Input Tax Credit prioritisation: IGST must be exhausted first, then remaining credit may be applied to central or state tax in any order.
The operative mechanism requires IGST credit to be exhausted first against IGST liabilities; any remaining IGST credit may then be applied towards central tax or state/union territory tax in any order chosen by the taxpayer, and CGST or SGST credit may be utilised against tax liabilities only after the available IGST credit has been fully exhausted. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit deadline extension requires final reconciliation and claim in the last GSTR 3B return to avoid lapsing credits.
Registered persons must identify and claim any unclaimed Input Tax Credit for the 2017-18 financial year through the March GSTR 3B filing before the extended cutoff, failing which such credits will lapse. Taxpayers should reconcile monthly GSTR 3B claims with the auto populated GSTR 2A by supplier name and invoice number, maintain an invoice wise ITC ledger, and document communication with suppliers to rectify mismatches. Credits used for both taxable and exempt supplies must be apportioned to taxable use, and wrongly availed credits must be reversed with interest. (AI Summary)

Standardised billing and consumer protection for credit cards urged to curb excessive charges and ensure clear electronic statements.
The article critiques credit-card practices-high and compounding interest and late fees, flawed interest calculations, inconsistent merchant charges, reward disparities, aggressive recovery tactics, and varying statement periods-and urges government and the central bank to require standardised billing periods from the first to last day of the calendar month with a minimum fifteen-day payment window, reasonable and clear terms for fees and interest, caps or regulation of excessive charges, mandated electronic PDF and Excel statements with annual consolidated statements, and oversight to ensure transparency and consumer protection. (AI Summary)

Taxability of supply of electricity: redistribution, billing and collection treated as a taxable service under the Finance Act.
The operator of a commercial complex procured high tension electricity, converted and redistributed it to occupiers using sub meters, billed and collected charges; lacking licences under the Electricity Act, this conversion, allocation, billing and collection was held to fall within the Finance Act definition of service and therefore exigible to Service Tax. The article also observes that amounts recovered without mark up might be characterised as reimbursements by a pure agent, and that Supreme Court ruling on valuation may affect adjudication of similar cases for the impugned period. (AI Summary)

Order of input tax credit: IGST credit exhausted first, then CGST or SGST may be used in any order.
Rule 88A requires that ITC attributable to IGST be applied first to IGST liabilities; any remaining IGST credit may then be used towards CGST or SGST/UGST in any order. The proviso provides that ITC of CGST, SGST or UTGST can be used towards IGST or other heads only after IGST ITC is fully exhausted. The amendment relaxes the previously prescribed sequence between CGST and SGST set off and is shown by numeric illustration to restore earlier overall set off flexibility, easing working capital blockage. (AI Summary)

Post facto discount rules and input tax credit: invoice-linked, pre-agreed discounts preserve credit; discretionary rebates may not.
Post facto discounts are excluded from the transaction value and thus reduce Input Tax Credit only if the discount is established in an agreement entered into at or before supply, specifically linked to the relevant invoice(s), and the ITC attributable to the discount is reversed by the recipient on supplier documentation; discounts that are contingent, discretionary, or not invoice-linked do not reduce the value of supply. The proviso tying ITC entitlement to payment within the prescribed period means that commercial credit notes alone may not preserve ITC if they do not effect payment of the value of supply as defined for valuation purposes. (AI Summary)

Cash receipt prohibition under Section 269ST risks severe penalty and triggers scrutiny when large deposits prompt AIR reporting.
Receiving sale proceeds in cash beyond the statutory limit breaches Section 269ST and attracts a penalty under Section 271DA; sale consideration below stamp authority value is deemed to be full consideration for capital gains computation; large cash deposits prompt reporting under Section 285BA, enabling reassessment proceedings under notice provisions and exposure to penalties for concealment of income. (AI Summary)

Statutory filings compliance: calendar of mandatory forms, due dates, and fees with penalties for non compliance.
Statutory filings compliance calendar summarises company filing obligations, listing applicable forms (DIR 3 KYC, INC 22, MSME 1, DPT 3, AOC 4, MGT 7, ADT 1, INC 20A, BEN 1/BEN 2, NFRA 1), required particulars, filing timeframes and the attendant normal fees and additional penalties or sanctions for late or non compliance. (AI Summary)

Transfer of input tax credit on succession enables procedural credit transfer while preserving successor liability for outstanding tax obligations.
Transfer of unutilized input tax credit on change of ownership due to death of a sole proprietor is governed by Section 18(3) and Rule 41, with the Board clarifying that death constitutes a transfer of business. Where the business is continued, the transferee/successor must obtain registration, link GSTINs, and file Form GST ITC-02 before cancellation; upon acceptance the specified unutilized credit is credited to the transferee's electronic credit ledger, and inputs/capital goods must be accounted for by the transferee. Successor liability for tax, interest and penalty is joint and several. (AI Summary)

Appeals under income tax law: first appeal to commissioner, revisions by commissioner, and writ remedy available.
An assessee aggrieved by an assessing officer's order may file a first appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) using the prescribed form, submitted electronically or in paper as permitted, within the prescribed limitation period; the Commissioner may admit late appeals on sufficient cause. Separately, the Commissioner has revisional powers to examine records and revise orders that are erroneous and prejudicial to revenue or to review orders in favour of the assessee, subject to the requirement that revisional orders not be prejudicial to the assessee, and revisional action may be challenged by available appellate or constitutional remedies. (AI Summary)

