Refund entitlement due to GSTN or software deficiency upheld, requiring prompt electronic disbursement with interest.
Where export documentation and GST returns show entitlement but an electronic refund remains unprocessed due to GSTN or software data-matching failures, authorities must treat the issue as a processing deficiency and effect the provisional sanction and electronic disbursement expediently; direct communication with GSTN is appropriate to cure system errors and avoid needless litigation. (AI Summary)

Plant and machinery exclusion bars input tax credit for pipelines laid outside factory premises; ITC denied for such construction inputs.
Pipelines laid outside factory premises are excluded from the definition of plant and machinery under the Explanation to Section 17(5), and therefore input tax credit is not available for goods and services used in construction of a connector pipeline located outside the applicant's premises, as such expenditures fall within the statutory block on credit for construction of immovable property. (AI Summary)

Interest characterization: delayed payment interest may be treated as price for supply and not attract TDS under section 194A
Whether a delayed payment charge is interest for TDS under section 194A depends on nexus with a borrowing; payments lacking connection to a loan, deposit or debt are outside the statutory definition and may be characterised as part of the price for goods or services rather than as interest subject to withholding. (AI Summary)

Court costs discretion: abrupt reduction of punitive costs risks encouraging litigation and undermines deterrent effect.
Imposition and abrupt reduction of court-awarded costs in tax writs-initially a substantial punitive payment into a public relief fund for respondents found to have acted arbitrarily and created an illegal tax demand-was reduced within months to a much smaller sum after assurances of remedial steps. This sequence may weaken deterrence against administrative misconduct and fails to directly compensate aggrieved parties, raising concerns about fairness, procedural appropriateness, and the proper design and recipient of judicially imposed costs. (AI Summary)

Limitation on re-determination of tax: re-determination allowed only within prescribed time after appellate direction to treat notice as non fraudulent.
Where an appellate direction deems a section 74(1) notice to be treated as issued under section 73(1), the proper officer must re-determine tax, interest and penalty within the period prescribed by section 75(3), counted from communication of the appellate direction. That redetermination is subject to section 73 procedural limits: a show cause notice must effectively have been issued within the window equivalent to issuance within two years and nine months of the annual return due date (or of the erroneous refund date) for the relevant year; otherwise the demand is time barred and must be dropped. (AI Summary)

Supply under GST: procurement and distribution on government's behalf qualifies as supply, exemption not available.
Procurement and distribution of drugs and surgical equipment by a government nominated nodal agency, carried out through tenders with invoicing and receipt of establishment charges, constitutes a supply under the CGST Act because the principal activity is procurement of goods with ancillary handling and monitoring services; absence of profit motive does not exclude the transaction from business and the exemption for pure services or limited goods composite supplies is inapplicable. (AI Summary)

GST on diesel reimbursement: diesel costs form part of consideration for DG hire and are taxable under value rules.
Reimbursement of diesel cost paid by the recipient for running a hired DG set is an additional consideration for the rental service and must be included in the value of supply under Section 15 of the CGST Act, because diesel is indispensable to the service, the contract combines fixed rent and variable running charges, and no separate contract or invoice for diesel exists. (AI Summary)

CPWD GST compensation model deducts pre GST excise/VAT from tender value, risking contractor unjust enrichment; revisit advised.
CPWD's model for GST compensation deducts pre GST Central Excise Duty and VAT on materials from purchase price to compute taxable value, but those pre GST taxes were contractor costs not available as input credit; legitimate Service Tax reimbursements and actual GST input credits accruing in the GST period must instead be accounted for and passed to CPWD, and failure to do so produces unjust enrichment of contractors and undermines correct taxable value computation. (AI Summary)

Extinguishment of unfiled claims bars challenge to an approved resolution plan when statutory claim deadlines and publication requirements are met.
Failure to submit a proof of claim within the public announcement period, as effected by the IRP through newspapers and designated websites under Regulation 6, removes the creditor's capacity to challenge a resolution plan approved by the Committee of Creditors and sanctioned by the Adjudicating Authority; claims not included in the approved plan stand extinguished. (AI Summary)

Classification under HSN code 3002: diagnostic test kits treated as agglutinating sera attracting concessional GST under Schedule I.
The AAAR concluded that CRP and HbA1c diagnostic test kits satisfy the explanatory conditions for Chapter 3002 and are therefore classifiable under HSN code 3002; by reference to List I appended to Schedule I of the Goods Rate Notification the kits qualify as diagnostic kits (described by the schedule entry for agglutinating sera) and are subject to the concessional rate specified in that Schedule. (AI Summary)

Foreign Tax Credit prevents double taxation by allowing credit for tax paid abroad against domestic tax liability.
Relief from double taxation is provided under bilateral Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements or domestic provisions by the Exemption, Credit or Deduction methods; the Credit Method-available as Full Credit or Ordinary Credit-reduces domestic tax by allowing credit for foreign tax subject to procedural and substantive conditions. Creditable foreign tax is limited to tax, surcharge and cess, excludes disputed taxes, must be converted at specified exchange rates, and is claimable only upon filing the prescribed electronic form and furnishing documentary proof of payment or deduction. (AI Summary)

