Faceless assessment hearing: requested personal hearing must be provided when prejudicial draft variations are proposed.
The faceless assessment procedure under Section 144B requires that when an assessment unit proposes variations prejudicial to the assessee it must serve a draft or show cause notice specifying those variations and afford the assessee an opportunity to respond, including, on request, a personal hearing through video conferencing. Failure to issue the revised draft/show cause notice or to provide the requested personal hearing before finalizing prejudicial additions contravenes the procedural safeguards and principles of natural justice in the faceless assessment scheme. (AI Summary)

Right to use parking space not composite supply; separate parking service remains taxable under GST at the applicable rate.
The right to use of parking space offered optionally with apartment sales is not a composite supply with construction/sale of the apartment; it is a separate supply of services and is taxable under GST when charged, including where the apartment is sold after completion certification or where parking charges are collected after the sale. (AI Summary)

Substitution of legal heirs for a deceased director barred; excise recovery cannot be pursued against heirs.
Legal heirs cannot be substituted for a deceased director to continue or initiate excise recovery under statutes that identify the assessee in the present tense; criminal proceedings abate on death while civil substitution depends on survival of the right to sue, and taxing statutes are strictly construed so liability does not automatically transfer to heirs, leaving recovery avenues to target the corporate entity where appropriate. (AI Summary)

TDS on provisional year-end accruals: deductibility depends on identifiable payee and ascertainable amount for credit and compliance.
Withholding obligations on year end accruals depend on identification of the recipient and ascertainment of the payable amount; Chapter XVII B and the certificate requirement presuppose an identifiable deductee entitled to credit. Genuine provisional estimated entries that are reversed at the start of the next year do not attract TDS, whereas receipt of invoices or crystallisation of payment liability in the subsequent year triggers withholding. (AI Summary)

Mixed supply: kits with sharpeners and pencils taxed according to the item attracting the highest GST rate.
Kits comprising pencils and sharpeners supplied for a single price qualify as a mixed supply, and where a mixed supply contains multiple taxable items the entire supply is classified and taxed according to the HSN code and GST rate of the item attracting the highest rate; accessory or nominal-value items do not change this treatment. (AI Summary)

Charitable activity exemption shields afforestation carried out by a trust from GST and registration obligation.
Afforestation consisting of mangrove plantation by a charitable trust is covered as charitable activities under the Services Exemption Notification and is exempt from GST. The activity, undertaken without profit motive and falling under preservation of environment, does not qualify as a supply; therefore the trust is not liable for GST registration. (AI Summary)

Virtual courts should continue as an optional mode to reduce costs, expedite justice, and ensure flexible remote participation.
Virtual courts should continue alongside physical courts as an optional mode to reduce costs and expedite justice; tribunals currently hold simultaneous physical and virtual benches. Implementation requires party consent, a fixed filing timetable for electronic submissions, urgency-application procedures with undertakings, issuance of provisional and final cause lists, and adherence to SOPs on platform use, unique links, technical requirements, decorum, and recording prohibitions enforced by the registry. (AI Summary)

Presumption of ownership for documents found in search may be rebutted; authorities must verify Excel entries before making tax additions
An Excel file found during search attracts a statutory presumption of ownership and truth but that presumption is rebuttable; the assessing officer must seek corroboration, investigate undated or unsigned entries, and examine whether the assessee applied Percentage Completion or Project Completion Method before making additions based on unexplained cash receipts. (AI Summary)

Confiscation of goods under GST: fines may replace seizure, with owner liable for tax and penalties on conveyances.
Confiscation under the CGST Act applies to goods and conveyances used in contravention of the Act that result in tax evasion, non-accounting, unregistered taxable supplies, intentional breaches to evade tax, or improper use of transport. The proper officer must serve a show cause notice and provide a hearing; may offer a fine in lieu of confiscation subject to market-value caps and minimum aggregate penalty rules; and, if items are not required for further proceedings and the owner fails to pay within a reasonable period, may dispose of the items and deposit sale proceeds with the government. (AI Summary)

Customs broker liability limited where valuation is contractual between exporter and importer, barring penalty absent broker's role.
The valuation of export goods is a contractual matter between exporter and importer, and a customs broker has no role in fixing that price. Confiscation may apply to goods whose declared entries do not correspond with actual value, but penal or licensing action against a broker requires demonstration of the broker's active role in fixing or declaring the undervalued price; absent such proof, penalty imposition under the Customs regulatory framework is not appropriate. (AI Summary)

