Mediation Council establishment and governance: statutory body with powers to regulate mediator certification, conduct, and reporting.
The legislation creates the Mediation Council of India as a corporate body empowered to hold property, enter contracts and establish offices, with a Chairperson, two appointed members, specified ex officio members, a part time member and an industry representative; vacancies or appointment defects do not invalidate Council actions. Members (except ex officio) serve four year terms with reappointment eligibility and age caps; resignation and removal procedures are prescribed, including grounds for removal and right to be heard. The Council's functions encompass promoting mediation, setting standards for mediator education, registration and conduct, recognizing and regulating mediation institutes and service providers, maintaining an electronic depository of mediated settlements, conducting training, publishing research, and reporting to the Central Government. (AI Summary)

ITC time-bar challenge to CGST amendment admitted; interim stay conditioned on payment of a portion of disputed tax.
The petition challenges the temporal limitation on claiming Input Tax Credit and the amendment to Rule 61(5) CGST Rules made by Notification No. 49/2019, after an adjudicating authority confirmed a demand on the ground that ITC was availed beyond the statutory time limit under Section 16(4). The court admitted the writ, noted availability of alternative remedies, and ordered a proportionate payment of the disputed tax within a stipulated period as a condition for suspension of further proceedings. (AI Summary)

Gratuity as statutory right cannot be forfeited absent termination and legal establishment of an offence involving moral turpitude.
Gratuity is a statutory right, not charity, and Section 4(6) of the Payment of Gratuity Act permits forfeiture only upon conduct constituting an offence involving moral turpitude that is legally established; findings in a domestic inquiry or pending criminal proceedings without termination or conviction do not suffice to withhold gratuity. (AI Summary)

Export zero rating made default under GST, with FEMA timing and SEZ use conditions altering refund and compliance rights.
Exports are now defaulted to zero-rated supplies with statutory FEMA aligned proceeds timing; supplies to SEZs are zero rated only if used for authorized SEZ operations and government may notify classes permitted to export with tax and claim refund. E commerce rules permit composition taxpayers to sell through ECOs, impose ECO reporting and penal duties, and create registration exemptions for small online sellers subject to intra state and enrolment constraints. ITC reversals for warehoused goods and CSR expenditure denial, three year return time bars, expanded non filer curing windows, refund interest computation rules, consent based data sharing, and removal of reverse charge on ocean freight are also enacted. (AI Summary)

Composite supply principle prevents separate IGST on ocean freight, ending reverse-charge liability for importers.
The Supreme Court held that under a CIF contract the Indian importer is the recipient of the composite supply (goods plus transportation/insurance/freight), and that imposing a separate IGST under reverse charge on ocean freight would conflict with the composite-supply concept and tax transactions between foreign parties beyond India's territorial reach. Consequentially, Notifications Nos. 11/2023, 12/2023 and 13/2023 (effective October 1, 2023) were issued to remove the reverse-charge levy on ocean freight for imports. (AI Summary)

Authorized share capital increase: requires AOA amendment, shareholder approval and filing prescribed ROC forms.
An increase in authorized share capital requires amendment of the Articles of Association and the Memorandum's capital clause, board initiation and an EGM with member approval, followed by timely filing of prescribed forms with the Registrar of Companies (including certified resolution, amended charter documents and stamp duty proof), using digital signatures and DIN where applicable. (AI Summary)

Global minimum tax exposure for Indian operations depends on domestic ETRs, incentives, and jurisdictional blending outcomes.
The article assesses how the Global Minimum Tax interacts with India's tax framework, noting that statutory rates, concessional regimes and taxes such as MAT, surcharge and cess will be treated as covered taxes for GloBE purposes. It explains that withholding taxes and incentive structures affect domestic ETRs, that MAT will not qualify as a QDMTT, and that the substance based income exclusion and jurisdictional blending across Indian entities can materially reduce or eliminate Pillar Two top up tax exposure. (AI Summary)

Belated income tax return allows late filing but triggers penalties and interest; follow e filing and e verification steps promptly.
Belated income tax return filing allows taxpayers to submit returns after the original due date but exposes them to late filing penalties, interest on outstanding tax, and possible refund delays; taxpayers should gather financial documents, select the appropriate ITR form on the official e filing portal, compute and pay any tax due, submit the return and complete e verification, and retain records of filings and acknowledgements. (AI Summary)

GST composition eligibility expanded, with ITC reversal rules tightened and procedural limits on returns and prosecutions.
Finance Act, 2023 expands the Composition Scheme to include suppliers of goods via e commerce, clarifies that unremitted payment within 180 days requires reversal/repayment of ITC with interest under Section 50(3), and mandates inclusion of warehoused goods sold pre clearance in the exempt supply base for common ITC reversal. ITC is blocked for CSR activities. Procedural limits include a three year bar on filing certain returns and revised timelines for revocation of cancelled registration and best judgment assessment. Offence thresholds and compounding rules are revised; export, SEZ, OIDAR, and place of supply rules are also amended. (AI Summary)

MSME registration establishes enterprise classification and unlocks eligibility for government schemes, preferential procurement and financing support.
MSME registration classifies an enterprise as micro, small or medium via the Udyam Registration portal, using Aadhaar and PAN verification and documentation of business identity, address, bank details and financial particulars. Classification depends on investment in plant and machinery and annual turnover, and determines eligibility for benefits including preferential procurement, government schemes, subsidised and collateral-free loans, credit guarantee access, technology upgradation subsidies, faster licensing and potential tax concessions. (AI Summary)

