Seizure of cash under GST barred: cash is money, not goods, so goods seizure powers do not cover currency.
Cash constitutes money rather than goods under the CGST Act's definitions, so statutory powers to seize goods do not extend to physical currency; retention of seized cash therefore lacks statutory foundation. (AI Summary)

Interpretation of taxing statutes: addition of non statutory words alters deduction and income analysis in employee contribution cases.
The article contends the Supreme Court read words such as 'deducted', 'deposited', and 'retained' into statutory provisions governing deemed income and deductions, thereby conflating 'sums received' with employer payroll deductions credited to employee accounts. It argues the statutory text uses 'received' and 'credited' in defined ways, that 'actually paid' is limited in scope elsewhere, and that the Court failed to justify importing terms that change the legal characterization of employee contributions, warranting reconsideration. (AI Summary)

Detention and penalty for undervaluation barred; valuation notice and assessment must precede such measures.
Detention and penalty cannot be imposed under the UPGST detention provision solely for alleged undervaluation; the competent procedure requires issuance of a valuation assessment notice and completion of assessment under the statutory valuation provisions, and only thereafter, if undervaluation is established, may penalty consequences follow. (AI Summary)

Non-filing of Part B e-way bill for technical reasons does not alone justify penalty without intent to evade tax.
Non-filing of Part B of the e way bill due to technical difficulties, absent any intention to evade tax and where accompanying documents show no discrepancy, does not by itself warrant imposition of penalty under the statutory detention and seizure penalty provision. The court relied on prior rulings treating mere omission of Part B as a technical defect and emphasized the necessity of demonstrating evasive intent or material documentary irregularity before invoking penal consequences. (AI Summary)

Priority disposal of tax appeals allowed for VIP references, court directions, senior citizens, or genuine hardship requests.
The CBDT's revised guidelines allow priority or out-of-turn disposal of income-tax appeals at CIT(A) Assessment Units and Additional/Joint CIT(Appeals) where genuine and exceptional circumstances exist; requests from appellants, Assessing Officers or Range Heads are to be recommended by jurisdictional principal commissioners and considered by Pr.CCsIT/CCsIT/DGsIT. Categories for priority include large-demand matters, VIP/PMO references, court-directed priority, requests by senior or super-senior citizens, and other cases of genuine hardship, replacing the 2021 mechanism and aligning with the e-Appeals 2023 framework. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit via book adjustment upheld as valid mode of payment, permitting ITC where mutual debts are set off.
Input tax credit is permissible where consideration is settled by book adjustment; the CGST Act's inclusive definition of consideration and prior authority recognizing non monetary discharge support that settlement of mutual debts by book adjustment is a valid mode of payment and cannot alone justify denial of ITC. (AI Summary)

Income treated as business income can qualify for deduction under section 32AB when integrated within the same business accounts.
Income taxed under heads other than business may be treated as business income for specific statutory computations where it arises from activities forming part of the same business and is presented as such in audited accounts. Under the investment/deposit-linked deduction regime, qualifying profits are taken from business accounts; an eligible business can include receipts like rental income if shown in the profit and loss account and not expressly excluded by the statutory definition, enabling such receipts to be included when computing the deduction. (AI Summary)

Presumptive taxation for professionals: a deemed-profit regime simplifying compliance while limiting separate deduction claims.
Section 44ADA allows eligible resident individuals and partnership firms in specified professions to compute taxable income by deeming a fixed proportion of gross receipts as profits, waiving routine bookkeeping and audit, subject to a receipts threshold (with a higher threshold where cash receipts are limited); non-account-payee cheque or bank draft receipts are treated as cash; specified deductions and depreciation are deemed allowed and disallowed otherwise; taxpayers claiming lower profits must maintain accounts and obtain audit reports if total income exceeds the exemption limit; partnership firms cannot claim partner salary or interest when opting for the scheme. (AI Summary)

Force majeure-based extension of limitation: notices may proceed but no final recovery orders to be passed pending returnable date.
The Notification invoked Section 168A to extend the limitation for issuance of orders under Section 73(9) for recovery of wrongly availed Input Tax Credit; the petitioner contended that COVID 19 no longer constituted a force majeure after 2022 and so the Council could not validly extend limitation. The Court noted the Explanation to Section 168A defining force majeure, observed a prior extension had been made, and following other High Courts granted interim relief: the petitioner must file a reply, proceedings may continue but no final recovery order shall be passed until the returnable date. (AI Summary)

Standardisation of supervisory returns: consolidated filing rules tighten reporting timelines and require stronger IT and resource readiness.
The consolidated Master Direction standardises formats and timelines for supervisory returns by banks, NBFCs and select all India financial institutions, clarifies covered return types, excludes certain entities, and shortens filing timelines for auditor based account reviews and interest rate sensitivity reporting while requiring adequate resources and IT infrastructure to meet routine and ad hoc supervisory requests. (AI Summary)

