules, 2017, which empowers the authority to order the return of profiteered amounts with interest to affected recipients.

The Tribunal further ordered that a copy of its order be communicated to the jurisdictional CGST/SGST Commissioner for necessary follow-up action. With these directions, the proceedings were declared closed.

This order reinforces the statutory mandate under the CGST Rules to ensure that benefits arising from tax credits are duly passed on to consumers, and that any profiteered amounts are returned with interest to those eligible.