HC Directs Refund as No Invoice Raised for Secondment Services

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  • Last Updated on 13 June, 2025

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secondment import of service

Case Details: Thales India (P.) Ltd. vs. Assistant Commissioner of CGST, Delhi - [2025] 175 taxmann.com 118 (Delhi)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

  • Pratibha M. Singh & Rajneesh Kumar Gupta, JJ.
  • Sunil Dalal, Sr. Adv., Jitin Singhal, Pravesh Bahuguna & Jatin Gaur, Advs. for the Petitioner.
  • Ms Samiksha Godiyal, SSC, B. D. Rao Kundan & Tenzing Bhutia, Advs. for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

The petitioner availed manpower support from an overseas group entity through secondment of employees. No invoice was raised for the said services. Secondment refers to the temporary assignment of employees by a foreign affiliate to work under the control and supervision of the Indian entity. The petitioner had earlier filed a writ petition challenging show cause notices alleging that, as the effective employer remained the overseas entity, the services rendered fell within the scope of ‘import of service’ under Section 5(3) of the IGST Act and constituted a taxable supply under Section 7 of the CGST Act. The Delhi High Court, relying on its own earlier decision in Metal One Corporation India (P.) Ltd. v. Union of India [2024] 168 taxmann.com 20 (Delhi) , held that in the absence of any invoice raised, the value of such services would be ‘deemed’ declared as nil in terms of the second Proviso to Rule 28 of the CGST Rules.

Consequently, the proceedings initiated through the impugned show cause notices were quashed. The petitioner subsequently filed a refund application, which was rejected by the jurisdictional officer under CGST on two grounds: first, that the Metal One judgment had not been accepted by the competent authority; and second, that no employer-employee relationship existed between the petitioner and the seconded employees. The matter was accordingly placed before the Delhi High Court.

High Court Held

The Delhi High Court held that since the earlier judgments, both in the petitioner’s own case and in Metal One Corporation (supra), had not been challenged by the Department of Revenue, the legal position attained finality. Accordingly, it directed that the refund claim under Section 54 of the CGST and Delhi GST Act be processed and credited to the petitioner within two months.

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Author: Taxmann

Taxmann Publications has a dedicated in-house Research & Editorial Team. This team consists of a team of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Lawyers. This team works under the guidance and supervision of editor-in-chief Mr Rakesh Bhargava.

The Research and Editorial Team is responsible for developing reliable and accurate content for the readers. The team follows the six-sigma approach to achieve the benchmark of zero error in its publications and research platforms. The team ensures that the following publication guidelines are thoroughly followed while developing the content:

  • The statutory material is obtained only from the authorized and reliable sources
  • All the latest developments in the judicial and legislative fields are covered
  • Prepare the analytical write-ups on current, controversial, and important issues to help the readers to understand the concept and its implications
  • Every content published by Taxmann is complete, accurate and lucid
  • All evidence-based statements are supported with proper reference to Section, Circular No., Notification No. or citations
  • The golden rules of grammar, style and consistency are thoroughly followed
  • Font and size that's easy to read and remain consistent across all imprint and digital publications are applied