Carry forward of losses should be allowed liberally; extensions for filing returns may be permitted subject to interest.
A liberal approach is urged for the carry forward of losses, with reinstatement of Assessing Officer discretion to extend filing deadlines for returns of income or loss on reasonable cause, subject to interest for delayed periods. Practical hardships from delayed filing and operational disruptions justify administrative flexibility, and carry forward/set off rules should be applied liberally, including where changes in shareholding occur to revive closely held companies. (AI Summary)

Debt definition under insolvency code clarified: financial debt requires time value consideration; operational debt covers goods, services and statutory dues.
The statutory test distinguishes financial debt-liabilities disbursed against consideration for the time value of money or having the commercial effect of borrowing-from operational debt-claims arising from provision of goods or services, employment, or statutory dues. Determination depends on the transaction's commercial substance: subscription payments, assured return promises in sale contracts, investments without supply of goods/services, and refund undertakings do not become financial or operational debt absent the requisite time value or statutory character, and factual proof of default and nondispute is required to invoke insolvency proceedings. (AI Summary)

Compounding of FEMA contraventions allows admission and settlement by payment, subject to exclusions and RBI discretion.
The rules permit voluntary compounding of FEMA contraventions by admitting breaches and paying a determined sum, subject to exclusions for section 3(a) matters and cases suspected of money laundering, terror financing or threats to sovereignty; compounding authority is vested in graded RBI officers and specified ED officers, with delegated powers to regional offices for enumerated contraventions. Applicants must use prescribed formats, furnish specified undertakings and documents, and meet preconditions (no recent similar compounding, requisite external approvals obtained). RBI examines applications, may call for hearings and documents, applies indicative factors and a guidance matrix to compute amounts, issues a compounding order requiring timely payment, and provides no appeal against the order. (AI Summary)

Inter state supply principle: intermediary services to recipients abroad do not attract IGST when place of supply lies within the supplier's State.
Intermediary services supplied by a provider in India to a recipient outside India cannot be treated as inter-state supply under section 7(5)(c) because that residual entry presupposes supply in the taxable territory to a recipient in India; constitutional allocation of taxing powers (Articles 246A, 269A, 286) and the absence of a deeming fiction for exports support that reading. Treating such supplies as inter state would deprive States of concurrent power to levy SGST when place of supply is the State of the supplier and would be constitutionally objectionable; if not intra state under section 8(2) and not within section 7(5)(c), the transaction would fall outside GST levy. (AI Summary)

Place of supply rule change treats cross border transport as outside GST, altering tax incidence and ITC mechanics.
Amendments effective 1 February 2019 refine definitions, clarify that Schedule II only classifies activities as goods or services (without creating supply), expand Schedule III exclusions, and adjust invoice/time-of-supply rules. ITC rules are tightened: deemed receipt extended to services, blocked-credit categories recalibrated, and utilisation order prioritises IGST. New Section 43A establishes procedural ITC matching on a common portal and joint supplier/recipient liability where returns are not filed. Registration, composition thresholds, return periodicity and appeal pre deposit ceilings were also revised, while IGST amendments permit INR receipts for exported services and treat transportation to foreign destinations as place-of-supply outside India. (AI Summary)

GST advance rulings clarify tax treatment for concessional rates, agricultural classification, tolls, and solar power contracts.
Advance rulings clarify GST treatment on rate eligibility, classification and tax incidence: a research institution may qualify for a concessional notification but specific instruments may not; processed foodstuffs and spices are often outside the notified definition of agriculture produce while whole or minimally processed produce are within it; maintenance tolls for forest road use were treated as non-taxable but carriage charges for forest produce were taxable as services; and solar power contracts are taxed based on contract structure, distinguishing goods eligible for concessional goods rates from composite supplies and services, with time of supply governed by statutory provisions. (AI Summary)

Deposit under protest does not bar adjudication; show cause proceedings must be decided on merits after hearing.
Payment of disputed customs or export benefit demands under protest does not permit authorities to drop show cause proceedings; the authority must adjudicate after giving opportunity to be heard, consider substantive entitlement to reimbursements (such as CST reimbursements for export units), and base any closure on legal reasoning rather than mere receipt of payment. Failure to do so can lead to orders being quashed and refunds with interest directed. (AI Summary)

Anti profiteering: failure to pass on tax reductions or ITC benefits assessed by invoice comparison and base price analysis.
Section 171 requires passing reductions in tax rates and input tax credit benefits to recipients by commensurate price reduction. Allegations of profiteering fail where tax rates did not fall, where unchanged base prices yield lower final prices after rate reduction, where invoice comparisons show post GST base prices decreased reflecting increased ITC, or where reduced discounts derive from profit margin rather than taxable base. (AI Summary)

Anti profiteering obligations require businesses to pass GST benefits to consumers; authority issued mixed determinations across orders.
Anti profiteering under GST obligates businesses to pass on tax rate reductions and input tax credit benefits to consumers; the Central Government constituted Authority can investigate and impose penalties or direct monetary adjustments with interest where non compliance is found. In 2018 the Authority issued twenty eight orders arising from complaints, with a majority finding non establishment of profiteering and a subset upholding allegations where MRPs, base price increases, or failure to reflect ITC in pricing demonstrated non pass through. The orders repeatedly turned on pricing records, MRPs and evidentiary sufficiency. (AI Summary)

Reporting of outstanding dues to MSME required; companies must file Form I and submit regular half yearly returns.
Companies must file MSME Form I with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs to disclose all outstanding dues to micro, small or medium enterprises as of the notification date, with initial submission within the prescribed period after publication and continuing half yearly filings for April-September and October-March. Non compliance exposes the company and officers in default to penalties under the Companies Act. The article also records the statutory definitions for classifying enterprises by investment in plant, machinery or equipment to determine MSME status, including specified exclusions from investment calculations. (AI Summary)

