Extension of filing deadline for TAR and ITR sought to address COVID related compliance disruptions for small taxpayers.
Request to extend the last date for filing the Tax Audit Report (TAR) and Income Tax Return (ITR) for small and medium assesses due to COVID 19 disruptions. The submission notes lockdowns, reduced staff availability, transport and document access difficulties, and contrasts large listed companies' dedicated compliance resources with the limited capacity of individuals, firms, HUFs, AOPs/BOIs and unlisted companies, urging an extension of the TAR and ITR filing deadlines for those smaller taxpayers. (AI Summary)

Connivance in GST evasion can necessitate custodial investigation to protect the integrity of tax collection and evidence.
Allegations describe networks of dealers, transporters, "passers" and departmental officers using bogus invoices and bribery to evade GST and fraudulently avail input tax credit; investigative material-registers recording bribe distribution, file inspections revealing procedural lapses in roadside checks, vehicle releases without origin verification, and technical phone inputs-indicate officer involvement and risk of evidence tampering, supporting the need for deeper probe including custodial interrogation to protect tax collection integrity. (AI Summary)

Refunds for tax paid under wrong tax head: timing and procedural treatment under GST refund provisions clarified.
Refunds where tax was paid under the wrong tax head follow the interplay of Section 77 (CGST) and Section 19 (IGST): mischaracterised intra State or inter State supplies require cash refund claims and fresh deposits under the correct tax head with statutory waiver of interest for the fresh deposit. The author argues that, because refund procedure is expressly linked and interest is waived, the ordinary two year limitation should not bar such refunds and unjust enrichment need not be tested, though refunds are to be processed under the regular refund mechanism and Rule 89. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit restriction tied to supplier invoice uploads challenged as unlawful; recipients retain entitlement despite supplier defaults.
Rule 36(4) capping input tax credit where suppliers fail to upload outward invoices imposes an extra-statutory condition beyond the Act's eligibility criteria, tying a recipient's entitlement to another taxpayer's actions. Because upload and tax payment are distinct and the recipient cannot verify supplier compliance, such a restriction is impossible to perform by the recipient, contradicts legislative intent to pursue suppliers first, risks unequal and arbitrary treatment, and is therefore argued to be legally invalid; recipients who otherwise meet statutory prerequisites should retain ITC. (AI Summary)

Domestic company definition hinges on prescribed arrangements for declaration and India based payment of dividends, including board recommendation and payment mechanisms.
Meaning of domestic company requires that, for income taxable under the Act, the company has made prescribed arrangements for both the declaration and payment of dividends within India. Such arrangements are practical and cumulative: board recommendation to declare dividend, identification of entitled shareholders and an India based payment mechanism; mere maintenance of registers or administrative steps does not suffice. Rule 27 describes limited arrangements for TDS purposes, but the Act's definition governs generally and arrangements arise only when a dividend is declared. (AI Summary)

Restriction on electronic input tax credit use limits ledger payments and conditions return filing on prior return compliance
Rule 86B restricts use of the electronic credit ledger by mandating that a specified portion of output tax be paid from the electronic cash ledger, subject to listed exemptions and with power vested in the Commissioner to lift the restriction after verification. Concurrently, the amendments limit input tax credit for invoices not furnished by suppliers-reducing the permissible allowance-and treat successful filing of supplier returns as the trigger for claiming credit; QRMP filers using the Invoice Furnishing Facility permit recipients to claim credit on uploaded invoice details. Filing restrictions and caps on credit usage apply where specified returns are not filed, and additional grounds for cancellation and suspension without a prior hearing have been added. E way bill validity was reduced and e way bill generation can be blocked for non filers or suspended registrants. (AI Summary)

Optional corporate tax regime for new manufacturers limits incentives and locks in concessional tax treatment, subject to strict eligibility and compliance.
An optional tax regime allows newly established manufacturing companies to elect a concessional tax computation, granting an optional 15% tax rate on qualifying manufacturing income while excluding various incentive deductions and denying set off of losses and unabsorbed depreciation linked to those incentives; non-manufacturing income, certain capital gains and deemed excess related party profits are taxed at higher specified rates, and the option is irrevocable once exercised unless disqualified by failure to meet statutory conditions. (AI Summary)

Personal criminal liability prevents the liquidation estate from bearing compounding fees for an officer's tax offence.
A managing director's TDS default that predates the corporate insolvency resolution process creates personal criminal liability; the liquidator must defend the company but the liquidation estate is not liable to reimburse compounding fees paid to exonerate the individual. An officer's application to have the corporate debtor pay compounding fees conflicts with insolvency priority principles and is inappropriate where the alleged offence is personal and occurred before CIRP. (AI Summary)

MSME employment generation supports rural and urban livelihoods via classification based incentives and credit linked support schemes.
MSMEs are a major source of low capital, labour intensive employment across rural and urban areas, promoted via a central credit linked subsidy scheme implemented through national and state agencies and banks. Enterprise classification into micro, small and medium is based on investment and turnover thresholds determining support eligibility. Employment is largely concentrated in micro units across manufacturing, trade and services, with uneven state and gender distribution. Policy emphasis rests on skill development through technology centres and addressing COVID 19 related disruptions to restore employment capacity. (AI Summary)

Quarterly return and monthly payment scheme enables quarterly GSTR-3B filing with mandated monthly tax payments and optional invoice reporting.
The QRMP scheme allows eligible taxpayers with aggregate turnover up to five crore to file GSTR-3B quarterly while paying tax monthly for the first two months using FORM GST PMT-06. Monthly payments may follow the Fixed Sum Method (system-calculated fraction of prior-quarter cash tax or last-month tax where applicable) or the Self-Assessment Method (taxpayer-calculated net of ITC). Optional Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) enables limited monthly invoice reporting (1st-13th) for recipient ITC visibility. Deposits for the first two months are debited against the quarter's GSTR-3B, refunds allowed only after filing, and prescribed interest/late-fee rules apply for delayed payments or returns. (AI Summary)

