Input tax credit availability on ducts and manholes upheld; ITC not blocked for OFC network infrastructure.
Input tax credit on ducts and manholes used in optical fiber cable networks is not barred under the exclusions in section 17(5) because such ducts and manholes fall within the Explanation's concept of "plant and machinery" used for making outward supply of telecommunication services and are not excluded as land, buildings, civil structures, telecommunication towers or pipelines laid outside factory premises.

Related party loan supply: interest-only consideration is exempt, but separate processing fees attract GST as taxable services.
Loans or advances between related persons are treated as a supply under GST, but services of extending loans where consideration is only interest or discount are exempt. Fees other than interest-such as processing, administrative or service charges-constitute taxable consideration for loan processing/administration services and attract GST; where no such fees are charged between related parties, those facilitation services will not be treated as taxable supplies nor valued at open market value for GST.

Input tax credit entitlement clarified for insurers reimbursing vehicle repair costs; ITC available to approved extent of liability.
ITC is available to insurance companies for motor vehicle repair services in reimbursement claim settlements where garages issue invoices in the insurer's name and the insurer bears the approved repair liability; insurer is treated as the recipient for the approved amount and may claim credit. If excess amounts are separately invoiced to the insured, insurer may claim ITC on its invoice subject to reimbursement to the insured; where a single full invoice is issued to insurer, ITC is limited to the approved reimbursed amount. Invoices not in insurer's name do not permit ITC.

GST treatment of extended warranty clarified: separate warranty supplies are taxable as services and goods replacement follows ITC rules.
Clarifies that prior guidance on replacement of parts under warranty applies equally to replacement of goods as such; distributor replacements from its own stock replenished by the manufacturer via delivery challan without consideration attract no GST and require no ITC reversal; and extended warranty supplied by a different person or sold after original supply is to be treated as a supply of services distinct from the supply of goods, with simultaneous sale by the same supplier forming part of a composite supply.

GST liability on salvage value: insurers not liable when salvage remains with insured; liable when insurer acquires and disposes salvage.
Where an insurance contract deducts salvage/wreck value from the claim, the salvage remains the insured's property and that deduction is not consideration for a supply by the insurer, so the insurer has no GST liability on the earmarked salvage. Conversely, if the insurer settles the full insured amount without deducting salvage, ownership of the salvage vests in the insurer and any subsequent disposal by the insurer is a taxable supply subject to GST.

Input tax credit reversal not required for premium portions excluded from taxable value under life insurance valuation rules.
The portion of life insurance premium excluded from taxable value by the valuation methodology for life insurance is not to be treated as an exempt or non taxable supply; accordingly, no reversal of input tax credit is required under the GST rules applicable to reversal where inputs are attributable to exempt or non taxable supplies.

Import of services: additional facilitation fees for ESOP/RSU issuance attract GST payable by the domestic subsidiary on reverse charge.
Securities, including shares issued as ESOP/ESPP/RSU, are neither goods nor services under the WBGST Act and ESOP/ESPP/RSU granted as remuneration fall under Schedule III exclusion; reimbursement by the domestic subsidiary to the foreign holding company on a cost-to-cost basis does not amount to import of services and is not subject to GST. Where the foreign holding company charges any additional fee, markup or commission over cost, that excess is consideration for facilitation services and is taxable as an imported service, with GST payable by the domestic subsidiary on reverse charge basis.

Reversal of Input Tax Credit requires supplier proof via CA/CMA certificate or recipient undertaking until portal verification exists.
Suppliers issuing tax credit notes for post-supply discounts may exclude the discount from taxable value only if pre-agreed and linked to invoices and the recipient has proportionately reversed the attributable Input Tax Credit; lacking portal verification, suppliers must obtain a recipient-issued certificate certified by a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant (or, below the small-amount threshold, an undertaking from the recipient) specifying credit note and invoice details, amounts of ITC reversal and documentary references, with UDIN for verification, as admissible evidence for compliance.

Input tax credit timing: ITC period tied to invoice issuance year for RCM supplies from unregistered suppliers.
Where a registered recipient must self-issue an invoice under Section 31(3)(f) and pay tax under reverse charge, the relevant financial year for the time limit under Section 16(4) for availing input tax credit is the financial year in which the recipient-issued invoice pertains; ITC is subject to payment of tax and other conditions of sections 16 and 17, and delayed issuance/payment attracts interest and potential penalties.

Invoice value governs valuation of imported related-party services where recipient is eligible for full input tax credit.
Where a registered person in India imports services from a related person outside India and the recipient is eligible for full input tax credit, the value declared in the recipient's invoice shall be deemed to be the open market value of those services; if no invoice value is declared, the recipient may deem the value as nil and that deemed value may be treated as the open market value. Tax on such imports is payable by the recipient under reverse charge and the recipient must issue a self-invoice.