Intermediary services do not include commission for procuring export orders where a supplier provides comprehensive vendor selection and quality control.
Commission for procuring export orders and performing vendor selection, sample design and testing, quality monitoring and coordination until dispatch, provided on a principal-to-principal basis and remunerated with reference to Free on Board value, does not constitute an intermediary service and falls outside Business Auxiliary Service and Business Support Service definitions. (AI Summary)

Substantial question of law decides admission and scope of High Court GST appeals, limiting hearing to that formulated issue.
Section 117 of the CGST Act permits appeals from State Bench Tribunal orders to the High Court where a substantial question of law is involved; the High Court formulates and confines the appeal to that question, decides it with reasons and possible costs, and may address issues left undetermined or wrongly decided by the Tribunal. Appeals must meet procedural requirements-timely filing subject to condonation, prescribed form and verification, multi-judge bench hearing, and applicability of Civil Procedure Code appeal provisions-while rules require administrative confirmation of demand by the jurisdictional officer. (AI Summary)

Amount B simplified transfer pricing approach offers optional streamlined rules for distributors, defining scope, exclusions and non-binding counterparty effect.
Amount B is a simplified transfer pricing approach for wholesale distributors that jurisdictions may opt to adopt, allowing resident entities to elect or be mandated to use it; electing taxpayers must provide consent for a minimum fixed period unless they fall out of scope. The approach specifies scope criteria and exclusions (notably digital goods, commodities, and services), treats certain mixed-activity distributors as potentially in scope, and renders the bilateral outcome non-binding on counterparty jurisdictions that do not adopt the method, with MAP remaining the route to resolve double taxation in such cases. (AI Summary)

Adjournment limits under GST prevent combining Show Cause Notice adjournments with other proceedings; hearings must be individually scheduled.
Adjournments for Show Cause Notice proceedings must be kept distinct from adjournments in other GST proceedings and are governed by the requirement that the proper officer record written reasons and grant adjournments only for sufficient cause, not exceeding three grants to a person during a proceeding. The court determined the adjournment for an assessment proceeding could not be clubbed with the SCN process, quashed the tax recovery communication issued without a distinct SCN hearing, and directed filing of a response and scheduling of a personal hearing. (AI Summary)

Binding resolution plan prevents post approval attachment of corporate debtor bank accounts under Section 31.
An approved resolution plan under the Code is binding on the corporate debtor and all stakeholders; once sanctioned by the NCLT its terms fix the treatment of claims and prevent subsequent enforcement measures that would alter or revive claims. Consequently, attachment of a corporate debtor's current account after approval of a resolution plan is inconsistent with the binding effect of an approved plan and claims must be dealt with in accordance with the plan's terms under Section 31. (AI Summary)

Condonation of delay: Appellate authorities may admit appeals after limitation expiry when sufficient cause is shown.
The Limitation Act applies so that an appellate authority may condone delay and admit an appeal presented within one month after the prescribed limitation period when sufficient cause is shown; documented circumstances constituting sufficient cause require the authority to consider condonation and, if condonation is granted, to decide the appeal on its merits after giving an opportunity to be heard. (AI Summary)

Consideration of assessee reply requires officers to examine submissions and seek further details before issuing assessment orders.
Assessment orders are invalid where the Proper Officer does not consider the assessee's reply on its merits. The officer must peruse submissions and, if the reply is incomplete, must seek specific additional documents or particulars; merely recording that no proper reply was received without granting an opportunity or demonstrating perusal shows procedural failings and necessitates reconsideration. (AI Summary)

Presumptive taxation for goods carriage fixes standard monthly income per vehicle; lower profits allowed only with audited books.
Presumptive taxation under Section 44AE allows assessees owning not more than ten goods carriages to have business income deemed as the aggregate of prescribed monthly amounts per vehicle, with different rates by vehicle class and weight basis. CBDT clarification specifies gross vehicle or unladen weight measurement for heavy vehicles and similar machines. The scheme treats standard business deductions as already given effect to, prescribes WDV treatment as if depreciation were allowed, excludes certain record and audit provisions unless lower profits are declared with audited accounts, and requires filing the designated simplified return form. (AI Summary)

Statutory interest on delayed GST refunds accrues automatically after the statutory period and runs until refund is credited.
Payment of statutory interest under Section 56 is automatically payable when a GST refund is not credited within sixty days of receipt of the refund application; interest accrues from the day after the sixty-day period until the refund is credited. Electronic processing of refund applications and system acknowledgments do not negate the entitlement. Administrative clarification confirms interest commencement and calculation, and precedents distinguish scenarios where alternative interest rates apply, but do not affect the mandatory nature of interest for delayed refunds. (AI Summary)

GST demand based on profit and loss figures invalid; assessment must rest on specific taxpayer evidence and reasoning.
An assessing officer must not raise a GST demand solely on figures in a taxpayer's profit and loss account or on total expenditure and revenue aggregated on an all India basis; such reliance amounts to a lack of application of mind. The impugned assessment based only on those figures was quashed and remitted for fresh consideration, conditional on a specified partial deposit of the disputed tax demand. (AI Summary)