Reverse charge on renting of residential dwelling now applies when the tenant is a registered person, making such supplies taxable.
Amendments remove the exemption for renting residential dwelling to registered persons and place such supplies under the reverse charge mechanism, making supplies of residential dwellings to registered recipients taxable under RCM while retaining exemption in other tenant scenarios; the term residential dwelling remains undefined and prior guidance excludes hotels and similar temporary-stay places, and Schedule III employer-provided accommodation may remain exempt from forward-charge GST. (AI Summary)

Service tax exemption for cleaning of non-commercial premises upheld, order set aside and matter remanded.
The tribunal held that cleaning services for non-commercial buildings are not taxable as service tax and that SEZ related supplies benefit from exemption notifications; the ex parte confirmation of tax, interest and penalty was set aside, the value of materials was held not leviable, and the matter remanded for fresh adjudication with opportunity to produce exemption claims and supporting evidence. (AI Summary)

GST rate rationalization and exemption pruning advanced through notifications and circulars, with procedural and compliance changes.
Implementation of Council decisions advances GST rate rationalization and phased withdrawal of numerous service exemptions, effected through multiple notifications and circulars amending rates, exemptions, reverse-charge treatment, compliance timelines and CGST Rules. Administrative measures include extension of the compensation cess, removal of negative liability for composition taxpayers, reaffirmation of national flag exemption when conforming to the Flag Code, and creation of a Group of Ministers to recommend law changes on appellate arrangements and federal taxation balance. (AI Summary)

Depreciation on molasses tanks: allowable when cost borne by assessee, with AO verification and correct WDV computation.
Depreciation on molasses tanks is allowable where the assessee capitalized the full cost and statutory molasses storage reserve contributions, being diverted by overriding title, did not meet asset costs; the AO must verify evidence and compute depreciation on new assets and correct WDV considering depreciation actually allowed earlier. (AI Summary)

GST rate and exemption changes reshape e invoicing, cash ledger transfers, ITC interest rules and return disclosures.
Taxpayers exceeding the notified turnover threshold but not required to invoice electronically must include a prescribed declaration on tax invoices. Electronic Cash Ledger payment modes expanded and intra PAN GSTIN transfers in a specified form are permitted for CGST and IGST. Interest for wrongly availed Input Tax Credit applies only where such credit has been both wrongly availed and utilized, and a new rule prescribes the method for calculating interest on delayed tax payment and on wrongly availed and utilized ITC. (AI Summary)

Taxation of non ICU hospital room charges creates a targeted GST levy and triggers billing, credit, and compliance complexities.
Non ICU hospital room accommodation charged above a specified per day per patient tariff is taxable at the prescribed rate only where room charges exceed the threshold and no input tax credit has been claimed; the amendment creates a new service entry to tax accommodation while leaving ICU rooms and lower tariff or effectively lower tariff shared rooms outside the levy, thereby necessitating invoice bifurcation, raising valuation and composite/mixed supply issues, and producing compliance, accounting and insurance repercussions. (AI Summary)

Supply by liaison offices may attract GST, requiring registration and tax on amounts received from head offices.
Activities by a liaison office that consist of organising events and providing support services for a foreign head office, when remunerated by the head office as a consolidated charge, constitute Supply with the place of supply in India, qualify as a mixed supply and are not an Intermediary service; the liaison office must obtain GST registration and discharge tax on amounts received. (AI Summary)

Authorized representative in corporate insolvency has a limited role to vote and represent creditors in committee meetings.
Where a class of financial creditors exists, the interim resolution professional must propose three eligible insolvency professionals for selection as an authorized representative; the insolvency professional chosen by the greatest number of creditors becomes the authorized representative, who may attend committee meetings, circulate agenda and minutes, solicit and file voting instructions, and cast votes on behalf of represented creditors in accordance with prior instructions, while not participating in claim verification. Eligibility, consent, claim verification timelines, fee entitlements and procedural mechanics for meetings and voting are prescribed and delays in appointment do not affect committee decisions. (AI Summary)

Applicability of book profit tax requires computed gross total income, deductions, total income and tax payable before invocation.
Applicability of the book-profit tax under section 115JB requires integrated computation: there must be computation of Gross Total Income, allowance of deductions (including Chapter VIA), computation of Total Income and tax payable; if GTI and total income are Nil and no tax is payable-for example where unabsorbed depreciation is kept apart for carry forward-these preconditions are not satisfied and the book-profit levy cannot be invoked. (AI Summary)

Trademark assignment notarization: notarization and affidavit support registration and evidentiary clarity for domestic and cross border transfers.
A trademark assignment transfers proprietary rights-either full (with goodwill) or partial-and must be recorded with the Registrar by filing Form TM P and paying required fees so the assignee becomes subsequent proprietor. The instrument should be duly executed with witnesses, date and place, and where applicable be stamped and notarized; foreign parties seeking registration abroad should notarize in their jurisdiction while ensuring appropriate stamping in India. Notarization and a notarized affidavit of ownership serve as practical evidence to demonstrate absence of disputes and to meet international legalization requirements. (AI Summary)

