Place of supply for intermediary services now follows recipient location, making cross border intermediary supplies outside the GST net.
Omission of clause (b) of section 13(8) of the IGST Act shifts place of supply determination for intermediary services to section 13(2), i.e., the recipient's location. As a result, intermediary arranged supplies will be treated as exports when the recipient is outside India and the intermediary is in India, and will be taxable as imports when the recipient is in India. The definition of "intermediary" (broker, agent or facilitator not supplying on own account) governs the provision's scope. The amendment addresses prior disputes and will apply from a notified date after enactment. (AI Summary)

Going concern transfer exempt from GST; unutilised ITC transferable only where liabilities transfer and conditions met.
Transfer of a business as a going concern is exempt from GST if conditions are met, whereas asset-wise disposals are taxable as deemed supplies. Transfer of unutilised ITC on sale, merger, demerger or amalgamation is permitted only under Section 18(3) read with Rule 41 where liabilities are transferred; procedural compliance requires FORM GST ITC-02, a practising accountant's certificate and, for demergers, apportionment of ITC by asset-value ratio as on the appointed date. (AI Summary)

Judicial protection of bail prevents re-arrest after addition of offences without prior court permission, preserving liberty safeguards.
Once bail is granted, an accused cannot be re-arrested solely because additional or graver offences are added; the investigating agency must approach the court. If custody is necessary from newly discovered material, the prosecution must apply for cancellation of bail or seek judicial permission for custodial interrogation. Arrest first and justify later is not permissible, as judicial supervision is required before liberty already judicially protected can be curtailed. (AI Summary)

GST basic exemption thresholds should be raised to align with presumptive tax relief, easing compliance and reducing litigation.
Proposal to raise the basic exemption limit under GST for goods and services to higher thresholds, aligning presumptive GST treatment with income tax presumptive provisions, with the objectives of simplifying compliance, reducing registrations and routine enforcement, minimizing defective show cause practices and duplicate proceedings, decreasing appeals and litigation, and improving the quality of adjudication. The author requests the GST Council to consider implementation from 1 April 2027. (AI Summary)

Specified Premises classification forces higher GST on hotel restaurants based on prior room tariffs, raising equality concerns.
Notification ties Specified Premises classification to prior-year room-tariff performance so any hotel exceeding the threshold in the preceding year causes restaurant supplies within that hotel to attract a higher GST rate with input tax credit for the entire following fiscal year, a mechanism criticised as arbitrary, lacking nexus with the present supply, raising Article 14 and Article 19(1)(g) concerns, and prompting an interim stay by a High Court in October 2025. (AI Summary)

Provisional refund for inverted duty structure to be allowed, easing taxpayer liquidity and expediting export refund claims.
Proposed amendments expand provisional refunds to include cases arising from inverted duty structure by permitting revenue officers to grant advance portions of refund claims pending final verification, and exempt refunds of tax paid on exported goods from the existing monetary threshold so that such export refunds may be claimed irrespective of amount; the Bill also permits notification of existing authorities or tribunals to exercise functions of the National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling until that Authority is constituted. (AI Summary)

Graded sentencing for tax offences ensures proportional penalties tied to tax thresholds and conscious intent in prosecutions.
Amendments to Sections 480-485 and 494 recalibrate criminal liability by requiring conscious wilfulness or knowing falsity for prosecution and by introducing a graded sentencing regime tied to objective monetary thresholds for several offences, while preserving uniform penalties where appropriate, protecting procedural safeguards for special audit directions, and maintaining sanction requirements for prosecution of public servants who unlawfully disclose taxpayer information. (AI Summary)

Denial of Input Tax Credit despite bona fide purchase and documentary compliance upheld in departmental order without proving fraudulent intent.
Denial of Input Tax Credit was premised on supplier's subsequent registration cancellation and invoked enforcement provisions; however, the taxpayer had possession of valid tax invoices, receipt of goods, invoices reflected in auto populated GSTR 2 and had made timely payment to the supplier. The adjudicating officer confirmed demand, interest and penalty without establishing intent to evade or suppression of facts and did not apply CBIC instructions and judicial reasoning limiting disallowance to non bona fide, collusive or fraudulent transactions. (AI Summary)

Unsigned orders: notations implying digital-signature invalidity can void served notices unless properly rectified.
Remarks stating or implying a digital signature is invalid can render an order or notice unsigned and therefore ineffective; CPC communications and intimations determining tax must bear a valid signature, and a valid signature found elsewhere does not cure the absence of a proper signature on the document actually served, though revenue may seek rectification if a valid signature exists. (AI Summary)

Emission intensity targets mandate tradable carbon credit compliance, with market issuance, banking, and doubled penalty pricing for non compliance.
The Rules notify emission intensity targets for obligated entities and prescribe compliance obligations including meeting targets, following the Scheme procedures, registering in the carbon market, submitting documentation (with baseline deeming for non submission), and addressing shortfalls by surrendering banked credits or purchasing certificates. They set formulas for issuance and purchase based on the intensity shortfall or outperformance multiplied by units of output, permit banking of credits, designate the Bureau to issue certificates and determine average traded prices, and impose an environmental compensation calculated at twice the average traded price, subject to procedural safeguards and directed utilisation of collected funds for the Scheme. (AI Summary)

