Export Oriented Unit framework enables duty free imports and structured domestic sales subject to export performance and compliance obligations.
The document sets out the EOU framework: only manufacturing and service exporters qualify; trading units are excluded. Applicants must show export orientation and maintain positive Net Foreign Exchange. The Development Commissioner issues a Letter of Permission after ANF 6A submission, incorporation, IEC/GST registration, customs bonded premises and financial/project particulars. Units must execute a Legal Undertaking and a B 17 bond, register on electronic customs systems, notify commencement, and then import duty free subject to NFE, reporting and renewal obligations. Domestic sales are permitted under specified conditions. (AI Summary)

Insolvency initiation procedure: resolution professionals investigate applications and submit recommendatory reports before adjudication.
Adjudication under Section 94 and Section 95 permits debtors or creditors to apply for initiation of insolvency resolution; the Adjudicating Authority appoints a resolution professional to examine the application and collect information, an interim moratorium applies from the date of application until admission, and the resolution professional submits a recommendatory report which does not bind the Adjudicating Authority, which must independently decide admission while observing principles of natural justice. (AI Summary)

Composite GST assessment notices for multiple tax periods are impermissible; authorities must initiate separate period-wise proceedings preserving appeal rights.
The court concluded that a single show cause notice or composite assessment order aggregating more than one tax period or financial year is impermissible under the GST Act because Sections 73(3)-(4) and the statutory reference to "such tax periods" require separate, returned wise treatment; composite proceedings undermine period wise appellate rights and period specific penalty relief and therefore valid proceedings must be undertaken period wise with applicable procedural formalities. (AI Summary)

Faulty formulation: medicines failing quality standards require manufacturer QA and regulator enforcement to protect patients.
Faulty Formulation denotes medicines whose composition, quality, or stability does not meet approved standards due to causes such as poor raw materials, inadequate process control, failure to follow Good Manufacturing Practices, insufficient validation, counterfeit production, or data manipulation. Manufacturers are responsible for QA/QC, authentic API sourcing, batch records, stability studies, self-inspections, post-market surveillance, and recalls; CDSCO and state authorities enforce approvals, inspections, testing, pharmacovigilance, import control, and public alerts under the Drugs and Cosmetics regulatory framework. (AI Summary)

GST on agent's commission: whether post draw commission is a taxable supply separate from ticket sale amid administrative silence.
Whether the deducted "agents' commission on prize" is consideration for services (a taxable supply under GST requiring registration and invoicing) or a non taxable deduction from the prize fund is unresolved. Ticket sellers lack true agency under contract law and the commission functions as a trade margin in practice, yet scheme documents and administration use the term "agent"; Kerala's absence of clarification creates interpretational and enforcement uncertainty affecting tax treatment. (AI Summary)

HSN classification for brass handicraft guides exporters on customs compliance and documentation for international shipments.
Export of brass handicraft from India requires correct classification under relevant HSN codes (notably 74198030), adherence to importing country material and packaging standards, and engagement with export promotion bodies for market access. Key operational barriers include cluster infrastructure gaps, variable quality and finishing, raw material cost volatility, and logistics; policy support emphasises skill and cluster development, trade facilitation, and branding to enhance value capture and global competitiveness. (AI Summary)

Intellectual property enforcement in India provides civil, criminal and administrative remedies to address and deter infringement nationwide.
India's IPR regime provides civil, criminal and administrative remedies across patents, trademarks, copyright, designs, geographical indications and related rights. Civil reliefs include injunctions (temporary and permanent), damages or account of profits, delivery up and destruction orders, and equitable remedies such as Anton Piller and Mareva orders. Criminal sanctions attach to willful, commercial-scale infringement under specific statutes, while administrative mechanisms-oppositions, rectifications and customs detention-prevent invalid registrations and stop imports of infringing goods. Enforcement effectiveness is hindered by procedural delays, capacity gaps and transnational digital infringement. (AI Summary)

GST rectification periods are excluded from appeal limitation where the rectification was bona fide and not delayed.
Time spent pursuing a bona fide rectification application under Section 161 of the CGST Act is to be excluded when computing the limitation period for filing an appeal under Section 107, provided the taxpayer has neither acted with mala fide intent nor caused inordinate delay; the limitation for appeal begins after the rectification decision. (AI Summary)

Prohibition on sale of expired food: remove, recall or destroy out of date products and comply with safety and disposal rules.
Expired packaged food must be segregated and removed from sale: retailers, manufacturers and food handlers must withdraw, return, or destroy out of date products and keep records; donation is limited to safe, in date food under authorised schemes. Regulatory duties under food safety and environmental rules mandate date labelling, recall procedures and authorised disposal; sale, relabelling or repackaging of expired food is prohibited and attracts penalties and licence consequences. (AI Summary)

Non-resident companies must show ongoing business connection to claim business deductions and carry forward depreciation.
A non resident must demonstrate it was carrying on business in India during the relevant period to claim business expenditure deductions and carry forward unabsorbed depreciation; absence of a permanent office or an executed contract alone does not preclude a finding of ongoing business connection, and periods of temporary inactivity may be a lull rather than a cessation where correspondence, tendering and other business efforts show continuity and nexus to claimed expenses. (AI Summary)

