Supply of services: nominal employee canteen deductions are not treated as supply; ITC available where canteen is obligatory.
The authority ruled that nominal deductions from employee salaries for canteen meals do not amount to a supply of services under GST, as employer perquisites provided under the employment contract fall outside supply. It further held that input tax credit is available under the proviso to the blocked-credit clause because the canteen services were obligatory for the employer under law, making ITC claimable on the CSP invoices and related inputs. (AI Summary)

Procedural fairness in GST cancellations can prevent undue harm to small businesses, subject to compliance and portal reactivation.
The dispute addresses whether tax authorities must acknowledge belated filing and suspend cancellation when a registrant files pending returns after receiving a show cause notice. The court emphasized that pandemic-related non-filing did not imply tax evasion and directed that the cancellation be set aside provided the registrant files all pending returns and pays tax, interest, fines and penalties within a stipulated period, and that authorities reactivate the portal to enable compliance. (AI Summary)

Chapter VI-A deductions for HUFs: specified provisions permit tax relief on investments, health, disability, donations and savings.
Chapter VI-A permits HUFs to claim deductions across specified heads: investment and principal repayment deductions similar to Section 80C (excluding PPF contributions for HUFs); health insurance premium deductions with enhanced relief for senior insured persons; disability and specified-disease medical treatment deductions with separate limits for regular and severe cases and for senior citizens; donation deductions varying by institution including research and rural development donations and political contributions; and a capped deduction for savings bank interest. Each deduction is subject to statutory eligibility and documentation requirements. (AI Summary)

e Invoice reporting obligations conflict with electronic records law, raising ultra vires concerns and invalidating forced physical production.
e Invoice and e Way Bill operate as reporting obligations and do not create a separate electronic invoice that overrides tax invoice rules; Rule 48(4) cannot displace the timing and issuance requirements of the tax invoice provisions. Rule 138A(2) exceeds its delegated power and is ultra vires the enabling provision and the IT Act's primacy regarding electronic records. Advisories setting procedural deadlines without proper statutory authority are invalid. Detention of vehicles for non production of a physical copy where an electronic record existed is legally questionable and electronic records/QR codes should satisfy document production requirements. (AI Summary)

Income tax return filing online: select appropriate ITR form, complete validation and use e verification to finalize submission.
Procedure for online income tax return filing: access the official e filing portal, log in, choose assessment year, submission mode and taxpayer status, select the appropriate ITR form (ITR 1 or ITR 4), complete sections on personal information, income, deductions and taxes paid, review the summarized tax computation, proceed to validation, and complete verification via e Verify or physical submission before final submission and acknowledgement. (AI Summary)

Show Cause Notice requirement bars coercive recovery of disputed IGST refunds under the Advance Authorization Scheme pending challenge.
A revenue authority must issue a Show Cause Notice before commencing coercive recovery of disputed IGST refunds claimed on exports under the Advance Authorization Scheme; the requirement is central while the vires of Rule 96(10) of the CGST Rules, which conditions refund eligibility where deemed-export benefits are availed, remains under challenge. (AI Summary)

Reverse charge on sponsorship services shifts GST payment to corporate or partnership recipients, affecting ITC recovery.
Sponsorship supplied for consideration is a taxable supply and, where provided to a body corporate or partnership firm located in the taxable territory, the GST on such sponsorship is payable by the recipient under the Reverse Charge Mechanism. Certain specified sporting-event sponsorships are exempt; SEZ units may avoid payment under RCM by furnishing a Letter of Undertaking. Recipients paying tax under RCM can claim Input Tax Credit subject to invoice requirements, while suppliers must perform ITC reversals under Rule 42/43 to the extent supplies are used for exempt activities. (AI Summary)

Corporate Social Responsibility compliance requires qualifying companies to establish governance and allocate mandated annual spending for specified activities.
Section 135 of the Companies Act mandates that companies meeting prescribed financial thresholds constitute a Board-level Corporate Social Responsibility Committee to formulate, recommend and monitor a CSR policy aligned with activities listed in Schedule VII. The Board must report CSR policy and implementation under Section 134, allocate a prescribed proportion of average net profits for CSR spending with local-area preference, may set off excess expenditure against future obligations as prescribed, and must account for or transfer unspent amounts to specified funds within the statutory timeframe. (AI Summary)

Rectification under Section 161 permits correction of errors apparent on record, with strict time limits and natural justice safeguards.
Rectification under Section 161 permits the issuing authority to correct errors apparent on the face of record in decisions, orders, notices, certificates or other documents, suo motu or on notice by officials or the affected person. Applications must be filed within three months (except for suo motu action) and rectification orders are to be passed within six months, with the six month limit not applying to clerical or arithmetical corrections; natural justice is required if rectification adversely affects any person. (AI Summary)

Seizure of documents from non-target premises: authorities ordered to decide petitioner's representation promptly, merits reserved.
The core issue was whether documents seized during a search at premises occupied by an assessee who was not the named subject of the warrant could be retained and whether copies should be released. The court ordered the revenue authorities to decide the petitioner's representation for release of seized documents in accordance with law within a short period, reserved all parties' substantive rights, did not rule on the merits, and confirmed the petitioner may pursue further legal remedies against any ensuing decision. (AI Summary)

