Input tax credit restriction on missing supplier invoices applied cumulatively, changing how returns must adjust deferred credits.
Administrative GST rules make buyers accountable for suppliers' missing invoice uploads by limiting input tax credit claimable for invoices not appearing in Form GSTR 2A. The rule caps the credit available for such missing invoices and requires monthly reconciliation between books and GSTR 2A, maintaining records of deferred credit. A temporary relaxation permitted applying the restriction cumulatively over multiple tax periods, with the cumulative adjustment effected when filing the subsequent month's return, illustrated by a numerical example. (AI Summary)

E invoice compliance transition: temporary IRN generation relief granted, with mandatory electronic invoicing and verification resuming thereafter.
A series of GST administrative measures provide transitional relief and procedural updates: extensions for filing annual returns and audits, targeted late fee waivers, extended invoice issuance timelines for specific cases, and an exemption extension for export freight. The e invoice mandate transition permits obtaining Invoice Reference Numbers for invoices issued during the specified transition period by uploading particulars within a cure window, after which strict compliance resumes. Rules now require QR codes on specified invoices and permit electronic verification of invoice-related documents. Income tax authorities may now incorporate GST return data into Form 26AS quarterly. (AI Summary)

Liability to pay customs duty rests with the importer, while false declarations trigger separate penalties for the declarant.
Liability for customs duty attaches to imported goods and remains on the importer even when clearance is outsourced; penalties for short or non-levy apply to the person legally liable to pay duty, whereas penalties for making or using false or incorrect declarations apply to the declarant who presents such documents. (AI Summary)

Director liability cannot be imposed without lifting the corporate veil; burden rests on revenue to prove director responsibility.
Directors of a public limited company cannot be held personally liable for service tax or GST dues absent lifting the corporate veil or satisfying statutory prerequisites; where statutes impose joint and several liability for recoveries from private companies, the department must first establish company liability and then prove that non-recovery results from a director's gross neglect, misfeasance or breach of duty, with non executive directors excluded unless responsibility for conduct of business is shown. (AI Summary)

Tax collection at source on specified high-value receipts requires sellers above turnover threshold to collect advance tax from buyers.
Section 206C(1H) requires sellers whose prior-year turnover exceeds the statutory threshold to collect TCS from a buyer when aggregate receipts from that buyer in the previous year exceed the receipt threshold; collection is triggered by receipt of sale consideration on or after the statutory commencement date, excludes certain categories and transactions, and allows modified collection where buyer fails to furnish PAN/Aadhaar. Administrative guidance clarifies aggregation from the start of the previous year, exclusion of specified exchange-traded transactions, interplay with other subsections for specified goods, and that TCS is an advance tax credit for the buyer. (AI Summary)

GST return simplification: shift small taxpayers to quarterly filing and enable auto-population of tax returns for easier compliance.
The Council directed disbursal of accumulated compensation cess to states and extended the compensation cess period; ordered release of outstanding IGST balances and set measures to manage compensation payouts. It mandated return filing simplification by moving small taxpayers to quarterly filings, revising quarterly GSTR-1 due dates, extending the GSTR-1/3B system as default, and establishing a roadmap to auto-populate GSTR-3B from GSTR-1 with FORM GSTR-2B to auto-populate input tax credit, including mandatory filing sequencing of GSTR-1 before GSTR-3B. (AI Summary)

Trade Union registration requires prescribed member thresholds, compliant rules, registrar approval and allows cancellation for non compliance.
The Code sets a statutory framework for trade union formation and registration: defined scope of trade unions, appointment of Registrars, membership thresholds and detailed rule requirements for name, objects, funds, membership, elections and accounts. Applications require prescribed affidavits, rules and resolutions; the Registrar may seek further particulars, require name changes and, if satisfied, register by entry and issue a conclusive certificate. The Registrar may cancel registration for contravention or insufficient membership after notice; appeals lie to the Tribunal which may permit delayed appeals for sufficient cause. Registered unions have corporate status; other registration statutes do not apply. (AI Summary)

Anti profiteering: failure to pass GST reduction found, requiring quantification and deposit of denied benefit with interest.
The Authority addressed a complaint that a supplier failed to pass on GST rate reduction on refrigerators by comparing pre and post GST transaction basic prices after discount; after DGAP investigation and reassessment of pre GST credit reversals and state tax incidence, the Authority determined that the commensurate benefit had not been passed, applied Rule 133 remedies to quantify the denied benefit and directed deposit into Consumer Welfare Funds with interest and further inquiry into penal liability under Section 171. (AI Summary)

TCS on sale of goods: sellers meeting turnover threshold must collect tax on receipts exceeding annual limit.
Section 206C(1H) requires a seller whose preceding-year turnover exceeds the prescribed threshold to collect TCS on receipts from a buyer that exceed the annual collection threshold, with the taxable base being amounts received above that threshold (including GST and advances). Exclusions apply for specified transactions, and differing rates depend on availability of buyer PAN. Practical compliance requires choosing a collection mechanism-per-receipt debit note, month-end consolidated debit note, or invoice inclusion-along with specific accounting entries, periodic reconciliation, remittance and year-end adjustments to reverse or write off balances where statutory conditions are not met. (AI Summary)

