Supply of services: bounce charges for dishonoured payment instruments attract GST as consideration for tolerating the act.
Bounce charges for dishonour of repayment instruments constitute monetary consideration received for tolerating the act and therefore qualify as a supply of services under GST. The interest exemption does not cover such service fees, which are distinct from default interest, so bounce charges are not exempt and are taxable. (AI Summary)

Natural justice requires show-cause notice before direct recovery of GST interest, barring coercive bank attachments by authorities.
Direct recovery of GST interest without issuance of a show-cause notice and an opportunity for a personal hearing conflicts with the principle of natural justice. Judicial authorities have held that determination of interest liability and ensuing coercive recoveries require prior adjudicatory notice; bypassing that procedure-often justified by revenue as recovery under administrative provisions-has been quashed where no notice or hearing occurred. The procedural entitlement extends to disputes over gross versus net interest computation and to bank attachments effected without prior adjudication. (AI Summary)

Mediation in corporate insolvency enables negotiated settlement treated as tribunal directions, with CIRP revival on breach.
Mediation was used to reach a negotiated settlement during corporate insolvency proceedings; the appellate authority stayed constitution of the Committee of Creditors, directed the interim resolution professional to preserve the corporate debtor as a going concern, and treated the mediator's recorded settlement terms as its directions. The settlement required post-dated cheques, personal guarantees, undertakings on contempt for breach, allocation of interim costs subject to a limit, and restricted alienation or encumbrance of assets; noncompliance permits revival of the corporate insolvency resolution process. (AI Summary)

Import-purchase reconciliation should be requested before broad or roving enquiries into taxpayer records.
Differences between figures in ITRs and third party data (eg, import records) commonly stem from timing, valuation and classification variations; authorities should first specify the comparator and source and request a focused reconciliation demonstrating how the assessee's purchase figures correspond to the import value, allowing reasonable time for submission, before initiating broader or roving enquiries. (AI Summary)

Advance payments treated as taxable consideration; GST applies to outstanding mobilization advances on law commencement.
An advance is paid towards future supply and is treated as consideration, while a deposit is security excluded from consideration until applied; the Appellate Authority held that an outstanding mobilization receipt constituted advance consideration credited on GST commencement and therefore became taxable under the GST time of supply rules, rejecting pre GST tribunal precedents and noting no transitional provision preserves non taxability of such advances. (AI Summary)

Blocking of input tax credit may be imposed where credit appears fraudulently availed, restricting use and refunds.
Recent GST measures address compliance enforcement, anti fraud controls and procedural reliefs: SOPs permit stringent action against non filers; Rule 86A enables blocking or refusal of utilization or refund of electronic input tax credit where credits appear fraudulently availed or unsupported, including a one year restriction; rates and notifications amend GST treatment for specific goods and rent a cab services; reliefs include a limited late fee waiver for GSTR 1, extension of the Sabka Vishwas scheme, and constitution of Grievance Redressal Committees with a GSTN portal for grievance tracking. (AI Summary)

Open market value vs invoice valuation: GST valuation rules for supplies to distinct persons and input tax credit impact.
Valuation of supplies between registrations of the same entity in different States (distinct persons) is governed by section 15 and Rule 28, which prioritize open market value where available, then value of like goods, then rules 30/31. Two provisos allow alternatives: a 90% of downstream sale price option for goods supplied for further supply as such, and a deeming provision treating invoice value as open market value when the recipient is eligible for full input tax credit. Administrative rulings reflect differing interpretations of whether the provisos operate independently or subordinate to the primary Rule 28 sequence. (AI Summary)

E-invoicing requires taxpayers to upload JSON invoices to an IRP to obtain an IRN and QR code for GST reporting.
E-invoicing requires specified registered persons to upload JSON-formatted invoice data to an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP) to obtain a digitally signed Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and QR code; the IRP validates hashes, performs de-duplication, signs the invoice, and transmits the registered data to GST and e-way bill systems so that seller ANX-1 and buyer ANX-2 are pre-populated, while invoices lacking IRN will not be valid for mandated persons. (AI Summary)

E-proceeding notices often lack attached orders; full documents should be available in account and email.
E-proceeding communications frequently lack the attached substantive document, leaving taxpayers with only an intimation or Document Identification Number (DIN) that cannot be used to retrieve the actual notice, order or letter. The portal's search/authentication returns may show a notice is valid without providing the document, and DINs are non uniform, impairing verifiability. The author urges that the full document be attached and sent to both the taxpayer's account and registered email, that DINs follow a uniform PAN/AY/date format, and that PAN based chronological search be enabled. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit procedural denial: technical portal failures should not defeat legitimate transitional credit; filing may be accepted later.
The timing requirement for filing TRAN 1 is procedural and does not affect substantive entitlement to Input Tax Credit accrued before the appointed date; systemic GST portal glitches that prevented filing cannot be used to deny legitimate transitional credits, and administrative measures such as reopening the portal, accepting manual TRAN 1 submissions, or routing claims through nodal officers may be employed subject to verification of genuineness and statutory eligibility. (AI Summary)

