Interim payment to insured depositors now required when access is restricted, with DICGC to verify and disburse within statutory timelines.
Interim payment to insured depositors arises when access to deposits is restricted under an order or scheme under the Banking Regulation Act. The DICGC is liable to make time-bound interim payments upon an insured bank's liquidation, reconstruction, arrangement, merger or acquisition, subject to verification of deposits and depositor consent; payments reduce the Corporation's liability and the liquidator or bank must repay the Corporation. Timelines are prescribed with limited extensions where finalizing a scheme requires more time; liability ends if restrictions are removed or the bank can pay without restriction. (AI Summary)

Electrically operated vehicles taxed at reduced GST rate even when supplied without battery pack under battery powered classification.
The Authority ruled that two and three wheeled vehicles designed to run solely on electrical energy from one or more batteries qualify as electrically operated vehicles even if supplied without batteries fitted; classification depends on functional design and intended mode of propulsion, not contemporaneous installation of the battery, and such vehicles are therefore taxable under the concessional tariff applicable to battery powered road vehicles when supplied with or without a battery pack. (AI Summary)

Registration of intermediaries: mandatory certificate, compliance conditions, and operational consequences for suspension or cancellation.
SEBI requires specified market participants to obtain and operate under a certificate of registration, issued pursuant to application in Form A and review by prescribed authorities. The Board may verify information, impose conditions, seek further clarifications, and decide on prior approvals for changes in status; applications may be rejected for incompleteness, false information or failure to meet eligibility or fit and proper standards. Suspension, cancellation or surrender of registration imposes obligations to cease the relevant activity, facilitate client withdrawals or transfers, preserve records, and comply with Board directions to protect investors and the securities market. (AI Summary)

GST on annuity payments may be taxable unless exemption explicitly covers construction-related annuity receipts.
Annuity payments by NHAI to concessionaires for road projects may be taxable if those receipts are treated as consideration for construction/works-contract services, because the exemption entries were framed for supporting transport services rather than construction services. Though Council minutes and an appellate ruling indicate intent to treat annuity like toll (and thus exempt), a government clarification limited the exemption's scope, creating an unresolved classification gap. The article urges industry representations and use of government exemption powers to secure relief for annuity-paid construction receipts. (AI Summary)

Invoice matching for input tax credit now required, altering claimability and prompting focused legal challenge and calls for safeguards.
Invoice matching has been advanced as a condition for claiming Input Tax Credit, shifting from a returns-driven statutory match to a rule-based cap and a recent amendment making supplier furnishing of outward-supply details a formal eligibility requirement; this raises ultra vires, practical impossibility, and equality concerns, and the article urges limiting denial to non bonafide transactions while ensuring recovery action against defaulting suppliers and mechanisms to recredit recipients when suppliers subsequently pay. (AI Summary)

GST on flavoured milk: flavoured milk treated as taxable while fermented lassi qualifies for exemption under the tariff description.
A ruling found that lassi, as a dairy-based fermented drink with curd, water and spices and matching the descriptive characteristics of fermented milk products, is covered by the exemption entry for curds, lassi and buttermilk. Conversely, flavoured milk made from milk, sugar and flavours is classified separately as a taxable flavoured milk beverage and does not qualify for the exemption. (AI Summary)

Appeal to Central Government under securities law: follow strict filing time limits, fee, documentation, representation, and hearing rules.
Section 20 allows appeals from Board orders to the Central Government under 1993 rules; appeals must follow prescribed filing, form, fee and time limits and may be admitted late on affidavit showing sufficient cause. Appeals are filed in duplicate with the Board's order and supporting documents; factual assertions contrary to record require sworn affidavit. Appellants may appear in person or through authorized representatives (advocate, chartered accountant, cost accountant, company secretary). The Central Government can call for further documents, fix hearings, dispose ex parte for non-appearance, set aside such orders on sufficient cause, and must issue written signed orders communicated to parties. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit entitlement upheld despite non-reflection in auto-populated returns; recipients may self-assess and claim credit.
Input tax credit under GST remains claimable by recipients even when invoices do not appear in auto-populated purchase records; non-reflection alone is not a ground to deny ITC. Although the statutory matching framework and administrative rules provide for communication of discrepancies and limit claimed credits relative to supplier-filed data, executive guidance and judicial decisions uphold the recipient's right to self-assess ITC. Revenue recovery provisions permit actions against defaulting suppliers, and authorities should pursue recovery from suppliers rather than deny recipients' credits solely for non-appearance in auto-populated returns. (AI Summary)

Self-certification of annual GST returns enables filing without mandatory audit, easing compliance for eligible taxpayers.
Self-certification dispenses with mandatory audit and third party certification for filing GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C and, together with targeted exemptions, relieves smaller taxpayers from annual return and reconciliation filing; accompanying legislative and notification changes delete certification requirements and operationalise relief. The update also records authoritative rulings clarifying IGST export refunds vis a vis duty drawback, limits on revenue action prior to issuance of show cause notices, the scope of ITC blocking under Rule 86A, and several advance rulings on ITC admissibility for specific goods and services. (AI Summary)

Remission of export taxes: RoDTEP issues transferable e-scrip rebates for Basic Customs Duty, subject to realization and recovery rules.
RoDTEP replaces MEIS to refund domestic taxes and duties not otherwise exempted, granting a notified percentage rebate of FOB value through transferable electronic scrips (e-scrips) usable only for payment of Basic Customs Duty; rebate issuance is conditioned on receipt of export proceeds within foreign exchange timelines but does not await actual realization, and the Scheme provides for recovery, suspension, and penalties for non-realization, fraud or misuse. (AI Summary)

