ICICI Lombard has been served with a show cause notice by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) regarding a tax liability of over Rs 1,728 crore. The notice, received on 27 September, pertains to the non-payment of GST on co-insurance premiums related to coinsurance transactions and the non-payment of GST on reinsurance commissions for premiums ceded to various Indian and foreign reinsurance companies between July 2017 and March 2022, as stated in a company filing.
The DGGI's notice demands ICICI Lombard to provide reasons why the GST amounting to over Rs 1,728 crore should not be levied and collected under Section 73(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Additionally, it seeks interest under Section 50 of the Act and penalties under Section 73(1) of the CGST Act, 2017.
ICICI Lombard has indicated that it will respond to the show cause notice within the specified timelines, seeking guidance from its advisors.
This development follows a previous notice in August, where ICICI Lombard faced a DGGI inquiry over non-payment of Rs 273.22 crore in taxes. The issue primarily revolved around the applicability of GST on salvage adjustments and ineligible Input Tax Credit related to motor claims settlements. The company had then deposited an amount of Rs 104,13,18,970 under protest, without admitting any liability.
Furthermore, in July, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company also received a notice from the DGGI for non-payment of taxes amounting to Rs 492.06 crore over a five-year period from July 2017 to July 2022.