Export realization requirement may trigger repayment obligations for exporters under Rule 96B when proceeds remain unrealized.
Rule 96B requires repayment, with interest, of refunded unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax to the extent export proceeds remain unrealized beyond the period specified under FEMA and any RBI extensions; exporters must deposit the unrealized proportion within thirty days of that period's expiry or face recovery under the Act's erroneous refund provisions with interest, while the rule allows re availment of credit if proceeds are subsequently realized or RBI relaxes realization requirements. (AI Summary)

GST Appellate Tribunal non-constitution delays appeals and can stall refunds where revenue reserves right to appeal.
Non constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal prevented filing time bound appeals to the Tribunal; parts of the appointment scheme were struck down, prompting a Government Removal of Difficulties order treating limitation as running from the date the Tribunal's President or State President enters office. This created both the need for writ remedies where appeals could not be filed and situations where Revenue withheld refunds pending a prospective appeal to a non constituted Tribunal. (AI Summary)

HSN classification of hand sanitizers affects GST liability; alcohol-based sanitizers qualify as disinfectants with higher tax incidence.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are properly classifiable as disinfectant preparations under HSN heading 3808 rather than as medicaments under heading 3004; that classification difference determines a higher GST rate for such products, and widespread misclassification by manufacturers and distilleries has prompted revenue verification and investigations for potential GST underpayment. (AI Summary)

GST classification: alcohol-based hand sanitizers subject to the higher tax rate; essential-commodity status does not grant exemption.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizers with formulations and marketed end-use aimed at destroying pathogens are classifiable as disinfectants and similar preparations, attracting the higher GST tariff applicable to that chapter; designation as an essential commodity under non-fiscal statutes does not create a GST exemption and a separate GST exemption notification would be required to alter that fiscal treatment. (AI Summary)

Threshold exemption: applying threshold to taxable turnover prevents mandatory registration and tax collection until the turnover threshold is crossed.
Threshold exemption reduces the effective rate of tax to nil up to the prescribed limit, so no tax is collectible until the threshold is crossed. The exemption should be applied to taxable turnover only; exempted, nil-rated or non-taxable supplies must be excluded from aggregate turnover for registration and compliance. Section 11 and its Explanation imply that where exemption applies a supplier shall not collect tax in excess of the effective rate. Clarification is recommended to prevent unnecessary registration, compliance burden and litigation. (AI Summary)

Rental or leasing services of non residential property: commercial subletting with boarding and hospitality qualifies as taxable supply.
The lessor leased a fully furnished building to a lessee who sub lets furnished rooms and provides boarding and hospitality services; the operation and commercial management by the lessee mean the activity is classified as rental or leasing services of non residential property, making the lease receipts taxable as rental/leasing services under GST. (AI Summary)

Trade compliance: accurate tariff classification, valuation and origin documentation are essential to avoid penalties, delays and licensing risks.
Strengthened trade compliance requires accurate tariff classification to avoid misuse of residuary 'others' headings and potential licensing shifts; robust customs valuation practices, including preparedness for Special Valuation Branch scrutiny in related party or atypical transactions; and rigorous, digitally enabled documentation and Certificate of Origin controls to secure preferential tariff benefits and withstand origin based inspections. (AI Summary)

Foreign exchange contravention penalties under FEMA restrict possession of foreign assets and impose penalties and imprisonment.
The Foreign Exchange Management Act prohibits residents from acquiring, owning, holding, transferring or possessing foreign exchange, foreign securities or immovable property outside India; residence is determined by statutory residence criteria. Contraventions of FEMA provisions, rules, directions, regulations and Reserve Bank authorisations attract monetary penalties (including higher penalties for quantified breaches and daily penalties for regular contraventions), confiscation of equivalent value in India for excess foreign asset holdings, and criminal punishment including imprisonment with fine. Converted forms of property such as bank deposits and domestic currency fall within the scope of penalty and confiscation provisions. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit entitlement and reversals: compliance conditions, interest disputes, and blocking powers clarified.
Section 16 grants ITC subject to prescribed conditions and proper utilisation; disputes arise where ledger balances exist but returns/set offs were not filed, implicating interest under Section 50 and requirement of showcause notices before recovery. Section 16(2) preconditions (documentary evidence, receipt, actual payment, return filing), the 180 day reversal proviso, and the Section 16(4) time bar are discussed along with AARs on imports and reverse charge. Section 17 apportionment/reversal rules, blocked credits, Rule 36(4) restrictions, Rule 86A blocking powers, and litigation recognising ITC as a vested right are summarised. (AI Summary)

Liquidator GST registration required as asset sales constitute taxable supplies and must be maintained until liabilities cease.
Sales of a corporate debtor's business assets by an Adjudicating Authority appointed liquidator are a supply of goods under GST; the liquidator must obtain registration and remain registered if already registered as a distinct person until GST liabilities cease, and must classify assets under appropriate HSN headings and apply the relevant scheduled rates when accounting for tax. (AI Summary)

Educational institution tax exemption depends on funding, receipts, approval, 85% application and compliance obligations.
Exemption depends on funding, profit motive, receipts and approvals: government institutions wholly or substantially financed by the Government are fully exempt without approval; private institutions below the receipts threshold may claim exemption without approval, while those above must obtain approval and comply with conditions including applying at least 85% of income to educational objects, investing only in prescribed modes, filing returns and furnishing prescribed audit reports, and restrictions on corpus donations to other exempt trusts. (AI Summary)

