Controlled delivery enables supervised movement of suspect consignments to identify offenders and coordinate cross-border enforcement.
Controlled delivery under Section 109A authorises supervised passage of suspect consignments into, through or out of India to identify persons involved in customs offences. The Regulations require initiation by the proper officer via FORM-I with consignor, transport and offence particulars, approval by the specified authority, and permit delivery to foreign countries in consultation with the competent foreign authority. Operational measures allow marking and track-and-trace devices, issuance of FORM-II to prevent interception by other agencies, retrospective approval within a short period where necessary, and mandatory reporting on completion or termination. (AI Summary)

Speaking orders in GST registration: rejection requires reasons and adherence to natural justice and procedural fairness.
An order rejecting a GST registration application must be a speaking order that records specific reasons and cannot use statutory discretion to avoid natural justice. If refusal is contemplated, the authority must set out the objections, consider the applicant's explanations and afford an opportunity to be heard, ensuring that administrative action is reasoned, non arbitrary and procedurally fair. (AI Summary)

Refund of unutilized cesses allowed as vested cenvat credit rights; assessees may file refund claims after verification.
The tribunal held that unutilized cenvat credits of Education Cess, SHEC and KKC transferred at the GST transition constitute a vested right and are eligible for refund; the rejection of the refund claim was set aside and the assessee may file a refund claim subject to verification of records. (AI Summary)

Moratorium scope: Adjudicating Authority may still direct contributions under the Code's fraud provision for fraudulent trading during insolvency.
The moratorium bars suits, execution of decrees and recovery actions against the corporate debtor but does not prevent the Adjudicating Authority from invoking the Code's fraud remedy. Section 66 authorises the Adjudicating Authority to require persons who knowingly carried on business to defraud creditors, and directors or partners who failed to exercise due diligence before insolvency, to contribute to the corporate estate. Read harmoniously, the moratorium's procedural bar and the fraud provision's remedial object operate concurrently so that orders under the fraud provision during moratorium are competent and enforceable. (AI Summary)

Value of scrap exclusion: scrap generated by a job worker is not included in assessable value when duty on scrap is discharged.
The tribunal held that the value of scrap generated by a job worker during manufacture is not includible in the assessable value of goods cleared to the principal manufacturer when the scrap is cleared separately and duty on it has been discharged. (AI Summary)

GST liability on e-commerce operators: ECOs must pay GST in cash for restaurant services supplied through their platforms.
E commerce operators must pay GST in cash on restaurant services supplied through their platforms and cannot use Input Tax Credit for that tax. Reporting is effectuated via GSTR 3B Table 3.1.1, with 3.1.1(i) for ECO paid supplies and 3.1.1(ii) for registered suppliers making supplies through ECOs; such supplies must be excluded from the standard taxable supplies table. ECOs continue TCS for other supplies, need no separate registration if already registered, and must issue invoices for restaurant services they tax. (AI Summary)

E-invoicing obligation expands: more registered persons must generate IRP-validated invoices and obtain IRN with QR Code for GST reporting.
Compliance requires the taxable person to prepare tax invoices with prescribed particulars in the e-invoice schema (INV-01) within their accounting/billing software, convert the invoice into a JSON file and transmit it to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). The IRP validates the submission, issues a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and QR Code, returns a digitally signed JSON e-invoice to the supplier, and forwards data to the GST portal and the e-waybill system for reporting and e-way bill generation. (AI Summary)

Arbitrary valuation of imports lacking BIS specification invalidated for failure to follow principles of natural justice and reasoned valuation.
Arbitrary valuation of imported goods not subject to BIS specifications was invalidated because the assessing authorities failed to provide cogent reasons, did not demonstrate application of valuation rules, relied on an unsubstantiated report, and did not adhere to the principles of natural justice; revaluation was set aside insofar as it concerned goods not requiring BIS certification. (AI Summary)

Reverse charge on rented residential premises now applies when a registered business uses rented residential sales offices, creating registration obligations.
The amendment subjects renting of residential dwelling to RCM when received by a registered person. Sales offices located in rented residences can constitute "place of business" or "fixed establishment" of the registered main-location; therefore the main-location is the recipient and liable to pay GST under RCM. Where separate registrations become required, each establishment is treated as a distinct person, obliging registration in the States/UTs of those sales offices. Taxpayers should reassess registration and compliance given potential deemed-supply and registration consequences. (AI Summary)

Customs jurisdiction limited for foreign trade violations; customs lacked authority to issue SCNs for FTP or forex breaches.
Customs lack jurisdiction to issue show cause notices for alleged Foreign Trade Policy or foreign exchange violations; once the bill of lading is issued and title passes to the foreign buyer, the exporter cannot be held liable for the buyer's post shipment change in port. Documentary evidence in the consignments named Iranian buyers, no amendments or fabrication were shown, and the customs house agent acted on exporter instructions, undermining grounds for confiscation or penalty absent proof of falsification or receipt in Indian rupees. (AI Summary)