Revised return: current-year business losses can be claimed when original loss return is treated as a valid return.
A return filed under the return-of-loss provision is treated as a return under the main return provision and therefore may be revised when an omission or wrong statement is discovered. Consequently, a revised return can claim current-year business losses and seek set-off and carry forward where the loss return was originally filed in time and the loss arises in the course of business. (AI Summary)

Result-oriented tax litigation: raise appeal thresholds, limit reassessment and penalty use to curb frivolous revenue disputes.
Recommends a result oriented tax administration: raise appeal thresholds and enforce withdrawal of low value or settled appeals; limit reassessment, revision and rectification to cases with substantial tax effect; avoid routine acceptance of audit objections and mechanical use of penalty provisions; eliminate or relax time only disallowances and onerous clubbing provisions; and refrain from litigating legitimate income and lawful tax planning, thereby simplifying enforcement and reducing needless litigation. (AI Summary)

Renting of passenger motor vehicles with fuel included triggers reverse charge GST when supplied to a body corporate.
The amendment subjects renting of passenger motor vehicles to reverse charge mechanism when supplied to a body corporate and the contract price includes fuel cost, provided the supplier is not a body corporate and does not invoice the stipulated central tax rate; in such cases the corporate recipient must pay GST under RCM, creating contractual, invoicing and accounting consequences and prompting tax-planning by suppliers regarding forward charge invoicing and input tax credit. (AI Summary)

IGST refund entitlement cannot be denied by administrative circulars when statutory refund conditions are met.
A registered person who exports goods after paying integrated tax is entitled to IGST refund if the statutory conditions are met; the shipping bill plus a valid GST return constitutes the refund application under the rules, and administrative circulars concerning drawback do not negate the statutory refund entitlement even where the exporter had mistakenly availed drawback and subsequently repaid it with interest. (AI Summary)

Tax first-charge on property does not bind a bona fide purchaser when transfer predates the charge and assessment is set aside.
Attachment and charge entered after a registered transfer to purchasers cannot be sustained against those purchasers because the statutory first charge attaches only to property of the person liable for tax; where the property had passed to purchasers before creation of the charge and the assessment underpinning the charge was subsequently set aside, the charge and attachment lacked foundation, subject to the revenue's separate right to attack fraudulent transfers as void. (AI Summary)

Interest on delayed refunds accrues after three months from the refund application when the sum is treated as duty, not deposit.
Interest on delayed refunds of countervailing duty applies where an amount collected and processed as duty retains its character as duty for interest purposes even if later found refundable; deposits, as interim safeguards pending adjudication, are distinct and typically excluded from the interest regime. Interest accrues after the expiry of three months from receipt of the refund application, not from the date of a later order, and reversal of any CENVAT credit must be considered when determining eligibility. (AI Summary)

Standard deduction reform proposes percentage-based salary relief and expanded depreciation and loss set-off for salaried taxpayers.
Proposes replacing fixed standard deductions for salaried persons with percentage-based slabs of salary, permitting depreciation for personal assets used in employment at half the normal rate, and allowing depreciation on let-out house properties. Recommends increasing deductions for long-term savings, permitting set-off of business losses against salary income except for a negative list, and introducing a voluntary disclosure scheme taxing undisclosed income in exchange for immunity. Also suggests targeted senior citizen tax relief measures. (AI Summary)

GST classification for contracted caterers reclassified to residual taxable supply with input tax credit implications for canteen operators.
The amendment to the rate notification removed the explanatory coverage treating contracted caterer supplies at institutional canteens as food supply at a premise, introduced defined categories-restaurant service, outdoor catering and specified premises-that exclude contracted, non-event canteen services, and thereby causes contracted caterer services to fall within the residual rate entry attracting the standard taxable rate with entitlement to input tax credit. (AI Summary)

Refund of Input Tax Credit: procedures and eligibility for exporters and zero-rated supplies, with conditions on documentation.
Section 54 provides a two year limitation from the relevant date to claim refund of tax and interest, with the relevant date varying by export/transaction type, judicial orders, provisional payments, and receipt of goods by non suppliers. Refund of unutilised input tax credit is limited to zero rated supplies without tax payment and cases of input tax exceeding output tax; exclusions include exports subject to export duty and where drawback or integrated tax refund has been claimed. Applications require evidence that tax incidence was not passed on, the proper officer must issue orders within sixty days and may provisionally refund specified claims, and refunds may be withheld or adjusted for defaults or to protect revenue, with limited interest entitlement. (AI Summary)

Show cause notice treatment of interest demands requires adjudicator to afford opportunity to be heard.
An intimation demanding payment of interest on delayed GST is to be treated as a show cause notice under Section 73(1) when it indicates tax or interest not paid within the prescribed period, and the adjudicating authority must afford the taxpayer an opportunity of being heard. If an amount has been realised by freezing the taxpayer's bank account, the authority must adjudicate liability; where adjudication finds no liability, the realised amount shall be refunded with statutory interest. Section 50(1) and Section 73(1) are the operative provisions cited. (AI Summary)