Officer appointment ambiguity in GST administration risks jurisdictional overlap; delegation and inter authority authorisation require clearer notification.
Chapter II addresses appointment, delegation and exercise of powers by CGST officers and reciprocal authorisation of State/UT GST officers. Section 3 lists officer classes with paired designations, potentially creating designation and jurisdictional ambiguity. Section 4 gives the Board discretionary appointment and delegation powers, including authorising senior officers to appoint junior staff, and suggests such powers should be exercised by notification. Section 5 prescribes that officers act subject to Board imposed conditions, allows acting for subordinates and limited delegation by Commissioners while excluding Appellate Authorities from acting for other officers. Section 6 permits State/UT officers to be proper officers for Central purposes subject to notification conditions, avoids duplicate proceedings, and confines remedies for Central orders to Central authorities. (AI Summary)

IGST on credit card loan interest where EMI interest is characterised as part of credit card services and taxable.
Where a bank extends a loan exclusively through a credit card product, processes EMIs and interest via the card account and statements, the service of extending that loan is characterised as credit card services, and the interest component of the EMI constitutes consideration for that service and is taxable under IGST; the court held that such interest does not fall within the exemption in Notification No. 09/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate). (AI Summary)

Trademark registration process secures brand exclusivity through search, filing, examination, publication, opposition and renewal obligations.
The trademark registration process in India requires a pre filing search, submission of Form TM A (single or multi class) with supporting documents or user affidavit, mandatory examination with possible absolute, relative or procedural objections and a thirty day response period, advertisement in the Trade Marks Journal, potential oppositions via Form TM O with attendant evidence and hearings, and-if objections and oppositions are resolved-entry on the register and issuance of a registration certificate subject to ten year renewal cycles. (AI Summary)

Extended limitation period invalid where duty demand rests on denial of exemption without evidence of suppression.
Extended limitation cannot be invoked where there is no evidence of wilful suppression or intent to evade duty. The respondent's post facto verification and knowledge of the goods claimed under the exemption placed onus on the respondent to ascertain eligibility. Failure to consider that verification and absence of deliberate concealment render demands based on denial of exemption time barred and unsustainable, warranting setting aside of the show cause notice and confirming order. (AI Summary)

Definition clarity: ambiguities in CGST statutory definitions create compliance and interpretation risks for taxpayers and administrators.
The article analyses CGST section 2 clauses (76)-(120), emphasising how use of means, includes and adoption of external definitions produces differing legal scope and mutability; it flags drafting weaknesses in definitions such as services, telecommunication service, voucher, turnover in State, output tax and works contract, and urges contextual and historical reading where meanings are adopted or amended, noting that Council recommendations functionally shape rulemaking. (AI Summary)

Refund under AP Value Added Tax: accepted refund claims must be paid with interest after undue delay.
Refund claims under the AP Value Added Tax regime must be processed within the statutory timeframe; where a dealer's accepted refund claim remained unpaid for nearly a year, the revenue authority was directed to make the payment with interest within three months, enforcing the statutory refund mechanism and the obligation to credit accepted claims without undue delay. (AI Summary)

Internal auditor independence: direct Audit Committee reporting and unrestricted access to preserve objectivity and effective oversight.
The note explains that internal auditor independence requires statutory appointment of prescribed professionals or Board approved persons, a defined scope covering controls, compliance and risk, and structural safeguards including dual reporting with functional accountability to the Audit Committee. It sets out three forms of independence-programming, investigative and reporting-lists common impairments (restricted access, conflicts, prior responsibility, non audit services) and prescribes measures: Audit Committee oversight, an explicit Internal Audit charter, unrestricted information access, private Audit Committee meetings, disclosure of impairments and withdrawal where necessary. (AI Summary)

Composite supply: printing as the principal service classifies printed leaflets as taxable printing services under GST.
The printing of recipient provided content on the supplier's own paper and materials is a composite supply whose predominant element is the printing service; consequently the supply is classifiable as a service under the publishing/printing SAC heading and is taxable under the Services Rate Notification entry for printing and reproduction services. (AI Summary)

Financial debt: Recovery certificate holders can lawfully initiate corporate insolvency resolution process within the limitation period.
A liability arising from a Recovery Certificate constitutes financial debt under Section 5(8) of the Code; accordingly the holder of the Recovery Certificate is a financial creditor under Section 5(7) and may initiate corporate insolvency resolution process under Section 7. The Supreme Court held that the list in Section 5(8) is inclusive, the issuance of a Recovery Certificate gives rise to a fresh right to recover, and the limitation for filing Section 7 runs from the date of issuance; merits remain for the Adjudicating Authority to decide. (AI Summary)

Transfer of electronic cash ledger balances permitted, altering GST ledger reconciliation and refund and compliance procedures.
CBIC notifications implement GST Council decisions: Finance Act amendments permit transfer of electronic cash ledger balances between distinct persons and confirm that interest on wrongly availed input tax credit is payable only when the credit is utilized. The package exempts small taxpayers from filing the annual return, extends reliefs and due dates for composition taxpayers, excludes the Covid-affected period from limitation computations for certain recovery and refund processes, and amends CGST Rules and forms on credit re credit, interest calculation, refunds and other compliance mechanisms. (AI Summary)