The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has slapped Rs 4.52 crore on the Guruvayur Devaswom Board for alleged tax evasion. The Devaswom Board has been asked to pay Rs 4,52,77,597 tax for services rendered between July 2017 and March 2023 along with 18% interest.

The tax demand notice on one of the largest Hindu religious trusts in Kerala is for non-payment and underpayment of GST on various services and transactions over a six-year period.

The DGGI notice has highlighted certain services the Devaswom Board charges for—such as helicopter landing fees, vehicle hire charges, renting immovable properties to banks, and advertising fees for ads published in magazines, books, diaries, and panchangams —are liable to be taxed.

The Devaswom Board has contested the GST demands and claimed exemption from taxation under Section 23BBA of the Income Tax Act, 1961, citing its status as an approved institution administering religious trusts.

“Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee is recognised as an approved institution under Section 23BBA of the Income Tax Act, 1961. As a result, the income generated by the Guruvayoor Devaswom Managing Committee is entirely exempt from taxation, and such entities are not required to file income returns under Section 139 of the Act,” the Board responded to DGGI notice.

In the past DGGI had sent similar tax demand notices to Sree Padmanabhaswamy Temple and the Sabarimala Temple.

According to the DGGI notice to Guruvayur Devaswom Board, the tax intelligence probe found discrepancies in GST compliance across several revenue streams, including parking fees, auditoriums, commercial spaces, cloakrooms, footwear counters, applications, and tender forms, gold and silver the various temples received from devotees.

The Guruvayur Devaswom Board, established under the Guruvayur Devaswom Act of 1978, manages 11 temples in Kerala, including the renowned Sree Krishna Temple has Rs 2,053 crore in fixed deposits, 271 acres of land and 1,084.76 kilograms of gold. The temple gets Rs 7 crore interest annually for 869 kgs gold deposited with the State Bank of India, Kochi.

Earlier in March, the Income Tax (IT) department had inspected Devaswom Board offices and records alleging the the Board of not conducting any statutory audit from the financial year 2018-19 and not preparing any consolidated annual receipts and expenditure statements.