Financial difficulty as sufficient cause: inability to make mandatory pre deposit may justify condoning delay in appeals.
Financial inability to make a mandatory pre deposit can constitute sufficient cause for condonation of delay in filing appeals; the expression should be construed liberally to advance justice, and financial difficulty in arranging the prescribed pre deposit is a valid ground for condoning delay, applicable to GST appeals where appellate authorities require evidence of pre deposit before admitting appeals. (AI Summary)

Extension of limitation: constitutional power used to extend filing periods for judicial and quasi judicial proceedings during the pandemic.
The Supreme Court invoked its constitutional remedial power to extend limitation periods for filing petitions, applications, suits, appeals and all other judicial or quasi judicial proceedings during the pandemic when ordinary limitation provisions and court closure rules were inadequate; the extension aimed to address nationwide lockdown impediments, reduce multiplicity of condonation applications, and leaves open application of statutory condonation principles where individual justification is required, while distinguishing judicial and quasi judicial actions from purely administrative steps. (AI Summary)

Dematerialisation of shares: proposal to limit compulsory demat to large issuers and permit option for others.
Compulsory dematerialisation imposes operational and compliance burdens on limited companies and shareholders, particularly where issuers are small, closely held, or infrequently traded, and where shareholders prefer or need physical certificates. Registrar and depository procedures often treat conversion as a transfer, requiring strict verification that complicates conversion of historical or irregular holdings. The commentary proposes limiting compulsory dematerialisation to large issuers defined by thresholds for shareholder numbers and transfer activity, and making dematerialisation optional for other companies so issuers or shareholders may retain physical form. (AI Summary)

Inclusion of retail and wholesale trade as MSMEs extends Udyam registration access and credit guarantee coverage to those businesses.
Inclusion of Retail and Wholesale Trade as MSMEs brings those businesses within the MSME classification and entitlement framework under the composite criteria based on investment and turnover, implemented via cost free self declaratory Udyam Registration (replacing Udyog Aadhaar). Registration is required to access Ministry of MSME schemes and programmes. Complementary support measures include a Credit Guarantee Scheme for eligible loans and Aatma Nirbhar Bharat initiatives such as subordinate debt, collateral free automatic business loans, equity infusion, procurement preferences, an online Champions portal, and Reserve Bank measures to alleviate financial stress. (AI Summary)

Avoidance of preferential and undervalued transactions requires resolution professionals to assess and report identified transactions promptly.
The document explains avoidance mechanisms for preferential transactions, undervalued transactions, extortionate credit transactions, and fraudulent trading, and sets out the new obligation on the resolution professional to form an opinion, determine relevant transactions, and file Form CIRP 8 providing prescribed details of the professional, corporate debtor, identified transactions, beneficiaries, values, applications to the Adjudicating Authority, and supporting documents. (AI Summary)

Aggrieved person status for regulatory authority enables appeal against appellate tribunal decisions to a higher court.
Whether a statutory Real Estate Regulatory Authority qualifies as an aggrieved person entitled to appeal against Appellate Tribunal orders depends on the Act's definitional scheme and whether the Authority is encompassed within the statutory meaning of "person"; if so, the Authority may appeal perceived Tribunal decisions inconsistent with the Act's objects to protect regulatory objectives and home buyers' interests. (AI Summary)

Government accountability: impose automatic late fees and cost recovery for delayed official actions to deter lethargy.
Government officials and public authorities should be subject to automatic late fees, penalties and cost consequences for undue delays in administrative and litigation-related duties, mirroring the financial consequences faced by private parties. Citing the Supreme Court's dismissal of a Special Leave Petition in Vishnu Aroma for excessive delay and imposition of costs, the author contends that nominal fines are inadequate and urges recovery of litigation costs and damages from responsible officers and counsel, and imposition of supervisory liability to deter casual handling of limitation periods. (AI Summary)

Negative liability in composition returns can arise when annual GSTR-4 omits declared tax, creating excess CMP-08 credits.
When composition taxpayers omit declaring annual tax liability in Table 6 of GSTR-4, the system computes tax payable by offsetting auto-populated CMP-08 credits in Table 5, generating a negative liability (excess tax paid). Omission requires a rectification request to adjust the negative liability, while legitimately excess CMP-08 payments may be carried forward for future tax periods. (AI Summary)

Apportionment of input tax credit ensures transferable credits follow asset ratios in business reorganisations, subject to prescribed filing and acceptance.
Transfer of unutilized input tax credit on business reorganisation is effected under Section 18(3) and Rule 41 by filing FORM GST ITC-02 with a practitioner's certificate; the transferee must accept details on the portal for credits to be credited. For demergers and partial transfers, unutilized credit is apportioned by the ratio of asset values as specified in the scheme, taken at the State/registration level and dated to the appointed date; the aggregate credit across tax heads is apportioned and may be allocated among heads subject to available balances. (AI Summary)

Limitation periods expanded, allowing quasi judicial proceedings to continue while appeals filing timelines remain governed by extensions.
The CBIC Circular dated 20.07.2021 clarifies that taxpayers must follow GST law time limits as extended by government notifications, while tax authorities may continue to initiate, hear and dispose of quasi judicial proceedings (such as refund applications, revocation of registration revocation, and adjudication of demand notices). Filing timelines for appeals, revisions or rectifications against quasi judicial orders are governed by the Supreme Court's extension orders. The guidance is applied by analogy to Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax, and show cause notices outside the applicable limitation are time barred. (AI Summary)

