Import-export policy: check product HS code on trade portals to determine free, restricted, or prohibited status and licence needs.
Guidance instructs querying the product HS Code on designated portals, selecting import or export, choosing the matching product description and trading partner country, and reviewing the policy label. If labelled Free, only an IEC is needed; if Restricted, specified licences or certifications are required; if Prohibited, trade is not permitted. Two online sources are identified for verification and further assistance is suggested. (AI Summary)

Slump sale as going concern treated as supply of service and exempt; transferee entitled to transferred ITC.
Slump sale of a business unit as a going concern is a supply of service and qualifies for full GST exemption under the notification for transfer of a going concern. The supplier must issue a bill of supply; the transferee cannot claim ITC on the exempt supply but may receive transfer of the transferor's unutilised input tax credit through the prescribed electronic procedure with certification and acceptance. Valuation between related parties ordinarily excludes Rule 28; if Rule 30 is inapplicable, Rule 31 permits using reasonable means, and the agreed net consideration will generally constitute the transaction value. (AI Summary)

Reverse charge liability applies to recipients who are registered when supply comes from unregistered suppliers, not to unregistered recipients.
Section 9 and related provisions make the recipient liable to pay tax on reverse charge where notified categories apply or where a registered recipient receives taxable supplies from an unregistered supplier, and section 24(iii) requires compulsory registration for persons obliged to pay tax under reverse charge regardless of turnover; conversely, where both supplier and recipient are unregistered and supplies are exempt, reverse charge and compulsory registration do not apply. (AI Summary)

Advance ruling certainty in GST clarifies SEZ hotel supply, going concern sale, EPC contracts, and interest exemption.
Advance rulings are a prescribed mechanism to determine questions of law or fact on GST liability for proposed transactions, designed to provide certainty and reduce litigation. Recent AAR decisions: hotel and restaurant services to SEZs are not zero rated unless part of authorized operations and consumed in SEZ; sale of a going concern requires transfer of a running business and is not taxable; EPC turnkey contracts combine supply of goods and services; interest on loans may be exempt under the applicable notification. (AI Summary)

Anti-profiteering scrutiny under GST applied to works-contract valuation and transitional tax treatment of pre-GST supplies.
Allegations of undue anti-profiteering in supply and installation of lifts were assessed by applying works-contract valuation rules and point-of-taxation principles. The supplier dispatched material pre-GST and completed installation post-GST; invoices issued after GST commencement were evaluated against transitional provisions that exclude tax for supplies on which tax was leviable under the previous regime and against the rule that advances determine point of taxation for services. The investigative report of the DGSG was accepted and no contravention of the anti-profiteering provision was established. (AI Summary)

Sea cargo manifest obligations require electronic submission and carrier duties, with registration, suspension, revocation and appeal mechanisms.
These regulations create an electronic regime for sea cargo manifests and transshipment: authorized carriers must register with the Commissioner, submit specified arrival and departure manifests electronically where feasible, and may amend manifests if non fraudulent errors exist. Specific cargo requires separate declaration; transshipment is permitted subject to manifesting, approved transport modes, bonds or guarantees, and sealing requirements for land routes. Carriers must maintain records, provide track and trace, ensure custody and delivery, and publish charges. Commissioners may suspend or revoke registrations after prescribed notice and inquiry; contraventions attract penalty and appeal rights. (AI Summary)

Resolution applicant eligibility limits participation under insolvency law; disqualification categories, connected persons, and financial entity exceptions govern proposals.
The regime defines a resolution applicant as a person who submits a resolution plan following an invitation; the resolution professional must prepare an information memorandum, provide access to relevant information, and ensure applicants comply with confidentiality and intellectual property obligations and submit an eligibility affidavit. Sectional ineligibility rules bar applicants for reasons including insolvency, wilful default, certain nonperforming account classifications unless remedied, specific criminal convictions, director disqualification, SEBI prohibitions, prior culpable transactions found by the adjudicating authority, invoked unpaid guarantees, foreign disabilities, or a connected person's ineligibility, with specified exceptions for financial entities. Approved plans require committee endorsement and adjudicating authority confirmation and entail statutory approvals for implementation. (AI Summary)

