Laureate Buildwell "Parx Laureate": GSTAT Accepts Supplementary DGAP Report — Net Profiteering Rs. 14.94 Lakh to 25 Buyers, Interest From 01.07.2017, Penalty for Post-January 2020 Period

The GST Appellate Tribunal (Principal Bench) has accepted the DGAP's supplementary investigation report — submitted following remand — and confirmed anti-profiteering liability against Laureate Buildwell Private Limited in respect of its "Parx Laureate" residential project in Sector 108, Noida, directing the developer to pass on a net unpassed ITC benefit of Rs. 14,94,622 to 25 eligible buyers, with interest at 18% from 01.07.2017 and penalty under Section 171(3A) for the period from 01.01.2020. The judgment, by President Justice (Retd.) Dr. Sanjaya Kumar Mishra and Technical Member Anil Kumar Gupta in NAPA/134/PB/2025 (decided 17.08.2026), brings closure to a case remanded for reinvestigation after the respondent placed on record material establishing that it had passed on substantial ITC benefits through documented buyer discounts.

The procedural history matters for understanding the figures. The DGAP's original report (December 2024) computed total profiteering at Rs. 25.52 crore but noted that the respondent had already passed on Rs. 40.69 crore in ITC benefits, yielding a net deficit of Rs. 5.95 crore still owed to certain buyers. The respondent contested the methodology and submitted evidence of buyer-wise discounts of 7% on basic sale price, labelled on its invoices as "Discount u/s 171(1) of the CGST Act, 2017." The Tribunal in May 2026 remanded under Rule 133(4) for reinvestigation taking this material into account. The DGAP's supplementary report (July 2026) recalibrated the figures after accounting for the respondent's material, revised ITC computations and cost escalation data. The outcome was a significantly reduced net profiteering figure: 25 buyers remained to whom ITC benefit had not been fully passed on, with a total shortfall of Rs. 14,94,622 inclusive of 12% GST. The respondent accepted the revised figures.

Three aspects of the Tribunal's consequential directions deserve particular attention. On interest, the Tribunal directed payment at 18% per annum from 01.07.2017 — the date the CGST Act came into force — rejecting the respondent's argument that interest should run from a later date such as the date of final payment by each customer or the date of the Completion Certificate. The obligation to pass on ITC benefit arose from 01.07.2017 and the interest clock runs from when that obligation was first breached, not from when the developer chose to settle accounts with each buyer. On penalty, Section 171(3A) — which inserted a 10% penalty on profiteered amounts — came into force on 01.01.2020. Since the period of contravention in this case extends through 31.10.2020, the post-January 2020 portion of the profiteering attracts the penalty provision. However, the statutory proviso applies: no penalty is leviable if the profiteered amount is deposited within 30 days of this order. On the original complainant Manoj Kumar Pawa — from whom the respondent claims outstanding consideration in a pending consumer forum dispute — the Tribunal rejected the respondent's request to credit the ITC benefit against amounts receivable from him. The ITC benefit owed to Pawa must be paid in full as a free-standing obligation under Section 171; its offset against any outstanding consideration is a matter for the consumer forum, not the anti-profiteering framework.

- 2026-juristway.com-2241-GSTAT(New Delhi)-GST  |  GST Appellate Tribunal (Principal Bench) | NAPA/134/PB/2025  |  17.08.2026