New Delhi, July 22 (KNN) Majority of banks have dragged the Government to the court for levying service tax and GST (goods and services tax) on services offered to customers who maintain large deposits for services like wealth management or lockers without paying an annual fee.

According to a report by Times of India, after refusing to respond to tax notices issued by Government for over a year, banks decided to take the Government to court over its move.

The government has alleged that through the deposit based services, cumulatively, over a dozen banks did not pay GST worth Rs 18,000 crore. While notices were issued in April 2018, instead of responding to them, banks choose to give representations at multiple forums before moving the Delhi high court, demanding a stay on proceedings.

The court, while posting the matter for hearing a few months later, has asked the banks to respond to the notices by the end of next month.