Source of funds requirement under Section 68 now mandates explaining the creditor's source before treating loans as explained.
The law now requires that loans, borrowings or other liabilities be treated as explained only if the creditor's source of funds is shown; previously identity, capacity and genuineness of the creditor sufficed. Where the assessee supplies lender particulars, confirmations and bank records, the assessing officer must verify those creditors and cannot make additions on mere suspicion. If funds pass through conduit entities, the assessee must prove conduit status and trace funds, demonstrating identity, capacity and creditworthiness to rebut allegations of bogus or accommodation entries. (AI Summary)

Non constitution of GST appellate body undermines statutory appeal route, forcing costly High Court litigation and inconsistent interim deposits.
Non constitution of the GST Appellate Tribunal has redirected statutory second appeals to High Courts, causing access to justice and cost problems. Technical GST disputes-input tax credit conditions, transitional credit, place of supply errors, and return reconciliation differences-are fact intensive and suited to tribunal adjudication. Statutory pre deposit rules tied to appeals become problematic while the Tribunal is unconstituted, and High Courts have issued divergent interim deposit/stay approaches, highlighting the need for constitution of the Tribunal and clearer governance guidance. (AI Summary)

Service via common GST portal recognised as an effective statutory mode, imposing a duty on taxpayers to monitor portal communications.
Availability of an assessment order on the common GST portal is an authorised mode of service under Section 169(1)(d) of the CGST Act. The statutory list of delivery methods includes portal publication as an effective mechanism for communicating decisions, orders and notices. Taxpayers have a concomitant duty to monitor and verify the common GST portal for communications from the revenue; failure to do so means service effected through the portal operates as valid service for statutory purposes. (AI Summary)

Letter of Undertaking allows registered exporters to export without paying integrated tax when furnished online and duly authenticated.
Filing a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) in Form RFD-11 on the GST portal permits registered exporters not disqualified by criminal or tax-evasion allegations to export goods or services without payment of integrated tax for the financial year; disqualified exporters must instead furnish an export bond. The online process requires selection of the LETTER OF UNDERTAKING option, selection of the financial year, witness details, optional prior-year LUT attachment, and authentication by electronic verification code or recognised digital signature certificate, with certain supporting documents attached. (AI Summary)

Sale treatment for separately invoiced repair parts excludes those charges from service tax when VAT is paid.
Where goods used in motor-vehicle servicing are separately invoiced and Sales Tax/Value Added Tax has been paid on them, the transfer of those goods is to be treated as a sale of goods and their value is not includible in the assessable value for service tax; the tribunal applied this principle following prior authority concerning consumables and component parts used in repairs. (AI Summary)

Taxation of online gaming: amended GST rules fix value of supply and require registration with compliance measures.
The amended indirect tax statutes tax online gaming uniformly, define online gaming and online money gaming, require registration for foreign suppliers serving Indian players, and create special IGST provisions including single-registration compliance measures. Rule 31B sets the value of supply for online gaming as the total amount paid or deposited with the supplier, including virtual digital assets, disallowing deduction for refunds and treating redeployed winnings as not fresh amounts. Rule 31C similarly fixes casino actionable-claim value as amounts paid for tokens or participation, with like non-deduction rules. These provisions are effective from notified dates. (AI Summary)

Bank account de-freezing on initial installment payment allowed, conditional on paying tax in equal installments and interest rules.
The court required the taxpayer to pay the tax liability in equal installments and to make an initial installment payment within a short prescribed period; upon that payment the revenue was ordered to unfreeze the account pending final disposal. The tax portion was to be paid in equal installments and interest would be considered after payment of the tax liability, with compliance with the installment schedule being a condition for de-freezing. (AI Summary)

DTAA applicability where services and payment records identify the treaty resident provider, supported by residency documentation.
The India-US DTAA applies where contractual, operational and payment records establish that a US corporate entity performed the services and received payment (even via an offshore account); furnishing a Tax Residency Certificate and Form 10F and documentary evidence (agreement, invoices, remittance advices) supports entitlement to treaty benefits, with factual findings on these items being decisive in "bill from-ship from" service arrangements. (AI Summary)

Search powers do not include sealing premises; sealing impinges property and business rights and needs express statutory authority.
The power to search under the Customs Act is limited to locating and seizing movable goods and documents relevant to proceedings; it does not include an implied authority to seal immovable premises. Sealing is a drastic interference with property and commercial rights and requires express statutory power. Search must be confined to relevant material and cannot be used as a fishing expedition; immovable property may only be attached and sold through prescribed recovery procedures. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit on demonstration vehicles requires a further supply; retained replacement vehicles are ineligible for ITC.
Entitlement to input tax credit on motor vehicles acquired as demonstration/test drive units is governed by Section 17(5) of the CGST Act: ITC is allowable where the purchaser makes a further supply of those vehicles (sale, lease, rental, etc.) or capitalises them with the intention of such supply, but ITC is not allowable where the vehicle is retained for workshop use as a replacement unit under the dealer's policy. (AI Summary)