Doctrine of impossibility limits tax enforcement where compliance is objectively impossible, excusing non-performance and relieving genuine inability.
The doctrine of impossibility excuses tax-related non-performance where compliance is objectively impossible or severely impracticable without fault. In GST contexts this may include a recipient's inability to verify or ensure supplier tax payment for input tax credit, ITC mismatch due to supplier non-filing, mandatory reversal of credit tied to payment within a statutory period amid liquidity constraints, lack of instalment relief for self-assessed liabilities, expiry of e-way bills in transit for reasons beyond control, and inability to avail amnesty schemes due to system cancellations; courts require showing lack of control and absence of fault. (AI Summary)

Adjudicatory Board jurisdiction over major port disputes creates an exclusive statutory forum for tariff and concession claims, subject to appeal.
The Act creates an Adjudicatory Board to adjudicate disputes between Major Port Authorities, PPP concessionaires and captive berth users under concession agreements, inheriting tariff-related functions of the former Tariff Authority. The Board has civil court powers, its proceedings are treated as judicial, and its decisions are subject to appeal to the apex court and to prescribed review procedures. The Board comprises a Presiding Officer (retired senior judge) and two experienced members appointed by the Central Government, with protected terms, regulated removal and suspension, and prescribed procedures for inquiry, funding and sittings. (AI Summary)

Insolvency professional recognition: insolvency professionals may verify and prepare corporate tax returns and represent debtors before tax authorities.
Rules 12AA and 51B recognise insolvency professionals appointed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code as the persons authorised to verify company income-tax returns and to act as authorised representatives. Where the corporate debtor is a going concern, the interim resolution professional, resolution professional or liquidator must prepare the corporate return after examining accounts, statements and documents and report on that examination. Insolvency professionals appearing before assessing officers must furnish particulars of accounts, statements or other documents supplied to them by the assessee. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit fraud enforcement intensifies while GST compliance and facilitation measures are expanded nationwide.
Recent GST developments include recovery in collections and central releases of compensation cess where fund balances were inadequate, continued refusal to cut petroleum excise due to bond liabilities, and rollout of the RODTEP export remission scheme. Enforcement action uncovered large scale input tax credit fraud, and CBIC has pursued both stringent measures against noncompliance and technology led facilitation (e Office, e invoicing, QRMP, faceless and paperless customs). Procedural items include advisories on GSTR 1 filing errors, calls to constitute the GST appellate tribunal, allowance for GST registration of corporate debtors in CIRP, and an advance ruling that liaison office activities may not be taxable supplies. (AI Summary)

Personal liberty: arrest need not occur where an accused cooperates and is not likely to abscond, preserving liberty.
Personal liberty requires that where an accused has cooperated with investigation and the investigating officer has no reason to believe the accused will abscond or disobey summons, there is no compulsion to arrest. The term custody in the chargesheet/presentation provision denotes presentation before court rather than mandatory police or judicial custody. Police should avoid arrest in non-bailable cognizable cases if investigation can be completed without custody and cooperation is forthcoming. (AI Summary)

Penalty for repeated delivery default imposes escalating fines and directs transfers to settlement guarantee funds to secure market integrity.
SEBI instituted a Penalty for Repeated Delivery Default imposing an additional charge for each instance of repeated default by a buyer or seller, calculated as a proportion of the value of the delivery default. A Repeated Default occurs where delivery defaults happen three times or more within a rolling six month period. Penalties collected shall be transferred to the Settlement Guarantee Fund of the Clearing Corporation. The measure applies to clearing corporations in the commodity derivatives segment and takes effect one month after issuance. (AI Summary)

Cheque dishonour liability: signatory and joint account required, organisational liability cannot substitute for personal signature.
Section 138 penalises issuance of a cheque drawn by a person on an account maintained by them that is returned unpaid; prosecution under that provision requires the accused to have drawn and signed the cheque on an account maintained by them. Joint civil liability does not permit prosecuting a non signatory absent a joint account and signature, and organisational liability rules cannot be used to convert individual joint liability into criminal liability where the statutory physical and account related ingredients are lacking. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit limitation restricts claiming prior-year credits unless returns and amendments are completed within statutory filing window.
A statutory cut-off requires registered persons to claim Input Tax Credit for the prior financial year by completing required returns and reconciliations in the statutory filing month following year-end; amendments to outward-supply reporting and supplier-ledger matching must be finalised within that window. Taxpayers must reconcile purchase records against supplier-filed details, pursue vendor amendments where needed, reverse credit where consideration remained unpaid beyond the prescribed interval, finalise apportionment between taxable and exempt uses for the year, and issue any prior-year credit notes within the same filing window. (AI Summary)

Digitalisation in chartered accountancy necessitates adoption of AI audit tools and UDIN to uphold professional standards.
Chartered accountancy must integrate technology into accounting and assurance to address digital-era risks. The Digital Accounting and Assurance Board promotes AI in audit and Computer Assisted Audit Tools to detect frauds that traditional procedures may miss. UDIN is emphasised as a mandatory authentication control for CA-signed documents, while continuing digital skills development, articleship training, and ethical standards are required to maintain professional competence. (AI Summary)

Classification of car seat covers as automotive accessories leads to higher GST under the motor vehicle parts tariff.
The Authority for Advance Ruling held that manufactured car seat covers are not essential parts of seats but are automotive accessories, treated in trade as protective and customising items; accordingly they are classifiable under the motor vehicle parts and accessories entry rather than under the specific seats heading, and supplies of such covers to car seat makers who fit them to seats and vehicles are taxable under that classification. (AI Summary)