GST reporting obligations: auditors must disclose GST liability, reconcile GSTIN-wise records, and exclude separately accounted tax from turnover.
Tax auditors must disclose GST liability and list all GSTINs, affirm reverse charge-only liabilities, and exclude tax recovered in separate output tax accounts from gross turnover. Composition scheme GST is an indirect expense and not part of turnover. Clause 27(a) and e filing formats require reporting of Input Tax Credit details. Clause 44 requires a GST-wise break-up of total expenditure, reconciliation with GST portal records, and maintenance of GSTIN-level working papers reflecting prescribed additions and exclusions to arrive at the reported expenditure. (AI Summary)

Appointment of arbitrator through party agreement or court intervention where parties fail to agree, with disclosure and time limits.
Appointment of arbitrator is governed by party autonomy: parties may fix an odd-numbered tribunal and the appointment procedure. If parties cannot agree, a court or its designated authority may appoint-sole arbitrator appointments require agreement within thirty days or court appointment; three-member tribunals require each party to nominate one member and the two appointees to select the presiding arbitrator. Courts must seek written disclosures from prospective arbitrators and consider qualifications and impartiality; domestic appointment applications should be disposed expeditiously, ordinarily within sixty days. (AI Summary)

Income tax return requirement shapes loan underwriting by proving income stability and enabling lender due diligence.
ITR documents serve as primary proof of income and tax compliance for loan underwriting; lenders typically require recent years of filed ITRs together with salary slips, bank statements, identity and address proof, and security documents. The ITR filing process requires collecting income and investment records, selecting the correct ITR form, completing and verifying entries, submitting via authorised channels, and completing post-filing verification by electronic means or by sending a signed copy to the Centralised Processing Centre within the prescribed period. (AI Summary)

Deemed rent: unsold flats taxed from completion certificate with annual value based on municipal value.
Deemed rental income from unsold developer flats is taxable as Income from House Property from the date of the certificate of completion, with Annual Letting Value to be based on municipal value rather than construction or investment cost; an amendment provides for a limited nil annual value period for stock-in-trade units not let out, but that amendment is to be applied prospectively. (AI Summary)

Chapter VIA deductions permit specified investment, health, education and donation claims to reduce individual taxable income.
Chapter VIA authorizes specified deductions for individuals and HUFs grouped by purpose: investment and pension contributions under Sections 80C, 80CCC and 80CCD; health insurance premiums under Section 80D; education-loan interest under Section 80E; donations under Section 80G; and interest-related exemptions under Sections 80TTA and 80TTB. Each deduction category is subject to prescribed limits or duration features described in the text, defining allowable claims for computing taxable income. (AI Summary)

Types of directors define board roles and appointment pathways, distinguishing executive, non executive, nominee and alternate positions.
Various categories of persons who discharge supervisory and managerial functions on corporate boards are described, distinguishing roles, appointment conditions and regulatory obligations. Directors are identified as trustees and representatives of company assets: executive directors manage day to day affairs; non executive and certified directors provide oversight and specialised advice; shadow directors may be treated as directors when the board follows their directions. The note explains mechanisms for initial, additional, alternate and nominee appointments and the governance purpose of separating powers. (AI Summary)

Exemptions for Nidhi companies relax procedural, issuance, voting and disclosure obligations while retaining member protections.
Modifications exempt Nidhi companies from multiple provisions of the Companies Act, 2013 by limiting individual service obligations for small shareholders to public notice and notice-board display, disapplying several private placement and further issue formalities including application, allotment timelines and filing obligations, permitting purchase of shares from departing depositors without treating it as capital reduction, capping individual poll voting power, relaxing dividend distribution and small-dividend discharge by public announcement, reducing nomination deposit for director candidature, allowing loans to directors in member capacity with disclosure, and adjusting managerial remuneration and filing fee calculations. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit indefeasibility upheld despite errors in TRAN-1 filings, preserving legitimately availed transitional credit for taxpayer.
The court held that where Input Tax Credit was validly reflected in the taxpayer's last VAT return and subsequently availed and utilized under GST, clerical mistakes in original and revised Form TRAN-1 filings do not defeat the indefeasible nature of that credit; adjudicating authorities must re-examine records from the last VAT return and may condone TRAN-1 filing errors, while wrongly transited credits unsupported by VAT returns remain recoverable. (AI Summary)

Fraudulent trading under IBC does not extend remedies to third parties; civil claims remain available to resolution professionals.
Section 66 IBC is confined to persons knowingly party to fraudulent or wrongful trading and to directors or partners failing due diligence; it empowers orders for contributions to the corporate debtor's assets but does not provide remedies against unrelated third-party entities. Civil remedies against third parties are independent of Section 66 and must be pursued separately by the Resolution Professional, Successful Resolution Applicant or the corporate debtor; initiation of Section 66 proceedings does not bar ordinary civil actions for recovery. (AI Summary)

Cenvat credit on construction services valid where used for modernization and renovation of existing plant.
Construction and restoration services used for expansion, modernization, modification, renovation or upgradation of an existing plant qualify as input service under the Cenvat Credit Rules, and when so used permit Cenvat credit; exclusion of setting up a factory does not bar credit for services directed to improving an existing factory. (AI Summary)