Input tax credit: central GST credits from another state are contestable but may be available for central set off.
Whether a registered person may avail input tax credit of CGST paid in another State without registration there is contested. The article observes that while an AAR and departmental clarifications deny cross State use of such credits absent registration, the CGST Act and Rules do not expressly prohibit availment; only set off of one State's SGST against another State's SGST appears barred. The author argues that delegated instruments cannot override statutory credit rights and that CGST credits should be usable for central set off, recommending judicial testing of current restrictions. (AI Summary)

Compulsory withdrawal of composition levy requires a show cause notice, taxpayer reply, and a formal administrative order.
Compulsory withdrawal of the composition levy requires issuance of a show cause notice (Form GST CMP-05) where ineligibility or contravention is suspected; the taxpayer may reply and be heard, after which the officer must issue an order (Form GST CMP-07) either denying the composition option or dropping proceedings. If no reply is filed within the prescribed period, the officer may withdraw the option. Withdrawal triggers administrative actions on the GST portal, removal of the composition flag across GSTINs on the same PAN, intimation to authorities and the taxpayer, and a requirement to furnish a stock statement in Form GST ITC-01 for goods held on the date of withdrawal. (AI Summary)

Chartered Accountant responsibilities in virtual AGMs: attend, disclose audit observations, and respond to member queries during online meetings.
The article explains CAs' role in AGMs held via video or audio-visual means under the MCA 2020 circular, outlining AGM timing and location rules and exceptions. It details CA functions for virtual AGMs: receiving electronic notices, attending or deputing representatives with a right to be heard on audit matters, replying to member queries, making the auditor's report available, reading audit qualifications or adverse observations, and participating in appointment or re-appointment of auditors. It emphasizes core audit responsibilities-risk assessment, internal control evaluation, audit procedure design, accounting policy and estimate review-as central to online AGM participation. (AI Summary)

Transitional input tax credit: retrospective amendment may not extinguish vested rights to carry forward credits, litigation continues.
Transitional input tax credit is a vested entitlement that several High Courts held cannot be defeated by the Rules' filing deadline; the Finance Act, 2020's retrospective amendment inserted a time element to Section 140 to remove the basis of those judgments, but legislative power to validate law cannot nullify a judicial mandamus or impermissibly impair accrued rights. Consequently, claims filed before the amendment retain force under established doctrine, and taxpayers should preserve credit claims in returns pending final adjudication. (AI Summary)

Notice under section 143(2): mandatory for reassessments under the reassessment route, not compulsory for search-based assessments.
Search- and requisition-based assessments operate under a specific statutory notice regime that, by virtue of the non obstante clause and the separate call-for-return notice, does not make a separate section 143(2) notice mandatory for each assessment year covered by the search provision. In contrast, reassessments arising from the reassessment notice route must follow the regular notice regime: a section 143(2) notice is a mandatory procedural step before completion, and its complete absence cannot be cured by general procedural waiver provisions. (AI Summary)

GST classification of frozen parota leads to higher levy as it fails to qualify as plain roti under the reduced rate entry.
The Authority held frozen or preserved parota does not qualify as khakhra, plain chapatti or roti because it is not a completely cooked, ready to eat product and therefore the concessional notification for reduced GST does not apply, leading to classification under the higher rated heading for prepared or preserved cereal products. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit eligibility on alcohol-based sanitizers shifts producer incentives and raises GST classification and compliance risks.
Producers redeployed alcohol production to manufacture ethyl-alcohol-based hand sanitizers, which attract standard GST and permit input tax credit on inputs and input services, unlike alcoholic beverages for human consumption that remain outside the GST net. Misclassification of sanitizers under a lower tariff heading with a reduced GST rate has been identified as a source of substantial tax shortfall, prompting investigations by fiscal intelligence authorities and creating changed incentives and compliance risks for industry participants. (AI Summary)

Faceless, contactless customs modernization enhances clearances through Turant Suvidha Kendras and expanded ICEGATE digital services.
CBIC's Turant Customs programme mandates Turant Suvidha Kendras at all customs stations, relying on e Sanchit for document verification and limiting physical submissions to exceptional cases, while maintaining examination checks. It enables online registration and modification of Authorized Dealer codes and bank accounts via ICEGATE with supporting e Sanchit uploads, provides for automated bond debit in ICES when bond details are furnished at Bill of Entry submission, and promotes simplified ICEGATE registration for importers and exporters to access electronic clearance functionalities. (AI Summary)

Foreign investment rules allow automatic route subject to sectoral caps and require companies to ensure compliance and approvals.
Business in India may be carried on through an Indian company, a foreign company via liaison, branch or project offices, or through a limited liability partnership. Foreign presences must satisfy eligibility criteria and procedural formalities including Form FNC filing, annual activity certificates with audited financials, remittance documentation for branch profits, and statutory filings with the registrar. FDI is permitted largely under an automatic route but is constrained by sectoral caps and conditions; compliance with those caps and any approval requirements is the responsibility of the recipient company. (AI Summary)

Going concern assessment requires management to evaluate continuity risks and disclose material uncertainties amid the pandemic.
Going concern assessment requires management to judge whether an entity will continue in business for the foreseeable future, considering at least twelve months of information and factors such as profitability, financing access, debt repayment, supply chain and market risks, and to disclose material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt; auditors must evaluate management's assumptions and perform their own risk assessment, with heightened conservatism expected amid the pandemic. (AI Summary)

