Input tax credit continuity drives GST fairness, but procedural rigidity and credit denials strain compliance and liquidity.
GST reconfigured Indian indirect taxation by enabling exporters, construction firms and digital services through zero-rated exports, harmonized classification, input tax credit continuity, centralized registration and e-invoicing, while procedural rigidity, ITC exclusions and reconciliation burdens have disadvantaged informal suppliers, job workers and certain sectors, producing cascading costs, refund delays and conflicting rulings that undermine neutrality and predictability. (AI Summary)

Scope of appeal: appellate authority cannot decide issues not raised before the original authority, limiting advance ruling remarks.
AAAR exceeded its permissible scope by addressing Input Tax Credit (ITC) when the AAR had not been asked to rule on that issue; the petitioner had only sought a ruling whether refurbishment costs and payments to prior owners are includible in purchase price for computing margin under the margin-scheme Notification. The AAAR's para 6.8 on ITC introduced an unraised compliance issue and was expunged as beyond the scope of the appeal. (AI Summary)

Startup tax deduction under Section 80 IAC expands relief for certified innovative startups but faces procedural certification hurdles.
Section 80-IAC permits an eligible private company or LLP to deduct 100% of profits for any three consecutive assessment years within the first ten years of incorporation, subject to turnover limits, DPIIT recognition and IMB certification of eligible business activities. The deduction is entity specific, non transferable, claimed via timely tax return filing with supporting IMB certification. Procedural hurdles-notably mandatory pre certification, opaque innovation standards, and interaction with other tax provisions-limit practical uptake, prompting recommendations for self declaration models, broadened innovation definitions, integrated data systems, and targeted outreach. (AI Summary)

Payment under protest is not an admission of tax liability; interest and penalty require independent substantiation.
Payment or reversal of Input Tax Credit made "under protest" does not constitute admission of tax liability and cannot, without independent inquiry or corroborative evidence, justify imposition of interest and penalty. Administrative action that treats a protest deposit as a voluntary admission undermines procedural safeguards and impedes the taxpayer's right to pursue statutory appeals; recovery documentation should reflect the disputed tax amount to enable appellate remedy and any penal consequences must follow a substantiated determination of tax liability. (AI Summary)

Writ jurisdiction limited for factual disputes in fake invoicing cases; pursue statutory appeal under Section 107 instead.
Disputes concerning the relationship between supplier entities, the existence of business premises, and the validity or timing of e way bills are factual in nature and not amenable to Article 227 writ jurisdiction; such matters must be contested before the appellate authority under Section 107 of the CGST Act, unless exceptional circumstances like breach of natural justice or excess of jurisdiction are established. (AI Summary)

Data-driven tax reporting increases compliance risk as AIS/26AS mismatches trigger reassessment and penalties without prompt redressal.
Form 26AS and AIS are primary data sources for taxpayer profiling; AIS aggregates broad third party data but lacks clear statutory status. Resulting data mismatches and unverified reporting commonly trigger automated notices and reassessment, exposing taxpayers to penalties and prosecution. Courts require verification, reasoned grounds, and opportunity to be heard before assessments based on such data proceed. The article urges statutory recognition of AIS, time bound redressal, centralized dispute resolution, reporting entity accountability, and practitioner-led reconciliation to safeguard due process. (AI Summary)

Duty remission options shape exporter cash flow and compliance through refunds, exemptions and convertible scrip mechanisms.
Selection among export incentive mechanisms requires balancing working capital effects, the nature of reimbursed charges, eligibility conditions and compliance burdens. GST refunds address input tax but cause working capital blockage and do not refund import duties; duty drawback reimburses embedded customs duty via AIR or brand rates. RoDTEP refunds local duties and levies not otherwise recredited, is claimed at shipping bill filing and converts to scrips usable against basic customs duty. Exemption schemes (Advance Authorisation, EPCG, EOU) and MOOWR defer or exempt duties subject to export obligations, validity periods and procedural conditions. (AI Summary)

Quorum requirements: virtual attendance counts and Section 103 rules govern meetings; adjournment procedures apply if quorum absent.
Quorum for company meetings is determined by Section 103 of the Companies Act, 2013, prescribing member thresholds for public and private companies. If quorum is not present within half an hour, the meeting is adjourned to the same day in the next week or to a board determined date, with adjourned meeting notice required to members individually or by specified newspaper publication; at the adjourned meeting members present constitute the quorum. Tribunal practice has confirmed inclusion of virtual participants in quorum calculations and the application of Section 103 adjournment procedures. (AI Summary)

Maintenance of registers ensures structured appeal and interlocutory case records, with prescribed filing and retention obligations.
The Rules mandate maintenance of three registers-provisional appeals, appeals and interlocutory applications-maintained online or offline and posted daily by registry officers, with prescribed fields capturing appeal identifiers, parties, orders, jurisdiction, bench assignment, interim orders and disposal remarks. Records must be collated into four files (main, miscellaneous application, process and execution) with specified contents for each. Physical records in the record room are preserved for five years after final order, while petitions/applications and tribunal orders are retained by the Registry for fifteen years; a designated record keeper must index records within three days and the Registrar will weed records after preservation periods. (AI Summary)

Service of notice via GST portal alone found insufficient for valid service, requiring further opportunity to reply and hearing.
Uploading a summary show cause notice on the GST portal alone does not satisfy the modes of service prescribed in Section 169 of the BGST Act; lack of valid service prevented the taxpayer from replying and participating in adjudication, rendering the ex parte assessment order inconsistent with procedural requirements and principles of natural justice. (AI Summary)

