Arbitral discretion to award interest remains unless parties agree otherwise, affecting remedies and concurrent statutory proceedings.
Recent authorities stress that arbitration clauses do not automatically bar concurrent statutory proceedings and that tribunals retain discretion to award interest unless parties agree otherwise. Fresh appointments of arbitrators may be permitted after awards are set aside, though challenges to termination of an arbitrator's mandate should be pursued before the judicial forum designated by statute. The separability doctrine preserves arbitration agreements despite curable documentary defects, while insolvency moratoriums and admitted insolvency proceedings can limit subsequent arbitration applications and affect enforcement avenues. (AI Summary)

GST Council recommendations not binding, affirming simultaneous Parliament and state taxing powers and ocean freight non-leviable.
The Supreme Court held that GST Council recommendations are recommendatory and not binding, that Parliament and state legislatures have simultaneous powers to legislate on GST under Article 246A, and that GST is not leviable on ocean freight; this ruling affects the consultative-federal framework of GST. Separately, a Group of Ministers has recommended increasing the tax rate on online gaming and related services, and administrative advisories extended April filing and payment deadlines and addressed GSTR-2B/GSTR-3B auto-population issues. (AI Summary)

Power to arrest under GST restricted to specified offences where commissioner has reason to believe; professionals not ordinarily liable
The power to arrest under GST is restricted to specified offences and requires the Commissioner to have reasons to believe, supported by evidence, that a person has caused the offence and retained its benefit; mere professional acts like filing returns for a fee ordinarily do not meet the causation-and-benefit threshold, so tax professionals should be pursued through show cause and adjudicatory processes unless higher threshold facts render the offence cognizable and non-bailable. (AI Summary)

Place of supply rules can make ocean freight under CIF contracts taxable as imported services when destination is India.
The taxable event is services supplied by a person located outside India by way of transportation of goods by vessel from outside India up to the customs station of clearance in India. The place of supply rule for carriage by vessel deems the place of destination as the place of supply, and the definition of consideration includes payment by any other person; consequently, shipping services under CIF contracts where destination is India constitute import of service in the course of inter State trade or commerce and can attract IGST. (AI Summary)

Interest under GST accrues automatically; recovery proceeds on notice, with instalments and appeals generally unavailable.
Interest under Section 50(1) of the CGST Act is a statutory, compensatory accrual that arises automatically on belated tax payments; unpaid self assessed tax or interest is recoverable under Section 75(12). Rule 142(5)-(6) contemplates FORM GST DRC 07 as the electronic summary treated as a notice for recovery (not an adjudication order). Instalment relief under Section 80 does not extend to self assessed interest, appeals under Section 107 apply to orders not mere recovery intimations, and Section 161 permits rectification of apparent errors in notices. (AI Summary)

Penalty discipline under GST: minor, rectifiable breaches without fraud should attract only proportionate, case by case penalties.
Section 126 limits penalties for minor or easily rectifiable breaches lacking fraudulent intent or gross negligence, requires penalties to be commensurate with the facts and severity of the breach, permits mitigation for voluntary pre-discovery disclosures, and mandates procedural safeguards including opportunity to be heard; it excludes application where another provision prescribes a fixed monetary or percentage penalty. (AI Summary)

Authorized signatory liability questioned as reassessment notices treat agent PANs as owner income without verifying account ownership.
Reassessment notices have been directed at individuals whose PANs appear in KYC as authorized signatories, with assessing officers treating aggregated credits in principals' accounts as assessable income of the signatory without verifying account ownership or comparing principals' returns. The document contends this reflects a failure to recognise the principal agent relationship, criticises the omission of principals' identities in notices, and recommends a preliminary reply demanding full bank records, identification of account holders, the basis for alleging escapement of income, and escalation where necessary while denying taxable income in the signatory's hands. (AI Summary)

Composite supply principle invalidates reverse-charge IGST on ocean freight in CIF imports, enabling retrospective relief and refund claims.
Levy of IGST under reverse charge on ocean freight in CIF imports is ultra vires because the transportation and insurance form part of a single composite supply by the foreign exporter; the importer is not the recipient of that service for GST purposes, there is no territorial nexus to tax the service separately, and the impugned notifications create double taxation and exceed delegated power. The ruling restricts the binding effect of GST Council recommendations to instances where government secondary legislation gives them effect, applies retrospectively to the notifications, and permits refund or corrective measures where appropriate. (AI Summary)

Exemption binding when certified: Revenue cannot deny benefit for components essential to solar projects without certificate cancellation.
Exemption certified by a competent Ministry officer for items required in the initial setting up of a solar power project is binding on Revenue and cannot be denied absent cancellation of that certificate. Module mounting and galvanised mounting structures qualify as components integral to solar facilities; the exemption regime covers machinery and components used for initial installation, and any liability for non compliance is directed to the project promoter. (AI Summary)

Reverse charge liability for ocean freight where place of supply deems importer the recipient prevents dissecting composite import transactions.
The Court analysed whether importers under CIF contracts can be treated as recipients for reverse charge on ocean freight by construing place of supply and the recipient definition together, recognising that a supply whose place is deemed the destination may be made to the Indian importer. It held that delegated notifications must align with statutory powers, Parliament may tax extra territorial transactions with a real connection to India, and that the composite supply principle precludes a separate levy on a service element already included in the composite import transaction. (AI Summary)

