GST on sale of capital goods: tax depends on ITC status, consideration and five year apportionment rule.
GST applies to transfers of capital goods differently depending on whether ITC was availed and whether consideration is paid: if ITC was availed and supply occurs before five years, tax is the higher of GST on transaction value or ITC attributable to remaining life; if ITC was not availed and supply is for consideration, tax is on the transaction value; transfers without consideration are taxable only when Schedule I treats permanent disposal of business assets with ITC as supply; motor vehicles follow special concessional notifications when no ITC was claimed, otherwise normal apportionment rules apply. (AI Summary)

Cess on income tax not disallowable under s.40(a)(ii), permitting deduction as business expense in light of recent decisions
Cess levied on income-tax for specified public purposes (for example, education and health cess) is characterised as a fee or service charge and, because the term "cess" is absent from Section 40(a)(ii), such cess is not covered by that statutory disallowance and should be treated as an allowable deduction when incurred in relation to business; recent tribunal and High Court decisions have applied this interpretation, although some conflicting rulings and pending appeals remain. (AI Summary)

EPFO advance claim eligibility: Aadhaar verified UAN and bank linkage enable a one time pandemic PF withdrawal via online portal.
EPFO permits a one-time pandemic-related PF advance where an Aadhaar-verified active UAN with a seeded bank account and mobile is required; withdrawal is limited to a specified portion of PF balance or a capped multiple of basic pay and DA, and must be filed via the unified member portal by selecting PF Advance (Form 31), uploading a cheque, authenticating with Aadhaar OTP and obtaining departmental approval before payment. Ensure correct bank details and escalate to employer or lodge grievance for delays. (AI Summary)

Restriction of ITC refunds to invoices reflected in GSTR 2A challenged as inconsistent with matching rules and statutory rights.
CBIC Circular No. 135 restricts refunds of accumulated Input Tax Credit to amounts supported by invoices reflected in FORM GSTR-2A, modifying earlier guidance after a Rule 36 amendment. The author argues this restriction conflicts with Rule 36's consolidated matching method and its additional allowable percentage, that circulars cannot impose statutory limitations, and that the circular is being inappropriately applied to periods before the amendment, causing hardship to exporters. (AI Summary)

Dispatch of Notice under Section 62: failure to post rights issue notices not violation if SEBI relaxations followed
Clarification states that for rights issues opening up to 31 July 2020, listed entities that comply with SEBI/HO/CFD/DIL2/CIR/P2020/78 will not be considered in violation of Section 62(1)(a)(i) read with Section 62(2) of the Companies Act, 2013 for inability to dispatch notices by registered post, speed post or courier due to COVID 19, provided they follow the SEBI procedural relaxations and related safeguards. (AI Summary)

Supreme Court assistance failures-late filings, adjournments and misframed petitions-waste judicial time and resources.
Inadequate assistance from court secretaries, registry officers and counsel causes avoidable adjournments, delayed or missing filings, SLPs dismissed for non-prosecution, misframed substantial questions, and poor searchability of orders; the author urges teamwork, prompt filing and updates, restraint from frivolous litigation, and improved registry and website practices to conserve judicial time and resources. (AI Summary)

Tax Deduction at Source under GST requires specified entities to deduct tax at notified rates and remit timely.
The document explains that Tax Deduction at Source (TDS) under GST requires notified government departments, local authorities, governmental agencies and other specified persons to deduct tax from payments to suppliers above the prescribed contract threshold, calculate value excluding tax components, remit deducted amounts within the prescribed timeline, issue an electronic certificate to the deductee, and enable the deductee to claim credit in the electronic cash ledger. It also describes scope exclusions, separate registration obligations for deductors, prescribed rates by tax component, return filing and refund treatment for excess or erroneous deductions. (AI Summary)

Classification of electronic publications: dongle locked executable software and online database access treated as software/access services, not e books.
Distribution of printed journals on DVDs/CDs that install proprietary executable software and use a dongle with an end user license, plus subscription access to an online searchable database with updates, constitutes supply of software and online text based information rather than delivery of a machine readable single e book file; consequently these supplies are not eligible for the concessional GST classification for e books and are classifiable as online information/database access and software licensing services. (AI Summary)

GST liability on hand sanitizers creates input tax credit opportunities but imposes registration and compliance obligations.
Alcoholic beverages for human consumption remain outside GST and attract state levies, causing loss of input tax credit. When producers manufacture hand sanitizers, those outputs become taxable supplies under GST, enabling input tax credit but creating GST compliance obligations including registration, invoicing, return filing, and maintenance of input tax documentation; exemption would undermine input tax recovery and domestic competitiveness. (AI Summary)

Reverse charge mechanism: recipient bears GST liability when law or notification shifts tax payment to the recipient.
The Reverse Charge Mechanism under GST shifts tax liability to the recipient where the CGST and IGST Acts or government notifications so provide; recipients of supplies from unregistered suppliers or from suppliers located in non taxable territories are liable to pay tax on reverse charge and are subject to all provisions of the Acts as if they were the person liable for paying tax. Special rules apply to electronic commerce operators, and government notifications and a circular specify notified goods and services and applicable rates. (AI Summary)

