CPIM's Thomas Isaac questions GST basis for raid in Messi Kerala row

Senior CPI(M) leader TM Thomas Isaac has criticised the UDF government over the police raid on a private Malayalam television channel in the controversy over the failed visit of Lionel Messi-led Argentina football team to Kerala, questioning the GST basis cited in the case.

His remarks came as the ruling Congress sharpened its attack on Anto Augustine, the managing director of the channel, who was arrested after liquor bottles were allegedly found during a raid by the Special Investigation Team probing the Messi visit row. The police action has triggered a political controversy in the state.

In a Facebook post on Friday, the former minister said Chief Minister VD Satheesan, who also holds the Finance portfolio, had said that a GST fraud had been established in the Messi visit case.

Isaac questioned the basis of the alleged GST irregularity, saying the tax was applicable on the "supply" of services to be provided by the Argentina Football Association and that GST was being levied on advance payments on the assumption that the supply would take place in future.

According to Isaac, the channel paid Rs 78.2 crore to AFA on June 6, 2025, attracting Rs 14.1 crore as tax on the advance. A second advance of Rs 47.8 crore was paid on October 15, attracting another Rs 8.6 crore in tax, taking the total tax liability to Rs 22.68 crore.

However, he said the issue ceased to have validity once it became clear by the end of October 2025 that Messi would not be visiting Kerala and the contracted service would not take place.

"If GST had already been collected on the advance as reverse charge for the service, that amount should also be returned to the channel," he said, adding that the tax was not on the advance itself but on the service AFA was to provide.

Isaac described the conclusions of the SIT as "utterly foolish" and alleged that publicly available information was being projected as major findings to intimidate people. He said the SIT might not necessarily have expertise in GST laws, but the GST department certainly knew the matter, and questioned why it was allegedly backing such action.

He also alleged that the GST system was being used to intimidate entrepreneurs and traders, and urged the business community to protest against what he called "arbitrary tax intervention".

He further said Satheesan had come to power promising tax collection without causing hardship, but was now using tax collection as "a crude weapon".

Meanwhile, State Health Minister K Muraleedharan said journalism could not be used as a cover for fraud. Speaking to reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, he said the action against Augustine should not be portrayed as an attack on media freedom. He also said, in a satirical remark, that Augustine had stored "more liquor than Bevco" at his premises.

The Kerala Police on Wednesday searched the Kochi headquarters of the Malayalam news channel and premises linked to its promoters as part of the probe into alleged financial irregularities surrounding the failed Lionel Messi-Argentina football event in the state.

Police said searches were carried out at five locations in Kochi and Wayanad, including the office of RBC, the residences of its promoters, the Augustine brothers, and their ancestral home in Wayanad, on the basis of court-issued warrants. Augustine was arrested on Thursday after the SIT found liquor bottles during the raid at his ancestral house.

The SIT later handed over the seized liquor to the Excise Department, which registered a case and arrested him. The row over the raid has since widened into a political and legal dispute over the failed football event and the investigation around it.