Advance ruling procedure clarifies admissible questions, filing requirements, hearings, modification and voidance processes for customs rulings.
The Regulations define the scope of permissible advance ruling questions (classification, notifications affecting duty, valuation, applicability of tax/duty notifications, origin determination and other specified matters), establish two regional Authorities with procedural rules for filing Form CAAR 1 (including fee, signatures, evidence of authority, formatting and translation requirements), set scrutiny, registration and transmission to the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner/Commissioner, and provide for hearings, ex parte disposal, modification, rectification and voidance of advance rulings obtained by fraud or misrepresentation. (AI Summary)

GST revenue recovery: strengthened collections tied to e invoicing, data analytics and tighter input tax credit compliance.
The article links recent GDP contraction and a partial V shaped recovery to trends in GST receipts, noting December 2020 as the highest monthly collection since GST's introduction. It attributes rising GST revenue to sectoral recovery, increased movement of goods (e way bills), mandatory e invoicing with a lowered turnover threshold, tightened input tax credit rules, QRMP rollout, and intensified compliance through data analytics and coordinated enforcement actions. It also records central interim payments to states for compensation cess shortfalls and calls for rate rationalization, exemption pruning, and tax base broadening. (AI Summary)

Tax-saving fixed deposits parity with savings certificates urged to align tenure, interest deduction, withdrawal and lending features.
The note proposes treating tax-saver fixed deposits like national savings certificates by equalising tenure and interest treatment, permitting loans or overdrafts against them, allowing accumulated interest to qualify for deduction, permitting proportionate income inclusion on early withdrawal, expanding eligible assessees, adjusting or removing the investment limit, and introducing TDS on early withdrawal, via amendment to the existing provision or a new statutory provision. (AI Summary)

GST input tax credit utilization limited, requiring a small residual cash discharge for specified high-turnover taxpayers.
A regulatory rule limits the proportion of input tax credit that may be utilized by certain taxpayers and requires a residual cash discharge where the taxpayer's taxable turnover exceeds a prescribed monthly threshold (excluding exempt and zero-rated supplies). The cash-payment obligation is subject to specified exemptions-including income-tax payment history, significant refund claimants, prior cumulative cash discharge, and certain public sector or government entities-and became effective from the first day of January of the stated year. (AI Summary)

Non-seizure of jewellery: guidelines limit seizure and shape assessment treatment of jewellery found in searches.
CBDT Instruction No. 1916 directs that specified quantities of jewellery and ornaments need not be seized during searches and permits exclusion of larger quantities based on family status and community customs; detailed inventories must be prepared for assessment. Several courts have treated possession within those quantities as reasonable and explained, but other authorities limit the Instruction's effect to seizure decisions and require the assessee to independently explain acquisition for assessment. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering compliance: remand for further investigation after inadequate DGAP report on GST rate reduction benefit
The Authority examined whether a supplier complied with Section 171 by passing on a GST rate reduction through price cuts, credit notes or increased grammage. DGAP's comparison of pre-reduction and post-reduction base prices produced an alleged profiteering sum that included excess GST on increased base prices; many claimed deductions lacked SKU-wise correlation or temporal proximity to the rate change. Due to insufficient documentary linkage and unexplained recommendations in the DGAP reports, the matter was remitted for further SKU-level investigation and fresh reporting, with specific data requisitions for pre/post base prices, computations and evidence of benefit passing. (AI Summary)

Non-filing of GSTR-3B triggers late fees, interest and operational restrictions including e way bill and GSTR 1 blocks.
Form GSTR-3B is the month-based summary return for declaring and discharging GST liabilities and, when required, replaces Form GSTR-3. Filing frequency is monthly or quarterly based on turnover with prescribed due dates; failure to furnish invites daily late fee and interest, periodic waivers for portal issues, blocking of e-way bills after consecutive non-filing, restrictions on filing Form GSTR-1 and invoice furnishing, and potential cancellation of registration after six months of continuous non-filing. Annual return filing requires all GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for the year to be furnished prior to GSTR-9. (AI Summary)

Record preservation obligations require insolvency professionals to retain CIRP records securely and produce them on official demand.
Insolvency professionals must preserve and produce both physical and electronic records generated during a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process, including appointments, handovers, admission records, public announcements, Committee of Creditors documents, claims and verification lists, professional engagements and reports, Information Memorandum, filings and orders, resolution plan materials, correspondence, cost records and avoidance-transaction records. A 2021 Board circular prescribes statutory minimum retention durations for electronic and physical copies, requires secure storage and access controls (permitting use of Information Utilities), and obliges each professional to retain records for the specific period of the CIRP that he handled. (AI Summary)

Restriction on input tax credit use may compel additional cash discharge when taxable supplies exceed a specified monthly threshold.
Rule 86B restricts use of the electronic credit ledger to discharge output tax where monthly taxable supplies exceed a specified threshold, requiring a residual portion of tax to be discharged otherwise; exclusions apply for taxpayers with significant prior income-tax payments, prior refunds of unutilised input tax credit for zero-rated or inverted-duty supplies, sufficient cumulative cash payments during the year, and specified government/public/statutory bodies, and the Commissioner may remove the restriction after verification. (AI Summary)

Suspension of GST registration halts taxable supplies and returns pending explanation of discrepancies in reported transactions.
Rule 21A provides that suspension of GST registration occurs automatically on filing a cancellation application or may be ordered by the proper officer, including under a data driven sub rule where significant anomalies between returns, outward supply details and auto generated inward supplies are detected; Form GST REG 31 notifies the taxpayer of discrepancies and suspension, prompts explanation within the prescribed period, and suspension precludes issuance of tax invoices, filing of returns and refunds until revoked or proceedings are concluded. (AI Summary)