Place of supply to unregistered persons is the delivery address on the invoice; suppliers may record delivery address for GST.
Clause (ca) of Section 10(1) IGST Act makes the place of supply to an unregistered person the address of that person as recorded in the invoice, or the supplier's location where no recipient address is recorded; recording the recipient's State on the invoice suffices. Where billing and delivery addresses differ, including in e-commerce supplies, the place of supply is the delivery address shown on the invoice, and suppliers may record the delivery address as the recipient's address for determining place of supply.

Special procedure compliance for manufacturers requires machine identification, electricity consumption certification, and clarified applicability rules.
Manufacturers must complete Form GST SRM filings with machine details: make and model optional, year of purchase may substitute for make, machine number mandatory and may be assigned by the manufacturer if absent. Electricity consumption must be declared from records or certified per hour by a Practicing Chartered Engineer in Form GST SRM-III and uploaded with Form GST SRM-I. Report sale price where packages have no MRP. The procedure excludes SEZ units and manual packing; it applies to job workers, with the principal manufacturer liable if the job worker is unregistered.

Monetary limits for government appeals set; appeals below prescribed thresholds generally not filed, with defined exclusions.
Fixes monetary limits below which State tax officers shall not file appeals or Special Leave Petitions in revenue matters, prescribes principles for computing the amount involved (including aggregation across tax, interest, penalty, late fee and refunds and for composite orders), and sets exclusions where appeals must be decided on merits irrespective of amount, while requiring recording that non-filing is due to the monetary limit and that non-filing shall not create precedent or imply departmental acquiescence.

Exposure cap for sponsor group securities: passive ETFs and index funds follow index weight, subject to cap and rebalancing rules.
Equity oriented ETFs and Index Funds tracking widely tracked, non bespoke indices may invest in group company securities in accordance with index weight subject to an overall exposure cap. Eligible indices are determined by an AUM threshold and listed semi annually by AMFI after approval. Passive schemes tracking indices outside the eligible list must rebalance within the prescribed timeframe; the AMC's Investment Committee may extend that period for limited time upon written justification. Failure to rebalance within mandated timelines bars new scheme launches and prohibits levy of exit load on exiting investors until compliance.

Time of supply for spectrum allocation under GST clarified for upfront and deferred payments in continuous supply arrangements.
Clarification on the time of supply for spectrum allocation services under GST treats the Government as the supplier and the telecom operator as the recipient liable on reverse charge. Where spectrum usage is provided as a continuous supply of services with instalment payments, GST is payable on the earlier of payment or due date, and the Frequency Assignment Letter is not treated as a substitute invoice document for the sixty-day rule. The same approach is stated to apply to similar government allocations of natural resources over time.

Time of supply in HAM highway contracts follows continuous supply rules, with annuity interest included in taxable value.
Time of supply under Hybrid Annuity Mode highway contracts is determined by treating construction and operation and maintenance as a single continuous supply of services. The contract cannot be split into separate construction and maintenance supplies based on staggered payments. If invoices are issued on or before the contractual due date or event completion date, the time of supply is the date of invoice or receipt of payment, whichever is earlier; otherwise, it is the date of provision of service or receipt of payment, whichever is earlier. Any interest component in the annuity is included in taxable value.

Custodial services place of supply for Foreign Portfolio Investors falls under the default IGST rule, not account-holder treatment.
Custodial services provided by banks or financial institutions to Foreign Portfolio Investors are not treated as services supplied to an account holder under section 13(8)(a) of the IGST Act. Such services, which include safekeeping of securities, maintenance of securities accounts, collection of benefits or rights, communication of issuer actions, and record maintenance, must therefore have their place of supply determined under the default rule in section 13(2) of the IGST Act.

Input tax credit on optical fiber cable ducts and manholes is clarified as available under plant and machinery rules.
Input tax credit on ducts and manholes used in an optical fiber cable network is clarified to be available under the Assam GST Act, 2017. Such ducts and manholes are treated as part of plant and machinery because they function as network components used for outward supply of telecommunication signals and for laying, upkeep, and maintenance of optical fiber cables. As they are not covered by the exclusions in the statutory explanation, credit is not restricted under section 17(5).

GST on related-party loans depends on whether only interest applies or any processing fee is separately charged.
Loans, credit, or advances between related persons may be treated as supply under the deeming provisions in Schedule I, but the portion represented by interest or discount is exempt. Where no processing fee, administrative charge, service fee, or loan-granting charge is levied and consideration is confined to interest or discount, the transaction is not to be treated as a separate taxable supply of processing, facilitation, or administration services, and GST is not to be levied by resort to open market value. Any additional fee of that nature over and above interest or discount is taxable.

Input tax credit on motor vehicle repair claims in reimbursement mode is limited to the approved claim amount and invoice conditions.
Input tax credit is clarified for insurance companies in reimbursement mode of motor vehicle repair claims. The insurer is treated as the recipient of repair services to the extent of the approved claim cost reimbursed to the insured, and ITC is available where the invoice is issued in the insurer's name. If the repair invoice exceeds the approved claim amount, credit is limited to the approved reimbursed portion. No ITC is available where the invoice is not in the insurer's name.