The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation challenging the levy of 18% GST on online legal research and legal educational data-based services, observing that the petitioner had failed to explain the sudden realisation that the tax rate was unreasonable despite it having remained in force since 2017.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Kshitij Shailendra passed the order on October 26, 2026, in a PIL filed by an advocate challenging the notifications issued in 2017 that classified these services under Service Accounting Code 998431 and subjected them to GST at an aggregate rate of 18%, without a separate classification or concessional rate.
The petitioner argued that online legal research tools are essential for advocates to verify the correctness of judgments before citing them. Citing an overruled or fake judgment could amount to professional misconduct, he submitted, contending that such services should not be treated as a luxury attracting GST at 18%.
The Court noted that the petitioner had been enrolled as an advocate in 2020 and claimed to have been practising for six years, yet the petition did not explain what had prompted him to question the tax rate at that stage, given that it had remained unchanged since 2017.
Finding the petition unsustainable, the Bench dismissed the PIL.