Manual appeal filing upheld as valid where electronic filing mandate was not yet applicable, preserving merits consideration.
The court held that appeals filed manually prior to the electronic-filing mandate cannot be dismissed solely for non-electronic filing, relying on precedent that such dismissal is a technical forfeiture; it noted the amendment making electronic filing mandatory with a proviso permitting manual filing where notified by the Commissioner or where the order is unavailable on the common portal, and remitted the matter to the appellate authority for fresh consideration on merits. (AI Summary)

Subsistence allowance: employers cannot demand daily factory gate attendance as a precondition for payment during suspension.
Suspension is temporary non attendance from duty while retaining membership of service and normally attracts a statutory subsistence allowance. The allowance is a beneficial entitlement under the Standing Orders regime and cannot be nullified by employer imposed external conditions. Requiring daily physical attendance at the factory gate as a precondition for payment is inconsistent with the purpose of the statutory provision and Model Standing Orders and is therefore unlawful; a suspended employee need only satisfy the non employment requirement, not onerous attendance conditions. (AI Summary)

Tax deducted at source: employees not liable where employer fails to deposit, revenue must pursue the employer.
Tax Deducted at Source cannot form the basis of a direct demand on an employee where the employer has deducted tax but failed to remit it; statutory provisions and administrative instructions require payment to the Central Government account for credit to arise, and the employee cannot be coerced to pay or have refunds adjusted-recovery must be pursued against the employer/deductor. (AI Summary)

Constitutional validity of input tax credit restrictions affirmed as not manifestly arbitrary under arbitrariness test.
The Kerala High Court applied a standard of judicial restraint, holding that taxation provisions can be invalidated only if manifestly arbitrary-drastically unreasonable, capricious, irrational, or lacking an adequate determining principle-and concluded that Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act and Rule 36(4) do not meet that threshold. The court accordingly rejected the constitutional challenge to denial of Input Tax Credit based on reconciliation differences between supplier and recipient returns and sustained related interest, penalty and recovery consequences. (AI Summary)

Section 80IC deduction upheld where eligible publishing activity proved and discount treated as trade discount, not commission.
The article addresses eligibility for the Section 80IC deduction where the Assessing Officer alleged absence of printing activity at the eligible unit and characterised payments to the holding company as commission attractable to withholding under Section 194H. On appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Tribunal accepted evidence proving genuine printing at the eligible premises and treated the payment as a trade discount, not commission, negating withholding. The High Court declined to disturb the Tribunal's factual findings and found no substantial question of law. (AI Summary)

HSN validation in e way bills: new 4/6 digit HSN requirement will change GST reporting and compliance processes.
The e way bill system will validate 4 or 6 digit HSN codes and taxpayers must update systems accordingly; GSTR 1 adds Tables for supplies via e commerce operators and for supplies where e commerce operators are liable under Section 9(5), enabling correct auto filling of Table 3.1.1 in GSTR 3B; due dates for GSTR 3B, GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C were extended for specified districts and a prior special procedure notification for certain manufacturers was rescinded and replaced. (AI Summary)

Purchaser verification of seller GST registration limits buyer liability; verify on GST portal to establish bonafide purchase.
Purchaser responsibility under the GST framework is limited to establishing that goods were bonafidely purchased for valuable consideration after verifying the seller's GST registration on the GST portal. Revenue may proceed against an absent supplier under confiscation provisions and against the transporter or person in charge under transit provisions, but cannot confiscate a buyer's goods solely on doubt about the supplier without affording the buyer an opportunity to establish the purchase. Detained goods may be released on deposit and bond and vehicles released to the transporter pending enquiry. (AI Summary)

Assessment against a deceased person is invalid; notices must be treated as addressed to legal heirs and they must be heard.
Assessment processes directed at a deceased person are non est in law and therefore invalid; notices and orders issued after notice of death should be regarded as addressed to the legal heirs, who must be permitted to file replies and be given personal hearings before any fresh determination is passed. (AI Summary)

Authorized representative in GST law: defined eligible categories and disqualifications govern who may represent taxpayers in proceedings.
Authorized representative under the CGST Act allows a person entitled or required to appear before GST authorities to be represented except where personal oath or affirmation is required. Eligible representatives include relatives, regular employees, advocates not debarred, chartered accountants, cost accountants and company secretaries with valid practice certificates, prescribed qualified persons, retired commercial tax officers subject to a one-year post-retirement bar, and authorised GST practitioners. Disqualifications include dismissal from government service, convictions for specified tax-related offences, adjudged insolvency during insolvency, and misconduct determined by the prescribed authority; disqualification orders must follow principles of natural justice. (AI Summary)

Rectification of GSTR-1: permission to amend outward supply details post due date to ensure accurate credit matching and tax compliance.
The court held that limits on rectification of Form GSTR-1 must not be interpreted to bar bona fide corrections; taxpayers should be allowed to amend outward supply details post the statutory due date so accurate information is placed on record, and revenue authorities should permit such amendments by online or manual means, subject to payment of any tax and interest where short payment arises. (AI Summary)