GST classification of cryptocurrency shapes taxation: treat trading, mining, wallets and exchanges as taxable supplies under GST.
GST applicability to cryptocurrency depends on classification: cryptocurrencies are not legal tender or conventional securities, so they may be treated as movable property or intangibles subject to GST. An administrative proposal would treat mining as a supply of services (taxable on rewards and fees), require wallets and exchanges to register and pay tax, treat trading as supply of goods with related services taxable, apply specified place-of-supply rules for domestic transactions, and impose IGST on cross-border supplies. (AI Summary)

Restriction on Input Tax Credit: tighter ITC caps and GSTIN cancellation rules limit credit use and registrations.
Regulatory amendments tighten controls on input tax credit and registration: Rule changes authorize GSTIN cancellation for excess ITC, reduce the ITC reconciliation margin under Rule 36(4), remove pre-cancellation hearing in specified registration cancellations, and restrict refunds during GSTIN suspension. Rule 86B limits use of electronic credit ledger balances for specified taxpayers with exceptions; filing of GSTR-1 or invoice furnishing is barred unless GSTR-3B is filed for preceding periods. E-invoice auto-population into GSTR-1 and related ledgers is enabled with validations and T+3 visibility, and annual return deadlines have been extended. (AI Summary)

Anti profiteering obligations require tax reductions and input tax credit benefits be reflected in consumer prices, limiting allowable offsets.
Section 171 requires pass through of tax rate reductions and ITC benefits to recipients; DGAP computes profiteered amounts by comparing pre and post GST ITC to turnover ratios and recalibrating base prices, a method criticized for ignoring increased costs and compliance expenses. NAPA rulings disallow deduction of ordinary business costs from profiteering calculations and prohibit adjusting excess benefit to some buyers against shortfall to others, treating the obligation as applying to each supply. (AI Summary)

Blocking of Input Tax Credit requires credible material and limited, sparing use pending a proper inquiry and safeguards.
Rule 86A authorises a Commissioner-level officer to block debit of electronic input tax credit where there is a reason to believe credit was fraudulently availed or is ineligible; such blocking must be grounded on credible, cogent material rationally connected to that belief, used sparingly to avoid irreversible harm, may be revoked if conditions cease, and expires after one year. The Rule separates entitlement to credit from its utilization, and although it does not expressly require prior show-cause notice, provision of written reasons and procedural safeguards is necessary to prevent misuse. (AI Summary)

E invoicing obligation: invoices, credit and debit notes must be registered with IRP and include IRN and QR code.
Amendments effective 1 January 2021 require registration of tax invoices, credit notes and debit notes on the Invoice Registration Portal with IRN and QR code; introduce a Quarterly Return Monthly Payment Scheme combining quarterly filing with monthly tax payment and an invoice furnishing facility; reduce the reconciliation allowance for input tax credit where supplier invoices are not furnished; restrict use of electronic credit ledger balances for payment of output tax in specified cases; and extend the distance basis for e-way bill validity, subject to stated exceptions. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit restricted by return filing requirements, limiting claims for invoices not reported by suppliers.
The amendment to Rule 36(4) requires that invoice details must be furnished through the supplier's return rather than merely uploaded, and reduces the allowable credit for invoices not appearing in supplier-filed returns to a lower residual allowance; taxpayers therefore can claim full input tax credit only for invoices reflected in supplier-filed returns or invoice furnishing mechanisms, with a reduced cap applying to non-reflected invoices, increasing potential blocked credit and working capital pressure. (AI Summary)

Date of assessment conclusion: whether passing or service of the assessment order ousts settlement jurisdiction remains contested.
The core issue is whether an assessment proceeding ceases to be pending for settlement purposes when the assessment order is passed or only when it is served. Explanation (iiia) and amended CBDT guidance indicate completion on the date the assessment is made, supporting the departmental view that passing the order ousts pendency. However, several High Courts treat service as the decisive event, producing a conflict in authorities and practical uncertainty for taxpayers seeking to file settlement applications. (AI Summary)

Classification of goods determines anti-profiteering applicability; HSN classification can preclude Section 171 liability in rate-reduction disputes.
The investigation concluded that Section 171 of the CGST Act was not attracted because the power bank supplies were classified under the HSN entry for lithium-ion batteries attracting the lower rate, and the notification cited by the complainant did not alter the tax rate applicable to those classified supplies; the probe was confined to anti profiteering assessment and did not re-open HSN classification issues. (AI Summary)

Restriction on Input Tax Credit mandates a mandatory cash component of output tax for specified high turnover taxpayers.
Rule 86B restricts use of Input Tax Credit from the electronic credit ledger so that registered persons whose monthly taxable supplies (excluding exempt and zero rated supplies) exceed the turnover threshold cannot discharge more than ninety nine per cent of output tax liability through credits. The rule overrides other rules, lists eligibility exceptions including specified income tax payments and refund receipts in prior years, exempts certain public bodies, allows Commissioner discretion to remove the restriction after verification, and requires taxpayers to track cumulative cash payments. (AI Summary)

Binding circulars: departmental instructions in force govern administrative action and limit revenue from taking contrary positions.
Board circulars issued under statutory powers are binding on departmental officers while operative and prevent the Department from taking positions contrary to those circulars; the Revenue is precluded from challenging the correctness of a binding circular. Beneficial circulars apply retrospectively, adverse circulars operate prospectively, and in classification disputes an earlier operative circular that prescribes classification makes inconsistent demands unsustainable, with CENVAT credit and past duty payments to be considered in liability computation. (AI Summary)