Foreign direct investment policy liberalisation boosts inflows and targets sectoral growth despite pandemic-induced contraction.
Foreign direct investment (FDI) in India under the Foreign Exchange Management Act has grown following policy relaxations and incentives that enhanced ease of doing business. Recent liberalisations-automatic-route permissions, increased sectoral caps, and targeted openings in e-commerce, insurance, coal mining, defence manufacturing and aviation-have driven higher inflows concentrated in services, software and hardware, telecommunications and trading, with leading state and country-level recipients identified. COVID-19 caused a short-term contraction but analyses foresee continued market-seeking interest given India's large domestic market and ongoing policy measures. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering: absence of retrospective penalty prevents imposing penalty for earlier failure to pass on input tax credit.
A supplier failed to pass on input tax credit benefits, confirming profiteering and triggering a show-cause notice under invoicing-related penalty provisions. The invoicing penalty provision, however, does not cover omission to pass on tax reductions or input tax credit because the profiteered amount is not a tax. A subsequently enacted specific penalty for profiteering operates prospectively, so it cannot be imposed for earlier contraventions; penalty proceedings under the invoicing provision were withdrawn. (AI Summary)

Doctrine of mutuality bars GST on interest-free maintenance security until the deposit is appropriated as consideration for services.
IFMS collected by builders is not taxable on receipt because under the doctrine of mutuality transactions between societies and members are not supplies and, under the CGST definition of consideration, a deposit is excluded from consideration unless the supplier appropriates it as payment for a supply; GST becomes payable only when the deposit is applied as consideration for services. (AI Summary)

GST liability on food and accommodation: preparatory coaching not qualifying as recognized education is taxable.
The Authority for Advance Rulings found that preparatory coaching for professional exams does not amount to "education as a part of curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognized by law," since the coaching only facilitates exam preparation and does not itself confer statutory qualifications. Consequently, the applicant does not qualify as an educational institution for exemption purposes, and charges for accommodation and for food supplied to students are not exempt and are liable to GST. (AI Summary)

Tax collection at source on high-value goods triggers seller collection duties, threshold conditions, exemptions and reporting obligations.
Section 206C(1H) requires sellers, meeting a turnover test, to collect TCS on receipts for sale of goods above a monetary threshold in a financial year (including advances), at the time of receipt; exclusions cover exports, specified subsections, notified buyers and instances where the buyer deducts tax. The statutory mechanism conditions reduced or elevated collection rates on buyer furnishing of PAN/Aadhaar, permits invoice or debit note collection, and imposes procedural duties on sellers for TAN, deposit, quarterly statements (Form 27EQ) and certificates (Form 27D). (AI Summary)

Input tax credit reconciliation improves compliance: auto drafted GSTR 2B enables monthly invoice matching and ITC verification.
GSTR 2B is an auto drafted input tax credit statement generated monthly on the basis of suppliers' GSTR 1, GSTR 5 and GSTR 6 filings, providing document level ITC eligibility, section wise summaries and advisories for action in GSTR 3B. It imports ICEGATE and SEZ inward supply data, covers a defined filing window from the preceding month's filing date to the current month's filing date, flags ITC as not available where statutory time limits have lapsed or where supplier and recipient are in different states for intrastate supplies, and is static and non editable by recipients. (AI Summary)

Director liability for tax recovery: private company directors can be held jointly and severally liable under GST provisions.
Recovery of service tax from directors was previously impermissible without statutory authority or clear factual findings to pierce the corporate veil; courts require positive material, personal show cause notices and proof of active involvement, misfeasance or fraud before imposing liability. The GST framework, however, treats amounts confirmed under earlier law as recoverable arrears and provides that where dues of a private company cannot be recovered, its directors during the relevant period may be jointly and severally liable unless they prove non recovery was not due to gross neglect, misfeasance or breach of duty. (AI Summary)

TDS on e commerce transactions: operators must deduct on deemed payments, creating practical and compliance challenges.
Section 194-O requires e commerce operators to deduct TDS on amounts attributable to sales or services facilitated through their platforms, deeming direct payments by purchasers to participants as payments or credits by the operator. This deeming rule compels operators to include transactions not routed through them in the gross amount subject to deduction, creating implementation difficulties and potential inconsistency with the principle that sums deducted are deemed income of the deductee. The Board may issue guidelines to remove difficulties and representations have been made seeking reconsideration. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering obligation requires commensurate price reductions after GST rate cuts or face fund deposit and interest.
Anti-profiteering obligations require suppliers to pass on benefits of reduced tax rates or input tax credit by commensurate monetary reductions in final prices; investigations compare invoice-wise base prices before and after rate reductions and include excess tax collected on inflated base prices when computing amounts not passed to recipients. Where base prices were increased contemporaneously with tax-rate cuts, the supplier was found to have realized higher sales and was directed to reduce prices, deposit the determined amount into consumer welfare funds with interest when recipients are unidentifiable, and face potential penalty. (AI Summary)

Re-import exemption: IGST not leviable on jewellery returned from exhibition abroad when the outward movement is not a supply.
Re-imports of jewellery sent abroad for exhibition or on consignment do not attract IGST where the outward movement was not a 'supply' under the CGST Act and no integrated tax was paid at export; such cases fall under the residuary exemption entry of the Customs exemption notification rather than the clause requiring IGST payment at re-import, provided re-import occurs within the prescribed timeframe from the delivery challan. (AI Summary)

GST liability in tenders: omission of GST rate does not alter bid price and requires re-evaluation, not deduction.
The omission of a GST rate in a tender bid did not permit the employer to deduct GST from the bidder's quoted price because GST was the employer's liability; the correct contractual approach under the tender was to re-evaluate bids by adding the applicable GST where required rather than treating an unfilled GST field as rendering the quoted amount inclusive of tax. Tender clauses authorise correction and evaluated bid computation to identify the successful bidder, and a forum-selection clause in a pre-contractual stage does not oust ordinary court jurisdiction. (AI Summary)