Services provided do not qualify as intermediary services, thus no GST liability applies as per established legal definitions.

ORDER :

1. In this petition the petitioner seeks for the following reliefs:

a) Issue a writ in the nature of Certiorari or any other appropriate writ or order or direction quashing the impugned Show Cause Notice No.54/2025-26 dated 25.06.2025 passed by Respondent No.1 at Annexure-A.

b) Hold that the support services provided by the Petitioner to KCS are not in the nature of 'intermediary' under Section 2(13) of the IGST Act.

c) Hold that the support services provided by the Petitioner to KCS qualifies as 'export of service' under Section 2(6) of the IGST Act.

d) Hold that the invocation of Section 74 of the CGST Act in the present facts and circumstances is factually and legally unsustainable.

e) Hold that the impugned consolidated show cause notice issued for multiple assessment years is bad in law;

f) Pass such further order(s) and other reliefs as the nature and circumstances of the case may require.

2. Learned counsel for the petitioner would reiterate the various contentions urged in the petition and on instruction submits that though the impugned show cause notice was issued by the respondent pursuant to audit objection/observation in relation to 16 issues, the challenge in the present petition may be restricted to audit objection/observation No.15 i.e., non payment of GST on intermediary services provided to M/s.Kimberly Clark Services, US incorporated which was the recipient of the services and in the light of the following judgments:

(a) M/s. Athene Technologies India LLP vs. State of Karnataka, 2025 (6) TMI 88 Karnataka High Court

(b) Nokia Solution & Networks India Pvt. Ltd. vs. Pr. Commissioner of Central Tax, 2025-VIL-415-KAR

(c) M/s. Columbia Sportswear India Sourcing Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India & others, 2025 (5) TMI 2139 Karnataka High Court

(d) Amazon Development Centre India Pvt. Ltd. vs. Addl. Commissioner of Central Tax, 2025-VIL-409-KAR

And followed in M/s. Wind River Systems International Inc., it is submitted that insofar as the remaining 15 audit objections/observations are concerned, the petitioner would submit a reply along with documents and the respondents may be directed to consider the same and proceed further in accordance with law.

3. The 16 audit objections/observations are here as under:

4. Per control learned counsel for the respondents would reiterate the various contentions urged in the statement of objections and submit that even insofar as audit objection/observation No.15 is concerned, the petitioner is an intermediary and therefore, would be liable to pay GST and as such there is no merit in the petition even in relation to the said audit objection No.15 and the same is liable to be dismissed.

5. As rightly contented by the learned counsel for the petitioner, out of total 15 audit objections/observations contained in the impugned show cause notice, audit observation No.15 which is found in paragraph 17 of the impugned show cause notice relates to non payment of GST on intermediary services that is business support services to foreign customers. The said issue is directly and squarely covered by the aforesaid judgments, wherein this Court has come to the conclusion that under identical circumstances petitioner is not an intermediary and would not be liable to pay GST as demanded by the respondents towards intermediary services since there is no supply of intermediary services and petitioner is involved in export of services.

6. The aforesaid judgment of this Court in M/s. Columbia Sportswear India Sourcing Pvt. Ltd. vs. Union of India & others in W.P. No. 12116/2024 dated 26.04.2025, were reiterated in M/s.Wind River Systems International Inc reads as follows:

5. A perusal of the material on record will indicate that under identical circumstances in the case of M/s. Columbia Sportsw