RBL Bank faces ₹164 crore GST demand notice over Input Tax Credit mismatch

Private sector lender RBL Bank Ltd on Thursday (September 3) said it has received a show-cause notice dated September 2, 2026, under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, proposing a GST demand aggregating to ₹164.14 crore, including applicable interest and penalty.

The notice has been issued by the Assistant Commissioner, Delhi, in relation to an alleged mismatch between input tax credit reported in GST returns under the separate GST registration obtained for the bank’s bullion business vertical.

RBL Bank said it is reviewing the show-cause notice and will submit its response to the concerned authority within the prescribed timelines. Based on its preliminary assessment, the bank said the proposed demand primarily arises from an erroneous comparison and reconciliation of returns and data.

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The bank said its position is supported by records and reconciliations. Based on the current facts and assessment, RBL Bank does not expect the matter to have any material adverse impact on its operations or financial position.

"....we wish to inform you that RBL Bank Limited ("the Bank") has received a show cause notice (SCN) dated September 02, 2026 under Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 from Assistant Commissioner, Delhi," according to a stock exchange filing.

First Quarter Results

RBL Bank's Net Interest Income for the quarter fell 13% from last year to ₹1,480.6 crore, which is lower than the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹1,521 crore. The lender had reported a core income of ₹1,700 crore during the same quarter last year.

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Net profit for the period nearly halved to ₹200 crore, a 46.2% drop from the base quarter's level of ₹372 crore. The figure, though, was higher than the CNBC-TV18 poll of ₹159 crore.

Asset quality saw some deterioration from the March quarter, with gross NPA at 2.78% from 2.6% in March, while Net NPA stood at 0.45% from 0.29% in March. Provisions during the quarter declined sharply on a sequential basis to ₹442.3 crore from ₹785.1 crore in March.

In its post-earnings concall, the bank acknowledged it faced asset quality challenges in the cards portfolio for most of last year but expects a gradual improvement. On the liabilities side, the bank said growth has been consistently strong. It also reiterated that it had earlier decided to calibrate growth in its unsecured book to stabilise the portfolio and that the bank remains on track with that approach.

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RBL Bank noted that repo-linked loans were repriced immediately, while deposit repricing will take time. This, it said, has impacted net interest margins (NIMs) in the near term. However, the bank expects to see "reasonable improvement in NIMs from Q3 onwards." It also guided for a liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) in the range of 120–140.

Shares of RBL Bank Ltd ended at ₹408.00, up by ₹18.50, or 4.75%, on the BSE.