Frozen Chicken from Other States being Sold at 0% GST Bill instead of 5%: Kerala HC directs to Investigate Evasion

This Taxscan report covers a Kerala High Court direction to the State GST department to investigate alleged large-scale tax evasion in the trade of packed frozen chicken supplied from other states and billed at 0% GST despite the applicable rate being 5%. The petitioning dealer argued that the practice distorts competition and deprives the State exchequer; documents and invoices produced in court showed frozen-chicken consignments carrying 0% GST. The State acknowledged receipt of the complaint, said preliminary enquiries were conducted and referred certain aspects to the Enforcement Deputy Commissioner and Intelligence units for focused probing. The High Court disposed of the writ with directions that authorities must take effective steps to curb evasion and ensure that compliant dealers are not disadvantaged, signalling judicial impatience with regulatory inaction on systemic invoicing irregularities.