Alleged harassment during tax enquiry must be assessed by cooperation and lawful investigatory steps, not presumed harassment.
Whether actions taken during a statutory tax enquiry constitute harassment is a question of fact; investigatory measures do not automatically amount to harassment. The taxpayer must cooperate with lawful notices and attend enquiry. The authority should issue a notice for appearance within a short period, conduct the enquiry, and thereafter either register a complaint if a cognizable offence is disclosed or close the matter. (AI Summary)

Discounts under GST: pre supply invoice documentation and post supply agreement plus ITC reversal govern valuation.
GST excludes discounts from taxable value only when discounts given before/at supply are invoiced or documented, and post supply discounts are established by a pre supply agreement linked to invoices with the recipient reversing the attributable input tax credit. Administrative guidance sets four scenarios for secondary discounts-unconditional dealer reductions, promotional activity treated as separate supply, dealer onward pricing obligations, and financial credit notes lacking GST treatment. Advance rulings confirm that free additional packs, principal reimbursed special discounts, and volume discounts by credit note are treated as non taxable discounts when conditions and documentation are satisfied. (AI Summary)

Power to grant exemption requires government satisfaction and GST Council recommendation before notifications or special orders exempt tax.
Section 11 empowers the Government to exempt goods or services from whole or part of GST only after being satisfied it is necessary in the public interest and on recommendations of the GST Council; exemptions may be by notification (absolute or conditional) or by special order in exceptional cases, explanations clarifying scope may be inserted within one year with retrospective effect, and absolute exemptions bar suppliers from collecting tax in excess of the effective rate. (AI Summary)

Provisional attachment procedure: bank account blocking invalid without statutory compliance under CGST, unblocking and objection rights required.
The court quashed a communication blocking a taxpayer's bank account because it did not invoke the statutory mechanism of provisional attachment or afford the taxpayer the opportunity to object; the decision emphasizes that provisional attachment requires specific jurisdictional pre requisites, that the statutory provision provides a protective investigative time frame rather than a limitation period, and that allegations about export remittances were not put to the taxpayer before enforcement, leading to an order directing unblocking of the account. (AI Summary)

Cenvat credit reversal not required on empty packaging drums; no excise duty or payment demanded.
The tribunal held that empty packaging material used for cenvatable inputs does not arise from the manufacturing process and therefore is not exigible to excise duty nor subject to reversal of cenvat credit; no payment or credit reversal was payable on clearance of such empty drums and the impugned demand was set aside. (AI Summary)

Exemption for educational institutions depends on predominant object being education, with approval, accumulation and corpus rules.
Exemptions under Section 10(23C) differentiate institutions that are government funded, small non government entities within prescribed receipt thresholds, and other institutions requiring authority approval; entitlement depends on existence "solely for educational purposes and not for purposes of profit" via the predominant object test, with conditions on application/approval, limits on accumulation and permitted investments, treatment of voluntary contributions as income unless directed to corpus, and requirements that business income be incidental with separate accounts. (AI Summary)

Mandatory e invoicing threshold reduction expands compliance; new return table shifts tax liability for platform-mediated supplies to operators.
The administration reduced the threshold for mandatory e-invoicing effective October first, expanding the class of persons required to issue electronic invoices and amending the governing notification. A new subtable was added to the monthly return to report supplies for which platform operators bear tax liability; platform operators must pay tax in cash and report such supplies in the designated subtable, while suppliers using platforms must report those supplies separately and are not liable to pay tax on them in the same return. (AI Summary)

Buy one get one free offers: GST not leviable when extra packs supplied under a single aggregated price.
GST is not payable on extra packs supplied under a promotional sale where additional packs are provided without separate consideration under a single aggregated price. The AAAR upheld the AAR's view that the buy one get one arrangement is not a separate taxable supply of free goods but multiple supplies charged for at one price, and an advance ruling can be set aside only if the question is already pending or decided in other proceedings. (AI Summary)

Exemption for services to educational institutions: entrance examinations exempt while recruitment and semester exams remain taxable.
Services provided to an educational institution for conducting entrance examinations are exempt under Entry 66(b)(iv) of the Services Exemption Notification because the recipient qualifies as an educational institution; by contrast, recruitment examinations and semester/course examinations are not specified in that entry and are therefore taxable. (AI Summary)

Composition scheme permits simplified tax in lieu of normal liability but imposes strict eligibility, exclusions, and penalty risks.
Composition levy permits a registered person with aggregate turnover below the notified threshold to opt to pay tax at prescribed rates in lieu of normal tax; the option is subject to prescribed conditions, exclusions for non leviable supplies, inter State supplies, supplies through e-commerce operators, specified notified goods or services, and casual or non resident persons, lapses when aggregate turnover exceeds the limit, bars collection of tax and input tax credit, and exposes ineligible claimants to normal tax determination and penalties with aggregation rules and certain exclusions for interest represented consideration. (AI Summary)