Due application of mind: show cause notices issued without addressing replies require remand and fresh supplier inquiry.
The authority issued a show cause notice that merely reproduced the taxpayer's reply without addressing its content and conducted no inquiry into supplier records; this demonstrated issuance without due application of mind. The court remanded the matter to the pre-show cause notice stage, directing a supplier-end investigation, collection of necessary information, opportunity for further submissions and a personal hearing before any decision on issuing a show cause notice under GST provisions. (AI Summary)

Underwriter registration and compliance require demonstrated capital adequacy, formal agreements, books maintenance and reasonable due diligence.
The document sets out the regulatory framework for underwriters: definitions, registration procedures and eligibility criteria including infrastructure, underwriting experience, capital adequacy and fit-and-proper status; application and fee mechanics; conditions of registration such as agreements with issuers and reporting of changes; operational duties including subscription timelines, commission limits and maintenance of books and records; appointment of a compliance officer; and the Board's inspection, audit and sanctioning powers, with a cited authority emphasising the underwriter's obligation to conduct reasonable due diligence. (AI Summary)

Failure to upload detailed order compels re-adjudication, fresh reply opportunity and personal hearing for taxpayer.
Where a revenue authority issues a summary show-cause order but fails to upload the signed detailed order on the portal, the assessment is procedurally defective and must be reopened. The taxpayer is entitled to file an additional reply and to a personal hearing, and the revenue authority must re-adjudicate and pass fresh orders on merit in accordance with law. (AI Summary)

Anticipatory bail should be denied in serious economic offences affecting public interest, court upheld caution in granting relief.
The Gujarat High Court refused anticipatory bail under Section 438 Cr.P.C. where the petitioner was prima facie involved in creating a fake GST account to obtain Input Tax Credit illegally; the court, mindful of the wide societal and economic impact of such offences, applied a cautious discretion informed by precedents treating serious economic offences differently and dismissed the anticipatory bail application. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit eligibility: belated GST return filing bars ITC claims under prescribed statutory time limit.
Input Tax Credit is an enabling concession subject to mandatory statutory eligibility conditions; the statutory time limit for filing returns functions as a prerequisite to avail ITC, and filing returns beyond that prescribed period generally disentitles a registered person from claiming ITC, with constitutional challenges to that temporal restriction not altering the condition's operative role in entitlement. (AI Summary)

Universal service fund framework ensures centralized credits and appropriations to support telecom access in underserved areas.
The Universal Service Obligation Fund collects sums attributable to universal service obligations, credits proceeds to the Consolidated Fund of India and, subject to parliamentary appropriation, transfers them into the Fund for exclusive use in meeting universal service objectives. The Central Government administers the Fund by rules, coordinates timely release and utilization, prescribes criteria for grants and loans, and oversees projects to extend telecommunication services to underserved areas. (AI Summary)

Appellate remedy availability permitted after dismissal of writ; appeals may be filed without limitation insistence.
The writ petition was dismissed where disallowance of Input Tax Credit affected the beneficiary and findings from search and seizure supported imposition of interest and penalty; no breach of natural justice was found. The court granted liberty to the petitioners to prefer appeals before the appropriate appellate authority within the prescribed period, without insisting on limitation, holding that an efficacious appellate remedy was available to challenge the disallowance and consequential fiscal liabilities. (AI Summary)

Right of way for telecommunication networks: non-discriminatory access and prescribed procedures govern installation and use.
Right of way permits a facility provider to use public or private property to survey, establish, operate, maintain, repair, replace, augment, remove or relocate telecommunication networks upon application and permission. Facility providers include government entities and authorized contractors; public property covers movable and immovable assets under public control. Permission must be granted expeditiously within prescribed timelines, subject to administrative expenses and compensation, and facility providers must minimize damage and ensure continuity of operations. Installed networks confer only a right to use, not title, and common ducts may be mandated for open access. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit entitlement where electronic return mechanism is unavailable, requiring allowance of manual filings and claims.
Where FORM GSTR-2 was not notified and the GSTN lacked a mechanism to file incomplete or zero-tax FORM GSTR-3B, taxpayers who maintained purchase records and claimed ITC in books could not be denied credit solely for the absence of an electronic filing option. Administrative authorities must permit manual filing and accept belated returns to enable assessment of self-assessed ITC when returns are otherwise in order and compliant with law. (AI Summary)

GST on seconded employees: employer status determines reverse charge liability for salary reimbursements and imported services.
GST treatment of employee secondment turns on whether a supply exists and which entity is the real employer. Cost-sharing and revenue-sharing models may not create intercompany supplies, but services provided by foreign employees to the Indian entity can be imported services subject to reverse charge. Employer determination relies on tests such as lien on employment, de facto control, termination and payroll rights, retention of benefits, contractual designation, integration into the business, who pays wages, asset ownership, payroll continuity, and special deputation allowances. (AI Summary)