RBL Bank gets ₹92 crore GST demand notice

RBL Bank Ltd said it has received a show cause notice (SCN) dated 30 September 2025 under Section 74 of the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 from the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Mumbai.

The notice proposes a demand of ₹92.00 crore, including interest and penalty, for the financial year 2019–20. The demand pertains to reversal of GST input credit taken under a separate registration obtained for the bank’s digital banking vertical.

The private sector lender said it will submit its response to the authorities within the prescribed timelines. Based on its internal assessment, the bank stated that it is hopeful of a favourable outcome and does not reasonably expect the SCN to have any material financial impact.

At the close of trade on Wednesday, shares of RBL Bank were down 0.81% at ₹275 on the NSE.

Seperately, global brokerage Citi maintained its ‘Buy’ rating on the stock with a target price of ₹300, noting that net interest margins (NIMs) likely bottomed out in the June quarter and are expected to improve from Q2 onwards.

In its Q1 results announced on 19 July, RBL Bank reported a sharp fall in profitability as core income came under pressure. Net interest income fell 13% year-on-year to ₹1,480.6 crore, below Street expectations of ₹1,521 crore. Net profit dropped 46.2% to ₹200 crore from ₹372 crore in the year-ago period, though it was ahead of the CNBC-TV18 poll estimate of ₹159 crore.

Asset quality weakened slightly with gross NPAs rising to 2.78% from 2.6% in the March quarter, and net NPAs at 0.45% against 0.29% previously. The bank acknowledged challenges in its cards portfolio but said it expects gradual improvement. On the liabilities side, growth has remained consistently strong.

The lender reiterated its calibrated approach towards unsecured lending and guided for a liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) in the 120–140 range.