GST registration revival permitted where outstanding tax and penalty are paid following prolonged non filing of returns.
Where GST registration was cancelled for prolonged non filing of returns, revival may be granted upon the taxpayer's payment of the outstanding tax and penalty. The court, applying its prior decision, held that payment of outstanding tax and penalty by the petitioner who had defaulted in filing returns justified restoration of registration despite earlier administrative cancellation and limitation objections. (AI Summary)

Futures and Options business income restricts use of presumptive taxation and triggers accounting and audit obligations.
Trading in Futures and Options constitutes business income, not capital gains; accordingly, taxpayers engaged in F&O must consider bookkeeping obligations, tax audit requirements and use of business return forms. Trades carried out on recognised exchanges that meet the explanatory conditions are not speculative. Turnover for F&O includes positive and negative differences, premiums on sold options and reversal differences. The author concludes that presumptive taxation is generally inappropriate for F&O trading because its application can produce anomalous results. (AI Summary)

Extended limitation period cannot be invoked solely for non-payment of tax; suppression or fraud must be established.
Invocation of the extended period for service tax recovery requires factual demonstration of suppression, fraud, collusion or wilful misstatement; mere non-payment of tax does not suffice and the proper officer must record convincing reasons in the show cause notice. Where an earlier notice based on the same facts exists, the department cannot treat those facts as suppressed to justify a subsequent extended-period notice. (AI Summary)

Reversal of Input Tax Credit: recipients must reverse and re avail credit when suppliers fail to pay, with reconciliation.
Amendments implement GST Council decisions introducing PAN-linked OTP registration verification, limiting Aadhaar biometric verification, procedural changes for cancellation of registration, and new rules requiring reversal and re availment of Input Tax Credit where suppliers do not pay tax. The rules prescribe how to reconcile differences between outward-supply statements and returns, time limits and procedures for taxpayer response, recovery of unpaid liabilities, e way bill requirements for certain goods, revised refund procedures for unregistered buyers, appeal withdrawal mechanisms, and adjustments to rates, exemptions and reverse charge applicability. (AI Summary)

Investment by director not an operational debt, so insolvency as an operational creditor is unavailable; pursue other remedies.
An advance or investment by a director in his company does not constitute an operational debt under the Code, which limits operational debt to claims arising from goods, services (including employment), or statutory dues; therefore a director who funds the company must pursue remedies under other laws rather than initiate corporate insolvency resolution as an operational creditor. (AI Summary)

Governmental authority status enables nil-rated GST for services related to municipal functions by state-established housing boards.
A state-established housing board with statutory origin, government funding and administrative control meets the Services Exemption Notification's definition of Governmental Authority. When the board's services correspond to functions entrusted to municipalities in the constitutional municipal functions list, those services qualify for nil-rated GST under the Notification's entry for governmental authority services in relation to municipal functions. (AI Summary)

E way bill enforcement creates compliance burdens and detentions despite lawful intra company transfers and interrupted movements.
Goods and Services Tax administration has become increasingly complex due to continual issuance of notifications and amendments, creating procedural burdens on registration, claiming Input Tax Credit, refunds and return reconciliations; practitioners must monitor ongoing e Gazette updates. Enforcement of e way bill and transit rules poses acute operational problems: detained vehicles and penalties for intra company transfers, interrupted movements, and contested show cause notices underscore the need for targeted clarifications or further notifications. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit clarified: reconciliation procedure for ITC mismatches and entitlement under place of supply rules.
CBIC Circulars 183-188 set out procedural and substantive clarifications: reconciliation steps for ITC mismatches between GSTR 3B and GSTR 2A for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19 including verification of section 16/17/18 conditions and certificate requirements; entitlement to ITC where place of supply falls under the proviso to section 12(8) of the IGST Act; two year time limit for re determination under section 75(2) when fraud findings are not sustained; treatment of No Claim Bonus as a permitted deduction under section 15(3)(a); entity level e invoicing exemption; reduction of recovery demands post IBC using FORM GST DRC 25; and temporary registration procedure for refunds by unregistered persons. (AI Summary)

Refund for unregistered persons: temporary portal registration enables recovery of tax borne on cancelled contracts or terminated policies.
Unregistered recipients who have borne GST may claim refund where credit note issuance time has expired, notably on cancelled construction contracts and terminated long term insurance policies. The CBIC procedure permits temporary portal registration using PAN, Aadhaar authentication, and RFD-01 filing under 'Refund for Unregistered person' with invoice details, agreement and cancellation evidence, supplier certificate of tax payment and non adjustment, and, where applicable, an accountant's certificate; separate claims per supplier and state registrations are required and refunds are limited to the tax portion corresponding to amounts actually refunded by suppliers. (AI Summary)