Sri Mant Kala Sanchar Sanskritik Dal Vs State of Bihar (Patna High Court)
Summary: The Patna High Court considered a writ petition filed by M/S Sri Mant Kala Sanchar Sanskritik Dal, a registered GST person engaged in conducting Nukkad Natak (street plays) for public awareness programmes primarily assigned by Government Departments. The petitioner challenged the Appellate Authority’s order dated 28.02.2026 in Appeal Case No. GST/PTC-2—2025-26 and the underlying demand dated 20.08.2025 raising tax, interest and penalty of Rs. 1,63,452/-.
The dispute arose for the financial year 2022-23. A notice had been issued against the petitioner under Section 73 of the CGST Act, 2017 on the basis of gross receipts of Rs. 4,98,100/- received from the District Public Relations Officer, Gaya. The Adjudicating Authority subsequently imposed a liability of tax, interest and penalty amounting to Rs. 1,63,452/- on 20.08.2025.
The petitioner thereafter filed an appeal under Section 107(1) of the CGST Act, 2017. The appeal was dismissed on 28.02.2026 because it was filed with a delay of 21 days. The petitioner, however, relied upon a subsequent memo issued by the Collectorate, Gaya, Memo No. 322 dated 28.11.2025. According to the petitioner, that communication stated that GST was not applicable to receipts against sale of tickets by a registered person engaged in the profession of Nukkad Natak and that Nukkad Natak teams comprising (4-6-8-10) members were exempted from the GST regime.
