Cost of improvement: construction expenses on land qualify as improvement and form part of capital gains computation.
Construction costs incurred after acquiring land are treated as the cost of improvement of the original capital asset; the acquisition date of the land determines whether the composite land-and-building is short- or long-term. For computing capital gains under Sections 45 and 48, expenditure wholly and exclusively for transfer, cost of acquisition and indexed cost of any improvement are deductible, and Section 55 defines cost of improvement as capital expenditure on additions or alterations, excluding amounts deductible under other heads. (AI Summary)

Pure agent conditions not met - utility reimbursements treated as consideration and taxed with the principal supply.
Reimbursement of utility charges by a lessor does not satisfy the pure agent conditions and therefore constitutes part of the taxable value; utilities supplied alongside leasing of immovable property are ancillary to the principal supply and form a composite supply, attracting GST at the rate applicable to the principal supply. (AI Summary)

Dharmada exclusion from transaction value: voluntary charitable payments not includible in excise assessable value for levy.
The Larger Bench concluded that where dharmada is a voluntary, earmarked payment credited to a separate account and remitted to charity, the purchase of goods is only the occasion for the payment and not its consideration; therefore such dharmada amounts cannot be included in the transaction value for excise valuation purposes when they are bona fide charitable collections and not payments for the goods themselves. (AI Summary)

MEIS/SEIS procedural automation: electronic scrip issuance, online transfer recording, and re import No Incentive Certificate rules.
A set of procedural and eligibility reforms to MEIS and SEIS emphasizes automation and ease of doing business: a No Incentive Certificate procedure for re imports requiring refund or scrip surrender where scrips were utilised; relaxed courier/export port and value treatment with capped reward computation; mandatory online recording for scrip transfers at EDI ports before transferee utilisation; online filing and system approval for SEZ shipping bill MEIS applications with prompt scrip dispatch obligations; discontinuation of physical scrips for EDI ports in favour of electronic issuance; and a timing clarification for SEIS net foreign earnings eligibility to the year services are rendered. (AI Summary)

AGILE registration requirement: company incorporations must attach AGILE with SPICe to seek GST, EPFO and ESIC registrations.
Rule 38A mandates that SPICe incorporation applications be accompanied by linked e-form AGILE (INC-35) to seek GSTIN, EPFO and ESIC registrations; submission of the AGILE form is required though choosing which registrations to pursue within it is optional. The SPICe-registered office is the principal place of business for GST and the same director must sign both SPICe and AGILE. AGILE applies only to companies incorporated via SPICe, requires HSN/SAC codes, is processed non-STP, carries no prescribed fee, and forwards data to GSTN for validation and issuance of TRN/ARN and GSTIN. (AI Summary)

IT grievance redressal for GST portal failures enables taxpayers to secure input tax credit when errors aren't their fault.
Courts have required tax authorities to operationalise the IT Grievance Redressal Mechanism under Circular No. 39/13/2018 GST, directing taxpayers unable to upload Form GST TRAN-1 because of portal errors to apply to designated Nodal Officers; authorities must appoint nodal officers, forward applications to grievance committees (in consultation with GSTN), and facilitate uploading or permit transitional input tax credit where failure to upload is not attributable to the taxpayer. (AI Summary)

Unexplained share capital scrutiny: call to recall Supreme Court judgment for not considering controlling precedents.
The article argues that the Supreme Court's decision on unexplained share capital under section 68 in NRA Iron & Steel failed to advert to multiple recent Supreme Court orders and allied authority, misapprehended evidentiary burdens relating to receipts (including cheques honoured in due course), and overlooked legal and commercial significance of share certificates and premium. It alleges absence of respondent representation and suppression or non-noting of controlling precedents by revenue counsel, and urges recall and fresh adjudication so that rulings align with precedent, negotiable-instrument and company-law principles. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering obligation requires commensurate price reductions when tax rates or input credits fall, with funds returned to consumers.
Suppliers must pass on benefits of GST rate reductions and input tax credits to recipients by way of a commensurate reduction in prices; failure to do so constitutes anti-profiteering contravention. An investigation found that HUL maintained prior selling prices by raising base prices rather than reducing consumer prices, quantified alleged profiteering after permitted adjustments, and led the authority to require deposits into consumer welfare funds with interest, price reductions going forward, further scrutiny of other supplies, and initiation of penalty proceedings. (AI Summary)

Consecutive invoice numbering requirement: taxpayers must adopt a financial year unique invoice series to ensure GST compliance and avoid filing issues.
Registered GST taxpayers must use consecutive serial invoice numbers unique to the financial year, limited to sixteen characters and allowing alphabets, numerals, hyphen and slash; the same requirement applies to bills of supply by composition or exempt suppliers. Non adherence can obstruct e way bill generation, accurate filing of outward supply returns, and refund applications on the GST portal, so taxpayers should modify invoice and bill of supply numbering before the new financial year. (AI Summary)

Voluntary liquidation requires demonstrable solvency and no pending litigation, else process may be suspended and alternatives pursued.
Voluntary liquidation requires directors' affidavit of solvency, supporting audited financials and valuation, and member and creditor approvals; regulatory guidance treats solvency and absence of pending litigation as essential. In the cited case the adjudicating authority found receivables unrecoverable and pending litigations significant, concluded the regulatory ingredients were not satisfied, and suspended the voluntary liquidation while noting conversion to compulsory winding up was not appropriate. (AI Summary)