Active Company verification requirement: filing e Form ACTIVE enforces company verification; non compliance blocks subsequent statutory filings.
Rule 25A mandates that companies incorporated on or before the cut off must file e Form ACTIVE (INC 22A) to verify corporate existence, registered office (including coordinates and photographs), auditors and KMPs, with OTP verified company email and digital signatures. Exceptions exist for companies with outstanding statutory filing defaults (subject to registrar recorded management disputes), struck off or insolvent/amalgamating entities, and where director DINs are unapproved. Filings deficient in prescribed particulars may be marked Active Non Compliant, blocking acceptance of key subsequent statutory forms until the company files a compliant e Form and pays the prescribed fee to regain Active Compliant status. (AI Summary)

Filing deadline extension for FORM GST ITC-04 allows later submission for the July 2017-March 2019 job work declarations.
The quarterly obligation to furnish FORM GST ITC-04 requires inclusion of challan details for goods sent to or received from a job worker, with the Commissioner empowered to extend the statutory filing deadline by notification. A series of notifications progressively extended filing dates for the implementation period, and the latest notification extended the due date for the period July 2017-March 2019 to 30.06.2019. (AI Summary)

Presumptive taxation under Section 44AD limits deductions and prescribes bank receipt rates, altering audit and bookkeeping obligations.
Presumptive taxation under Section 44AD provides a cash receipt based method for computing business income with reduced deeming rates for receipts through specified banking channels and higher rates for other receipts, subject to the overriding effect of ordinary profit determination provisions except where Section 43B applies. Amendments altered deductibility of partner remuneration, expanded turnover eligibility, imposed advance tax applicability, and linked any opt out from the regime to mandatory books and audit obligations for succeeding assessment years. Exclusions cover certain professions, commission, and agency businesses, and mixed activities can disqualify a taxpayer from the scheme. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit claims require reconciliation and timely return filing to preserve entitlement and avoid lapse.
Ensure timely filing of outward and summary returns for the March period to preserve amendment rights and entitlement to input tax credit. Identify and claim all recoverable Input Tax Credit for the prior financial year through reconciliation and ledger review in the March returns; where compliant invoices exist but do not appear in the automated inward register, avail ITC while notifying the supplier. Raise and inform counterparties of debit notes and amendments before filing cutoffs so corresponding credit can be taken; ISD credits should be taken up and distributed in the closing month, and any shortfall in required reversals for exempt or non business use should be reversed in the March returns. (AI Summary)

Habeas corpus maintainability: not available where detention follows orders of competent jurisdictional authority; CGST arrest upheld where reasoned order exists.
A writ of habeas corpus is not maintainable where detention results from orders of a competent jurisdictional authority. Under Article 226, habeas relief is inappropriate if custody stems from a magistrate's remand or a reasoned order. Section 69 of the CGST Act prescribes arrest authorization, informing grounds and production before a Magistrate, and bail/forwarding procedures; when a reasoned order under Section 69 is placed on record, a habeas petition challenging custody was held by the High Court to be not maintainable. (AI Summary)

Real estate GST: affordable housing 1% no ITC; others 5% no ITC; transition option; procurement rules and reverse charge.
New GST rates effective 1 April 2019 place under construction affordable housing at 1% without input tax credit (subject to area and value thresholds) and other under construction housing at 5% without ITC. Ongoing projects as of 31 March 2019 may opt to remain under the old ITC based regime or switch to the new no ITC rates, with proportional transition and mandated ITC reversal procedures. Under the new scheme developers must source at least 80% of inputs from registered suppliers or face reverse charge liabilities (18% generally; 28% for cement from unregistered suppliers). Development rights (TDR/JDA/FSI) are exempt only where GST is paid on the constructed flats prior to completion certificate, otherwise taxability and RCM timing attach to the date of completion certificate. (AI Summary)

Consideration and supply: participant donations for charity marathons are not quid pro quo and should not attract GST.
Whether donations from marathon participants are consideration for a taxable supply under GST: the Authority held donations taxable because most funds were spent on event management rather than charitable activities, but the author argues the correct test is the receipt side-whether a supply and quid pro quo existed-emphasising that participant donations are symbolic and not payment for services, and noting unconsidered input tax credits paid on event services. (AI Summary)

Passing benefit of tax reduction must reach consumers or be deposited to welfare fund, not retained by suppliers.
Suppliers must pass the benefit of a tax rate reduction to ultimate consumers or, if not identifiable, deposit the unpassed amount into the consumer welfare fund. GST rules prescribe a procedural methodology for calculating the commensurate reduction, though computations will differ by case and the supplier is responsible for arriving at the amount. The authority's remit is to determine whether the benefit was passed, not to set prices; practical or legal difficulties do not justify retaining the tax benefit. Corroborative evidence and factual substantiation may defend a supplier in particular cases. (AI Summary)

Unexplained share capital: Supreme Court judgment merits recall to consider payee position and negotiable instrument evidence.
The article contends the Supreme Court's decision on unexplained share capital in the NRA Iron matter should be recalled and reconsidered because counsel failures and non-presentation of relevant precedents produced a judgment that overlooked key evidentiary and statutory considerations. It emphasizes that a payee who presents and obtains payment on a cheque paid by the drawee bank should not be required to explain the source of the payor's funds, that share certificates and public registration evidence recognition of liability, and that share premium and investors' capital/reserves legitimately explain large subscriptions. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit on reverse charge: entitlement depends on payment to the exchequer and declaration through returns.
ITC for tax paid under reverse charge is subject to combined RCM and ITC eligibility rules: possession of prescribed documents, receipt of supply, actual payment of tax to the government and return filing. Provisional self-assessed credit may be recorded but utilization and final entitlement depend on payment and return declaration. The article concludes that RCM ITC is effectively available only after payment and appropriate declaration through the return and ledger offset processes. (AI Summary)