GST treatment of free supplies depends on whether the supplier benefits-only supplier borne or amortised costs form taxable value.
Whether materials provided free by a customer constitute consideration for GST valuation hinges on whether the supplier benefits or contracts to procure those materials. If the supplier neither retains nor amortises the free inputs and did not incur their cost, those supplies do not constitute consideration and need not be included in the supplier's taxable value. Conversely, where the contract contemplated the supplier bearing the cost or amortising inputs but the customer supplied them instead, the amortised cost may be includible and attract tax and potential input tax credit reversal. (AI Summary)

GST classification and taxability clarified in recent rulings affecting tenders, works contracts, classification and education services.
GST implementation has provoked litigation and AAR guidance clarifying classification, rate application and composite-supply characterisation. Courts upheld adjusting tender evaluations to account for GST inclusion. An AAR found FDG classifiable under chemical tariff headings rather than pharmaceutical chapters. Other AARs ruled that solar power plant EPC-style contracts are works contracts subject to standard GST entries and rates; generation of electricity from supplied coal amounts to manufacture and is a supply of goods; and private coaching for competitive exams does not qualify for educational exemption and is taxable. (AI Summary)

GST Practitioner registration and authorization govern who may file returns and act for taxpayers upon portal consent.
Registration of a Goods and Services Tax Practitioner requires meeting prescribed eligibility criteria, obtaining enrolment via the common portal and an enrolment certificate issued by an authorised officer. Practitioners may furnish returns and related filings, file refunds and registration amendments, and act on behalf of registered persons only when authorised on the portal. Enrollment validity and continued practice are conditional on passing prescribed examinations and adhering to professional duties; misconduct may prompt show cause proceedings and disqualification, while the registered person remains responsible for correctness of submissions. (AI Summary)

Place of supply rules determine IGST or CGST and SGST for immovable property services: inter state supplies draw IGST, local supplies CGST and SGST.
Place of supply for services connected to immovable property is the location of that property; such services (including banquet and accommodation related services and ancillary services) supplied where the property is located attract CGST and SGST if within the same State. If supplied for a property in another State, the place of supply is that property's location and the supply is inter state, attracting IGST. Where IGST is wrongly charged for an in State immovable service, the supplier should issue a credit note for IGST and a debit note to recover CGST and SGST. (AI Summary)

Leasing of a liquor manufacturing license is not immovable property, affecting indirect tax treatment and contract design.
The central legal point is that a liquor manufacturing license, as a personal grant that can exist independently of a specific manufactory site, is not itself immovable property; accordingly, leasing the license should not automatically be treated as renting of immovable property service for indirect tax purposes. To manage tax risk and avoid composite supply outcomes under GST, parties are advised to use distinct agreements and may design license leasing to resemble an IPR service where appropriate. (AI Summary)

E-way Bill applicability requires portal-based consignment data and vehicle details to enable lawful goods movement and verification.
E-way Bills are transport-monitoring documents separate from GST tax documents. Under Section 68 and Chapter XVI of the CGST Rules, registered persons causing movement must furnish Part A of Form GST EWB-01 (transaction and consignment data) on the common portal; a unique number is generated and, upon furnishing Part B (vehicle/conveyance details), an e-way bill and EBN are generated. Transporters may generate consolidated e-way bills for multiple consignments. Specific exemptions, short-distance Part B exemptions, cancellation rules, validity tied to distance, and alternative invoice reference number procedures are provided. (AI Summary)

