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)

Passing on GST rate reduction required: distributor base price increases found to constitute profiteering, triggering refund and compliance obligations.
The anti-profiteering obligation requires registered suppliers to pass on statutory GST rate reductions by making commensurate reductions in prices; increasing pre-reduction base prices to maintain prior gross prices defeats this obligation and constitutes profiteering. Investigations compare pre and post reduction invoices, assess discounts and base price adjustments, and may calculate unjust enrichment from price lists where direct comparators are absent. Proven profiteering leads to quantification of benefit denied, directions for price reduction, deposit of the profiteered amount with interest into consumer welfare measures if recipients are unidentifiable, further probe, and potential penalty proceedings. (AI Summary)

Reassessment annulment restores original assessment and preserves previously assessed income under limited doctrine of merger application
Where a reassessment is annulled as invalid, the original assessment order revives and the assessee reverts to the pre-reassessment position; the doctrine of merger has limited application and does not automatically extinguish items validly determined in the original assessment when reassessment is set aside, and supervisory powers may still reach matters not decided on appeal. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit reversal for post sale discounts may be required where discounts reduce taxable payment received.
AAR held that recipients must reverse ITC proportionate to post sale discounts under the proviso conditioning credit on payment. The article emphasises that while the Act omits a definition of "payment," the definition of "consideration" includes payments "in money or otherwise," so supplier discounts may qualify as payment reductions triggering ITC reversal. It also notes a government circular recognising commercial/financial credit notes as outside GST consequences and argues the AAR ruling can be appealed and may require reconsideration. (AI Summary)

Advance ruling divergence: centralized appellate mechanism proposed to harmonize GST classification and supply determinations.
State Advance Ruling authorities have issued numerous decisions and appellate orders, prompting approval for a centralized appellate authority to resolve divergent rulings. Recent AAR determinations: (1) developer services under a turnkey river rejuvenation contract were held to fall within the notified development related service entry; (2) payments to tenants for vacating premises, alternate accommodation and delayed possession were treated as receipts for doing an act and hence taxable supply; (3) a geared motor was classed as an electric motor under the relevant HSN heading; and (4) a hydraulic orbital steering unit was classed under the tariff heading for valves rather than as vehicle parts. (AI Summary)

Anti profiteering: no obligation where tax rate did not fall or seller's base price remained unchanged.
Anti profiteering under Section 171 requires a demonstrable reduction in tax incidence and a commensurate reduction in prices; complaints were dismissed where the statutory tax rate did not fall, the supplier's base price excluding tax remained unchanged after a rate reduction, or no post reduction invoices/documents were produced to show that the tax benefit was withheld. Authorities compare pre and post rate revision invoices and effective tax burdens to determine whether the benefit was passed to recipients. (AI Summary)

Withdrawal of CIRP application requires a high creditor-approval threshold ensuring collective creditor participation and adjudicatory oversight.
Section 12A permits withdrawal of an admitted corporate insolvency application only with substantial Committee of Creditors approval and procedural safeguards; regulations prescribe the filing route, timing, a bank guarantee for estimated costs, prompt committee consideration and forwarding by the resolution professional to the adjudicating authority. Judicial review upheld the design as consistent with the collective, in rem nature of insolvency proceedings, preserved adjudicatory oversight before committee constitution, and found the creditor-approval threshold to be a legislative policy choice not offending equality guarantees. (AI Summary)

TDS credit entitlement upheld where employer deducted tax but failed to deposit, taxpayer must receive credit.
The court held that the mere non-deposit of tax by the deductor does not disentitle the deductee to TDS credit; the assessee is entitled to credit for the relevant years and any recovery or adjustment from later refunds must be returned with statutory interest. (AI Summary)

Income Tax Clearance Certificate requirement restricts departure unless tax liabilities are secured or certified by the assessing authority.
Income tax departure controls require non-domiciled persons earning income in India to produce an undertaking in Form No.30A from their employer or payer to obtain an Income Tax Clearance Certificate (Form No.30B); persons domiciled in India must provide prescribed departure particulars or certificates (Forms No.31/33). Assessing officers may grant or refuse certificates based on payment or satisfactory provision for liabilities. Owners and charterers of conveyances must verify passenger certificates or become personally liable and deemed assessees in default, and certificates must be produced to customs on request. (AI Summary)

Indirect taxation on alcoholic beverages: include alcohol under GST or adjust input rates to stop cascading taxation.
The article argues that alcoholic beverages remain outside the GST net, causing continued multiplicity of state and non GST levies and cascading taxation; it urges the GST Council to either include alcoholic beverages in GST by amending definitions or charging provisions, or alternatively to reduce GST on key inputs and grant specific exemptions, and proposes using the compensation cess or temporary GST plus state tax measures to protect state revenues while removing distortions. (AI Summary)

Settlement proceedings enable negotiated resolutions of securities law violations subject to prescribed terms and conditional confidentiality.
The regulations establish a multi-tier settlement framework for defined securities law violations where applicants file a single prescribed application with disclosures and waivers. Applications are examined by an Internal Committee, reviewed by a High Powered Advisory Committee, and finally decided by a Panel of Whole Time Members, which may impose monetary and non-monetary terms. Considerations include applicant conduct, harm to investors, restitution, and compliance improvements. Confidentiality is conditional on full cooperation and truthful disclosure. Settlement orders are published, have limited evidentiary effect, and may be revoked for false disclosures or non-compliance. (AI Summary)

Sales promotion valuation under GST: clarifies when free samples, buy-one-get-one, and discounts affect taxable value.
Free samples and gifts supplied without consideration are not taxable supplies but attract denial of input tax credit for inputs used in such distributions. Buy-one-get-one offers are taxed based on whether they constitute a composite or mixed supply with rate determined by principal-supply or highest-rate rule; input tax credit is available for inputs used. Pre-established discounts meeting the prescribed documentary and ITC reversal conditions are excluded from taxable value and allow seller's ITC, whereas post-supply secondary discounts that lack those conditions are not excluded and may be recorded by credit note without changing supplier ITC availability. (AI Summary)

Taxation of liquidated damages: GST applies when liability crystallises; classified as taxable miscellaneous service with ITC subject to conditions.
GST is chargeable on liquidated damages where the contract treats LD as consideration for tolerating delay rather than a price reduction. Such LD, arising from an agreement that establishes liability upon delay, qualifies as a supply of service under the activity of tolerating an act. Where LD is an independent levy and not a contract price adjustment, it is classifiable as a miscellaneous taxable service, the time of supply is when the liability crystallises, and input tax credit is available subject to statutory conditions. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit utilization rules require exhausting IGST credits before CGST and SGST, increasing cash outflow risk.
Section 49A mandates that IGST credit in the electronic credit ledger be fully utilized before any CGST or SGST/UTGST credit may be applied, reversing the earlier set-off sequence and thereby changing cross-utilisation mechanics of ITC. (AI Summary)