How to Check a Company's GST and Tax Litigation (2026)
How to check a company's GST and tax litigation exposure in India: where demands and appeals show under GST and income tax, the forums from the appellate authority to the tribunals and High Courts, and how to read a large or repeated demand. Last verified October 2026.
ClawScore · GST and Tax Litigation
Tax litigation is one of the most common forms of exposure a company carries, and one of the easiest to underestimate. A large or repeated GST demand, or a string of income-tax appeals, tells you about a company's cash, its compliance habits, and a liability that may crystallise later. Checking it in India means understanding that tax disputes run through their own ladder of forums, from the demand notice to the appellate authority, the tribunals, and the High Courts, rather than through the ordinary civil courts. This guide explains where GST and income-tax matters show and how to read them. Last verified October 2026.
- Tax runs on its own ladder: GST demands (Section 73 or 74), first appeal (Section 107), the GST Appellate Tribunal, and the High Courts; income tax via CIT(A), the ITAT, then the courts.
- Check both layers: the GST portal for status, and the ITAT and court records for appeals, since early disputes are administrative.
- Nature matters: a Section 74 demand alleges fraud or suppression and is a sharper signal than a Section 73 one.
- Read size and pattern: a large demand relative to turnover, or repeated demands across years, is the real risk.
01The short answer
To check a company's GST and tax litigation, look at each stage of the tax ladder. For GST, a dispute usually starts with a show cause notice and a demand order under Section 73 or Section 74, moves to a first appeal under Section 107, then to the GST Appellate Tribunal, and on to the High Court by writ. For income tax, appeals run from the Commissioner (Appeals) to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), then the High Court and the Supreme Court. Search the company name on the ITAT and High Court records, and check the GST portal for its status.
Confirm the company name, CIN and GSTIN first, and remember that the demand stage is administrative, so not every demand shows as a court case even though it is real exposure.
02The GST litigation ladder
A GST dispute moves through defined stages:
- Show cause and demand. The department issues a notice and then a demand order under Section 73 (non-fraud cases) or Section 74 (where fraud or suppression is alleged). See GST Section 73 and GST Section 74.
- First appeal. The company can appeal to the appellate authority under Section 107; see GST Section 107.
- Tribunal. A further appeal lies to the GST Appellate Tribunal.
- High Court and Supreme Court, by writ or appeal on questions of law.
A Section 74 demand is a sharper signal than a Section 73 one, because it alleges fraud or suppression rather than an honest difference.
03The income-tax litigation ladder
Income-tax disputes follow a parallel path:
- Assessment and demand by the assessing officer.
- First appeal to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals).
- The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), the main fact-finding appellate forum, whose orders are public and searchable by party.
- The High Court and the Supreme Court, on substantial questions of law.
The ITAT is the most useful public record for income-tax litigation, because its orders name the assessee and set out the dispute and the amounts.
04Where tax exposure shows
Tax exposure is split between administrative records and court or tribunal records:
| Source | What it shows | Where |
|---|---|---|
| GST portal | Registration status, and whether a taxpayer is active or cancelled | gst.gov.in |
| GST Appellate Tribunal and High Courts | Appeals and writs in GST matters | Respective portals |
| ITAT | Income-tax appeals naming the company | itat.gov.in |
| High Court and Supreme Court | Tax appeals on questions of law | Respective portals |
Because much of the early dispute is administrative, a demand can be large and live without yet being a court case, so the picture needs both the portal status and the tribunal records.
05Reading a tax demand
Not every tax dispute matters equally. What you are reading for is size, nature and pattern:
- Size: a demand large relative to the company's turnover is a real balance-sheet risk.
- Nature: a Section 74 GST demand or a penalty for concealment is a conduct signal, not just a number.
- Pattern: repeated demands across years point to a compliance problem, not a one-off disagreement.
- Stage: a demand confirmed by the tribunal is a harder liability than one at first notice.
A single tax appeal is routine. A pattern of fraud-based demands across several years is a different story, and that is what the records are there to show.
06What a clean result actually means
A clean tax-litigation check means no matter was found on the records you searched, on the date you searched, under the names, CIN and GSTIN you used. It does not rule out a demand sitting at the administrative stage that is not yet a tribunal case, a matter under a former name, a forum you did not reach, or a notice issued later.
Combine the portal status with the ITAT and court records, read the stage and the amount, record what you covered, and re-check before a credit or deal decision. This is research to inform a decision, not legal advice, and tax positions in particular turn on facts a public record does not show.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
ClawScore, at clawscore.clawlaw.in, is Claw's litigation and criminal-risk service, and tax litigation is one of the exposure types it surfaces in a single pass. You give it a company name and it searches every matter across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, tax tribunals and High Courts among them, and returns one scored Excel workbook: a Summary tab with a ClawScore risk band (Clean, Low, Moderate or High), a Matters tab, a Related parties tab that pulls in directors and group entities, and a Coverage tab recording what was searched. Every finding carries a MATCH CONFIDENCE, so a similar company name is flagged for you to verify. Its Constant Monitoring runs daily, weekly or monthly scans on a watched entity list and reports what is New, Changed or Closed, so a fresh tax appeal does not go unseen until the next review. It draws on 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, and returns results in under 5 seconds. Claw does not train its AI models on your documents. You still check the GST portal status and confirm any demand on the official record.
Create a FREE Claw account to check a company's tax litigation and set up monitoring, and use case search across Indian courts to surface tax and other matters against the company and its group.
08Sources and further reading
- GST portal (registration status and taxpayer search): gst.gov.in
- Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (income-tax appeal orders): itat.gov.in
- India Code (CGST Act and Income-tax Act, bare text): indiacode.nic.in
- eCourts Services (related High Court and writ matters): services.ecourts.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
Government portals are the authoritative record. This guide is general information, not legal or tax advice; confirm any demand or order on the official record before acting.
09Frequently asked questions
How do I check a company's GST and tax litigation in India?
Check each stage of the tax ladder. For GST, look for demand orders under Section 73 or 74, first appeals under Section 107, GST Appellate Tribunal matters and High Court writs, and check the company's status on the GST portal. For income tax, search the ITAT and High Court records by the company name. Confirm the CIN and GSTIN first.
Will a tax demand show as a court case?
Not always. Much of the early dispute is administrative: a show cause notice and a demand order are issued by the department, not a court, so a large and live demand may not appear as a case until it is appealed to a tribunal or court. That is why you combine the portal status with the tribunal and court records.
What is the difference between a Section 73 and a Section 74 GST demand?
Section 73 covers demands where there is no fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression, typically an honest difference in interpretation. Section 74 is used where fraud or suppression is alleged and carries higher penalties. A Section 74 demand is a sharper conduct signal than a Section 73 one.
Which record is best for income-tax litigation?
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) is the most useful public record, because its orders name the assessee and set out the dispute and the amounts. Appeals above it go to the High Court and the Supreme Court on questions of law, which are also searchable by party.
Does a clean tax-litigation check mean the company is safe?
No. It means no matter was found on the records you searched, on the date you searched, under the names, CIN and GSTIN you used. It does not rule out a demand still at the administrative stage, a matter under a former name, a forum you did not reach, or a notice issued later.