Summons service procedure: electronic transmission and alternative personal or substituted service accepted with prescribed proof admissible.
Summons must be written, in duplicate, signed by an authorised officer and may be transmitted electronically with court seal or digital signature. Issuing authorities include police, court officers and public servants; registers must record recipient contact details as per State rules. Service may be personal, by delivery of a duplicate, registered post, electronic communication, substituted delivery to an adult family member, or affixture at the residence when other methods fail. Service on companies, firms, government servants and out-of-jurisdiction service has specific procedures, and attested duplicates, endorsements or affidavits accompanying delivery serve as admissible proof of service. (AI Summary)

Locus to challenge constitutional amendment denied; petition dismissed as petitioner lacked standing to contest GST amendment.
The petition challenged provisions of the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act on the basis that they violated the basic structure and involved unlawful delegation to the GST Council; the Patna High Court held the petitioner lacked locus and that dealers shifted from VAT to GST were not a marginalized class, and the Supreme Court dismissed the special leave petition, upholding those determinations on standing and the delegation challenge. (AI Summary)

Irrevocable power of attorney: postrevocation does not relieve grantor from liabilities under a continuing joint venture agreement.
Where an irrevocable power of attorney is coupled with a continuing joint venture agreement, the grantor remains bound by acts lawfully performed by the attorney under that authority until the authority is lawfully terminated; a post facto revocation letter does not absolve the grantor if the joint venture agreement remains in force and no steps were taken to terminate or prevent the attorney's performance. (AI Summary)

Inheritance tax debate may address wealth concentration and revenue needs but raises administration and capital flight concerns.
Reintroducing an inheritance tax would target large estate transfers to reduce wealth concentration and raise revenue, with potential philanthropic incentives. Opposing concerns include implementation and enforcement difficulties, low net yields due to avoidance planning, risks of capital flight, and burdens on family businesses lacking liquidity. Viable policy alternatives include a reinstated wealth tax or modifying capital gains rules on inherited assets. Effective design would require thresholds, anti evasion measures, and protections for operating firms to balance redistributional goals against administrative and economic costs. (AI Summary)

Bail in fraudulent ITC availment granted subject to strict conditions preventing evidence tampering and witness intimidation.
Release was ordered on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties, subject to conditions: no tampering with evidence, no intimidation of witnesses, regular appearance at trial, prohibition on committing similar offences or influencing persons acquainted with the case, and liberty to the prosecution to seek cancellation of bail on breach. These measures were applied where prosecution evidence of creation of fictitious firms was lacking and the accused had been in custody for a substantial period, in the context of Section 132 offences concerning wrongful availment or passing on of input tax credit. (AI Summary)

Deforestation-free regulation spurs supply-chain due diligence and FTAs to assist SMEs with compliance and market access.
Regulation (EU) 2023/115 mandates due diligence and plot level traceability for specified commodities to prevent market placement of goods linked to deforestation. The phased implementation and proposed deadline extensions aim to allow firms-and particularly SMEs-to build verification systems and supply chain controls. The measure pressures developing country producers to strengthen land registries, enforcement and certification capacity but also incentivises sustainable practices and green investment. Free Trade Agreements, exemplified by IND UAE CEPA, can facilitate compliance through joint assistance mechanisms, processing in trade zones, mutual recognition of standards, and technical support to preserve EU market access. (AI Summary)

IGST on secondment of manpower: ad interim stay and matter referred for reply under CBIC Circular guidance.
An ad interim stay was ordered on adjudication of IGST demand on salaries and reimbursements in secondment arrangements, noting that a departmental Circular permits the value declared by a related domestic entity-where full input tax credit is available-to be treated as open market value under the second proviso to Rule 28(1); where no invoice is issued by the domestic entity the value may be deemed nil and still treated as open market value. The petitioner was relegated to file a reply to the show cause notice and authorities were directed to consider the Circular when adjudicating, with attention to factual and contractual differences and to the requirement of material before invoking extended limitation. (AI Summary)

DTAA grandfathering upheld; TRC deemed conclusive proof of residence, enabling treaty relief for qualifying cross-border share transfers.
The Delhi High Court held that the Assessee possessed genuine economic substance in Mauritius, that a Tax Residency Certificate should be treated as conclusive proof of residence absent compelling evidence of fraud or sham, and that the DTAA grandfathering provision applied so Limitation of Benefits did not preclude treaty relief for qualifying share acquisitions; domestic anti avoidance rules should not displace treaty entitlement where treaty anti abuse measures and evidence of substance are satisfied. (AI Summary)