GST on licence fees confirmed for railway parking contracts, requiring contractor registration and tax collection obligations.
The agreements required contractors to pay licence fees and taxes; the Railway directed contractors to register and collect GST on parking charges and to remit GST on licence fees. The High Court concluded that the term supply and Schedule II bring licence/rental services within GST scope, that contractual acceptance of tax obligations is operative, and that section 32(2) cannot be invoked where collection accords with the Act. (AI Summary)

Tendering treated as supply of services, attracting GST on processing fees and sales of tender forms.
Tendering processes, both online and offline, are a supply of services attracting GST on processing fees and sale of tender forms; the AAR found that the sequence of selling forms, collecting applications, documenting, verifying and allotting tenders constitutes taxable miscellaneous services, and differing expert views on exemption do not alter the AAR's position that tender-related fees are taxable. (AI Summary)

E-commerce operator registration required irrespective of turnover; operators must collect TCS and meet GST reporting and compliance obligations.
The article sets out that an electronic commerce operator must register for GST irrespective of turnover, is excluded from the composition scheme, and is required to collect and report TCS for supplies routed through its platform. Sellers of goods must register regardless of turnover; certain services notified shift tax liability to the operator when the supplier is unregistered, while registered suppliers remain separately taxable. Place of supply is the destination/consumer state, and operators must file dedicated returns and reconcile TCS, COD, returns and interstate stock transfers. (AI Summary)

Limitation in tax recovery: GST distinguishes ordinary and fraud-based proceedings, affecting show cause timelines and penalties.
Both the Finance Act and GST empower officers to issue show cause notices for unpaid, short paid, or erroneously refunded tax, with GST creating two tracks-one for non fraud matters and one for fraud or willful mis statement-each carrying distinct limitation periods tied to the annual return due date. Subsequent statements may be served for additional periods on identical grounds. Voluntary pre notice payments bar further notice for the paid amount; orders quantify tax, interest and prescribed penalties, and prompt post order payment can terminate proceedings. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit on demo vehicles is at issue; eligibility depends on statutory exceptions under GST and conflicting advance rulings.
Divergent advance rulings conflict on whether Input Tax Credit on demo vehicles can be claimed: some AARs allowed credit where vehicles were tax-invoiced, capitalized and used in furtherance of business as capital goods, while others denied credit by applying statutory barring provisions unless specific exceptions are met; the issue hinges on the interplay between section 16 eligibility conditions and the exclusion clauses, with advance rulings' limited applicability and resulting litigation risk noted. (AI Summary)

Assessment against a non-existent company is a jurisdictional defect; liability shifts to the transferee after amalgamation.
Upon effectiveness of an approved amalgamation scheme the amalgamating company ceases to exist and its assets and liabilities vest in the transferee; consequently tax liabilities transfer to the transferee and the transferor cannot be validly assessed after the effective date. Assessments or notices issued in the name of a non existing transferor constitute a jurisdictional defect and substantive illegality rather than a mere procedural irregularity. Administrative records must be updated to substitute the transferee and taxpayers should notify the department to avoid invalid proceedings and litigation. (AI Summary)

GST filing updates: QRMP auto-population and SMS nil-filing plus new GSTN adjournment features enhance taxpayer compliance ease.
Under the QRMP scheme the portal now auto-populates quarterly Form GSTR-3B liabilities from optional IFF filings for Months 1 and 2 and from Form GSTR-1 for Month 3. Nil filing of quarterly GSTR-1 is enabled via SMS for QRMP taxpayers, subject to exceptions where IFF invoices are saved but not submitted or where IFF is in submitted but not filed status. If registration cancellation is effective after the first day of a quarter, the taxpayer must file GSTR-1 for the entire quarter as the last applicable return. (AI Summary)

Differential GST treatment for exports: distinct refund, documentation and valuation rules depending on tax payment status.
Differential GST treatment distinguishes exports made under a bond/LUT without payment of tax from exports with tax paid: the former requires LUT/bond and Form GST RFD-11, uses Form GST RFD-01 for refunds, mandates additional declarations and restricts zero-rated turnover to 1.5 times domestic like-goods turnover with refund value as the lower of invoice or shipping bill value; input tax credit on capital goods is not refunded and recovery applies for unrealised export proceeds. Exports with tax paid do not face these procedural or turnover restrictions and allow refund of capital goods ITC, with refund processed through a deemed shipping bill mechanism. (AI Summary)

Blocked input tax credit: construction and free sample rules limit ITC entitlement, subject to capitalisation and plant and machinery tests.
Blocked input tax credit under section 17(5) denies credit for works contract services and goods or services used in construction of immovable property when capitalised, and for goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off, gifted or given as free samples. Determination depends on whether expenditures are capitalised, whether items qualify as plant and machinery (including foundations) or as immovable property by permanent attachment, and on whether losses are inherent to manufacture. Case law and guidance address reading down for letting purposes and exclude manufacturing loss from reversal. (AI Summary)

GST portal updates restore standard revocation timeline and add late fee details plus auto-populated inward supplies.
The GST Portal restores the standard ninety-day period for filing applications for revocation of cancellation of registration in Form GST REG-21 from the date of the cancellation order in Form GST REG-19. The Portal will also provide late-fee details in Form GSTR-10 via a "Late Fee Payable" link and auto-populate Form GSTR-11 for UIN holders with inward supplies from suppliers' Forms GSTR-1 and GSTR-5 to aid quarterly filing and refund claims. (AI Summary)