Limitation period for remand-back assessments must follow the Supreme Court's extension when framing fresh assessments.
Assessing authorities must frame fresh remand-back assessments within the one-year period after a remand direction, and must apply the Supreme Court's extension of limitation periods to that one-year timeframe where applicable, ensuring departmental practice aligns with the extended limitation regime for judicial and quasi judicial proceedings.

Transitional credit filing directions clarify physical TRAN-1/TRAN-2 verification, correction, and GSTN transmission for glitch-affected taxpayers.
Direction for implementation of the High Court's order on late filing of TRAN-1/TRAN-2 by taxpayers affected by technical glitches. Jurisdictional Authorities must receive physical TRAN-1/TRAN-2, prepare a report under section 140 and Rule 117, allow a single correction opportunity where objections arise, and forward the verified papers to GSTN within the prescribed timelines. The mechanism is to be used only once, and filings made under it are not to be treated as time-barred.

GST registration suspension requires electronic notice, taxpayer response, and officer review before cancellation or restoration of registration status.
Suspension of GST registration applies where return comparisons or other analysis disclose significant discrepancies or anomalies indicating contraventions that may lead to cancellation. The taxpayer receives electronic intimation and must reply online within thirty days in FORM GST REG-18, explaining the discrepancies and evidencing compliance. After examining the reply or upon expiry of the response period, the proper officer may drop the proceedings in FORM GST REG-20 or cancel registration in FORM GST REG-19. Suspension may be revoked on a prima facie satisfactory reply while verification and recovery action continue.

GST liability on restaurant service now rests with e-commerce operators, who must pay tax in cash and issue invoices.
From 1 January 2022, GST on restaurant service supplied through an e-commerce operator is payable by the ECO in cash under section 9(5). ECOs paying this tax need not collect TCS or file GSTR-8 for those services, may not use ITC to discharge the cash liability, and must issue the invoice for such restaurant services. ECO liability covers supplies by unregistered restaurants, and restaurants must include ECO-mediated supplies in their aggregate turnover; ECOs should report and pay these taxes in GSTR-3B and the appropriate tables of GSTR-1 for the time being.

E-commerce operators liable to pay GST on restaurant service; TCS collection ceases for those supplies and ITC cannot be used.
E-commerce operators must pay GST in cash on Restaurant Service under section 9(5) supplied through their platforms from 1 January 2022; they need not collect TCS or file GSTR-8 for those restaurant services, but TCS continues for other supplies. ECOs already registered need not obtain separate registration; ECOs are liable even for services supplied by unregistered restaurants. The supplier must include such supplies in aggregate turnover, ECOs must issue invoices for restaurant services, and report them as outward taxable supplies in GSTR returns for the time being.

GST liability on restaurant services through e-commerce operators shifts tax payment to the operator, changing TCS and ITC treatment.
ECOs are liable to pay GST on restaurant service supplied through their platforms and will not collect TCS or file GSTR-8 for those services; TCS continues for other non-notified supplies. No separate registration is required for ECOs already registered. ECOs must pay GST on services supplied through them even if the supplier is unregistered, and such supplies count towards the supplier's aggregate turnover. The ECO issues the invoice for restaurant services, may continue to claim ITC on its inputs, but cannot use ITC to discharge GST on restaurant services and must pay that GST in cash. Reporting may be done in GSTR-3B and relevant GSTR-1 tables.

Input tax credit time bar: debit note date determines financial year for ITC eligibility; e invoice QR replaces physical invoice.
For ITC time bar purposes the date of issuance of a debit note determines the relevant financial year and the amended rule governs ITC availment on or after its effective date; production of an e invoice QR code with the embedded IRN electronically suffices instead of carrying a physical tax invoice during movement; and the refund restriction on unutilized ITC applies only to goods actually subject to export duty at the time of export, excluding goods with nil or exempted export duty.

Dynamic QR Code applicability clarified: invoices to foreign recipients with payment via RBI approved modes may omit QR codes.
Where an invoice is issued to a recipient located outside India for services whose place of supply is in India, and the payment is received by the supplier in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees where permitted by the RBI, such invoice may be issued without a Dynamic QR Code because the recipient located outside India cannot use the Dynamic QR Code for payment.

Merchant bankers must publish an Investor Charter and monthly complaints data on their websites for InvIT private placements.
Registered merchant bankers arranging private placements of units by InvITs must publish an Investor Charter on their websites detailing services, timelines, investor rights, application and allotment procedures, do's and don'ts, grievance redressal routes and investor responsibilities; and must disclose monthly investor complaint data in the prescribed Annexure format (by source, receipts, resolutions, pending items, average resolution time and trends), updated by the 7th of the succeeding month, effective January 1, 2022.

Margin collection timing updated: continuous use of risk parameter files and additional snapshot verification for extended trading hours.
The circular withdraws the prior 5:00 PM cut-off for determining client margin thresholds, directing clearing corporations to use Risk Parameter Files to generate margin obligations throughout trading hours. Clearing corporations must send additional snapshots-minimum two for contracts traded until later evening and minimum three for contracts traded into the night-with margins and end-of-day margins determined as per the relevant RPFs.

