Personal guarantor insolvency process: Resolution Professional must file a Section 99 report or petitions risk procedural dismissal.
The Resolution Professional must examine applications under Sections 94/95 within ten days of appointment, may request further information (to be furnished within seven days), and must submit a report under Section 99 recommending acceptance or rejection; the Adjudicating Authority then has fourteen days from that report to admit or reject the application. Applicants must serve a copy of their petition on the RP to enable the RP's examination and report; failure to serve the RP can prevent timely reporting, extend the interim moratorium unduly, and may justify procedural dismissal under the Adjudicating Authority's powers. (AI Summary)

GST statutory dues excluded from an approved insolvency resolution plan are extinguished and post-approval recovery is invalid.
A demand for statutory tax dues for periods before approval of an insolvency resolution plan that were not included in the approved plan is extinguished and post-approval recovery actions are without jurisdiction; the 2019 amendment to Section 31 IBC is declaratory and an approved plan binds all creditors, including government revenue authorities, who must participate in the CIRP to have claims admitted. (AI Summary)

Inoperative bank account: update KYC and complete verification to reactivate accounts and restore full banking services.
An inoperative account arises when no customer initiated transactions occur for two consecutive years, prompting banks to restrict debit services. Banks must notify customers before declaring dormancy, allow penalty free reactivation, complete reactivation after due diligence and KYC verification, and provide branch and digital reactivation options. Reactivation steps include submitting a request, updating PAN/Aadhaar/passport and address proof, identity verification (in person or video KYC), and restoration of full services, typically within two to seven working days. (AI Summary)

University affiliation and related statutory fees are not taxable under GST because they lack commercial supply and consideration.
Fee collections by statutory universities for affiliation, registration, convocation and related charges are statutory/regulatory and do not amount to a taxable supply or business under the CGST Act because they lack commercial intent and contractual consideration; CBIC circulars and GST demands attempting to tax these fees were quashed as beyond regulatory authority. (AI Summary)

Corporate guarantee GST valuation depends on recipient's full ITC eligibility and prior CBIC circulars clarifying Rule 28(2).
When a corporate guarantee is furnished without consideration to a related person who is eligible for full input tax credit, valuation under Rule 28(2) CGST Rules must be applied and binding CBIC circulars clarifying that such transactions can have nil value (where no invoice is issued and conditions are met) are material. Assessing officers must expressly consider these circulars and the proviso to Rule 28(2) that treats invoice value as open market value for recipients eligible for full ITC; failure to do so requires reconsideration. (AI Summary)

Recovery of shares from IEPF requires filing the official claim form, submitting entitlement and KYC documents, and verification.
Recovery of shares transferred to the IEPF preserves ownership and is executed via a statutory, document-driven claim process: identify the transfer, obtain an entitlement letter from the company/RTA, file the prescribed electronic claim form with account and identity details, prepare and submit required physical documents to the company's nodal officer for verification, and obtain IEPF Authority approval for credit of shares to the claimant's demat account and transfer of dividends to the claimant's bank account. (AI Summary)

Export of brown basmati rice governed by FTP conditions, not FSSAI standards unless FTP explicitly requires them.
Exports of rice are regulated by the Foreign Trade Policy and extend domestic Food Safety and Standards requirements to exports only where the FTP or related notifications expressly incorporate those standards; absent such incorporation, reliance on FSSAI parameters cannot by itself justify customs confiscation, duty demands, or penalties when the exporter meets FTP registration and schedule criteria. (AI Summary)

Goods and Services Tax: courts apply substance over form, strict taxing interpretation, and limited substantial compliance.
Substance over form requires courts to prioritise the economic substance and parties' intention over labels and to read contracts as a whole; the business efficacy test is subordinate and cannot override clear express terms. Tax statutes, however, require strict construction: substantial compliance excuses only non material failures and cannot cure breach of mandatory evidentiary conditions for exemptions. Legislatures can validate past action by retrospective law but must remove the legal basis of judicial invalidity rather than merely displacing court decisions. (AI Summary)

Tobacco and pan masala tax overhaul: RSP-based GST valuation, higher GST and revived excise from Feb 1, 2026.
From 1 February 2026 Rule 31D establishes RSP/MRP-based valuation for pan masala, most tobacco products and nicotine inhalation products (excluding bidis), requiring taxable value to be extracted from declared RSP; GST rates are restructured to 18% total for bidis and 40% total for pan masala and most other tobacco products, Compensation Cess is withdrawn, and central excise is reintroduced with a machine-capacity-based levy on pouched chewing tobacco/jarda/gutkha and substantially higher specific excise on cigarettes and cigars. (AI Summary)

Advance rulings bind only the applicant; separate GST registrations are treated as distinct persons and require independent adjudication.
Advance rulings under the GST Act are binding only in personam on the applicant and the concerned officer in respect of that applicant; a separately registered establishment is a distinct person and thus an advance ruling for one registration does not bind another. Adjudicating authorities must independently examine replies to show cause notices and apply their minds rather than relying on an advance ruling issued in respect of a different registrant. (AI Summary)