Effective dates of Income Tax amendments clarified; staggered commencement governs when revised tax and withholding rules apply.
The Finance Act (2), 2024 amends numerous provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961 and assigns specific commencement dates to each change, producing a phased implementation across exemption and charitable trust rules, withholding and collection mechanisms, assessment and appellate procedures, transfer pricing and anti avoidance provisions, and specified income computation heads; stakeholders must apply the revised rules from the notified effective dates to determine applicable computation, deduction, withholding and compliance obligations. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit relief: retrospective exception allows specified past-year credits through prescribed periodic returns, subject to conditions.
The amendment creates retrospective exceptions to the statutory limitation on claiming Input Tax Credit, permitting ITC for specified earlier financial years if claimed in the prescribed periodic return by a designated cut off date, and permitting ITC where registration cancellation is revoked subject to conditional filing windows; implementation includes a rectification procedure and administrative guidance but also a provision restricting refunds for taxes paid or credits reversed that would not have been so paid or reversed had the amendment been in force. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering jurisdiction shifts to GST Appellate Tribunal, altering authority to examine price reductions and input tax credit pass-through.
Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 provisions notify staggered commencements (27.09.2024 and 01.11.2024) introducing substantive CGST/IGST/UTGST/Compensation Cess amendments: retrospective relaxation of input tax credit time-limits for initial GST years; limitation of certain assessment and determination provisions to periods up to FY 2023-24; empowerment to regularise non-levy or short-levy arising from trade practices; reduced pre-deposit requirements for appeals; conditional waiver mechanisms for interest and penalty; and procedural changes covering reverse charge invoicing, registration revocation, records, electronic returns by TDS deductors and refund restrictions for zero-rated goods subject to export duty. (AI Summary)

Waiver of Interest and Penalty: pay disputed GST tax to conclude proceedings under Section 128A.
Section 128A provides an amnesty by waiving interest and penalty where the full disputed tax in notices, statements or orders relating to specified early GST periods is paid by the government notified date, subject to prescribed conditions; it excludes cases involving fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts, erroneous refunds, and situations where interest or penalty has already been paid, and requires withdrawal of pending appeals or writs for eligibility. (AI Summary)

Refund disqualification under Rule 96(10) restricts IGST refunds for advance authorisation holders; conditional relief provided by Circular.
Rule 96(10) disqualifies persons who have availed specified customs notification benefits from claiming integrated tax refunds via the shipping bill refund mechanism; the Explanation limits that disqualification only where IGST and compensation cess were paid on inputs and only Basic Customs Duty was exempted. Courts and authorities have construed partial exemptions as availing the benefit and disqualifying exporters. Circular 233/27/2024 GST grants conditional relief by permitting amendment of Bills of Entry, payment of IGST and compensation cess with interest, and customs approval to avoid recovery, while the recommended compliance route is to seek refund of unutilised input tax credit under the zero rated refund mechanism. (AI Summary)

Data retention limitation narrows portal access; implement regular downloads to preserve GST records for disputes and compliance.
A GST data archival policy will archive portal records older than the stated retention window, removing routine access to historic returns, ledgers, notices and related documents. Because such records are frequently required as evidence in assessments, prosecutions and appeals, taxpayers should download and locally retain GSTR 1, GSTR 3B, GSTR 2A/2B, annual return schedules including Table 8A, GSTR 9/GSTR 9C, ledgers, notices, refunds, appeal documents and reconciliation reports, and adopt monthly, quarterly and annual backup practices in both electronic and hard copy. (AI Summary)

Pre-import condition upheld: exporters must satisfy pre-import and physical export requirements, pay GST and compensation cess, then seek refund.
Exemption from IGST and compensation cess on inputs imported against Advance Authorisation is conditional on satisfaction of the pre-import condition and the physical export requirement introduced by notifications dated 13-10-2017; exemptions do not apply where exporters manufactured and exported in anticipation of an authorisation and cannot demonstrate pre-import compliance, requiring payment of IGST and compensation cess at import with refund remedies under the unified regime, while legacy non-GST levies remain separately exempted where applicable. (AI Summary)

Single Show Cause Notice prohibition: consolidated notices across financial years violate year specific limitation rules under GST.
A consolidated single Show Cause Notice for multiple financial years is legally flawed because statutory limitation runs separately from the due date for furnishing the annual return for each financial year; assessments for different years must be separated and treated independently, and administrative 'bunching' of notices contravenes the year by year limitation scheme applicable to determination of tax under the statute. (AI Summary)

Limitation for refund claims pauses when an initial GST refund application is filed; follow ups are continuations.
Subsequent refund filings made at the behest of the tax authority are continuations of the original refund application where proceedings remain pending; the limitation for a GST refund is determined from the date of the original filing, not from any follow up application. A deficiency memo requesting additional documents does not render a materially complete application non est for limitation purposes when the initial filing included the prescribed documentary evidence. Refund claims cannot be rejected without affording an opportunity of being heard as required by the rules. (AI Summary)

Inspection of goods in movement: prescribed transport documents must be produced on interception, or detention and penalties may follow.
Inspection of goods in movement requires the person in charge of a conveyance carrying consignments above prescribed value to carry and produce prescribed documents and devices (including the e-way bill) for verification when intercepted in transit. On interception, the person must produce documents and allow inspection; deficiencies trigger detention, seizure, release procedures and potential confiscation or penalties under the transit enforcement provisions. (AI Summary)

GSTAT establishment expedited: government ordered to complete member selection to commence appellate tribunal operations promptly.
The court directed completion of the member selection process within four months to initiate GSTAT operations, focusing on expediting appointments to enable statutory appellate review. The court refused to entertain a public interest challenge seeking to mandate multi modal service of notices and orders, holding that issues of service modes and natural justice are matters for individual litigation rather than systemic adjudication in PIL. (AI Summary)

Opportunity to reply to Show Cause Notice: taxpayer allowed fresh reply upon deposit of a portion of disputed tax.
The court set aside the assessment order to permit the taxpayer, a small business, a fresh opportunity to reply to the Show Cause Notice and submit documents explaining the erroneous claim of Input Tax Credit reported under reverse charge, subject to making a deposit of part of the disputed tax prior to reissuance of a fresh order. (AI Summary)