Independence of insolvency professionals: prior service with a creditor does not automatically disqualify appointment; reasoned justification required.
The document addresses whether Interim/Resolution Professionals must be independent only from the corporate debtor or also from corporate creditors, noting statutory protection focuses on debtor independence. A three-judge order in a recent insolvency matter found the tribunal's disqualification of a Resolution Professional for prior service with a creditor to be incorrect, directed appointment of a new professional, and stated the tribunal order should not be treated as precedent. The author warns that the court's brief prima facie reasoning and lack of statutory discussion may provoke further disputes and urges fully reasoned judgments. (AI Summary)

IBC overriding effect: insolvency proceedings proceed without prior central government consent when debtor retains management control.
The Court concluded that the subsequent insolvency legislation governs where its purpose would otherwise be frustrated by the Tea Act: Section 238 principles render the IBC overriding, permitting creditors to initiate insolvency resolution without central government consent when the corporate debtor continues in management and control, because the Tea Act's prior consent requirement applies only where actual control has passed to the government and pertains to winding up or receivership, not to the broader, time bound corporate insolvency resolution process under the IBC. (AI Summary)

Interest on delayed GST payment to be charged on net cash tax liability after notification; administrative assurance against past recoveries.
The core issue is whether interest for delayed GST payment is chargeable on gross tax liability or only on the portion paid from the electronic cash ledger after adjustment of input tax credit. Conflicting High Court decisions have respectively upheld interest on the total liability and restricted interest to belated cash payments, treating the proviso limiting interest to cash debits as clarificatory and retrospective. Parliament inserted such a proviso, the GST Council recommended retrospective effect, but the tax administration notified a prospective effective date and issued a press release assuring no past recoveries. (AI Summary)

Single Point Registration enables MSE access to public procurement preferences including EMD exemption and reserved purchase benefits.
Single Point Registration Scheme (SPRS) by NSIC registers Micro and Small Enterprises to facilitate government procurement preferences: free tender sets, exemption from Earnest Money Deposit, price-preference supply opportunities, and contributions toward mandated procurement goals with earmarking for SC/ST and women-owned units. Eligibility requires Udhyam/EM/UAM registration and operational premises; provisional certificates may be issued for new units. Registration requires prescribed documents and technical inspection; monetary limits are fixed from audited net sales with percentage-based rules tied to performance and capacity. Certificates are valid for two years and renewable on verification of competence. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit deadline: reconcile records and claim ITC before September filing to avoid forfeiture and interest.
Registered persons must finalise GSTR 1 amendments and complete GSTR 2A reconciliation for FY 2019-20 before the September return deadline because ITC claims are time barred thereafter; where supplier details are absent, ITC claims are subject to a prescribed cumulative cap to be applied across February-September 2020 in computing the September GSTR 3B. Reconcile outward supplies and issue any credit notes by September filing, reverse ITC where payment remains unpaid beyond the permitted period, and finalise annual apportionment for exempt supplies before the September return to correct excess or shortfall of ITC. (AI Summary)

Independence of resolution professionals: past ties to financial creditors do not automatically disqualify appointment; pension alone is not disqualifying.
The statutory and regulatory framework requires an insolvency professional to be independent of the corporate debtor but does not prohibit prior association with a financial creditor; mere past employment or pension receipt does not by itself render an IRP/RP ineligible. The author argues that IRP/RP duties are administrative and facilitative, that apprehension of bias by a corporate debtor is insufficient to disqualify a proposed practitioner, and that adjudicatory substitution based on such apprehension lacks explicit statutory support and risks enabling delay tactics. (AI Summary)

Equal coparcenary rights for daughters retroactively recognize birthright as coparceners, allowing pre amendment daughters to claim shares.
The substituted provision of the Hindu Succession Amendment confers on daughters the status of coparcener by birth in the same manner as sons, permitting daughters born before the amendment to claim coparcenary rights with effect from the amendment date; bona fide dispositions completed before the statutory cutoff remain saved, sham transactions cannot defeat the daughter's claim, oral partition is generally unacceptable absent public documentary support, and pending proceedings must be decided in conformity with the amended scheme. (AI Summary)

Depreciation rates: revenue should refrain from contesting reasonable, precedent-supported accelerated allowances to avoid needless litigation.
Revenue often contests depreciation claims even where assessees adopt reasonable positions supported by precedent, particularly over classification of computer-related items as part of computer systems eligible for accelerated rates. Such disputes are frequently unnecessary because accelerated early allowances are offset by lower later allowances under the written down value method, and the aggregate impact on revenue over an asset's deemed life is limited. The CBDT should direct officers to refrain from litigation when a reasonable, precedent-supported view favors the assessee, reducing needless disputes and recognizing rapid obsolescence of computer assets. (AI Summary)

Aadhaar authentication requirement for GST registration mandates identity verification, with physical verification if authentication is not completed.
The law requires Aadhaar authentication for GST registration applicants and specified key persons; if Aadhaar is not assigned alternate identification, including physical verification of premises, must be offered. Classes required to provide Aadhaar include individuals, authorised signatories, managing and authorised partners, and HUF Karta, while non-residents and non-citizens are exempt. Existing registrants must comply when the form and manner are prescribed. (AI Summary)

Reading 'may' as 'shall' clarified: statutory 'may' is not always mandatory and detained goods must be sold promptly.
The article explains that statutory may is not automatically equivalent to shall; administrative discretion must be exercised reasonably. A port authority must endeavour to sell detained goods within a reasonable time, ordinarily within the four month outer limit indicated by related provisions; if not, the authority must explain the delay, which courts may test. Where delay is justified and the owner fails to remove goods, penal demurrage may be imposed and sale may follow. (AI Summary)

