Inspection of company registers secures member and creditor access to records, copies, electronic provision and prescribed remedies.
Companies must maintain statutory registers and permit inspection and supply of copies to entitled persons; key registers include the register of charges, register of members, register of significant beneficial owners, annual returns, minute-books, registers of directors and KMP shareholding, loan and investment registers, and registers of directors' interested contracts. Inspection rights are allocated to members, creditors, debenture-holders, other security holders, beneficial owners and, in certain instances, any person, subject to prescribed or article-specified fees, reasonable restrictions, notice and time conditions; electronic maintenance and defined penalties for refusal or default are provided. (AI Summary)

Natural justice breach in e proceedings: premature electronic finalisation before compliance time undermines fair hearing and demands system checks.
Violation of principles of natural justice occurs when assessing officers finalise or upload assessment orders in e proceedings before the expiry of the date and time fixed for the assessee's compliance and without considering submissions filed within the prescribed period. E platforms should display validation warnings to prevent premature finalisation, and departmental guidelines should require officers to await the compliance cutoff and permit short extensions where justified to ensure fair hearing and prevent administrative error and undue litigation. (AI Summary)

GST compliance relief: interest reductions, late-fee waivers, due date extensions and import exemptions for COVID relief supplies.
Temporary GST relief measures provide reduced interest rates and late-fee waivers for specified return periods, extend due dates for multiple returns and compliance actions, and adapt Rule 36(4) cumulative ITC adjustments for consecutive months. Imports of certain COVID-19 relief supplies donated from abroad are exempted from IGST when distributed free of cost by authorised public or relief entities, with the exemption applying to consignments pending customs clearance as of the exemption date. Administrative reorganisations and portal enhancements accompany these measures. (AI Summary)

Tax Collection at Source on e-commerce platforms requires e-commerce operators to collect and remit monthly under GST.
E-commerce operators must collect and remit tax at source under Section 52 on taxable supplies where consideration is collected by the ECO, with liability arising when the supplier issues the invoice. TCS is calculated supplier-wise on the net value of taxable supplies (invoices minus credit notes); negative net values are ignored. ECOs must file monthly FORM GSTR-08, deposit TCS to the electronic cash ledger by the due date using cash funds only, and provide reported TCS credit to suppliers who may accept or reject the entries. (AI Summary)

Margin for derivative contracts: permissioned posting, collection and interest subject to regulator specified eligible collateral and operational conditions.
The regulation permits posting, collecting and paying/receiving interest on margin for specified derivative contracts with non residents only with central bank permission; it defines margin as collateral to cover counterparty credit risk, lists permitted derivative categories (foreign exchange, interest rate, credit and other specified derivatives), and directs authorized dealers to observe specified eligible collateral forms, credit rating and operational requirements, including maintenance of separate non resident margin accounts in India. (AI Summary)

GST exemption for COVID supplies urged to reduce costs while preserving input tax credit mechanisms for manufacturers.
The author argues that many COVID-related supplies should be made GST-exempt or nil-rated as a public-interest measure, noting that Section 54(3) of the CGST Act allows refund of unutilised input tax credit in prescribed circumstances and that mechanisms can be designed to prevent undue disadvantage to domestic manufacturers; the sanitary napkin exemption is cited as a precedent, and a low GST rate is offered as an alternative to preserve ITC utilisation while reducing consumer cost. (AI Summary)

Applicability of MAT provisions: book-profit taxation cannot apply without computation of gross total income and tax payable.
Central issue concerns the scope and applicability of the MAT provisions as an integral, self-contained code governing charging and computation of tax on book profits. The provisions presuppose determination of gross total income, application of Chapter VIA deductions to arrive at total income, and calculation of tax payable on that total income. Where those pre-conditions cannot be satisfied-because GTI/TI are nil or negative or no tax is computed on normally determined income-the statutory mechanism for computing and charging tax on book profits cannot be set in motion and the MAT formulae are inapplicable. (AI Summary)

Wage definition overhaul: affects gratuity, provident fund and overtime obligations and mandates equal pay protections.
The Labour Codes broaden the definition of wages-treating at least half of total remuneration as wages-impacting gratuity, provident fund and leave encashment calculations; extend equal remuneration protections to all employees; require overtime at double the normal rate and equal pay for part time staff; expand social security to gig, platform and migrant workers with employer turnover linked contributions; and standardise eight hour workdays with enhanced occupational safety and staged implementation steps including ERP updates and post go live monitoring. (AI Summary)

Tonnage tax scheme provides a distinct shipping profit computation with eligibility, reserve, audit and anti abuse requirements.
The tonnage tax scheme is a specialized tax regime for qualifying companies operating qualifying ships, requiring an approved option and separate books; tonnage income is computed per ship by prescribed daily tonnage rates applied to certified net tonnage (including deemed tonnage), with no deductions or carry forward of losses, allocation rules for common costs and depreciation, mandatory training and audit compliance, a required Tonnage Tax Reserve credited from book profits and specified limits on charter in tonnage, and anti abuse and exclusion mechanisms. (AI Summary)

Fiscal and liquidity measures aim to protect revenues and credit flow while targeting support to stressed sectors during the COVID wave.
Fiscal and monetary policy responses to the second COVID-19 wave focus on cushioning economic activity, protecting revenues, and targeting liquidity to stressed sectors. Targeted relief such as loan moratoria for previously standard accounts, special lending for the health sector, and credit facilitation for MSMEs are presented as operational tools to preserve credit flow, prevent insolvencies, and sustain essential supply chains while acknowledging uneven sectoral recovery. (AI Summary)