Proviso to S.139(1) prospective: mandatory ITR filing applies from its effective year, not to earlier assessments.
A proviso making return filing mandatory for persons with specified high value transactions is prospective and applies from its effective date; it cannot be applied to earlier assessment years. Consequently, entitlement to the Capital Gains Deduction under Section 54 is not automatically dependent on filing a return where, on the facts, the taxpayer had no taxable income and thus no filing obligation. The Tribunal directed that reassessment and denial of the deduction on retroactive application of the proviso were inappropriate. (AI Summary)

Composite supply principle prevents separate IGST on ocean freight for CIF imports, as separate levy contradicts composite supply rules.
No separate IGST may be levied on ocean freight in CIF imports because a CIF contract constitutes a composite supply whose principal supply is the goods, so tax must be levied as on the supply of goods under Section 8. The importer may be treated as recipient of shipping services for IGST purposes since the supplier is outside India, the place of supply is the destination under Section 13(9), consideration can be regarded as paid notwithstanding payment by the foreign exporter, and valuation may be prescribed by residual rules where Section 15(1) cannot determine value. (AI Summary)

Unnumbered provisos create ambiguity; require mandatory proviso numbering to ensure clear statutory interpretation and uniform citation.
Unnumbered provisos allow varying interpretation of whether expressions like "provided", "provided further" or "provided also" are extensions or separate provisos, causing reference and interpretation difficulties. The multiplicity of unnumbered provisos in section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act demonstrates divergent counts and inconsistent treatment. The author proposes mandatory proviso numbering in taxation statutes to ensure clarity, uniform citation and to remove disputes over independence or extension of provisos. (AI Summary)

Mixed supply classification: apply natural-bundling and principal-supply tests to tax at the highest applicable rate.
Mixed supply under GST occurs when two or more distinct supplies of goods or services are sold together for a single price and do not constitute a composite supply; such supplies are taxed at the rate of the constituent supply attracting the highest rate. Classification requires first ruling out composite supply by testing whether components are naturally bundled or if a principal supply exists. Numerous advance rulings apply this test across contexts-printing, lodging with food, consumables with electroInk, UPS with batteries, storage with real estate, medicines, workwear rental, and relocation services-to conclude mixed supply where components are independently supplied. (AI Summary)

Clean hands doctrine: failure to disclose known MAT liability can preclude discretionary writ relief and redirect review.
Petitioners invoking discretionary writ jurisdiction must present complete and accurate liability computations; omission or misstatement of a known Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) obligation that materially understates tax liability constitutes gross suppression and can justify refusal to exercise extraordinary jurisdiction and referral of issues to the appropriate appellate forum, with directions that subsequent adjudicators not be influenced by earlier observations. (AI Summary)

Writ jurisdiction: High Courts may review national consumer commission orders where no statutory appeal exists.
High Courts may entertain a writ petition under Article 227 against National Commission orders when the statutory scheme provides no further appellate remedy; however, the High Court must exercise that supervisory jurisdiction within its strict parameters and apply rigorous standards when granting interim relief. (AI Summary)

GST rate recommendation for online gaming and casinos may apply pending valuation guidance, impacting compliance and reporting.
A 28% GST rate has been recommended for online gaming, casinos and race courses while valuation issues remain unresolved; GST collections have risen due to compliance measures and technology, prompting rate rationalization discussions. Administrative changes include GSTN advisories on negative liability for composition taxpayers, new Annual Aggregate Turnover functionality with amendment and officer review, temporary portal reporting for a new intermediate rate, and guidance on incomplete GSTR 2B. Judicial/regulatory updates note the one third land abatement held ultra vires and that show cause notices may be issued to recover adjudication granted refunds. (AI Summary)

Transfer of business as a going concern treated as a supply of services, eligible for nil-rate subject to going-concern conditions.
The sale of an independent operating unit-transferring assets, liabilities, employees and continuity of business-raises whether the transfer is of goods or services and whether it qualifies as a "going concern" for nil-rate treatment. The Authority treated the composite transfer as a supply of services and held that the nil-rate notification applies subject to satisfaction of the conditions that establish the transfer as a going concern, including evidence of continuity and absence of intent to liquidate or curtail operations. (AI Summary)

E-invoicing obligation under GST expands to more taxpayers, requiring electronic IRN generation and coordination with e-way bills.
The article explains the phased mandatory introduction of e-invoicing under GST, requiring taxpayers above the notified turnover threshold to obtain an Invoice Reference Number (IRN) from the Invoice Registration Portal before issuing invoices or moving goods. It summarises integration and registration modes, reuse of credentials with e-way bills, restrictions on amendment after IRN generation, rules for cancellation and reissuance, QR code printing requirements, and the treatment of reverse charge invoices. (AI Summary)

Vicarious liability of directors: directors can face criminal exposure for company cheque dishonour when proved in charge or negligent.
Criminal liability for dishonour of company cheques may be visited upon natural persons who were in charge of and responsible for the conduct of the business; liability arises either by proving that a person was in actual control of day to day operations or by proving consent, connivance or neglect by directors or officers. The prosecution bears the initial burden to establish control, while an accused bears the onus to prove lack of knowledge or exercise of due diligence. Complaints should name the company as principal accused and contain specific averments that a director managed the company's affairs at the relevant time. (AI Summary)