Alternative remedy by way of appeal should be pursued to challenge detention and penalty arising from e way bill expiry.
An order addressing detention for alleged e way bill expiry affirms that an alternative statutory remedy by way of appeal to the Appellate Authority is the appropriate channel to challenge detention, demand and penalty under the GST framework; where online filing fails for technical reasons, manual filing is permitted and the Appellate Authority will hear all issues of fact and law, including jurisdictional challenges and the effect of bonds or bank guarantees. (AI Summary)

GST conviction consequences: imprisonment and fines for tax evasion and wrongful input tax credit; repeat offences attract harsher penalties.
The text identifies offences attracting arrest under the GST regime-supplying without invoices to evade tax; issuing invoices without supply to wrongfully avail input tax credit or refunds; fraudulently availing input tax credit; and collecting tax but failing to remit it-and explains that these offences carry imprisonment and fines with graduated severity based on the scale of tax evaded or wrongful credit/refund. It notes repeat convictions attract enhanced imprisonment, that imprisonment shall not be for less than six months absent recorded reasons, and that 'tax' for threshold calculation includes central, state, integrated and union territory GST and compensation cess. (AI Summary)

MSMED Act recoveries allow expedited supplier claims with statutory interest and mandatory deposit on challenged awards.
Suppliers with Udyam registration may file claims before the MSEFC with supporting invoices; the Council attempts conciliation and, failing that, refers matters to arbitration. The Act mandates statutory interest at three times the bank rate with compounding, low filing fees, territorial filing in the seller's jurisdiction, and shared arbitration costs. Challenged arbitral awards require a mandatory deposit of seventy five percent before prosecuting the challenge. (AI Summary)

Remand of proceedings: tribunal should not remand where all materials are on record and must decide on merits.
The tribunal must not remit a matter when all evidentiary material is on record; it is obliged to examine and decide each relevant document and framed points of determination rather than remanding for fresh consideration, applying remand principles under Order 41 Rules 23, 23A, 24 and 25 CPC and the applicable VAT procedural rules. (AI Summary)

Natural justice breach: cryptic GST cancellation notices invalidate actions lacking reasoned notices and hearing opportunity.
A cryptic Show Cause Notice and GST cancellation order lacking communicated reasons violate the principle of natural justice by denying a reasonable opportunity of hearing; reasons are essential to administrative orders, and authorities must provide reasoned notices and a chance to be heard before canceling registration, failing which the action is open to interference and quashing. (AI Summary)

Royalty inclusion: royalty forms part of transaction value and is taxable under reverse charge for mining licensing services.
Royalty paid to the State for mining licensing services is a taxable service under SAC-997337 and is subject to GST under the Reverse Charge Mechanism by the business recipient. Royalty amounts paid by the supplier and reimbursed by the recipient must be included in the transaction value for the supply of services and form part of the consideration for computing GST under Section 15 of the CGST Act. (AI Summary)

Special Court jurisdiction made independent of scheduled offences, raising constitutional and procedural validity concerns under bicameralism.
Amendments to Section 44 permit submission of a closure report where no money laundering evidence is found, expand "complaint" to include subsequent complaints arising during inquiry, and insert an Explanation that Special Court jurisdiction under the PMLA operates independently of proceedings in respect of the scheduled offence, disallowing treatment of the two trials as a joint trial; these changes narrow cognizance to a written complaint by authorised authorities and raise conflicts with CrPC procedural rights and exclusive jurisdiction provisions in other special statutes. (AI Summary)

GST officer authorization expanded to include Additional Assistant Directors, reshaping enforcement powers and registration verification procedures.
Central authorities expanded enforcement powers by authorizing Additional Assistant Directors of GST Intelligence and Audit to act with Superintendent powers, amended PAN-based GST registration to require OTP verification and auto-population of contact details from Income Tax records, and GSTN enabled furnishing of the Letter of Undertaking for FY 2023-24. Tamil Nadu issued guidelines for Roving Squad offences and situational penalty imposition, plus circulars clarifying Input Tax Credit reconciliation, placement under IGST, quantification for tax demands, adjudication methodology, and sectoral liabilities. (AI Summary)

Exemption for vehicle hire to goods transport agencies: nil GST and no reverse charge liability applies.
The AAR held that giving on hire a means of transportation of goods to a goods transport agency is eligible for nil rate GST, is classifiable under Heading 9966 as rental services of transport vehicles, and, being taxable at nil rate, does not attract liability under the reverse charge mechanism for the recipient that qualifies as a GTA issuing consignment notes. (AI Summary)

Prospective application of tax rate affirmed: amended GST rate applies from notification publication, not earlier.
Absent explicit retrospective language, an amendment to the GST rate for composite supply of works contracts applies prospectively from the date the amending notification is published in the Official Gazette; the legislature must expressly state any retrospective effect, and treating the reduced rate as effective from an earlier date is incorrect. (AI Summary)