India’s GST Appellate Tribunal has allowed a GST refund claim by Singapore Airlines for cancelled flights after finding that the airline had returned both fares and goods and services tax to passengers.

Key Takeaways

  • The eight claims totalled ₹45,92,528 and covered October 2019 to March 2021.
  • The tribunal found sufficient evidence that passengers received their refunds and the tax burden had not been passed on.

Why the GST refund was allowed

Singapore Airlines cancelled flights during the COVID-19 pandemic and returned fares and GST to passengers. It could not, however, adjust the credit notes against its output tax. A GST joint commissioner rejected the refund claims, prompting the airline to appeal.

In its October 16, 2026 order, the tribunal’s Ernakulam bench set aside the earlier decision. It found that the airline was eligible to reclaim GST it had collected from passengers and paid to the tax department before refunding the full ticket amounts.

Passenger records were central to the case

The tribunal said the evidence showed that refunds reached the respective passengers directly and that there was no passing on of the tax incidence.

Rajat Mohan, managing partner at AMRG Global, said passenger-level records linking invoices, credit notes and refunds with settlement data helped show that no tax was retained. He cautioned that taxpayers unable to establish a similar documentation trail, especially for tickets sold through agents, should not assume the same outcome.

Next milestone

The tribunal directed the revenue department to process the airline’s claim within two weeks and make payment with interest.

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