E-way bill non-compliance: omission of Part B can trigger detention and tax-plus-penalty unless addressed by a reasoned order.
Failure to furnish Part B of Form GST EWB-01 invalidates road movement and may trigger detention, seizure and tax-plus-penalty proceedings; administrative orders imposing tax and penalty must be reasoned and address submissions such as prior IGST payment and special facts (e.g., perishability), otherwise courts may remit for a speaking order and permit interim release on appropriate security. (AI Summary)

Electronic ledgers in GST govern offsetting input tax credit against tax liabilities and cash payment reconciliation.
The electronic ledgers framework requires taxpayers to declare tax, credits and payments in GSTR 3B so that the Electronic Liability Ledger registers liabilities, the Electronic Credit Ledger registers eligible input tax credit debited on utilisation, and the Electronic Cash Ledger records cash payments via challan; reverse charge liabilities must be paid in cash. The portal workflow prompts offsetting of credits against liability and, if insufficient, directs challan creation and cash payment before final offsetting and reconciliation. (AI Summary)

GST on interest: taxability hinges on whether broker funding is part of the contract or a separate loan service.
The dispute concerns whether interest earned by a del credere agent on short term funding is exempt as interest on loans or taxable as part of the value of supply. One AAAR member held that where the funding is integral to the contract the interest must be included in value of supply and taxed, citing an office memorandum; the other held the loan to the buyer is a separate money to money service by the agent and aligns with the exemption approach, creating a divided ruling and calling for central clarification. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit eligibility requires supplier tax payment, invoice filing, and timely payment to the supplier to avoid reversal.
Conditions for claiming Input Tax Credit include possession of a tax invoice with prescribed particulars, supplier payment of tax to Government, and invoice visibility in the recipient's purchase-ledger feed. Credit is claimed on self-assessment returns but constrained by invoices uploaded by suppliers; mismatches can trigger reversal and additional tax liability. Claims for a financial year are subject to a post-year filing cut-off, and recipients must pay suppliers within a defined timeframe or reverse credit and face interest. (AI Summary)

National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling to resolve conflicting GST advance rulings and issue binding decisions.
A National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (NAA) is proposed to resolve conflicting GST advance rulings by hearing appeals where two or more State/Appellate Authorities have issued conflicting decisions. The NAA will be constituted by government notification on Council recommendation, comprise a judicial President and two technical members (Centre and State), and have prescribed appointment, tenure, removal, and service protections. It may confirm or modify rulings after hearing parties, issue certified orders circulated to specified authorities, allow limited rectification, declare rulings void for fraud or suppression, and exercise civil court powers for procedure and evidence. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit time limit: annual return filing governs the last opportunity to claim missed ITC for the year.
The last opportunity to claim input tax credit for invoices and debit notes from July 2017-March 2018 is the earlier of the due date for furnishing the return under section 39 for the month following the financial year (FORM GSTR-3 as specified by judicial interpretation) or the actual date of filing the annual return (FORM GSTR-9); because FORM GSTR-3 due dates were not notified, the annual-return date operates as the practical cutoff. Taxpayers may claim missed RCM credits after paying the tax and may reconcile GSTR-2A with GSTR-3B and books to claim supplier-paid credits within the permitted filing window. (AI Summary)

Aadhaar-based verification: Customs can suspend clearances and benefits for non-compliance with identity requirements.
The substituted section requires electronic delivery of departure/export manifests or reports before conveyance departure, with penalties for unjustified delay. New Chapter XII B empowers authorised proper officers to require persons to undergo Aadhaar authentication or furnish prescribed documents for ascertaining compliance; prescribed exemptions and alternative identification are provided. Non compliance or submission of incorrect information permits the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner to suspend clearance, refunds, drawback, duty exemptions, licences, registrations, or other import/export benefits until compliance is achieved. (AI Summary)

One Person Company facilitates single-owner corporateisation, easing incorporation and providing specified statutory exemptions and benefits.
One Person Company (OPC) permits a single Indian resident person to incorporate a private limited company with a nominated successor and mandatory name suffix. Incorporation requires DSC, DIN, name reservation, filing SPICe/INC forms with supporting identity, address and affidavit documents, and issuance of the Certificate of Incorporation by the RoC. OPCs must meet minimum paid-up capital and eligibility rules, are restricted from certain financial activities and charitable-objects companies, face conversion limits tied to capital or turnover, and enjoy specific statutory exemptions and MSME-linked benefits. (AI Summary)

Approved electronic payment modes broaden taxable-framework compliance by empowering rulemaking to recognise additional non-cash transfer methods.
The document urges adoption of a consolidated definition of approved modes of payment and receipt to include existing non-cash instruments and other electronic methods, coupled with identification and recordation requirements. It explains proposed amendments replacing references to payment "by bank account" with "bank account or through such other electronic mode as may be prescribed" across multiple income-tax provisions, thereby empowering the Board to notify additional electronic modes so that statutory conditions tied to specified non-cash payments will be satisfied when payments occur by prescribed electronic methods. (AI Summary)

GST reform: comprehensive amendments to simplify compliance, create a national appellate authority, and expand anti profiteering powers.
The Budget's indirect tax measures include customs duty changes (increases on gold and books, exemptions for certain defence imports, reductions for some raw materials), a Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme for pre GST excise and service tax cases, retrospective service tax exemptions and refund routes for specified periods, and comprehensive GST law amendments. These GST amendments introduce digital payment facilitation, a National Appellate Authority for Advance Rulings with binding and rectification powers, higher composition thresholds, mandatory Aadhaar for registration, e ledger flexibilities, and an enhanced anti profiteering penalty framework, effective on enactment and notification. (AI Summary)

