
Delhi residents oppose hike in surcharge
The Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) has approved a 7–10% increase, applicable to the capital's three major power distribution companies—BRPL, BYPL, and TPDDL—to recover PPAC for Q3 of the 2024–25 financial year.
As per DERC's latest order, BRPL will charge 7.25%, BYPL 8.11%, and TPDDL 10.47%—a disparity that Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) are questioning.
The United Residents of Delhi (URD), an umbrella body of RWAs, alleged that the DERC panel did not follow proper procedure. 'We had great hope from the Commission that it will complete the work of tariff determination by following the prescribed procedure, but this Commission conducted a virtual public hearing where not enough time was given to the stakeholders to state their case,' said URD General Secretary Saurabh Gandhi. 'The process under which PPAC charges have been imposed on the people of Delhi by DERC is legally wrong,' he added.

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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
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Time of India
2 days ago
- Time of India
SC upholds GST exemption for electricity regulators, dismisses govt's plea
In a significant win for regulatory bodies, the Supreme Court has upheld the Delhi High Court's decision, exempting the fees collected by the CERC and DERC from GST. This ruling dismisses demands for an 18% tax on regulatory fees, affirming that these bodies perform quasi-judicial functions, not support services. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads In a big relief to the regulatory bodies, the Supreme Court has upheld the Delhi High Court 's ruling that fees collected by the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission ( CERC ) and the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission ( DERC ) for the supply of electricity or grant of electricity distribution licences or as annual/other fees are exempt from Goods and Services Tax (GST).The HC had in January also quashed the show cause notices (SCNs) issued by the Directorate General of GST Intelligence demanding an 18% tax on fees received by CERC and DERC for discharging their regulatory functions. It held that the demand notices were 'arbitrary and unsustainable.''We do not find any good grounds to entertain these special leave petitions (by Directorate General of GST Intelligence), a SC bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said, while endorsing the HC's view that the GST department had clearly failed to grasp the "indubitable fact" that these regulatory functions were being discharged by a quasi-judicial body which had all the trappings of a department had challenged the HC order alleging that the power regulators were not discharging their GST liabilities on amounts received as tariff and licence fees from various power utilities as these functions of the regulators fell under the category of "support services" to electricity transmission and distribution service GST authorities in the SCN's had also alleged that CERC had even failed to carry out a correct self-assessment of its tax liability, thus failing to discharge its integrated GST of Rs 113 crore between April 2019 to March 2023. A similar notice was issued to the Delhi power the HC had rejected the GST authorities' stand, saying it found 'unable to accept, affirm, or even fathom the conclusion that regulation of tariff, inter-state transmission of electricity, or the issuance of licence would be liable to be construed as activities undertaken or functions discharged in the furtherance of business."According to HC, "the grant of a licence to transmit or distribute (electricity) is clearly not in furtherance of business or trade but in extension of the statutory obligation placed upon a commission to regulate those subjects," the high court had said. The Electricity Act, 2003, makes no distinction between the regulatory and adjudicatory functions vested in and conferred upon an electricity commission, it had added. Those functions are placed in the hands of a quasi-judicial body enjoined to regulate and administer electricity distribution, it had said. "Electricity, undoubtedly, is a natural resource which vests in the State. We have thus no hesitation in observing that the SCNs (show cause notices) infringe the borders of the incredible and inconceivable," the January order stated.


Time of India
17-07-2025
- Time of India
Gujarat tops in domestic PNG adoption against non-Ujjwala LPG connections
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