GST annual return exemption for small taxpayers: turnover up to Rs. 2 crore relieved from annual return filing.
Notification No. 15/2025-CT exempts registered taxpayers with aggregate turnover up to Rs. 2 crore from filing the annual GST return under Section 44(1) from FY 2024-25 onwards. Aggregate turnover includes taxable supplies, exempt supplies, exports and inter state supplies by the same PAN and excludes reverse-charge and non GST supplies. Eligible regular taxpayers need not file the annual reconciliation but must maintain records and continue filing monthly/quarterly GST returns and meet audit-based filing requirements if applicable. (AI Summary)

Legally binding air-quality targets can transform enforcement and reduce particulate pollution through stronger monitoring and institutional capacity.
India's persistent particulate pollution stems from diverse emission sources, seasonal meteorology, coal dependent energy and fragmented enforcement under voluntary NCAP targets. China's reductions resulted from binding national plans, performance accountability, industrial restructuring, energy transition, stricter transport standards and nationwide real time monitoring. Recommended reforms for India centre on establishing legally binding air quality targets, controlling gaseous precursors, strengthening pollution control institutions, expanding transparent monitoring, incentivising clean energy and coordinating regionally to address transboundary pollution. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit inadmissibility for securities-related expenses: buyback costs fall outside GST ambit and are not creditable.
ITC is not admissible on expenses for share buyback because shares are securities excluded from GST; Section 16(1) limits credit to goods or services used in business, and Sections 17(2)-(3) treat securities transactions as exempt, requiring reversal of any input or input service credit attributable to the buyback. (AI Summary)

India's skies remain yellow due to persistent PM2.5, fragmented governance, and seasonal burning; binding targets and monitoring urged.
Persistent high PM2.5/PM10 and secondary aerosol formation from vehicles, coal combustion, biomass and agricultural burning, construction dust, and informal industries, combined with Indo Gangetic Plain meteorology, produce a sustained yellow haze. Effective remediation requires binding targets with accountability, control of SO2/NOx/NH3 precursors, industrial modernisation, coal to clean energy transition, regional coordination, and expanded monitoring and transparency to enable targeted multi sectoral interventions. (AI Summary)

Pre-show cause consultation mandatory for high-value tax demands; omission renders notices procedurally invalid but reissuance permitted after compliance.
The Bombay High Court held that mandated pre-show cause consultation under CBIC circulars is a required procedural step before issuing high-value service tax show cause notices (except preventive/offence cases); failure to consult renders the resultant show cause notice procedurally invalid and susceptible to set-aside, although the department may reinitiate proceedings after complying with the consultation requirement and any delay caused by court proceedings or re-consultation is to be excluded for limitation calculations. (AI Summary)

Interest on delayed GST refunds accrues from the original refund application date even if initially rejected.
Interest on delayed GST refunds is payable from the expiry of sixty days after the date of the original refund application, even if the initial claim was rejected and later allowed on appeal; interest runs from the earliest valid application and not from any subsequent re application after appellate relief. (AI Summary)

e-Office communications: Issue Number accepted as equivalent to DIN for document verification via official portal.
Electronic communications issued through the e-Office that carry a verifiable Issue Number, when validated via the official verification portal, will be treated as authentic and equivalent to a DIN, eliminating the need to quote a separate DIN; communications outside the e-Office or without a verifiable RFN must still quote a DIN. (AI Summary)

Rectification power under Section 161 cannot justify recalling appellate orders merely because an SLP is pending.
Section 161 permits correction of errors apparent on the face of the record limited to manifest clerical or patent mistakes, not reconsideration of adjudicated issues. The Allahabad High Court explained that pendency of an SLP without a stay is a subsequent event and does not make an appellate order erroneous or recallable, stressed that rectification is not review, and reaffirmed the finality of appellate orders except for correction of obvious errors. (AI Summary)

Blocking of electronic credit ledger without recorded reasons breaches natural justice, requiring a timely post decisional hearing.
Blocking an electronic credit ledger under Rule 86A requires the Commissioner or an authorised officer to record in writing the reasons to believe that the credit is ineligible or fraudulently availed; absence of such recorded reasons and failure to provide a prompt post decisional hearing contravenes principles of natural justice. The court required the revenue to grant a full post decisional hearing within a prescribed period, conditioned any continued restriction on a bank guarantee, and prohibited encashment of that guarantee until after the hearing process concluded. (AI Summary)

GST provisional attachments and recovery taken while appeal period remained open raise procedural and accountability concerns.
The article identifies procedural irregularities where provisional attachment and recovery actions were executed while the statutory three-month appeal period after adjudication remained open, noting that Section 79 becomes relevant only after that period and that mandatory pre-deposit rules and statutory caps were not adequately considered; it calls for review of the timing of recovery, the propriety of filing Special Leave Petitions, and administrative accountability for officials. (AI Summary)