Refund of Input Tax Credit allowed for specified textile goods after relief notification; capital goods and services treated differently.
Notification No. 20/2018 amended the earlier block so that refund of accumulated ITC due to inverted duty structure is allowed for eligible fabric goods from 01.08.2018; Circular No. 56/2018 clarifies that this relief applies to input goods only, while ITC on capital goods, input services and stock-in-trade as on 31.07.2018 may be carried forward. Reversals and calculation for blocked periods must follow Rule 89(5) and Form GST ITC-01, and refunds are subject to the statutory formula limiting refundable Net ITC attributable to inverted-rated supplies less tax payable thereon. (AI Summary)

Appeal procedure under FEMA: Special Director (Appeals) hears enforcement appeals, regulates procedure and enforces orders as civil decrees.
The document describes the appellate framework under FEMA where the Special Director (Appeals) hears appeals against orders of specified Adjudicating Authorities, is appointed and qualified by central notification, and is provided staff and prescribed terms. Appeals must follow prescribed formality, fee and filing in triplicate, comply with a strict time-limit subject to condonation for sufficient cause, and may be presented personally or through authorized representatives. The Special Director may regulate procedure, exercise civil-court powers for evidence and enforcement, render written orders with brief reasons, and transmit orders to civil courts for execution; appeals from its orders lie to the Appellate Tribunal. (AI Summary)

TDS under GST: deductors must withhold on specified contracts, creating new registration and reporting obligations.
The GST regime introduced TDS from 1 October 2018 obliging specified government bodies and PSUs to deduct tax at source on payments for taxable supplies where the total contract value exceeds the notified threshold. Deductors must obtain registration, withhold at the prescribed composite rate on payments made or credited, file the prescribed return reporting deductions, deposit amounts withheld, and issue a TDS certificate to suppliers. Significant open issues include transitional application to pre existing contracts, treatment of part payments, whether contract value or individual supply value triggers deduction, applicability to inter state and inter unit transactions, and treatment of supplies that are exempt by notification. (AI Summary)

Grounds of appeal must be provided to enable cross objections; missing grounds delay limitation for filing cross objections.
When a departmental appeal is filed, the registry must serve the respondent with the memo of appeal and the grounds of appeal; absence of grounds makes service incomplete. The respondent may file Cross Objections within the limitation period counted from service, to support favorable findings or seek additional relief. The respondent should promptly request missing grounds, record the date of receipt, and reflect that date in Form 36A and filings so as to preserve limitation rights and prepare submissions and paper books for hearing. (AI Summary)

GST liability on surplus profit: brand owner liable for tax on surplus transferred by contract brewer under residual service.
Where contract brewing units purchase and own raw materials, manufacture branded beer under the brand owner's specifications, sell the product and retain manufacturing costs and profit, such activity does not qualify as job work; the CBUs' retained profit is not a taxable service receipt. However, amounts remitted to the brand owner characterised as brand fee and residual surplus are treated as consideration for a residual service supplied to the brand owner and are subject to GST at the rate applicable to that residual service. (AI Summary)

Supply between related persons: corporate support service allocations may not be taxable if not in the course or furtherance of business.
The ruling treated corporate accounting, administration and IT services provided to related hospital units as supply under Entry 2 of Schedule I even absent consideration; the author argues these centralized support functions are not "in the course or furtherance of business" of the hospitals and, applying a multi factor business test, concludes internal cost allocations among profit centres do not constitute taxable supplies and therefore should not attract GST. (AI Summary)

GST exclusion for alcoholic liquor confirms manufacture and supply of potable liquor remain outside GST, preserving State taxation.
The article explains that production and bottling of alcoholic beverages for human consumption have been treated as processes amounting to manufacture, excluded from central service tax and, under the GST framework and constitutional definition, remain outside the ambit of GST, leaving levy and collection of taxes on such supply to State excise and related State taxes. (AI Summary)

Portfolio management fees deductible from capital gains when paid under contractual PMS arrangements following tribunal precedent.
The Tribunal held that gains from shares managed through PMS were taxable as capital gains and, following a coordinate Pune Tribunal decision which had attained finality on the issue of allowability, allowed deduction of Portfolio Management Services fees from short term capital gains. The Tribunal relied on the contractual nature of PMS services governed by SEBI regulations, the practice of retention and taxation of fees in the hands of portfolio managers, and treated the fees as diversion at source and contractual expenditure incurred in earning capital gains. (AI Summary)

TDS under GST: designated government entities must withhold and deposit tax at source on taxable in state supplies exceeding the threshold.
Section 51 creates an obligation for specified government and government-controlled entities to deduct CGST and SGST at source on taxable supplies where a single contract exceeds the notified threshold, provided the supplier is registered and the place of supply is within the concerned State/UT. Deductors must register for TDS, deduct on the taxable value excluding GST, deposit amounts within ten days after month-end, file GSTR-7 before return submission is accepted, furnish an electronic certificate to the deductee within five days of deposit, and face interest and late fees for non compliance. (AI Summary)

Use of departmental logo on tax audit reports is impermissible; website should stop adding government insignia to uploaded forms.
Use of the Income Tax Department logo on tax audit reports and other prescribed forms uploaded by taxpayers or Chartered Accountants is not permitted; its appearance on uploaded reports reflects a website or administrative defect, and the tax administration and site managers should remove the departmental logo from forms submitted by non authorised persons. (AI Summary)

