COVID19 guidance: participate in safe communal actions, avoid sharing unverified messages, report suspicious activity to police.
Guidance during the COVID-19 lockdown urging participation in a communal lighting and prayer event on 5 April 2020 at 9 PM, safety precautions when handling fire, restraint from forwarding unverified or provocative messages, immediate reporting of suspicious or harmful activities to police, and recognition and better support for essential workers and health professionals. (AI Summary)

Decriminalisation of company offences shifts imprisonment to civil monetary penalties and administrative remedies for procedural defaults.
The Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2020 implements principle-based decriminalisation by converting many imprisonment and criminal sanctions under the Companies Act, 2013 into civil penalties. It substitutes penal subsections across multiple provisions to remove imprisonment for officers-in-default, reduce maximum fines, prescribe fixed penalties and per-day continuing-failure caps subject to statutory maxima, and in some cases authorises administrative measures such as allotment of a new company name, thereby shifting enforcement from criminal prosecution to monetary and administrative remedies. (AI Summary)

Vouchers as PPIs are treated as money so issuance is not taxed; GST arises on redemption when goods or services are supplied.
Vouchers that take the form of Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) are treated as money under GST, so issuance and loading are not taxable; redemption of PPIs to procure goods or services is taxable in the hands of the supplier/merchant. Intermediary services (payment aggregators/marketplaces) are separately taxable on commissions or fees. Valuation may follow Rule 32(6) (voucher value equals monetary value redeemable) or transaction value under Section 15, and time of supply is issuance if the underlying supply is identifiable, otherwise redemption. (AI Summary)

Refund under GST: amended rules mandate split cash and credit disbursal and recovery for non realisation of export proceeds.
Refunds of tax paid via the electronic credit ledger, if admissible, shall be credited back to the Electronic Credit Ledger. For refunds other than those on zero-rated supplies or deemed exports, the officer shall sanction payment partly in cash-proportionate to cash debits-and recredit remaining amounts as Input Tax Credit via FORM GST PMT-03, recording adjustments against outstanding demands. Exporters who do not realize export proceeds within the FEMA period must deposit refunded unutilized ITC or IGST with interest within thirty days of that period's expiry, failing which recovery provisions apply unless the Reserve Bank of India writes off the realization requirement. (AI Summary)

Interest relief on delayed GST payments: initial interest free window then reduced interest if returns filed by extended dates.
Notifications of 3 April 2020 conditionally extend GST compliance deadlines and temporarily relax penalties: interest on delayed tax is reduced by granting an initial interest free period then a lower rate if FORM GSTR 3B is filed by prescribed extended dates; late fees for GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 are waived for specified periods when filed by the extended cut offs; a general extension of statutory time limits to 30 June 2020 is made subject to listed exclusions; e way bill validity is temporarily deemed extended; composition scheme application and ITC 03 deadlines are extended; Rule 36(4) input tax credit cap is relaxed on a cumulative basis for specified periods. (AI Summary)

Aadhaar authentication requirement for GST registration may trigger alternate identification or physical verification before registration is granted
Aadhaar authentication is required for GST registration eligibility: existing registrants under Section 25(6A) must undergo authentication though no manner was prescribed as of the effective date; from 1 April 2020 Section 25(6B) and 25(6C) require individuals and specified persons for non-individuals to authenticate per Rule 8(4A), with Rule 9 providing alternate and viable identification where Aadhaar is not assigned and mandating physical verification of the principal place of business within sixty days if authentication is not completed, with no deemed registration in such cases. (AI Summary)

Retrospective amendment validates time limits for GST input tax credit carryforward and raises property-rights concerns under the constitution.
The retrospective insertion of the phrase "within such time" into section 140 is said to validate rule based time limits for transitional CENVAT/ITC carryforward, effectively causing lapse of credits and negating prior judicial decisions; this legislative retroactivity is argued to impinge on proprietary interests and raise constitutional property rights concerns. (AI Summary)

Refund of input tax credit on capital goods may be claimable as statute entitles zero-rated suppliers despite rule exclusion.
Statutory provisions entitle zero-rated suppliers to refund of unutilised input tax credit inclusive of inputs, input services and capital goods, but the procedural formula in the rules defines Net ITC to exclude capital goods, creating a conflict whereby the rule restricts refunds that the statute appears to permit; such subordinate rule(s) risk being ultra vires and susceptible to challenge, with adverse competitiveness consequences for exporters. (AI Summary)

GST refund available for excess cash, unutilised ITC, zero-rated exports, and inverted duty accumulation under electronic procedure.
Refunds of GST are available for specific situations including excess electronic cash ledger balances, refunds to certain international or notified persons, unutilised Input Tax Credit at period end, zero-rated supplies without tax payment, and ITC accumulation from an inverted duty structure. Claims must be filed electronically on form RFD-01 with prescribed annexures (unless under Rs.2 lakh), generate an ARN and RFD-02 acknowledgement, and may attract provisional payment (up to 90%) pending final RFD-06. Refunds for accumulated ITC are limited to invoices reflected in suppliers' GSTR-1 and claimants' GSTR-2A, and verification procedures at customs and circular-based conditions apply. (AI Summary)

GST filing extensions: interest, late fees and penalties suspended temporarily; reduced interest applies for delayed payments.
Extended timelines allow delayed filing of specified monthly GST returns through the end of June 2020, covering both liability and outward-supplies returns; late fees and penalties are suspended for filings up to that date. Interest on the identified months' tax is not charged if paid by the extended cutoff, while a reduced interest rate applies where payments are made after the limited additional grace period for larger taxpayers. Statewise notifications govern implementation. (AI Summary)