Registration compliance checks: expanded enquiry powers now include other law compliance and may enable registration cancellation.
The Bill expands the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner's powers under section 12AA to enquire into and call for documents about both the genuineness of a trust's activities and its compliance with any other law material to achieving its objects, and makes non compliance shown by an undisputed or final order a ground for cancellation of registration; the author urges guidelines, limits on discretionary enquiries, and accountability for officers to prevent harassment. (AI Summary)

Exemption for interest on rupee-denominated bonds expanded, with IFSC interest and increased pension withdrawal exemption and buy-back rules.
Clause 6 amends the Income-tax Act to exempt interest on rupee-denominated bonds issued in the specified period to non-residents and to exempt interest payable to non-residents by IFSC-located units for monies borrowed after the notified date; it increases the tax-free portion of National Pension System Trust payouts on account closure from forty per cent to sixty per cent and extends the buy-back exemption to listed shares. The author objects to describing buy-back measures as preventing tax abuse and argues that taxing company-paid buy-back amounts mischaracterises shareholder receipts as company income. (AI Summary)

Sabka Vishwas amnesty scheme offers graded tax relief, waiver of interest/penalty and discharge on payment for legacy indirect tax disputes.
Sabka Vishwas Scheme provides graded percentage waivers of specified tax dues for legacy indirect tax disputes under enumerated enactments, subject to eligibility exclusions; waiver of interest and penalty is available in specified situations and voluntary disclosures receive penalty/interest waiver only on full tax payment. Pre deposits are adjusted against amounts payable without refund for excess. Procedural steps require declaration, administrative estimation or statement within set timelines, payment within 30 days of the statement, and issuance of a discharge certificate on payment, which conclusively bars further duty, interest, penalty, prosecution or reopening for the covered period. (AI Summary)

Corpus timing requirement for offshore funds revised and remuneration standard switched to a prescribed calculation method.
The Finance Bill amends section 9A to relax two eligibility conditions for offshore funds: clause (j) revises the timing for meeting the corpus threshold for newly established funds to allow satisfaction within six months of establishment or at the end of the previous year, whichever is later; clause (m) replaces the requirement that fund manager remuneration be not less than the arm's length price with a requirement that it be not less than an amount calculated in a prescribed manner. The amendments are described as facilitative and stated to be retrospective from April 1, 2019. (AI Summary)

Deemed accrual of cross-border gifts: gifts by Indian residents to nonresidents taxable as income subject to exemptions and DTAA.
The amendment to section 9 deems gifts of money or property situated in India, made by an Indian resident to a person outside India, to accrue or arise in India and thus be taxable, while preserving existing exemptions under the proviso to clause (x) of sub section (2) of section 56 and recognising applicable DTAA provisions in treaty situations. (AI Summary)

Demerger valuation relaxation allows Ind AS compliant resulting companies to record assets differently, easing tax-neutral demergers.
The proposal relaxes the demerger requirement that resulting companies record transferred property and liabilities at the demerged company's book value where the resulting company records such items at different values in compliance with Indian Accounting Standards; the draft proviso is prospective from the assessment year after 1 April 2020. The author urges recasting the change as an Explanation and making it retrospective to the original effective date to treat the amendment as clarificatory and avoid litigation. (AI Summary)

Interest on late GST payment now limited to amounts paid from electronic cash ledger, with exceptions after initiated proceedings.
Interest on late GST payment is chargeable only on the portion paid from the electronic cash ledger, except where returns are filed after initiation of proceedings, in which case interest applies to gross liability. Registered persons must authenticate or prove possession of an Aadhaar number or provide an alternate identification method, failing which registration is deemed invalid. Transfers within the electronic cash ledger via form PMT-09 across tax heads are permitted and treated as refunds. (AI Summary)

Withholding tax obligations broadened: new TDS provisions and expanded deductions increase reporting and withholding duties for taxpayers.
Domestic corporate tax eligibility for the reduced 25% rate is expanded by raising the turnover threshold. The Budget adds deductions for interest on home loans and electric vehicle loans, increases tax-free NPS withdrawal proportions, and revises surcharge bands. Compliance and withholding rules are broadened: mandatory return filing criteria are expanded by reference to large deposits and certain expenditures, PAN-Aadhaar linkage consequences are clarified, new TDS provisions cover high cash withdrawals and payments to contractors and professionals, and property-transfer consideration is defined to include ancillary charges. (AI Summary)

Annual Return under GST required electronically; non filers face notices and daily late fees, payable via electronic cash ledger.
Every registered person specified under the GST framework, excluding specified categories, must file an electronic annual return for each financial year in the prescribed form; separate State returns are required for multi State operations. The annual return (Form GSTR 9 or GSTR 9A) consolidates outward/inward supplies, input tax credit details, tax paid, post year amendments, HSN summaries and other particulars, and permits declaration of additional liabilities payable through the electronic cash ledger. Non filers receive notice and incur daily late fees subject to statutory limits. (AI Summary)

Lower corporate tax rate based on turnover should be extended to other assesses to avoid unjust higher rates.
The document critiques a turnover based eligibility rule that grants a concessional corporate tax rate of twenty five per cent to domestic companies below a prior year turnover threshold while others pay the higher marginal basic rate. The author contends that turnover alone is an arbitrary basis to limit the concession to companies, produces incentives for tax driven entity formation and income retention, and should be extended to other assesses with comparable turnover. The author also advocates increasing the basic exemption for individuals to promote capital accumulation. (AI Summary)