Cinema ticket pricing: GST rate cuts must be passed to consumers despite state price caps and separate maintenance charges.
The Tribunal concluded that Section 171's commensurate reduction obligation requires cinema exhibitors to pass GST rate cuts to consumers; state-fixed maximum fares do not excuse non compliance, maintenance charges form part of taxable value, quantified profiteering may be returned or deposited with interest under Rule 133, and interest provisions were treated prospectively based on express effective dates. (AI Summary)

Crypto asset reporting requires providers to collect user identity, tax residency, and transaction data for automated tax exchange.
Under the CARF, crypto-asset service providers must perform customer due diligence, capture identity details, tax residency, and full transaction histories including gains and losses, and report this standardized information to competent authorities for automatic exchange; UK rules require reporting 2026 activity by May 31, 2027, and impose fines, interest, account suspension, and enhanced penalties for inaccurate information or unpaid tax. (AI Summary)

Goods and Services Tax: final tax, interest and penalty cannot exceed amounts or grounds stated in the show cause notice.
Section 75(7) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 requires that the amount of tax, interest and penalty determined in an adjudication may not exceed the amounts or grounds specified in the show cause notice; final demands exceeding those specifications, or confirmation on grounds not stated in the notice, are inconsistent with that statutory constraint and implicate the need to provide a meaningful opportunity to respond and be heard before confirming any demand. (AI Summary)

Cash received under pre amendment property agreements may be protected by reasonable cause when fully disclosed and taxed.
The Tribunal treated cash receipts made pursuant to an agreement executed before the amendment as performance of a pre-existing contractual obligation; in view of full disclosure, timely tax payment and absence of concealment, it applied the reasonable cause exception and declined to impose a statutory penalty for the cash receipts, while stressing that penalty proceedings require assessment-stage recording of contravention and evaluation of bona fides before exercise of penal powers. (AI Summary)

GST portal notices placed in hidden tabs violate natural justice when taxpayers lack effective notice and a personal hearing.
Adjudication based solely on notices uploaded to the GST portal's "Additional Notices & Orders" tab without effective communication or opportunity to be heard violates natural justice. Mere portal publication is inadequate; authorities must provide actual notice-including e-mail/mobile-and schedule a personal hearing, and must consider taxpayer submissions before issuing orders. (AI Summary)

Forensic accounting: investigative accounting, data forensics, and legal evidence preparation to uncover deliberate financial misconduct.
Forensic accounting is a distinct investigative discipline that combines accounting, data analytics, digital forensics and legal literacy to detect and document deliberate financial misconduct for regulatory and legal use under laws such as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and the Indian Evidence Act. Career routes include specialised firms, banks, corporate risk units, government agencies and independent expert practice; essential skills include an investigative mindset, proficiency with analytics and digital tools, and clear communication. Entry is supported by audit experience and certifications such as the Certified Fraud Examiner and ICAI's forensic accounting certificate. (AI Summary)

Endorsement by SEZ authorised officer is not generally required from DTA suppliers for SEZ goods; limited service cases differ.
There is no GST statutory obligation on Domestic Tariff Area suppliers to obtain endorsement by a Special Economic Zone authorised officer; the forty five day endorsement requirement originates in SEZ Rules and applies to SEZ units/developers, not to DTA suppliers. Endorsement under GST is required only in the limited context of services to SEZ units for authorised operations made effective from October 2023, and endorsement is not required for goods or where input tax credit is adjusted against taxable supplies. Time limit exclusions for March 2020-February 2022 apply for computing statutory periods. (AI Summary)

Central Excise unnecessary appeals waste public resources; SC appeal filed despite CESTAT remand and valuation bar.
Revenue appealed to the Supreme Court under Section 35L in a valuation dispute after CESTAT set aside the impugned order and remanded the matter to the Commissioner for fresh decision. Section 35G bars valuation appeals to the High Court, explaining the route to the Supreme Court. The appeal included an 816 day condonation petition; the author contends that litigating a remanded matter was unnecessary, wasting public resources and legal manpower, and notes an apparent typographical error in the Supreme Court's reference to the High Court. (AI Summary)

Hotel accommodation GST rate reduction: hotels must pass the benefit to consumers; inflation and market forces defenses rejected.
The Tribunal found the hotel liable for profiteering by failing to pass the October 1, 2019 GST rate reduction on accommodation services, upheld DGAP's average base-price comparison methodology to quantify profiteering at Rs. 31,28,631, rejected market-force and COVID-related pricing defences as unsupported, and required deposit of the amount into the Consumer Welfare Fund with 18% annual interest from collection until realisation plus a compliance report. (AI Summary)

Homebuyers whose claims are verified and listed in CIRP cannot be treated as belated claimants under a resolution plan.
Admission and incorporation of a homebuyer's claim in the published list of financial creditors during CIRP constitutes formal legal recognition; such verified and admitted claims cannot be treated as belated or defaulting for the purpose of applying a resolution plan clause that limits remedies for late filers, and plan provisions penalising default apply only to those who failed to file or pursue claims. (AI Summary)