Electronic record authentication under GST requires digital signature, retention of records, and disclosure on demand.
Maintenance and preservation of books, documents and electronic records under GST requires broad coverage of written and electronic material, digital authentication of electronic records with edit logs and backups, production on demand in readable form, and maintenance of specified accounts at registered places of business covering manufacture, supplies, stock, tax details, reverse charge transactions and related supplier/recipient particulars. (AI Summary)

Moratorium on essential supplies: electricity disconnection barred during insolvency moratorium; supplier must claim as operational creditor.
The Code's moratorium on commencement or continuation of proceedings and enforcement actions includes protection for continued supply of specified essential goods and services, including electricity where not a direct input, to allow the resolution professional to preserve the corporate debtor as a going concern. During the moratorium electricity distributors may not disconnect supply for nonpayment; they must instead assert claims as operational creditors and recover dues through the insolvency resolution process in accordance with the Code's priorities. (AI Summary)

Input tax credit restrictions clarified: blocked categories defined and special monthly option set for banking and financial entities.
Section 17 prescribes that ITC is restricted to the portion attributable to business use or to taxable supplies (including zero-rated), with Rule 42 governing apportionment; banks and financial institutions may elect a monthly fifty percent claim mechanism subject to conditions. A statutory negative list blocks ITC for specified categories-notably motor vehicles and conveyances except when used for further taxable supply, passenger or goods transport, or training-and for hospitality services, club memberships, certain insurance and rent-a-cab services (with limited exceptions), works contracts and construction for own account, composition and most non-resident supplies, personal consumption, and losses or gifts, with prescribed reversal and capitalization rules. (AI Summary)

Goods and Services Tax interpretation uncertainty spurs rising litigation and administrative adjustments affecting compliance and procedural remedies.
GST implementation has produced interpretational uncertainty prompting litigation and administrative responses focused on classification of composite supplies, procedural compliance for revised returns and interest, and functioning of statutory mechanisms such as the Authority for Advance Rulings and electronic filing portals. Courts and administrative agencies have addressed the applicability of legal metrology rules to hotel and restaurant services, timelines for decision on revised returns, staged payment of interest liabilities, detention due to unavailable transport declaration forms, and interim manual filing procedures pending portal functionality. (AI Summary)

GST compliance relief: administrative clarifications and procedural measures urged to ease filing, refunds, rulings and e way implementation.
The document urges administrative remedies for GST implementation: extend the TRAN 1 filing opportunity; expedite export refunds; begin matching/reconciliation promptly; centralise penalty, interest and debit computations in the GSTN; extend the composition scheme to services and inter state supplies; establish a review mechanism and faster timelines for Advance Ruling decisions on contested taxable events; allow input tax credit on motor vehicles used in business; provide an option-based rate for certain hotel restaurants to preserve ITC; exclude tenancy premium from leasing consideration; reconsider rates for coaching, medical implants and tourism; and implement the e way bill system with training, initial non enforcement of penalties and limited exemptions for small local transport. (AI Summary)

Customs audit authority may inspect importers' or exporters' records and premises with notice and professional assistance permitted.
The Regulations provide a framework for post clearance customs audit: defining audit, auditee and premises; requiring risk based selection; allowing audits at officer's office or auditee premises with advance notice; mandating preservation and timely production of records including electronic records; permitting inspection of goods, sampling and engagement of professional experts with approval; obliging officers to inform auditees of objections before report finalisation and to communicate outcomes when documents or samples were requested; and prescribing a monetary penalty for contravention or failure to comply. (AI Summary)

Input Tax Credit on job work admissible to principal subject to compliance, documentation, return filing and deemed supply rules.
Input Tax Credit on inputs and capital goods sent to a job worker is admissible to the registered principal provided statutory conditions are met: goods are treated as received if sent directly to the job-worker on the principal's behalf; inputs not returned within one year and capital goods not returned within three years result in deemed supply by the principal; movements require a delivery challan with prescribed particulars; quarterly details must be filed in FORM GST ITC-04; deemed supplies must be declared in GSTR-1 with tax and interest payable. (AI Summary)