Skyways Air Services Limited takes ₹36.5035 crore appeals to tribunal

Skyways Air Services Limited has taken six indirect-tax appeals involving ₹36.5035 crore to the Appellate Tribunal after all six were decided against it by the Appellate Authority. Skyways Air Services disclosed required cumulative pre-deposits of ₹4.2272 crore, while its nine quantified company tax cases total ₹37.5249 crore, including ₹1.0214 crore of direct-tax matters.

What is Skyways Air Services' ₹36.5035 crore tax-dispute exposure?

Skyways Air Services reported nine company-level tax proceedings with quantifiable and ascertainable amounts totalling ₹37.5249 crore. Indirect-tax proceedings account for six cases and ₹36.5035 crore, while direct-tax proceedings account for three cases and ₹1.0214 crore. The disclosure presents stated disputed amounts rather than a tribunal outcome or final settlement amount.

Indirect tax represents approximately 97.3% of Skyways Air Services' quantified company tax amount, calculated from ₹36.5035 crore out of ₹37.5249 crore. The six indirect-tax matters also represent two-thirds of the nine company proceedings by case count. This concentration means the disclosed company-level tax amount is principally linked to the progression and outcome of the six indirect-tax appeals.

How did the six Skyways Air Services appeals reach the tribunal?

Skyways Air Services first filed appeals in six individual indirect-tax matters before the Appellate Authority, and each of those six appeals was decided against the company. The company subsequently filed appeals before the Appellate Tribunal. The ₹36.5035 crore amount is the collective disputed demand for those six tribunal appeals, according to the tax-proceedings disclosure.

Skyways Air Services has made cumulative pre-deposits of ₹4.2272 crore for admission and further proceedings in the six appeals, as required under applicable legal provisions. The deposit equals approximately 11.6% of the disclosed ₹36.5035 crore disputed demand. The supplied disclosure does not state an Appellate Tribunal decision, hearing date or resolution date for the six matters.

What is included in Skyways Air Services' direct-tax cases?

Skyways Air Services disclosed three direct-tax cases amounting to ₹1.0214 crore, including a ₹95.93 lakh demand for assessment year, or AY, 2018-19. That demand arose from an order under Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and Skyways Air Services has filed an appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), or CIT(A).

The relevant authority adjusted the ₹95.93 lakh demand against a refund for AY 2020-21, according to the disclosure. No further order had been issued in that CIT(A) matter when the prospectus information was prepared. The disclosed direct-tax amount therefore differs from the ₹36.5035 crore indirect-tax disputes in both scale and procedural position: the direct-tax case is before CIT(A), while the six indirect-tax cases have progressed to the Appellate Tribunal.

How do Skyways Air Services disputes compare with subsidiary tax matters?

Skyways Air Services' subsidiaries reported 29 tax cases with quantified amounts of ₹6.4072 crore, compared with nine company cases amounting to ₹37.5249 crore. Subsidiary indirect-tax proceedings comprise 10 cases and ₹6.3809 crore, while subsidiary direct-tax proceedings comprise 19 cases and ₹2.64 lakh. The company's six indirect-tax appeals alone exceed the subsidiaries' total quantified tax amount by ₹30.0963 crore.

The subsidiary totals include cases in which no demand has yet been quantified. Odyssey Logistics Private Limited received a transfer-pricing notice under Section 92CA(2) for AY 2024-25 and assessment notices under Section 143(3) for AY 2024-25 and AY 2025-26. Rahat Continental Private Limited received a draft assessment order under Section 144C for AY 2023-24, while SurgePort Logistics Private Limited and Forin Container Line Private Limited have audit proceedings without quantified demands.

Which subsidiary tax matters have reached an appeal stage?

Odyssey Logistics Private Limited has three indirect-tax cases included in the subsidiary disclosures. In one matter, Odyssey Logistics filed an appeal against a demand, including penalty, of ₹3.0738 crore and made a pre-deposit of ₹13.84 lakh. This is a separate subsidiary appeal and is not included in Skyways Air Services' ₹4.2272 crore pre-deposit for the six company indirect-tax appeals.

Rahat Continental made a separate pre-deposit of ₹1.14 lakh in one disclosed matter. Rahat Continental also received a summons notice under Section 70 of the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, for financial years 2022-23 to 2024-25, but no demand had been raised. Odyssey Logistics also received an ASMT-10 notice dated May 25, 2021, for FY 2020-21 seeking an explanation of discrepancies.

Conclusion

Skyways Air Services' tax litigation is concentrated in six indirect-tax appeals carrying a stated disputed demand of ₹36.5035 crore, or approximately 97.3% of its ₹37.5249 crore quantified company tax proceedings. The six matters moved beyond the Appellate Authority after adverse decisions and required ₹4.2272 crore of pre-deposits for tribunal proceedings.

The next disclosed developments to watch are decisions from the Appellate Tribunal in the six indirect-tax appeals and any further order in the CIT(A) appeal on the ₹95.93 lakh AY 2018-19 direct-tax demand. The prospectus also identifies currently unquantified subsidiary proceedings, including audit matters and notices for AY 2024-25 and AY 2025-26, which could result in quantified demands.