IGST refund on e commerce exports requires exact Shipping Bill and matched GSTR 1/GSTR 3B entries for disbursal.
IGST refund on e commerce exports requires the Shipping Bill to be filed as export with payment of tax with invoice and tax details exactly matching GSTR 1; exports must also be shown in GSTR 3B so data flows from GSTN to ICEGATE. Use ICEGATE refund tracking to detect transmission errors (e.g., invalid invoice details) and correct mismatches by amending GSTR 1 (Table 9A). Ensure correct declaration of the e commerce operator's GSTIN, coordination with courier partners for EDI linkage, and PFMS validation of the bank account. If issues persist, lodge grievances on GST portal and ICEGATE and contact the GST helpdesk or jurisdictional officer, maintaining a complete document checklist. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit eligibility: TR 06 challans excluded; credit available only via reassessed Bills of Entry within statutory time limits.
The Authority held that ITC on differential IGST is claimable only on the basis of prescribed Customs assessment documents; re assessed Bills of Entry satisfy this requirement and must be transmitted to the GSTN to support ITC claims. TR 06 challans are not Customs prescribed assessment forms and thus cannot be used to avail ITC. The time limit for claiming ITC on differential IGST applies mutatis mutandis and begins from the date of re assessment of the Bill of Entry. (AI Summary)

Tax planning as a fundamental right affirms economic liberty, property and privacy while endorsing lawful tax incentives.
Whether tax planning qualifies as a fundamental right is addressed by linking lawful financial structuring to constitutional guarantees and statutory incentives. The article distinguishes legitimate tax planning from avoidance and evasion, situates planning within jurisprudence that permits arranging affairs within the law, and recognises anti-abuse mechanisms like GAAR which curb artificial schemes while implicitly acknowledging bona fide planning. It argues that property, privacy and liberty protections support lawful tax planning and that tax professionals must ensure ethical compliance. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit entitlement requires valid tax invoice, receipt of supplies, supplier's tax payment and filed GST returns.
Input Tax Credit is claimable only when a registered person holds a valid tax invoice or debit note from a registered supplier, has received the goods or services (with instalment rules applying to goods), the supplier has paid the GST to the government (by cash or through input tax credit), and the claimant has filed the applicable GST returns; acceptable documents include supplier invoices and debit notes, bills of entry for imports, ISD invoices, and invoices/credit notes for reverse-charge transactions. (AI Summary)

GST Appellate Tribunal jurisdiction clarified: place-of-supply matters to national benches, other disputes to state benches.
The document summarizes the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) as a two-tier body with Principal and State Benches, allocating place-of-supply disputes to the Principal/Regional bench and other disputes to State Benches; appeals from the Principal Bench go to the Supreme Court and from State Benches to the High Courts. It sets procedural conditions for appeal admission including pre-deposit requirements, time limits with extensions, cross-objection timelines, up to three adjournments, limits on admission by value, personal hearing obligations, and allows additional evidence only in exceptional cases. The appeals process will be digitised and rules and appointments to operationalise GSTAT have been notified. (AI Summary)

IGST refunds for e commerce exports blocked by shipping data and GST return mismatches, plus courier and bank linkage gaps.
Delays and non crediting of IGST refunds for e commerce exports stem from failures in matching Shipping Bill data with GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B, including invoice, port, HSN or value mismatches, omission of the "export with payment of tax" marker, incorrect export classification, and non declaration of e commerce operator GSTIN. Courier mode shipments and systemic ICEGATE GSTN limitations for small ticket exports further obstruct refund processing, while PAN/GSTIN-bank account mismatches can cause payment failures at disbursement. (AI Summary)

Transfer of development rights treated as a service: promoter liable under reverse charge with residential exemption conditions.
Transfer of development rights (including additional FSI and TDR) is a supply of service and, under Notification 13/2017 (as amended), tax on such transfer is payable by the promoter under the reverse charge mechanism. For development rights utilised for construction of residential units on or after 1 April 2019, Notification 12/2017 (as amended) exempts the promoter from GST to the extent of the residential carpet area provided sale occurs before completion or first occupation; otherwise the promoter remains liable proportionately for the commercial component and for unsold inventory as computed under the notification. (AI Summary)

Valuation between distinct persons: internally unbilled services deemed nil where recipient has full ITC, IGST not leviable.
Where a head office does not issue invoices or cross charge for services to branch offices and the recipient branch is eligible for full input tax credit, the value of such internally generated services is deemed nil under Rule 28 of the CGST Rules, so that IGST does not arise; failure of an adjudicating authority to apply CBIC Circular No. 199/11/2023 GST and relevant coordinating precedent requires reconsideration in light of Section 15(4) read with Rule 28. (AI Summary)

Export incentive schemes provide duty relief and reimbursements while imposing compliance obligations; scheme choice depends on exporter model.
A comprehensive framework of export incentive schemes reduces input costs and reimburses embedded taxes through mechanisms such as duty-free import authorisations, post export entitlements, standardized and brand specific duty drawback refunds, transferable scrips, and designated territorial regimes. Schemes include credit insurance and market development assistance, voluntary facilitation programmes, and warehousing rules that defer customs duty. Qualification and continuance of benefits are subject to export obligations, documentation, timelines, sectoral eligibility, and penalties for non compliance. (AI Summary)

Extended Producer Responsibility requires importers to register, meet collection and recycling targets and file annual returns.
Extended Producer Responsibility requires importers of plastic packaging and plastic-containing goods to obtain EPR registration (central or state as applicable) before operations, file applications through the Centralized EPR Portal with company, signatory and operational plan details, enter agreements with registered recyclers or PROs, pay fees based on annual waste generation, meet annual and category-specific recycling targets including recycled content mandates, affix registration numbers on packaging, maintain records and file annual returns supported by certificates from registered recyclers, with penalties for non-compliance. (AI Summary)