Trade discounts not consideration for service tax; excluded from GST transaction value when recorded or agreed at time of supply.
Manufacturer-to-dealer discounts and incentives operate as price concessions within principal-to-principal trading relationships, recorded by credit notes and accounted for as other operating income or discounts; they do not create a service provider-service recipient relationship or consideration attracting service tax. Under GST, discounts given on or before time of supply and recorded in the invoice (or agreed at that time and linkable to the invoice) are excluded from the transaction value, whereas post-supply discounts not agreed at or before supply are not deductible from transaction value. (AI Summary)

Auditor report applicability postponed: CARO 2020 effective date deferred to the following financial year by MCA amendment.
Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended the Companies (Auditor's Report) Order, 2020 to substitute the applicability date of 1st April, 2020 with 1st April, 2021; the Second Amendment Order is effective from its publication in the Official Gazette and therefore defers CARO, 2020 compliance obligations to the substituted date. (AI Summary)

Two-tier arbitration upheld: foreign appellate arbitral awards can be enforced if procedural fairness and opportunity to be heard are satisfied.
The Supreme Court held that two-tier arbitration clauses are permissible under Indian law and that an appellate arbitral award rendered by a foreign tribunal can qualify as a foreign award enforceable in India where the tribunal afforded the party proper notice and adequate opportunity to present its case; remanding the matter to the foreign arbitrator was beyond an enforcing court's jurisdiction, and procedural fairness rather than the mere existence of a two-tier clause determines enforceability. (AI Summary)

Auto-population of GSTR-3B auto-fills liabilities and ITC for taxpayer review, requiring verification and manual edits where needed.
Auto-population fills GSTR-3B table-wise using outward supply details from GSTR-1 and inward supply/ITC data from GSTR-2B, providing a system-generated PDF for assistance while permitting taxpayers to edit values; net negative source amounts are treated as zero, certain tables (e.g. Table 5 and 6.2) are excluded, and supplies not present in system data (such as from unregistered persons or some imports) must be added manually. (AI Summary)

Binding precedent requires authorities to follow Supreme Court tax rulings, preventing re litigation of settled valuation and demand issues.
Revenue authorities disregarded binding Supreme Court precedents to confirm demands and appropriate deposits, exemplified by the Jumbo Bags matter where DTA sales against foreign exchange were equated with permitted exports but benefits were denied, and by post Bhayana Builders decisions where valuation rules for taxable services established by the Supreme Court were ignored in favour of inapposite authority; the article condemns repeated show cause notices and invocation of extended limitation for facts already known to authorities as contravening judicial discipline. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering enforcement: require pass-through of GST rate reductions on cinema tickets, recovery and wider investigation initiated.
The authority concluded that the cinema operator failed to pass on GST rate reductions on admission to film exhibitions, realized an excess amount from customers by maintaining cum-tax prices or increasing base prices, and therefore quantified profiteered sums; it required commensurate price reductions, refund to the complainant with interest, deposit of amounts attributable to unidentified recipients into consumer welfare funds, monitoring by tax commissioners, and further DGAP investigation into other screens. (AI Summary)

Taxability of gifts: parental gifts substantiated by partnership withdrawals upheld as exempt when accounting records and withdrawals support genuineness.
Gifts from parents are exempt from tax if the recipient proves origin and genuineness; partnership capital-account entries, bank withdrawals from the firm and subsequent deposits into the assessee's account were held to substantiate parental gifts where the Assessing Officer's findings contained internal contradictions and no evidence showed the withdrawn funds were applied for other purposes. (AI Summary)

Vivad se Vishwas settlement flexibility: extend deadlines, waive appeal withdrawal evidence, permit settlements where revenue lost.
The note urges procedural and substantive reforms to the Vivad se Vishwas scheme: extend the deadline for declarations; waive formal evidence of appeal withdrawal in favour of simple communication; permit settlement where the revenue has lost without requiring proof of appeal pendency; allow taxpayers to settle such issues on a reduced payment basis; provide early payment concessions including time proportional discounts and accept estimated advance payments; and require prompt issuance of certificates by the Designated Authority, with simplified documentation and administrative assistance for computation of amounts payable. (AI Summary)

Bogus transactions: fabricated purchases can trigger tax additions and estimation of taxable profit elements for assessment.
Bogus transactions include fabricated purchases, substitution with grey-market acquisitions, and unrecorded supplier sales; where purchases are non-existent the full amount may be added to income, whereas where suppliers are bogus tax authorities typically estimate and tax the profit element. Assessments are often reopened on third party information; the assessee bears initial burden of proof by adducing delivery records, bank evidence and stock documentation, after which the Revenue must investigate and justify characterisation as bogus. (AI Summary)

Optional concessional tax rate for eligible domestic manufacturers - available subject to denial of specified incentives and restrictive conditions.
An option allows qualifying newly registered manufacturing companies to elect a 25% tax computation, subject to mandatory compliance and an irrevocable election mechanism; the option disallows a wide range of specified incentive deductions and related loss set offs, deems such losses lapsed, preserves a limited employment deduction, and prescribes modified depreciation treatment including caps and WDV adjustments; eligibility hinges on company incorporation timing, exclusive engagement in manufacturing, and procedural exercise of the option, raising practical issues about past incentive losses, company objects and the statutory meaning of domestic company. (AI Summary)