Assessment transfers to Central Charges for cases arising from search-and-inquiry action, ensuring centralised completion irrespective of impounded material.
All assessment proceedings (excluding international taxation) pending or initiated as a consequence of action under the search-and-inquiry provision, or where such action is conducted in ongoing assessments, shall be transferred to the Central Charges for jurisdictional control irrespective of presence or absence of impounded material, and Central Charges shall complete such assessments.

Exclusion from section 144B: cases arising from Section 133A actions removed from 144B's scope with immediate effect.
Cases where assessment proceedings are pending or initiated pursuant to action under Section 133A, or where action under Section 133A is conducted in ongoing assessment proceedings, are excluded from the purview of Section 144B of the Income-tax Act, by a CBITs order amending prior scope-specifying instructions; the order takes immediate effect.

MEIS schedule amendment adds HS code for solar cells and corrects description to harmonize export incentives.
The DGFT amended Appendix 3B, Table 2 of the MEIS to add HS code 85414012 for solar cells assembled in modules and to correct the description of HS code 85414011 to "Solar Cells, not assembled", harmonising the MEIS schedule with the amended ITC (HS) nomenclature and related notifications and fiscal changes.

Mandatory PAN KYC and Nomination: RTAs must not process service requests until documents provided; payments via electronic mode.
SEBI prescribes that RTAs phase the issuance of Form SH13/ISR3 and make it downloadable; follow specified signature verification steps including banker attestation and acceptable bank documents; accept driving licence in smart/book/digital form for name mismatches; permit self-attestation of hard-copy documents except in transmission cases; update folios from Client Master List or demat records per investor authorisation and accept e-sign; and suspend processing of service requests or complaints for physical holders until PAN, KYC and nomination details are furnished, with payments to be made only electronically. RTAs must obtain a practicing Company Secretary's compliance certificate within the prescribed period.

Court cases monitoring module streamlines tracking of appeals, revisions and writ petitions under the UPVAT and UPGST Acts.
An online Court Cases module is introduced on the departmental website to monitor appeals, revisions and writ petitions arising from orders passed under the UPVAT and UPGST Acts at the appellate authority, Tribunal, High Court and Supreme Court levels. Assessment and enforcement units are directed to make timely and accurate entries of all pending and future court matters so that disposal of appeals and recovery of demand can be effectively tracked.

Holding AGMs through VC or OAVM permitted for eligible companies; compliance requirements remain and statutory timelines unaffected.
Companies proposing to hold Annual General Meetings may conduct AGMs through Video Conference or Other Audio Visual Means if they meet the prescribed procedural and technical requirements in the earlier General Circular; this permission does not extend statutory time limits for holding AGMs and non-adherence to timelines remains liable to legal action under the Companies Act.

Intermediary services: facilitation between three parties qualifies while principal supply and subcontracting do not.
The circular clarifies that an Intermediary arranges or facilitates a main supply of goods, services or securities between two or more other persons and does not supply the main supply on his own account; classification requires a minimum of three parties, two distinct supplies (main and ancillary), and a facilitator role such as agent or broker, while principal-to-principal supply and subcontracting of the main supply are excluded from intermediary services.

Investor Charter requirement: investment advisers must publish charter, monthly complaint disclosures and complaint lodging links to enhance transparency.
Investment advisers must prominently publish the prescribed Investor Charter and provide a direct complaint lodging link and a link to SEBI SCORES on their websites/mobile apps; those without digital platforms must email the Charter and monthly complaint status to clients. Advisers must disclose monthly complaint data in the Annexure B format by the seventh day of the succeeding month, report pending counts including >3 months and average resolution time, and maintain an internal grievance resolution timeline of 30 days. The disclosure regime takes effect from January 1, 2022.

Investor transparency obligations require research analysts to publish charters and disclose monthly complaints online with direct complaint links.
SEBI requires registered Research Analysts to publish an Investor Charter on their websites/mobile apps or email it to clients if no digital presence exists, and to disclose monthly all investor complaints including SCORES complaints in the prescribed format by the seventh day of the succeeding month. RAs must display a direct complaint lodging option and link to the SCORES portal; those without digital platforms must provide monthly complaint status to investors via email.

Portfolio managers must publish an investor charter, disclose monthly complaint data by the 7th, and provide complaint links.
Portfolio managers must publish an Investor Charter on their websites detailing services, investor responsibilities, timelines, fees, account opening/termination procedures and grievance redressal, and must disclose monthly complaint data (including SCORES complaints) in the Annexure B format by the 7th of the succeeding month. They must provide website/mobile links for lodging complaints and links to SCORES, register on SCORES, include investor relations officer details and grievance mechanisms in the Disclosure Document, and adhere to specified operational timelines for onboarding, disclosures and complaint resolution.