Intermediary services for student recruitment are taxable in India; place of supply is the service provider's location.
Services by education agents who recruit students for foreign universities and receive commission tied to admissions are intermediary services; as representatives facilitating supply between foreign universities and students, their place of supply is the service provider's location in India and such services do not qualify as export of services under the IGST Act, making them taxable under GST. (AI Summary)

Presumptive taxation: audit applies when declared profit is below deemed profit and total income exceeds exemption.
Presumptive taxation deems profits at prescribed percentages of turnover or receipts and ordinarily relieves eligible taxpayers from maintaining books and audit. However, a non obstante clause makes the audit and bookkeeping obligation arise only when two conditions are met: the taxpayer declares profits below the basic deemed profit and the taxpayer's total income, computed under the Act, exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax. Individuals/HUFs use the basic exemption limit; firms face a zero threshold, so firms declaring profits below the deemed amount are typically subject to audit unless total income is nil or negative. (AI Summary)

Formal notice timing: extend hearing dates to align with administrative backlog and prevent harassment of taxpayers and professionals.
The article criticises short timeframes in the formal notice under section 143(2) for scrutiny selection, noting that fixed hearing dates set shortly after notice impose unnecessary pressure on taxpayers and professionals while actual hearings are delayed by administrative backlogs. It explains that hurried deadlines cause duplicate document submissions, adjournment burdens, and instances where notices are received after the scheduled hearing, and proposes aligning notice hearing dates with realistic scheduling and issuing intermediate procedural requests before fixing hearings. (AI Summary)

Tariff classification dispute: block joining mortar reclassified as a prepared chemical binder, altering applicable GST rate.
The Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling examined the powdered cementitious bonding compound's nature, use and commercial identity, found it to be non refractory and not used for surface finishing, and modified the earlier advance ruling to classify the product as a prepared chemical binder rather than a non refractory surfacing preparation or mastic, resulting in a change in the applicable GST rate under the notified schedule. (AI Summary)

Notary appointment and regulation framework: qualifications, functions, fees, register and disciplinary procedures clarified.
The document outlines the statutory framework for notaries: governments appoint qualified practitioners following application, local enquiry, interview board recommendation and government order issuing five year certificates with entry in a Register. Notarial functions include authenticating instruments, presenting and protesting negotiable instruments, preparing international mercantile documents, administering oaths, translating documents and acting as commissioner or ADR neutral. Rules prescribe seals, fee caps, register maintenance, annual returns, renewal and extension procedures, and disciplinary processes permitting cancellation, suspension or warnings after prescribed inquiry. (AI Summary)

Tax Collection at Source for electronic commerce operators requires collection from suppliers and monthly reporting and reconciliation obligations.
Section 52 places a Tax Collection at Source duty on Electronic Commerce Operators to collect TCS at the notified rate not exceeding one percent of the net value of taxable supplies made through their platform where consideration is collected by the operator; collections must be deposited monthly, bifurcated into tax components, reported in Form GSTR-8 within ten days, and are subject to a matching and reconciliation process with suppliers' returns, with penalties and compulsory registration applying for noncompliance. (AI Summary)

Arbitration Council of India established to regulate institutional arbitration and set standards for arbitrators and training.
The Bill establishes an Arbitration Council of India as a statutory body to promote arbitration and ADR, with a Delhi headquarters, specified composition including a judicial chairperson and practitioner, academic and government members, a CEO and Secretariat. The Council's functions include grading arbitral institutions, recognizing accreditation bodies, conducting training and examinations, maintaining an electronic depository of awards, and framing regulations in consultation with the Central Government. The Bill prescribes arbitrator qualifications and norms stressing impartiality, integrity, relevant professional experience and capacity to render reasoned awards. (AI Summary)

Seat of arbitration confers exclusive jurisdiction on the chosen courts even if no part of the cause of action arose there.
The seat of arbitration determines the law and courts that regulate arbitral proceedings; a party designated seat can operate as an exclusive jurisdiction clause, vesting the chosen courts with exclusive authority to supervise arbitration even if no part of the cause of action arose there. Section 20 distinguishes seat from venue, allowing tribunals to meet elsewhere without displacing the seat. A clear, unambiguous clause specifying the seat and exclusive jurisdiction ousts other courts and helps prevent forum shopping. (AI Summary)

In-house adjudication proposed to reclassify technical corporate offences, shifting specified compoundable breaches to Registrar-led e-adjudication.
The committee proposes an in-house adjudication and e-adjudication framework transferring specified procedural and technical breaches, including a subset of compoundable offences, from Special Courts to the Registrar of Companies as authorized adjudicating officer, with penalties administered via an online platform and e-publication of orders, while preserving Special Courts jurisdiction for serious and non-compoundable offences and maintaining cross-cutting fraud liability. (AI Summary)

Tax collected at source under GST requires e commerce operators to collect, remit promptly and report supplies made through them.
An e commerce operator, when collecting consideration on supplies made through it and not acting as an agent, must collect tax at source on the net value of taxable supplies, register compulsorily, remit collected tax within the prescribed period subject to interest on delay, and furnish monthly electronic statements of supplies; such statements are matched with suppliers' declarations, discrepancies communicated and unresolved amounts added to suppliers' output tax liability with interest, while noncompliance attracts penalties and enforcement notice-based obligations. (AI Summary)