Legal practitioner status supersedes prior sales tax practitioner registration, shifting disciplinary jurisdiction to the Bar Council.
Distinct professional identities exist between sales tax practitioners and legal practitioners under the Gujarat VAT regime. The statute permits representation by either category but allocates disciplinary competence: misconduct by legal practitioners falls within the jurisdiction of their professional disciplinary body, whereas the Commissioner may disqualify sales tax practitioners. Acquisition of advocate enrollment supersedes prior sales tax practitioner identity and places disciplinary oversight within the legal profession's authority. (AI Summary)

GST on used cars: margin-based valuation and concessional rates reduce tax liability for eligible dealers.
Registered dealers of second hand motor vehicles may apply a margin based valuation where taxable value equals sale price less purchase price if no input tax credit was claimed on acquisition; income tax depreciation affects the margin calculation where depreciation was claimed. Abatement notifications allowed qualifying dealers who purchased before a specified date and had not claimed prior indirect tax credits to pay GST on 65% of value, but later 2018 notifications modified or superseded those reliefs and altered GST and compensation cess treatment across vehicle categories. (AI Summary)

Registration under 12A and 80G ensures tax-exemption eligibility for charitable trusts; procedure and document requirements outlined.
Registration for tax-exempt status requires separate processes for 12A and 80G. 12A applies to charitable and religious trusts, societies and not-for-profit companies (excluding private/family trusts) and is obtained online with prescribed documents; the Commissioner may seek further information and must decide within the statutory period, with a deemed registration principle applying where no decision is communicated. 80G requires prior 12A registration, additional eligibility criteria, segregated accounting for business activities, submission of Form 10G with supporting documents, and is subject to Commissioner scrutiny and time-limited certificates. (AI Summary)

E-way bill compliance: handwriting a vehicle number where portal limits entry cannot alone justify seizure under GST enforcement.
Seizure and detention under GST enforcement are constrained where procedural requirements or portal limitations prevent compliance, for example handwriting a second vehicle number on an e-way bill is not a justified ground for seizure if IGST was charged and movement was legitimate; absence of a Transit Declaration Form cannot support seizure where no legal requirement existed on the date of movement. (AI Summary)

GST valuation: whether tax collected by a supplier as agent should be included in transaction value remains stayed pending adjudication.
The issue is whether amounts collected by a dealer under income tax collection at source rules form part of the GST transaction value. The dealer argues the collected sum is held as agent for the State and not part of the price of supply, while Revenue treats such amounts as includible under the value inclusion rule. The High Court identified a prima facie issue and stayed action on the Revenue clarification pending disposal of the writ petition, without prejudice to the department's rights if the petition is decided against the petitioner. (AI Summary)

Passing on tax-rate reduction: supplier liable for profiteering where lower GST not reflected in consumer prices.
The supplier failed to pass on the benefit of a GST rate reduction on chocolates by increasing base prices while maintaining pre-reduction MRPs, resulting in retained tax benefit and additional tax on higher bases. DGAP compared pre- and post-rate-change base prices, presumed sales where outward invoices were not produced, calculated unit and aggregate profiteering, and found the supplier liable to refund or deposit the profiteered amount with interest into the Consumer Welfare Fund. NAA affirmed the obligation to pass on tax-rate reductions irrespective of distributor arrangements and initiated recovery and penalty procedures. (AI Summary)

IGST rate amendments reclassify tariffs and revise exemptions, altering reverse charge and compliance obligations nationwide.
Amendments to IGST notifications effective early 2019 reclassify and insert tariff entries across rate schedules, revise explanatory valuation rules for mixed supplies, and alter product descriptions affecting rate eligibility. Complementary notifications establish conditional exemptions (notably for nominated agency gold supplies subject to export and documentary proof), create nil rated service entries for specific public and social services, revise service-rate classifications for financial and transport services, and refine reverse charge applicability by excluding certain government entities and adding specified supplier recipient reverse charge entries, while clarifying definitional scope for key terms. (AI Summary)

Mode of serving show cause notices: prescribed delivery methods must be exhausted; affixation is only a last resort and needs proof.
Statutory modes for serving show cause notices include personal delivery, authorised representative, registered/speed post or courier with acknowledgement, e mail, portal availability, or local newspaper publication; affixation is permitted only as a last resort. Affixation must be evidenced by particulars of time, date, place and manner. Where such proof is absent, service by affixation cannot be treated as effective and reliance on it in those circumstances violates the principles of natural justice. (AI Summary)

GST audit procedures: reconcile registrations, TRAN 1 transition entries, returns and input tax credits to books and portal filings.
A structured GST audit programme requiring preliminary verification of registration and portal status, transition reconciliation of June 2017 tax returns into TRAN 1 with supporting filings and departmental correspondence, exhaustive month by month reconciliation of GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B with books and GL balances classified by IGST, CGST and SGST, verification of input tax credit eligibility and GL coding, vendor compliance checks, and maintenance of statutory invoices, e way bills and organized audit working papers including TRAN 1 and monthly liability worksheets. (AI Summary)

Pure agent exclusion denied for toll reimbursements, so such charges form part of taxable value and attract GST.
The pure agent exclusion under the GST valuation rules applies only where the supplier acts as agent by contractual appointment, holds no title, does not use procured services for its own interest, and separately invoices amounts paid on the recipient's behalf. Toll and parking charges paid by a security services provider for its own vehicles failed this test because the supplier owned the vehicles, was the recipient of toll services enabling provision of its services, and lacked specific authorisation to act as the bank's pure agent; therefore those charges form part of the taxable value. (AI Summary)