Exemption eligibility criteria revised: registration, approval and new sovereign investor tax exception affect non-inclusion of specified investment income.
Finance Act, 2020 revises exemption eligibility by substituting provisos to clause (23C) of section 10: affected funds, trusts and institutions must apply for fresh approval within prescribed timelines; the tax authority may call for documents, test genuineness and statutory compliance, grant fixed term approvals or provisional approval, or reject/cancel after hearing. The Act clarifies corpus treatment of voluntary contributions, tightens audit and reporting obligations where income exceeds the non taxable threshold, and introduces a new conditional non inclusion for specified foreign sovereign and pension investors' income from qualifying investments. (AI Summary)

GST on concealed interest raises consumer cost in no-cost EMI schemes, as bank-charged interest attracts tax.
No-cost EMI schemes reallocate retailer discounts to financiers so consumers pay product price plus an embedded interest component; when routed through credit card services the interest-equivalent amount often falls outside the GST exemption for interest on loans, and administrative guidance treats that component as subject to GST, increasing the effective cost borne by the consumer. (AI Summary)

Tax Collection at Source (TCS) on e commerce requires operators to collect, remit tax and file monthly and annual statements.
The statute requires an electronic commerce operator, where it collects consideration, to collect tax at source on the net value of taxable supplies effected through its platform, remit the amount and furnish prescribed monthly and annual electronic statements. The net value equals aggregate taxable supplies less returns. Operator statements are matched with suppliers' returns; discrepancies are communicated and unrectified excesses reported by the operator may be added to the supplier's output tax liability, payable with interest. Suppliers can accept TCS credit in their electronic cash ledger as reflected in the operator's statement. (AI Summary)

GST due date extensions and compliance relaxations announced, easing return filing and late fee and interest exposure.
GST compliance is beset by multiple rates, returns and GSTN inefficiencies leading to disputes on registration, classification, returns and input tax credit. COVID 19 prompted regulatory reliefs: due date extensions for GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B by turnover and state categories, extensions for appeals and refund order issuance, staged interest concessions, a capped/waived late fee for GSTR 3B, and SMS filing for NIL GSTR 1/3B. Administrative guidance confirms cross empowerment of central and state officers absent notified conditions. CBIC maintains transitional credit is subject to statutory rules and time limits, anticipating further litigation. (AI Summary)

Fraudulent Input Tax Credit: beneficiaries and facilitators now face penalties equivalent to tax evaded under amended GST rules.
Finance Act, 2020 amends GST law to (i) update the definition of union territory, (ii) narrow composition scheme eligibility to exclude certain services and inter State supplies, (iii) delink debit note timing from underlying invoices for input tax credit claim, (iv) prescribe retrospective power to set time and manner for transitional credits, (v) strengthen penalty and criminal provisions to hold beneficiaries and facilitators liable for fraudulent invoices and wrongful ITC, and (vi) empower jurisdictional commissioners and extend removal of difficulties order period. (AI Summary)

Advance Ruling: inconsistent AAR decisions weaken tax certainty and demand more fact-focused, judicious determinations and transparency.
Advance rulings should deliver tax certainty, but some AAR decisions insufficiently scrutinize facts and favor departmental positions, prompting reversals by the AAAR. The Ordnance Factory Bhandara case exemplifies this: AAR treated the entity as industrial, whereas AAAR, on constitutional provisions and documentary evidence showing actions on behalf of the President, found it to be the Central Government. The article calls for more fact-focused, reasoned AAR determinations to reduce inconsistent outcomes and appeals. (AI Summary)

Segregation of advisory and distribution required to prevent conflicts, with written agreements and tightened adviser eligibility.
Amendments require segregation of advisory and distribution activities, permit implementation services only as execution through direct market products without any consideration, mandate a written agreement between investment adviser and client with fees charged as prescribed, and tighten eligibility and registration criteria by enhancing net worth and qualification or experience requirements and triggering registration once client numbers exceed prescribed limits. (AI Summary)

Fast track merger: streamlined procedure for eligible companies requiring member and creditor approvals and centralised filings.
Section 233 provides a streamlined fast track merger route for specified classes of companies (small companies, holding with wholly owned subsidiaries, or prescribed classes). The process requires a scheme, Form CAA-9 notice, member approval by ninety percent in number of shares, declarations of solvency in Form CAA-10, creditor approval by nine-tenths in value, and filings of Form CAA-11. The Central Government may confirm the scheme in Form CAA-12 or refer objections to the Tribunal via Form CAA-13; registration in INC-28 effects transfer of assets and liabilities and dissolution of the transferor. (AI Summary)

Credit note with GST: eligibility hinges on discount conditions, input tax credit reversal and a September reporting deadline.
A supplier may issue a credit note with GST where invoice value or tax was excessive, goods are returned, or supplies are deficient; discounts qualify for GST credit notes only if recorded at supply or established pre supply and accompanied by input tax credit reversal by the recipient. Credit notes with GST must be reported by the September return following the relevant financial year; after that deadline only financial credit notes without GST are available, leading parties to treat some returns as fresh supplies to utilize credit ledger balances. (AI Summary)

Late fee relief for GSTR-3B: waived or capped for eligible taxpayers filing by extended deadlines, with nil-tax returns fully exempt.
Relief for late fees on Form GSTR-3B is provided by extended filing dates differentiated by aggregate turnover; taxpayers with turnover above Rs. 5 Cr. and those up to Rs. 5 Cr. (with Group A/B state schedules) receive specific extended dates. Returns filed up to 30 September 2020 with nil tax liability will have the late fee fully waived, and where tax is payable the late fee will be capped at a prescribed amount per return. Outstanding returns from July 2017 to January 2020 may be filed between 1 July and 30 September 2020 with similar waiver or cap rules. (AI Summary)