Belated LUT filings are curable; procedural delay should not automatically bar zero-rated refund claims when exports are genuine.
Belated furnishing of Letter of Undertaking does not automatically disentitle exporters to refund of unutilised input tax credit; where exports are genuine and undisputed, the procedural requirement of prior LUT is curable and authorities must consider CBIC circulars permitting condonation and ex post facto acceptance before rejecting refund claims. (AI Summary)

Post-sale discount rule change: credit notes and input tax credit reversal now enable exclusion from taxable value.
Amendments permit exclusion of post-supply discounts from taxable value where the supplier issues a credit note under section 34 and the recipient reverses attributable input tax credit, removing the earlier requirement that post-sale discounts be established by a pre-supply agreement linked to invoices; section 34 is correspondingly amended to allow credit notes for such discounts while other credit-note conditions remain applicable. (AI Summary)

Show cause notice under Section 74 unjustified when tax and interest are voluntarily paid; civil recovery principles apply.
Issuance of a show cause notice under Section 74 requires nonpayment or short payment by reason of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts; voluntary communication of liability and payment of tax with interest before any enforcement establishing fraudulent intent negates those ingredients, making the penalized Section 74 framework inapplicable and directing the matter to the civil recovery regime instead. (AI Summary)

Export restriction on pharmaceutical-grade sugar requires restricted licensing and documentary compliance and authorization before international shipment.
Pharmaceutical-grade sugar is treated as a pharmaceutical excipient produced to pharmacopoeial monographs under Good Manufacturing Practices, requiring batch-wise analytical testing and a Certificate of Analysis. Customs classification follows chemical identity and physical form within the sugars chapter, with final determination by customs based on product specifications and documentation. Exports are subject to a restricted licensing regime requiring prior authorisation, pharmaceutical credentials, valid drug manufacturing licence, compliant laboratory reports, and prescribed declarations, with allocation and penalties governed by trade policy notifications. (AI Summary)

Decriminalisation of tax offences introduces graded punishments tied to monetary thresholds and a safe harbour for timely remittance.
Sections 477-479 have been amended to replace rigid custodial sanctions with a graded punishment regime linked to monetary thresholds and to substitute rigorous imprisonment with simple imprisonment. Section 477 penalises failure to remit tax collected at source but provides a safe harbour for timely deposit within the prescribed statement-filing timeline. Section 478 addresses wilful attempts to evade tax or payment, with definitional clauses covering false entries and omissions and preservation of concurrent civil penalties. Section 479 targets wilful non-filing of returns, linking prosecution risk to the revenue impact while distinguishing bona fide errors from deliberate concealment. (AI Summary)

Geographical Indication exclusion: festivals cannot be GIs, but creative works and festival branding can obtain IP protection.
Under Indian law festivals are excluded from Geographical Indication protection because the GI Act confines protection to goods whose quality or reputation is essentially attributable to a specific territory. However, festival-associated elements-original songs, choreography, pandal designs, sculptures, promotional materials and audio visual recordings-may be protected by copyright, while event names, logos, taglines and merchandising can receive trademark protection when used commercially; UNESCO recognition provides preservation and cultural acknowledgement but creates no proprietary rights. (AI Summary)

Transfer of unutilised ITC: statutory transfer mechanism bars refund by a transferor after amalgamation.
The statutory scheme governing amalgamation requires transfer of the transferor's entire unutilised ITC to the transferee through FORM GST ITC-02; the scheme does not contemplate encashment of residual ITC by the transferor as an alternative, and once the amalgamation becomes effective the transferor ceases to exist as a separate legal person, precluding post-amalgamation refund claims by the transferor. (AI Summary)

Decriminalisation of tax offences shifts to proportionate sentencing, graded penalties, and safe harbour for timely deposit of deducted tax.
The Finance Bill, 2026, proposes decriminalisation and proportional sentencing reforms in tax prosecution: replacing many instances of rigorous imprisonment with simple imprisonment, introducing fines as alternatives or additions, capping maximum terms, grading punishments by the magnitude of withholding defaults, providing a safe harbour for timely deposit of deducted tax, and excluding certain wholly in kind digital transactions from criminal prosecution, while preserving offences that require fraudulent intent or involve tampering with evidence. (AI Summary)

Real Estate Regulation: reconsider RERA's role after finding it aids defaulting builders and fails homebuyer protection.
The Supreme Court questioned RERA's current institutional form, observing that the authority appears to benefit defaulting builders rather than protect homebuyers, and urged States to reassess who gains from RERA's functioning and revisit the original purpose of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 to ensure transparency, timely project delivery, and effective buyer protection. (AI Summary)

Final fact-finding authority: appellate remand under Section 75(2) requires proper officer re determination when fraud is absent.
The Tribunal declares itself the final fact-finding authority and explains that when fraud under Section 74 is not established, Section 75(2) mandates re-determination by the proper officer by treating the matter as if a Section 73 notice were issued; appellate authorities cannot themselves convert Section 74 proceedings into Section 73 assessments and must remand for fresh adjudication, with contextual consideration of early GST filing constraints and protection for honest taxpayers. (AI Summary)