Electronic filing requirement in GST does not bar appeals when orders are communicated manually; delay may be condoned.
The court held that the appeal period runs from communication of the order and that the appellate authority may grant condonation of delay; mere non-upload of an order on the GSTN portal does not bar filing an appeal, especially where the order was manually communicated and consequential enforcement steps were taken, because the electronic filing rule prescribes mode but does not make portal upload a precondition to the right to appeal. (AI Summary)

Proportionality in penalty ensures minor procedural breaches attract warning-level sanctions, not disproportionate financial penalties, and requires adjudication.
Section 126 prioritises proportionality in GST penalties: minor breaches and easily rectifiable documentation errors made without fraud or gross negligence attract no penalty; other penalties must be commensurate with the facts and severity of the breach. Voluntary pre-discovery disclosure may mitigate penalty. Officers must follow adjudicatory procedures, cannot act suo motu, and must specify the breach in the penalty order. Courts have applied these principles to set aside penalties in bona fide, beyond-control delays. (AI Summary)

Interest on delayed GST refund: entitlement arises where revenue withholds refund beyond statutory period, claimable under CGST law.
Interest on delayed GST refunds becomes payable when the tax authority withholds an exporter's IGST refund beyond the statutory processing period without adequate explanation. Where a refund was retained due to alleged Input Tax Credit mismatches and the taxpayer was placed in a risk category without reasons, the taxpayer may seek interest under the CGST remedial scheme from the expiry of the statutory period until disbursement, consistent with judicial precedent affirming interest for delayed refunds. (AI Summary)

Trust registration: refusal where charitable purpose or genuineness of activities is not satisfactorily established by documentation.
Registration under Section 12AA requires the Commissioner to be satisfied about the charitable purpose and genuineness of activities of a trust; refusal is permissible after opportunity of hearing. Common grounds for denial include private-benefit trusts, commercial conduct charging commercial rates, omission of mandatory deed clauses, failure to furnish information or verify documents, and unexplained payments lacking nexus to charitable objectives. Tribunals have sustained refusals where activities were commercial and set aside refusals when evidence established charitable objects or procedural fairness was lacking. (AI Summary)

Retrospective cancellation of GST registration without justification is arbitrary and must align with the taxpayer's cessation date.
Retrospective cancellation of GST registration without justification is arbitrary despite discretionary power under Section 29; absent material supporting backdating, the authority cannot require a registrant to file returns for periods after business cessation. Where a registrant applied for cancellation after closing operations and the authority backdated cancellation without evidentiary basis, the cancellation must be processed to reflect the taxpayer's cessation period rather than an unjustified earlier date. (AI Summary)

Company name restrictions: MCA approval required for restricted terms and regulator consent for controlled words.
Proposed company names must obtain MCA approval and comply with the Company (Incorporation) Rules, 2014; names containing listed or otherwise restricted terms will be rejected. Certain words are categorically restricted, some require sectoral regulator clearance, and names implying alternative legal forms or specific financial activities are subject to additional constraints. Private and public companies must use prescribed suffixes except for Section 8 and government-owned entities, and foreign place names require demonstrable commercial ties. (AI Summary)

Natural justice breach: denial of hearing for GST refund claims requires opportunity to reconcile discrepancies before refusal.
Rejection of GST refund applications based solely on mismatches between GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A without permitting the taxpayer to reconcile and explain those discrepancies violates the principle of natural justice. The adjudicating authority must consider reconciliation statements, supporting submissions and explanations and issue a reasoned decision after affording the taxpayer an opportunity to be heard, rather than summarily denying refunds on ledger mismatch alone. (AI Summary)

CENVAT credit refund denied where manufacturing ceased and assets were transferred, relying on comparable precedent.
The tribunal considered an appellant who ceased manufacturing and sold assets, then claimed refund of accumulated CENVAT credit; after a show cause notice the adjudicating authority rejected the refund. Relying on an earlier High Court decision with similar facts, the tribunal held that an assessee who closes its factory and transfers assets is not entitled to a refund of the outstanding CENVAT credit remaining at the time of closure. (AI Summary)

Delaware LLC formation for non US residents enables foreign individuals to form and operate limited liability companies under Delaware law.
Delaware LLC formation for non resident persons permits foreign individuals and entities to create and operate a Limited Liability Company without physical presence; core steps are selecting a unique name, filing a Certificate of Organization or Incorporation with the Delaware Division of Corporations (online or by mail), choosing an appropriate entity type, and obtaining an EIN from the IRS after state approval. Incorporation requires partner identities and ownership percentages, and tax registration may require original or certified identity documents for ITIN issuance. (AI Summary)

Sufficient cause: inability to make mandatory pre deposit due to bank attachment justifies condonation of filing delay.
Sufficient cause is to be evaluated by reference to whether a taxpayer was prevented from complying with the mandatory pre-deposit requirement under the CGST appeal procedure; an enforcement attachment of bank accounts and blockage of input tax credits that disables mobilisation of funds is a relevant ground to condone a short delay in filing, and appellate authorities must consider that factual matrix rather than focus on length of delay alone. (AI Summary)