Provisional attachment of property: Commissioner may freeze assets to protect revenue, subject to pending proceedings and safeguards.
Section 83 permits the Commissioner to provisionally attach property, including bank accounts, by written order during specified pending proceedings to protect government revenue, subject to a one-year statutory expiry. Attachments require the Commissioner's informed opinion based on credible material and continuation of the enumerated proceedings; subordinate officers lack jurisdiction to exercise this power unless validly delegated. Affected persons may object within seven days and seek release via Form DRC-23, and judicial guidance stresses use of attachment as a last resort with consideration of the taxpayer's financial position and business continuity. (AI Summary)

Cash withdrawal at PoS terminals clarified: eligible cards, fee cap, merchant designation and grievance mechanism.
Cash withdrawal at PoS terminals is allowed via debit, open-system prepaid, UPI and PMJDY-linked overdraft cards but not credit cards. The facility carries per-card daily limits by centre category and a fee cap of one percent. Acquirer banks must designate merchant establishments after due diligence and ensure clear display of availability and charges; withdrawals are permitted across issuer and acquirer boundaries, need no purchase, and must be evidenced by a printed PoS receipt. Grievances go first to the card issuer, then to the relevant ombudsman schemes. Local area banks require RBI approval to provide the facility. (AI Summary)

Taxation of dividend now taxed in recipients' hands, replacing company-level dividend distribution tax and altering withholding rules.
Abolition of the dividend distribution tax (DDT) shifts taxation from companies to shareholders, repealing the prior company-level levy and the exemption for dividend receipts; dividends are now taxable in recipients' hands with distinct tax incidence for resident individuals, resident corporates and non-residents, adjusted withholding obligations, revived intra-group set-off relief limited to domestic-source dividends, constraints on interest deductibility against dividend income, and consequential interactions with buyback taxation and transfer pricing secondary adjustment provisions. (AI Summary)

Garnishee proceedings cannot recover disputed GST interest until adjudication determines the amount payable.
Garnishee powers under the GST recovery regime permit third party payment requisitions only where there is an amount payable under the Act or Rules. If a taxpayer disputes the computation or leviability of interest claimed for delayed tax payment, that interest must be calculated, intimated and adjudicated through the assessment process before it can be treated as an amount payable and recovered via garnishee measures against bankers or other third parties. (AI Summary)

Classification of demonstration car as used vehicle determines GST treatment and whether concessional rate and ITC apply.
Where a vehicle is registered in a dealer's name and used for demonstration prior to onward sale, the supply is treated as sale of an old/used vehicle. Concessional rates under Notification 08/2018 apply only if the dealer has not availed input tax credit (or antecedent indirect tax credits) and margin is calculated against depreciated value when income tax depreciation is relevant. If ITC was claimed, the concessional rate is unavailable and ITC treatment applies per GST rules. (AI Summary)

Sealing of premises: authorities may seal or break open only upon reasons to believe stored goods are liable for confiscation.
Sealing or confiscation of a godown under Section 67 depends on a proper officer having reasons to believe that goods, documents or books in the premises are liable to confiscation or relevant to proceedings; where access is denied the officer may seal or break open under Section 67(4). The Gujarat High Court directed breaking the seal, conducting a search with panchnama, seizing only items meeting the statutory threshold, and thereafter permitting the owner to reclaim possession, warning authorities not to rely on ownership or tenancy proof to maintain a seal absent statutory grounds. (AI Summary)

Transitional credit rights: procedural claim rules cannot override accrued vested input tax credit entitlement, subject to limitation.
The mechanism for claiming transitional credit under the GST Rules is procedural and directory and cannot extinguish the substantive vested right of a registered taxpayer to carry forward accrued CENVAT credit; technical difficulties in using the online system may justify delayed filing, and in absence of statutory timing the residuary limitation period of three years from the appointed date serves as the outer limit for asserting such credit. (AI Summary)

Validity of GST notices: verify jurisdiction, service, and officer's power before responding to avoid procedural waiver.
Taxpayers must verify jurisdiction, the issuing officer's delegated powers, and proper service before replying to GST notices; ensure notices state specific contraventions and relied documents, quote DIN for central communications where applicable, and comply with service modes under Section 169. Preserve postal acknowledgements and official e mails, expressly reserve rights when replying to avoid waiver under Section 160(2), and check officers' monetary competence per departmental circulars. Present complete facts early, document all exchanges, and engage professionals where complexity or high stakes exist. (AI Summary)

Transitional Input Tax Credit: Rule 117 read as directory and technical difficulty given a broad meaning, preserving migration rights.
Rule 117's time-prescription for filing Form TRAN-1 is to be read as directory, not mandatory, so that subordinate rules cannot extinguish vested pre-GST CENVAT credits; "technical difficulty" must be interpreted broadly to include user-side and systemic impediments beyond the GST common portal; and, absent an explicit statutory time-bar, the residuary provisions of the Limitation Act supply a three-year outer boundary for availing transitional credit, with the vested nature of such credits treated as property-like entitlements that cannot be curtailed by delegated legislation. (AI Summary)

ECR filing separation from payment allows employers to declare contributions now and remit later to retain reliefs.
ECR filing may be done without simultaneous payment: employers can create, save and edit ECRs and complete payment later; the created ECR remains available for reference. Establishments eligible under PMGKY must file ECRs within the prescribed filing window and remit dues within the extended payment period to secure central government relief for employer and employee contribution shares. Deposits made within any central government declared extended time will not attract damages. A question remains on whether directors paid in company books count as employees. (AI Summary)