Re-opening of accounts: NCLT authority to recast financial statements where fraud or mismanagement undermines reliability.
Section 130 authorises the NCLT to re-open and re-cast a company's books where accounts were fraudulently prepared or affairs were mismanaged, subject to notice to specified authorities and consideration of their representations; once the Tribunal is satisfied that statutory preconditions are met its revised accounts are final. Where directors have been suspended under the mismanagement provisions they are precluded from representing the company in Section 130 proceedings. (AI Summary)

Validation of defective GST proceedings: procedural mistakes do not invalidate actions if they conform in substance to statutory purpose.
Assessments, adjudications, notices and related proceedings shall not be invalid solely due to mistakes, defects or omissions if the actions, in substance and effect, conform with the intents, purposes and requirements of the GST law or any existing law; service of a notice, order or communication cannot be challenged where the recipient has already acted on it or where the service was not contested in earlier proceedings. (AI Summary)

Corporate social responsibility requirement: companies must allocate a minimum statutory portion of net profit and comply with CSR governance.
Section 135 requires eligible companies to allocate a mandated portion of net profit to CSR, constitute a CSR committee, adopt a board approved CSR policy, disclose the policy in the annual board report, and publish CSR activities online. The 2022 amendments allow implementation through recognised implementing entities such as charitable companies, registered public trusts, registered societies established by the company, or government bodies. Procedural compliance includes filing Form CSR 1 on the MCA portal with authorised digital signatures, professional confirmation, document upload, SRN generation, and issuance of a CSR registration number. (AI Summary)

Opportunity of personal hearing required before concluding contested GST assessment after registration cancellation.
An opportunity of a personal hearing is required before finalising contested GST assessments arising from cancelled registration. The court directed that upon receipt of the petitioner's reply and receipt of ten percent of the disputed demand, the authority must provide a reasonable opportunity including a personal hearing and thereafter pass a fresh assessment order; the earlier order was quashed for failing to afford adequate opportunity to contest the demand. (AI Summary)

Export subsidy prohibition: WTO challenge to India's export incentives spurred transition to RoDTEP and other compliant measures.
The article examines a WTO dispute in which the United States challenged Indian export promotion programmes as export-contingent subsidies prohibited by Article 3.1(a) and inconsistent with Article 3.2 of the SCM Agreement. India relies on Article 27 special and differential treatment and transitional phase-out arguments while reforming incentives into WTO-complaint alternatives such as RoDTEP, RoSCTL and other non-export-contingent supports. A panel report found the measures inconsistent, India appealed but the Appellate Body's dysfunction has suspended final resolution, and some trading partners have pursued countervailing duties against alleged subsidies. (AI Summary)

Shipping bill deemed refund application requires department to process and sanction IGST refund despite data mismatch and delays.
Shipping bills are deemed applications for refund of IGST on exported goods and must be processed without undue withholding; the Department's failure to process a deemed refund due to a customs data mismatch (SB006) attributable to the shipping line was impermissible where officers and shipping agents bear responsibility for data confirmation. The court directed immediate processing and sanction of the IGST refund and emphasized that refunds must be allowed or rejected with recorded reasons and within prescribed timelines. (AI Summary)

Cooperative society status under RTI: societies registered under state cooperative law are not covered, limiting citizens' access.
Whether a registered cooperative society constitutes a public authority under the Right to Information Act, 2005 is framed by Section 2(h)'s enumerative definition and precedent distinguishing member-run societies from state instrumentalities. The piece recounts an instance where a Tamil Nadu-registered society refused RTI disclosure, prompting appeals and allegations about preferential loan disbursements; it underscores that registration under the state cooperative statute and autonomous operation do not, without more, bring a society within the Act's public authority definition and attendant disclosure duties. (AI Summary)

Non compliance with Rule 21A: electronic service requirement for FORM GST REG 31 invalidates defective suspension communications.
Non compliance with Rule 21A is central: FORM GST REG 31 must be intimated electronically on the common portal or to the e mail address provided at registration. Physical mailing of FORM GST REG 31, omission of the issuing officer's name and designation on the show cause notice, absence or inaccessibility of supporting documents, and reliance solely on a digital signature raise procedural defects that undermine the formal sufficiency of suspension or cancellation communications required under the CGST Rules. (AI Summary)

Memorandum of Association scope limits corporate powers while Articles of Association govern internal management and member rights.
The memorandum defines the company's external scope and legal capacity through clauses such as name, liability, registered office, capital and subscription, and is required at incorporation; actions outside its object clause are prohibited. The articles govern internal management and member rights-share rules, director powers, meeting procedures and winding up-and may be amended by members subject to resolution and statutory constraints, provided amendments do not conflict with existing contracts or increase members' liabilities improperly. (AI Summary)

Adjudication in GST requires clear show cause notices and reasoned orders; assessees must assess post order remedies and appeals.
Adjudication in GST is initiated by a show cause notice that must specify grounds and respect natural justice; demands cannot be confirmed on undisclosed grounds. Adjudication requires reasoned speaking orders and adherence to principles such as legislative intent, res judicata and limitation. Upon receipt of an order in original an assessee must review the order line by line, decide whether to accept (fully or partially) or appeal, and pursue rectification for apparent errors under the statutory rectification mechanism, noting that, subject to rectification, the adjudication order is a valid statutory order. (AI Summary)