Crisis Management for a Conflict with North Korea
This is the best North Korea conflict crisis support available today. Predict, plan, build, prepare, train, and test in the right way.
HC says cross-LoC trade between J&K & PoK is intra-state trade
Times of India | English | News | Dec. 1, 2025 | UndeterminedTrade Issues and Numbers
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has ruled that cross-Line of Control (LoC) trade between Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) is considered intra-state trade, stating that PoK remains part of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This ruling came as the court dismissed petitions by traders challenging GST notices, asserting that the trade was internal and thus subject to intra-state tax regulations.
The court noted that when the trade began in 2008, it was governed by the Jammu and Kashmir Value Added Taxes Act, which classified cross-LoC trade as zero-rated sale. However, after the implementation of GST in 2017, authorities initiated investigations into whether GST had been paid on these transactions, leading to show-cause notices against traders. The traders also argued that the barter nature of the trade made tax demands impermissible, but the court found no merit in their petitions and upheld the tax claims.
Cross-LoC trade had been introduced in 2008 as a confidence-building measure between India and Pakistan, allowing barter exchange of 21 mutually agreed items on designated routes. However, the Indian government suspended cross-LoC trade in April 2019, citing concerns over the misuse of trade routes for smuggling weapons, narcotics, and counterfeit currency. Alongside cross-LoC trade, a cross-LoC bus service was also suspended, both representing significant peace-building efforts between the two nations.