Detention and seizure of goods: penalties govern release; notice and hearing required under revised GST provision.
Section 129 makes goods, conveyances and documents in transit liable to detention or seizure for contraventions and conditions release on payment of prescribed penalties or furnishing prescribed security. The Finance Act, 2021 amendments revise penalty rates, delink detention/seizure proceedings from confiscation proceedings, and limit adjudication under Section 129 to penalty determination. The proper officer must serve an order of detention or seizure, issue a notice within seven days specifying the penalty, provide an opportunity of being heard, and pass an order within seven days of service; unpaid penalties may lead to sale or disposal and reduced timeframes apply for perishable or hazardous goods. (AI Summary)

Document consolidation required across investigating agencies; taxpayer must cooperate and documents transferred to primary investigating unit.
The taxpayer was directed to cooperate with the DGGI inquiry and produce all relevant documents, and state tax officers who had issued summons were directed to transfer their relevant records to the DGGI officer so the investigation could proceed through a single investigating unit, thereby addressing contention that concurrent state action was impermissible once the DGGI's inquiry had commenced. (AI Summary)

Value of supply rules for online gaming treat player deposits and casino participation as taxable consideration under GST.
The newly inserted rules define value of supply for online gaming and casino actionable claims as the total amount paid, payable or deposited by or on behalf of the player (including virtual digital assets), with refunds or unused amounts not deductible; amounts won and retained for further play are not treated as payments to the supplier; a casino's own deposit when it participates is generally treated as a player's deposit and part of the taxable value, subject to business-model specifics. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit on incentive supplies permitted where promotional items are conditional, not unconditional gifts, enabling credit recovery.
ITC is available on gold coins supplied as conditional incentives under pre existing dealer agreements because such coins, awarded for meeting marketing targets, are not unconditional gifts and therefore do not fall within the scope of Section 17(5)(h) denying ITC for goods disposed of by way of gift or free samples. (AI Summary)

Correction of arbitral award starts limitation from the corrected award, requiring challenge within the prescribed period or seek extension.
Section 33 permits parties to request correction or interpretation of an arbitral award within thirty days and allows the tribunal to correct similar errors suo motu within thirty days; any interpretation becomes part of the award. The operative award for challenge becomes the corrected award, and the limitation for seeking to set aside an award runs from receipt of that corrected award. Courts may extend the statutory limitation by a further thirty days for sufficient cause. (AI Summary)

Alternative remedy requirement prevents writ where appeal available; statutory condonation period cannot be extended by judicial review.
When administrative orders are appealable, a litigant who does not pursue the statutory appeal must show exceptional grounds to invoke extraordinary writ jurisdiction; absence of alleged jurisdictional error, breach of natural justice or abuse of process will not justify bypassing the appeal. Where the statute prescribes a specific period and mechanism for condonation of delay, that period cannot be extended by the appellate authority or by courts exercising extraordinary jurisdiction. (AI Summary)

TDS on fees for technical services increased, prompting DTAA reliance and requests to align filing exemptions for treaty relieved taxpayers.
The amendment raises domestic withholding on payments for fees for technical services to non-residents, increasing payor withholding obligations and encouraging recipients to invoke DTAA benefits. Concurrently, the statutory filing exemption for non-residents whose sole Indian income is subject to domestic withholding no longer applies where tax is withheld under DTAA, thereby creating mandatory return filing obligations for treaty relieved taxpayers despite no further tax liability. The author requests that the filing exemption be extended to cases where tax is deducted under DTAA to avoid duplicative compliance and deter unintended adverse effects on foreign service providers. (AI Summary)

Share transfer restrictions in private companies limit transfers through pre emption and registration requirements, affecting certificate issuance and register entries.
Share transfers in a private limited company are controlled by the Articles of Association which may impose pre emption rights and permit directors to refuse registration if AOA conditions are unmet. The transfer process requires notice to the company, board consideration, compliance with AOA valuation and offer mechanics, a duly executed and stamped transfer deed, submission of the original share certificate, company registration of the transfer, and issuance of a new certificate to the transferee. Disputes often raise rectification of the register of members. (AI Summary)

Constituent versus excluded entities: determines which entities face top-up taxation and whether IIR or UTPR applies across group.
Identification of an entity as a Constituent Entity or an Excluded Entity determines inclusion in GloBE income, loss and covered tax computations, applicability of the Income Inclusion Rule and Undertaxed Profits Rule, and administrative filing obligations. Excluded categories (governmental, non-profit, pension, certain investment and real estate vehicles as ultimate parents) are removed from GloBE calculations except for the revenue threshold test, and ownership/activity tests allow entities owned by excluded entities to be treated as excluded. A five-year election permits treating an excluded entity as a constituent entity for charging purposes. (AI Summary)

Export of services: Investment advisory to overseas group qualifies as export, matter remanded for refund reconsideration.
The court found that the Indian adviser directly supplied investment advisory services to an overseas recipient and did not act as an Intermediary; noting prior treatment as export under the Finance Act and the similarity of the intermediary definition under the place-of-provision rules and the IGST Act, the court held the order denying refund on place-of-supply grounds unsustainable and remanded the claim for expeditious reconsideration. (AI Summary)