Several banks in the country are preparing to challenge the government’s move to levy service tax and GST on services offered by them to customers, reported The Times of India.

The government wants to charge GST and other service charges on various services offered to customers by lenders such as wealth management or lockers. As per the authorities, over a dozen banks did not pay GST worth Rs 18,000 crore, the report said.

While the authorities had issued notices regarding the amount back in April 2018, banks not only declined to respond but also chose to give representations at multiple forums before moving to the Delhi High Court, the report said.

The court, on its part, has asked the banks to respond to notices by the end of next month, said the report.