Registration under section 12A available despite no commenced charitable activity if applied soon after formation; objects and corpus considered.
An application for registration under section 12A filed shortly after a trust's formation may not be refused solely because no charitable activity has yet commenced; the Commissioner must assess the genuineness of objects and evidence such as trustee-funded corpus rather than immediate operations, and may cancel registration later if subsequent returns show no charitable activity. (AI Summary)

Transit of goods through foreign territory requires approved customs transit declarations and bonded sealed movement with one-time-lock verification.
The Regulations require filing a Customs Transit Declaration and executing a bond at the customs station of exit in India; movement is allowed only after approval and, ordinarily, sealing with a customs one-time-lock. Separate multi-part declaration forms apply for movements via Bangladesh and under PIWTT, with successive parts filled by consignor/agent and customs officers at exit, foreign entry/exit and re-entry. On re-entry the proper officer verifies seal intactness or inspects goods, endorses the declaration or records irregularity, and the endorsed declaration or electronic arrival entry is presented to close or credit the bond within prescribed timelines. (AI Summary)

GST audit requirement: authorized auditor must reconcile financials and GST returns and certify discrepancies for compliance action.
Audit under GST requires an authorized chartered or cost accountant to examine records, returns and documents to verify turnover declared, taxes paid, refunds claimed and input tax credit availed. Where PAN based turnover thresholds are met, the taxpayer must furnish audited financial statements, the annual return and a certified reconciliation in Form GSTR 9C; the auditor must certify accuracy, report identified tax liabilities and list audit observations for taxpayer action. (AI Summary)

Board composition and governance establish membership categories and procedural rules governing tenure, removal, meetings, and functions.
The National Board for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is established by the Central Government in Delhi with a mixed composition of ex officio officials, nominated representatives, association and trade union nominees, persons of eminence and a Member Secretary. Non ex officio members serve limited terms, may be removed for specified grounds with a chance to be heard, and vacancies are filled by government appointment or fresh parliamentary election where applicable. The Board reviews MSME promotion policies, advises on fund use, holds regular and special meetings subject to quorum and agenda rules, and the Member Secretary administers office, finances, records and minutes. (AI Summary)

Disclosure of ineligible ITC: mandatory reporting in returns to ensure correct fund apportionment and tax compliance.
Accurate disclosure of ineligible input tax credit and ITC reversals in GSTR-3B is necessary because return data determines IGST fund apportionment; taxpayers must report eligible credit and reversals under the designated ITC heads and separately disclose ineligible/blocked credit. Where earlier periods omitted or misstated such amounts, corrections are to be made through the annual return or subsequent GSTR-3B filings, and taxpayers should reconcile historical ineligible ITC and adjust accounting practices to ensure correct future reporting. (AI Summary)

AGM extension relief: companies may apply for Registrar approval to extend AGMs beyond statutory period.
Clarification permits companies whose financial year closed at end of March to voluntarily apply to the Registrar for an AGM extension under company law. Companies should file the prescribed electronic form to seek an additional period not exceeding three months; this procedural remedy complements earlier guidance allowing AGMs by video conferencing and does not replace the statutory extension mechanism. (AI Summary)

Profiteering under GST: failing to pass tax incidence change triggered price reduction, consumer fund deposits and interest obligations.
Allegations of profiteering under GST arose from unchanged MRP of a 'Food Processor' after GST implementation; investigation compared pre GST State wise average basic prices (after discounts) with post GST transaction wise basic prices (after discounts). Discounts not documented at or before supply were disallowed for price adjustment. The authority quantified profiteering, directed price reduction, ordered deposit of the profiteered amount into consumer welfare funds with interest, and mandated further investigation into other impacted products. (AI Summary)

Consumer Commission Procedure: uniform framework for filing, scrutiny, hearings and orders under consumer protection law.
The Regulations set a uniform procedural framework for Consumer Commissions under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019: they prescribe filing formats and set requirements, a two year limitation with condonation possibility, Registrar scrutiny and defect cure periods, standardized notice and cause list protocols, restrictions on adjournments and dress and hall norms distinguishing the Commission from a court, rules for representation by voluntary consumer organisations, timelines and procedures for interim and final orders, and limitation and condonation rules for review and revision petitions. (AI Summary)

TDS by e commerce operators on participant receipts: platforms must withhold at source; exemptions available for small sellers with ID.
E-commerce operators must deduct tax at source at the prescribed rate at the earlier of credit or payment on the gross amount of sales or services effected through their platform (excluding separately invoiced GST); payments made directly by purchasers but facilitated by the operator are deemed credited by the operator. Individuals and HUFs below the threshold are exempt if PAN or Aadhaar is furnished. Amounts subjected to this deduction are not liable to other TDS provisions except for specified non-sale receipts, and Board guidelines may be issued to resolve implementation difficulties. (AI Summary)

Advance ruling mechanism in GST clarifies tax treatment of transactions and binds the applicant and tax officers accordingly.
Advance ruling under GST provides a statutory process for applicants to obtain determinations on tax consequences of transactions, limited to specified questions such as classification, applicability of notifications, time and value of supply, input tax credit, liability to tax and registration. State/UT Authorities and Appellate Authorities adjudicate applications filed in prescribed forms with verification and fee, possess civil court powers to call records and hear parties, and must pronounce written rulings within statutory timeframes. Rulings bind only the applicant and relevant officers, may be rectified for apparent errors within a fixed period, and can be declared void for fraud or suppression after hearing. (AI Summary)