GSTR-3B compliance: reporting and ITC practices to prevent reconciliation errors, incorrect claims, and interest liabilities.
GSTR-3B filing requires precise classification and reporting to avoid payment, reconciliation and compliance exposures. Exports, exempt supplies, import IGST and reverse charge inputs must be shown in their dedicated columns to prevent unreconciled GSTR-2A entries. Reversals for debit notes, short 2A matches and ineligible claims should be recorded under reversal provisions and proportionate reversals applied for exempt supplies. Cess is adjustable only against cess input. Cross utilisation rules mandate using IGST credit before CGST and SGST, with leftover IGST split for central and state liabilities. Interest is calculated on net payable after deducting ITC, and prior-year ITC claims are limited to the statutory return window. (AI Summary)

Relaxation of statutory timelines enables extended compliance dates and capped interest rates for pandemic-related tax delays.
The ordinance authorises the Central Government to relax and extend statutory timelines and filing, procedural and compliance requirements across specified direct and indirect tax laws for actions falling within the disruption period, permitting staggered dates for different actions; it caps interest on delayed tax payments for the covered period at a reduced monthly rate and suspends penalties and prosecutions for such delays, and includes substantive amendments inserting a new fund reference in exemption provisions and a GST provision enabling retrospective extensions in cases of force majeure. (AI Summary)

Deemed let-out property: amendment permits an extra self-occupied house exclusion, rest are treated as let for annual value.
Amendment to Section 23 permits an assessee to specify two houses as self-occupied for which the self-occupied treatment applies; all other houses must have their annual value determined as if let, i.e., treated as deemed let out. The Budget rationale cites relief for taxpayers maintaining families at multiple locations by exempting notional rent on a second self-occupied house. (AI Summary)

Ex-parte orders in advance rulings: refusal to grant reasonable adjournment should be last resort, warranting fresh hearing.
Advance ruling appeals under GST must prioritize procedural fairness: ex-parte orders are permissible only as a last resort. The High Court found that refusing a short adjournment on a first hearing-after delay in issuing any earlier hearing date-and deciding the appeal on merits in the appellant's absence was harsh. The Court recommended electronic communication of likely hearing windows with reasonable lead time and remitted the ex-parte decision for fresh consideration, while noting input tax credit apportionment rules applied to by-products used in feed. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit is a concessional benefit subject to statutory time limits and may be denied if not claimed as law prescribes.
Input tax credit is a concessionary benefit under the statutory scheme and entitlement to it is governed strictly by legislative conditions; therefore time limits for claiming ITC are permissible to ensure the integrity of the tax assessment and return-filing framework and to prevent verification difficulties and fraud. (AI Summary)

Refund option for exporters restored where IGST was paid but only basic customs duty was exempted, permitting IGST refund choice.
A retrospective amendment to Rule 96(10) provides that notifications granting exemptions are not treated as availed where the registered person has paid Integrated Goods and Services Tax and has availed only Basic Customs Duty exemption. Consequently, exporters who paid IGST but only availed BCD exemption may claim refund of IGST on exports, while those who availed both BCD and IGST exemptions must repay IGST with interest to switch to the IGST-refund option; otherwise they remain on the LUT/ITC route. (AI Summary)

Advance ruling timelines: delay does not automatically void a ruling; procedural irregularity is addressed by appeal.
Whether an advance ruling rendered after the statutory time-limit is void is examined against the CGST advance ruling scheme. The regime prescribes questions eligible for rulings, filing formalities, notice to the concerned officer, hearings, and pronouncement of rulings within the prescribed period. While rulings obtained by fraud or suppression may be declared void ab initio, non-adherence to the time-limit is characterised as a procedural irregularity rather than loss of jurisdiction; the appropriate remedy is challenge in appeal. (AI Summary)

Advance ruling admissibility cannot be rejected merely because the issue is subjudice in unrelated proceedings.
The Authority shall not admit an advance ruling application where the question raised is already pending or decided in any proceedings in the case of the applicant; the proviso confines the admissibility bar to proceedings involving the applicant and therefore pendency of identical issues in litigation between other parties does not, by itself, justify rejection. (AI Summary)

Composition scheme eligibility and reduced compliance: simplified quarterly filings and limited tax rates offered relief for small taxpayers during pandemic.
The article describes the composition scheme under GST as a simplified regime for small taxpayers with turnover-based eligibility, specified excluded supplies and persons, prescribed percentage tax rates by business type, mandatory joint opt-in for registrants under the same PAN, and no entitlement to input tax credit. It contrasts quarterly return filing and simplified tax payment under the scheme with the monthly return and credit reconciliation burdens of regular taxpayers, and notes government relief measures and suggested further compliance relaxations in response to COVID-19-related business disruptions. (AI Summary)

Deemed filing under section 139(1) treated as timely; call to extend Jammu and Ladakh return deadline to end of June.
The CBDT has issued successive circulars extending return filing deadlines for Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh; the circular of 23 March 2020 deems returns filed by 31 March 2020 as filed within time under section 139(1), avoiding interest under section 234A. The author criticizes repeated short extensions and COVID 19 related filing impediments in the UTs and recommends a further CBDT circular aligning the UT due date with the Finance Ministry announcement extending deadlines to the end of June to ensure returns from those UTs are treated as timely. (AI Summary)