Decided 28 August 2026. The Karnataka High Court has read down the clause of the Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2022-2027 that imposes application, processing, transfer and time-extension fees on renewable energy developers, holding that no fee can be extracted by executive policy without authority of law and a quid pro quo. The Court upheld the requirement of a Government order before starting work and partly upheld the land-use limits.
Case at a glance
| Case | M/s JSP Green Wind 1 Pvt. Ltd. v. State of Karnataka & Ors. (with Solar Power Developers Association and others) |
| Forum | Karnataka High Court (Justice M. Nagaprasanna) |
| Case Nos. | Writ Petition No. 27996 of 2024 and seven connected petitions |
| Date of order | 28 August 2026 |
| Policy | Karnataka Renewable Energy Policy 2022-2027 (notified 16.04.2022; amended 27.02.2023) |
| Result | Petitions allowed in part; fee clause 7.2 read down |
Facts of the case
Renewable energy developers and their association challenged clauses of the State's Renewable Energy Policy 2022-2027, administered by KREDL, including the need for a Government order to start work, maximum land per megawatt, and fees per megawatt for applications, processing, time extension and transfer.
An interim order of 10.08.2022 had protected the petitioners. The State argued the fees existed under earlier policies and were part of the policy framework.
Issue before the High Court
Can the State levy fees on developers through an executive policy without statutory authority and without rendering any service in return?
What the High Court held
- Article 265 bars any tax being levied or collected except by authority of law, and a fee is also an impost under Article 366(28) (Shirur Mutt; Jindal Stainless; Calcutta Municipal Corporation v. Shrey Mercantile; Chhata Sugar).
- A fee requires a quid pro quo, and a delegate's power to levy a fee must be express (Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority v. Sharadkumar). It cannot be imposed by executive fiat or circular. That a fee existed earlier or was paid does not make it lawful.
- Clause 7.2 was read down so that fees can be charged only where there is a quid pro quo from the State.
- The requirement of a Government order under clause 6.1 was upheld. The land limit in clause 6.2 is arbitrary where the developer acquires or leases its own land, but applies where the Government acquires and hands over land. Pending applications must be processed within eight weeks.
Practical takeaways for taxpayers
- Any levy, whether called tax, fee or charge, must be backed by statute; executive policies and circulars cannot create one.
- Fees without any corresponding service can be challenged under Article 265.
- Businesses paying State or authority charges should check the statutory source of each levy.
Frequently asked questions
Can a State levy fees through a policy document?
The Karnataka High Court held no fee can be levied without authority of law and quid pro quo; executive policy alone is not enough.
Why is this relevant to tax practitioners?
It restates the Article 265 principle that every compulsory levy, however named, needs legislative backing.
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This summary is based on the order of the Karnataka High Court in Writ Petition No. 27996 of 2024 and connected petitions. It is general information, not legal advice; the outcome of any case depends on its own facts and the full text of the order.