Withdrawal of appeal under insolvency code allowed where settlement, creditor withdrawal, or procedural developments justify restoration or fresh remedies.
Withdrawal of appeal under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code arises despite absence of a specific provision in the Code: the appellate tribunal permits withdrawal based on facts and circumstances, often linked to settlements or creditor withdrawal, while Section 12A provides a statutory route for withdrawal of admitted applications with committee of creditors' approval. Permitted withdrawals commonly carry liberty to restore appeals, pursue alternative remedies, seek fresh appeals, or approach the adjudicating authority to expunge adverse observations when appropriate. (AI Summary)

GST filing reliefs: interest and late fee waivers and targeted filing deadline extensions for specified return periods.
Administrative relaxations in May 2021 provided time limited, form specific reliefs: suspension of Rule 36(4) for April GST returns; staggered interest and late fee waivers and filing extensions for March-April GST returns and specific GST forms; income tax procedural deadlines and certain TDS/declaration filings extended to 31 May 2021; and MCA extensions for board meeting intervals and ROC filings (with limited exclusions for certain charge forms). (AI Summary)

GST timeline extensions and compliance relief introduce temporary easing of filing, interest rates, and late fee waivers for specified taxpayers.
Temporary GST procedural relaxations and compliance concessions were notified for April-May 2021: companies may verify GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 (or use IFF) via EVC from 27.04.2021 to 31.05.2021; non resident taxable persons may furnish April invoices via IFF between 01.05.2021 and 28.05.2021; Rule 36 caps input tax credit for unreported supplier details at 5% cumulatively for April and May with adjustment in May GSTR 3B; interest rates, late fee waivers and multiple filing deadlines were also temporarily revised or extended, subject to specified exclusions. (AI Summary)

Vague show-cause notices invalidated when pre-notice clarifications are ignored, enabling legal challenge to notice validity.
SCNs that ignore or fail to rebut the assessee's pre-SCN explanations and materials may be challenged as vague and void ab initio; failures in pre-notice consultation and non-consideration of evidence frustrate the purpose of narrowing disputes, violate principles of natural justice, and furnish grounds to seek quashing of the SCN or other remedies where adjudication also fails to address the materials on record. (AI Summary)

Right to withdraw reservation includes refund entitlement; one-sided forfeiture clauses in standard booking forms are unenforceable.
Right to request reservation of a flat includes the right to withdraw that request; a printed one-sided forfeiture clause in a promoter's reservation form, imposed on an allottee who has not received confirmation, allotment letter or executed an agreement for sale, is unreasonable, unfair and not binding. Where the allottee signed a prescribed form without meaningful bargaining power, oppressive terms cannot be enforced, and regulatory authorities have inherent powers to prevent abuse and protect consumer interests. (AI Summary)

No automatic reversal of input tax credit: reversal limited to matching failures or narrow exceptional supplier insolvency scenarios.
Statutory matching requirements mean ITC is claimable only when tax charged has been paid and accepted after reconciliation; administrative guidance forbids automatic reversal of ITC by the recipient for supplier non-payment except in narrow exceptional cases like missing dealer, closure, insolvency or where recipient fraud/collusion exists, and courts have reinforced that recovery should primarily target the supplier rather than automatically debiting innocent purchasers. (AI Summary)

Debit note timing rule: amendment lets recipients claim input tax credit based on the debit note date, easing late corrections.
The Finance Act, 2020 amended Section 16(4) to delink the ITC time limit from the original invoice date and treat the date of issuance of the debit note as the relevant cut off for claiming input tax credit on additional tax charged through debit notes, thereby allowing recipients to claim ITC where suppliers raise debit notes for past under charging, including cases of rate errors, disputed exemptions, undervaluation, and contractual price revisions. (AI Summary)

IGST rebate restriction: amendments to Rule 96 limit refund eligibility for AA imports, prompting litigation and enforcement notices.
Amendments to Rule 96(10) of the CGST Rules and related Customs notifications restrict claiming refund of integrated tax paid on exports where import exemptions under AA/EPCG and similar notifications were availed; a later explanation clarified the restriction applies only where IGST was not paid at import, leaving exporters who paid IGST at import eligible for rebate, while retrospective application and textual changes across notifications generated litigation and enforcement notices seeking recoveries. (AI Summary)

Commercial dispute jurisdiction requires specified-value thresholds and mandatory pre-institution mediation before suits proceed.
The Act defines commercial dispute broadly to include various trade, contract and intellectual property matters and provides that such disputes remain commercial despite involvement of immovable property or State parties. State Governments, after High Court consultation, may constitute Commercial Courts and specify territorial limits and a pecuniary threshold; High Courts may establish Commercial Divisions. Jurisdiction is exclusive for commercial disputes of the specified value, with arbitration-related applications allocated to Commercial Courts/Divisions. The specified value is determined by the relief sought. Pre-institution mediation is mandatory for non-urgent suits and settlements therefrom have the effect of an arbitral award. (AI Summary)

Pre-show-cause consultation requirement may void non-compliant show-cause notices and require reversion to pre-issuance stage.
Pre-show-cause consultation is mandatory under the Board's instruction and master circular and non-compliance engages principles of natural justice and the binding effect of administrative circulars. Except for genuine preventive or offence-related cases, failure to consult has led courts to quash impugned show-cause notices and relegate parties to the stage prior to issuance so consultation can occur. The question of limitation for reviving or reissuing such notices after quashing remains unresolved pending higher court orders. (AI Summary)