Appeal under Competition Act: procedural, representation and filing rules govern appeals, timelines, tribunal powers and compensation claims.
Appeal procedure under the Competition Act, 2002 provides who may appeal to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal, authorized representation rules, a sixty day filing limitation with power to condone delay, and Tribunal powers to regulate procedure guided by natural justice with civil court powers. Filings must meet prescribed language, format, affidavit and copy requirements and be accompanied by prescribed fees. A distinct compensation application process requires a prior finding of violation, Commission findings as support, prescribed fee scales and Tribunal inquiry limited to eligibility and quantum of compensation. (AI Summary)

One-sided contractual clauses constitute an unfair trade practice, allowing purchasers to refuse delayed possession and claim refunds.
Agreements that impose asymmetric remedies-allowing the developer broad termination and forfeiture rights while constraining the purchaser's right to terminate or claim compensation-are ex facie one-sided and constitute an unfair trade practice under consumer protection law; purchasers facing inordinate delay in obtaining occupancy certificates may refuse belated possession and claim refund of amounts paid with interest and compensation. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit restrictions clarified: exclusions and supply based exceptions determine GST credit eligibility.
Input Tax Credit under section 17(5) is disallowed for specified supplies including passenger motor vehicles, vessels and aircraft, related insurance and maintenance, certain services and goods used in construction, composition-scheme supplies, non-resident receipts, personal consumption, and goods lost or disposed, subject to exceptions where such inputs are used for further supply of the same asset or for passenger transportation, training, manufacturing of such assets, as inputs to plant and machinery, or where employer obligations require provision. (AI Summary)

Proceedings against struck-off companies can continue but appellate duty to decide substantial legal questions may require remand.
The Rajasthan High Court deemed a tax appeal infructuous after noting the assessee company's name had been struck off and no restoration sought, dismissing the appeal while granting the revenue liberty to apply in future if recovery became feasible (for example upon revival or discovery of realizable assets). The Supreme Court later set aside that order and remitted the matter to decide the substantial question of law, prompting debate whether the High Court's protective liberty rendered the revenue's appeal unnecessary. (AI Summary)

Transport and Marketing Assistance scheme reimburses international freight and marketing costs for eligible agricultural exports to specified regions.
The Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme provides Central Government cash reimbursement for international freight and marketing of specified agricultural exports, subject to registration with Export Promotion Councils, exports via EDI ports, receipt of payment in free foreign exchange, and product and origin exclusions. Assistance is paid by direct bank transfer at region- and mode-specific notified rates (per TEU for sea and per tonne for air), with DGFT regional authorities processing claims, auditing payments and recovering ineligible or excess assistance under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit eligibility: claim depends on prescribed conditions, documentation, and utilisation rules; supplier payment not prerequisite under GST framework.
Eligibility to claim Input Tax Credit requires prescribed conditions and documentation: a registered person may claim credit for inputs used in business, credited to the electronic credit ledger, provided they hold a tax invoice or debit note, have received the goods (or are deemed to have received services/goods in ship to/bill to scenarios), the supplier has filed required returns, payment of the invoice occurs within the prescribed period, and instalment receipts are complete. Restrictions include disallowance where depreciation has been claimed on the tax component of capital goods. The statute's manner of utilisation reference does not expressly require that the supplier must have paid tax before the recipient can claim ITC. (AI Summary)

Payment disclosure obligations require half yearly filing of supplier dues and reasons for delay, with specified supplier verification.
Companies receiving supplies from micro or small enterprise suppliers must file Form 1 MSME half yearly disclosing amounts due and reasons for delay where payments remain due beyond the statutory payment period; an initial return must report outstanding dues as of the notification date with supplier identification and delay reasons, and periodic returns must include the same particulars even if dues were later paid. Supplier status must be verified by submitted Udyog Aadhaar/registration and classification under the MSMED Act; auditors and companies must ensure documentation, disclosure in annual accounts, and tax treatment consistent with the Act's interest and disallowance provisions. (AI Summary)

GST on job-work services: outsourced brewing and packaging of liquor can be taxed as a supply of services despite liquor being outside GST.
The GST taxable event is supply; where a job worker performs brewing, manufacturing, packaging and supply of alcoholic beverages for a fixed fee, that activity constitutes a supply of services taxable under GST. Reimbursements of actual costs paid by the principal for inputs, labour and insurance are not treated as taxable consideration, but fixed job work charges paid as consideration for services are taxable and payable by the job worker. (AI Summary)

Refund of Excise Duty: purchaser cannot claim refund based on manufacturer's protest without meeting statutory conditions.
Refunds of excise duty are available only under the statutory refund scheme when the claimant proves duty was paid or collected by him and that the incidence of duty was not passed on; the six-month limitation from the relevant date applies except where duty was paid under protest. The rights of manufacturers and purchasers are distinct: a manufacturer's payment under protest does not automatically permit a purchaser to claim refund unless the purchaser satisfies the statutory conditions, files within the relevant period, and proves absence of passing on or unjust enrichment. (AI Summary)

Goods and Service Tax registration required above turnover thresholds; most services taxable, negative list applies, penalties for late registration.
Service providers must charge and remit Goods And Service Tax, register once turnover crosses specified annual thresholds, and collect GST from customers; most services are taxable except for a seventeen-item negative list, and delayed or non-registration attracts a daily penalty or a higher prescribed penalty. (AI Summary)