Classification of hand sanitizers as chemical goods confirms standard GST treatment; essential commodity status does not create exemption.
Authority for Advance Ruling held hand sanitizers are classifiable as chemical preparations attracting the standard GST rate for that tariff classification and clarified that essential commodity designation does not automatically grant GST exemption; exemption must be claimed under the statutory exemption notification framework. (AI Summary)

Paperless shipping bill streamlines export clearance using QR codes and structured fields for schemes, duties, and declarations.
The paperless shipping bill is an electronic multi-part export filing that uses QR-enabled data fields to record transport and procedural statuses, party and bank identifiers, value and tax elements (FOB, freight, insurance, duty, cess, IGST), HS-coded item-level details, scheme indicators (drawback, ROSL, DFIA, DFRC, LUT, FTA benefits), supporting-document identifiers (MAWB/HAWB, IRN, ICEGATE ID) and event logs for submission, assessment and LEO, thereby enabling customs processing and entitlement claims under the CBIC paperless framework. (AI Summary)

Minimum wage and payment rules framing household based wage fixation, payment safeguards, deduction caps and bonus computation procedures.
Draft rules under the Code on Wages, 2020 prescribe frameworks for fixing minimum and floor wages, work time and rest regimes, timely payment obligations (including principal liability where contractors are used), wage slips and registers, capped deductions with procedural safeguards, recovery of advances and loans, fines subject to approval, and detailed bonus computation and carry forward/set off mechanics as illustrated in Schedules A-D; a Central Advisory Board and inspectors cum facilitators are tasked with consultation, oversight and dispute procedures. (AI Summary)

Dividend stripping: statutory rules can ignore capital losses near record dates, with uncertainty after dividend taxation reform.
The article explains statutory anti-avoidance rules that ignore capital losses arising from acquisitions and disposals around a record date where dividends or bonus allotments are involved: dividend stripping rules disallow losses to the extent of exempt dividend when acquisition and disposal fall within prescribed pre- and post-record date periods; bonus stripping rules ignore losses on original units and deem such ignored loss as the cost of allotted bonus units when prescribed conditions are cumulatively met. It also discusses the Budget 2020 change making dividends taxable and the resulting uncertainty over application of the dividend-stripping restriction. (AI Summary)

Export refund entitlement tied to realization of proceeds: repayment obligation arises if export proceeds remain unrealized within permitted period.
The note explains that exporters may claim refunds either under a Letter of Undertaking or after payment of integrated tax, and that a rule requires repayment of refunded amounts to the extent export proceeds are not realized within the period specified under foreign exchange law. The banking regulator's extension of the realization period alters the timeframe for repayment and re availment of credit. The piece highlights a legal tension because the export refund regime for goods does not make inward remittance a precondition, and therefore conditioning refunds on realization may exceed the taxation statute's scope. (AI Summary)

Substantial question of law must be framed before dismissing tax appeals; dismissal without framing requires reconsideration.
The article argues that appellate procedure mandates framing of Substantial Question of Law when parties are heard and that dismissal without such framing is procedurally improper. It alleges that both the High Court and Supreme Court orders failed to articulate or answer the required substantial questions, and that lower authorities reached adverse factual conclusions based on conjecture about share-price movements while disregarding primary documentary evidence, market surveillance mechanisms and absence of proof of cash-for-cheque exchanges. (AI Summary)

GST registration for liquidator required as asset sales under insolvency are taxable supplies and subject to applicable HSN rates.
Sale of corporate assets by a liquidator under insolvency proceedings is a taxable supply under GST and attracts HSN-based classification and rates; the liquidator must obtain GST registration to effect such disposals, and where an insolvency professional is registered as the authorized person that registration continues with suitable amendment if the authorized person or status changes, in line with relevant notifications and circulars. (AI Summary)

Economic relief measures expand MSME procurement protection and provide collateral-free credit plus targeted liquidity support.
The package protects local MSMEs by restricting global tenders below a specified threshold and grants up to six months' contractual extensions; increases state borrowing headroom for the fiscal year subject to state reforms; provides collateral-free automatic loans and an Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme for eligible businesses; revamps a Partial Credit Guarantee to cover lower-rated NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs with sovereign first-loss support; sanctions special refinance and working-capital facilities for rural banks; deploys special liquidity windows for non-bank lenders; reduces specified TDS/TCS rates temporarily; expedites tax refunds and extends filing and assessment limitation deadlines; and raises the insolvency default threshold while creating a special resolution route for MSMEs. (AI Summary)

MSME classification criteria revised to combine investment and turnover; Aadhaar based Udyam registration and reclassification required.
Replaces earlier MSME thresholds with combined investment and turnover criteria, aggregating all units under the same PAN for classification. Investment excludes land, buildings, furniture and fittings and follows income tax definitions, with prior year ITR as primary evidence and self declaration or invoice value (excluding GST) as alternatives. Turnover excludes exports and must be linked with income tax and GST; PAN requirement is imposed for consistent reporting. Introduces Aadhaar based Udyam Registration requiring specified identity authentication, mandates URN allocation, and requires prior year ITR/GST uploads with potential suspension for non compliance. (AI Summary)