Limitation for GST appeals: reliance on the general Limitation Act cannot extend statutory appeal periods.
Appeals under the GST enactments are governed by the special statute's prescribed limitation and outer temporal allowance; the Supreme Court's COVID-19 orders excluded a specific period from computation of limitation, and appeals arising from orders passed during that excluded span must be filed within the residual statutory window. Reliance on the Limitation Act, 1963 to extend or condone delay beyond the special statute's outer limit is not permissible, so explanations for delay do not enlarge the statutory time available for preferring appeals. (AI Summary)

Provisional attachment requires statutory Form DRC-22; bank/customer freeze communications lack legal authority and necessity noting.
Communications directing a bank or customers to withhold payments are not valid provisional attachments because they were not issued in the prescribed Form DRC-22 and lacked file notations demonstrating necessity; only orders issued by the Commissioner in the statutory form and supported by records of necessity can provisionally attach assets, including bank accounts, to protect revenue during an ITC investigation. (AI Summary)

Cleaning services classification: transportation and disposal of ash does not attract service tax when limited to mere conveyance.
Transportation and dumping of ash at a designated disposal area, consisting of loading, conveying and depositing material specified by the customer, constitutes mere transportation and disposal rather than specialized premises cleaning, and therefore falls outside the definition of Cleaning Services for service-tax purposes; the tribunal set aside the demand characterized under cleaning services. (AI Summary)

ITC transfer procedure: portal unavailability undermines rejection for GSTR-3B adjustments but grievance process is required.
The court found that the GST common portal functionality for Form GST ITC-02 was not available during the initial implementation period, and that rejecting transfer of unutilised input tax credit solely because the petitioner adjusted the credit through GSTR-3B could not be justified where the prescribed electronic form was not live. The court observed that the petitioner should have raised a formal grievance on the portal and that working capital needs did not excuse bypassing the statutory procedure, and directed the authority to reconsider the demand after hearing the petitioner. (AI Summary)

Non-taxable supply: reversal of input tax credit required for alcoholic liquor sales under GST rules
Sale of alcoholic liquor for human consumption qualifies as non-taxable supply and thus as exempt supply; input tax credit attributable to such exempt supplies must be reversed under the formula in Rule 42 read with section 17(2), and such reversal does not constitute discharge of any GST liability on the outward supply since input tax and output tax are distinct. (AI Summary)

Export of Service: R&D services to a foreign recipient qualify as zero rated under IGST when paid in foreign exchange.
Whether R&D services performed in India for a foreign recipient qualify as export of service and as a zero-rated supply under the IGST Act. The authority applied the place of supply rule, found the proviso for services in respect of goods physically supplied by the recipient inapplicable because the prototype was developed by the supplier, and concluded that with supplier in India, recipient outside India and payment in foreign exchange, the services meet the statutory criteria for export/zero rating. (AI Summary)

Transportation of non-goods: GTA service tax inapplicable where transported effluent is not 'goods' under statutory definition.
Transportation under the Goods Transport Agency framework applies only to transport of goods as defined under statutory goods definition; materials that are neither sold nor in saleable condition-such as effluent disposed as waste-do not qualify as goods, and their carriage for disposal therefore falls outside GTA-based service tax liability. (AI Summary)

US company registration offers foreign non-residents tax incentives, venture capital access, regulatory ease and technology advantages.
Foreign non-residents may form a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a C-Corporation in the United States. LLCs provide limited liability and operational flexibility with simpler regulatory requirements, while C-Corporations are separate legal persons subject to corporate governance and taxation. Principal advantages for foreign founders include state-level tax incentives, competitive corporate tax rates, business-friendly registration regimes, greater access to venture capital (notably in Delaware), and access to advanced technology and a large developed market. (AI Summary)

Investment adviser registration and conduct obligations require fiduciary duty, conflict disclosure, recordkeeping, and regulator inspection powers.
Registration requires applicants providing personalised advice on securities or investment products to obtain a certificate from the Board under specified forms, fees, qualifications, experience and net worth thresholds, with defined exemptions. Registered advisers must act in a fiduciary capacity, avoid and disclose conflicts of interest, segregate advisory activities, not accept third party remuneration for advised products, follow Know Your Client procedures, maintain prescribed records for a minimum period, appoint a compliance officer where required, and submit annual compliance audits. The regulator may inspect, require information, and issue directions including suspension or market prohibitions for breaches. (AI Summary)

Rectification under Section 161 requires personal hearing; failure to provide it vitiates the rectification and mandates reassessment.
Rectification under Section 161 of the CGST Act requires following the proviso and affording a personal hearing where the rectification adversely affects a person; issuing a rectification order without granting that opportunity breaches the principles of natural justice and may necessitate setting aside and remand for reassessment. (AI Summary)