Cancellation of a trust's registration under section 12AB(4) cannot rest on alleged conduct before 1 April 2022: the specified-violation regime operates prospectively and requires identification of the applicable statutory clause, a separate inquiry, and recorded satisfaction. Uncorroborated search material or retracted statements do not establish a specified violation where educational activities remain genuine and no registration condition is shown to have been breached. Alleged benefits to specified persons may result in denial of exemption or assessment-stage taxation under section 13(1)(c), but do not alone justify cancellation. Following centralisation under section 127, the Principal Commissioner (Central) may exercise cancellation jurisdiction. The registrations consequently remain effective.

Electronic material used for tax additions requires valid certification, reliable seizure and custody records, and independent corroboration; defective server data, unverified WhatsApp chats, and untested employee statements cannot alone support additions. Post-search assessments for prescribed years must follow the special reassessment procedure rather than ordinary scrutiny, rendering an assessment made only under section 143(3) invalid. Routine repairs, annual software licences, and business-use expenses remain revenue deductions, while software support spanning later periods must be apportioned. Short tax deduction does not trigger disallowance, but unexplained non-deduction may do so. Cash-payment restrictions apply per payee per day, not through aggregation across recipients, and deduction quantification supported by audit material remains sustainable absent a contrary basis.

Revision under Section 263 applies where an assessment accepts a claim without necessary inquiry or application of governing tax provisions, making it erroneous and prejudicial to the Revenue. Under cash-basis accounting, allotment of equity shares of ascertainable monetary value in satisfaction of accrued interest on conversion of zero-coupon debentures constitutes constructive receipt and is taxable as interest income. The capital-gains exclusion for debenture-to-share conversion does not exempt embedded interest income. TDS credit cannot be claimed while denying taxability of the corresponding interest, and taxed interest forms part of the shares' cost base to prevent double taxation on a later sale.

Under the India-Netherlands DTAA, an Indian permanent establishment of a foreign bank is not entitled to domestic-company tax rates merely under Article 24(2), because foreign-company taxation is not less favourable treatment. The Article 7 separate-entity approach treats cross-border interest between the permanent establishment and its head office or branches as attributable income and permits expense recognition only subject to withholding; failure to comply with tax deduction requirements causes disallowance. Automated teller machines may receive computer-rate depreciation where their data-processing functions meet the relevant asset classification. Vehicle lease rentals used for business remain revenue expenditure where the arrangement is hiring rather than acquisition; accounting treatment under AS 19 does not control tax deductibility.

For a Netherlands-incorporated foreign bank, the Indian permanent establishment is taxable at the foreign-company rate rather than the domestic-company rate because it does not meet domestic-company conditions and is not similarly situated to a domestic company for treaty non-discrimination purposes. Treaty separate-entity treatment recognises interest dealings between the Indian PE, head office and overseas branches for profit attribution. Outbound interest remains deductible only where domestic withholding requirements are met; failure to withhold triggers disallowance. Corresponding interest received by the Indian PE is taxable business income, and mutuality does not exclude it from taxable profits.

Rule 18(4) of the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules permits additional evidence through a separate paper book supported by an application explaining the reasons for its production. Records lost, damaged or soiled and subsequently retrieved may therefore be received and evaluated under that procedure. Evidence-based findings on additions, including Section 68 additions, remain factual where supported by confirmations, transaction details, accounts, banking records, certificates and related material. In the absence of perversity, a challenge requiring reappreciation of that material does not raise a substantial question of law.

Challenges to rectification proceedings, including objections that orders were issued in the name of a non-existent entity, should remain before the Tribunal when the assessment order and jurisdictional objections are already pending in appeal. Writ intervention at that stage may impede the Tribunal's independent adjudication. Where recovery notices are issued while appellate proceedings and applications for interim relief remain pending, the Assessing Officer or Tribunal should decide the interim application within six weeks. Coercive recovery must not proceed until that determination, preserving temporary protection while the appellate forum considers the validity challenge.

Section 270AA(2) penalty immunity requires an assessee to furnish the prescribed Form 68 declaration regarding non-filing of an appeal; it does not warrant a demand for documentary proof of that negative fact. A declaration may also confirm that any appeal filed will be withdrawn or treated as withdrawn. Rejection of an immunity application on the premise that no reply was filed is unsustainable where the reply was on record and available for consideration. The application requires objective reconsideration on the available material under the statutory framework.

Section 260-A confines appellate review to substantial questions of law and precludes reappreciation of evidence or replacement of concurrent factual findings. An assessee's status as a developer of an infrastructure facility for deduction under Section 80-IA(4), when supported by record material, cannot be reopened unless perversity, absence of evidence, or an erroneous legal test is shown. The deduction therefore remained undisturbed. Reliance on an earlier confirmed determination involving the same assessee, subject matter, and identical findings creates no appellate infirmity or substantial question of law. Concurrent factual findings accordingly continued to govern deduction eligibility.

Maintainability of a writ challenge to assessment additions requiring factual and evidentiary appraisal was addressed where a statutory appellate remedy was available. The Supreme Court found no reason to interfere with the High Court's decision and dismissed the special leave petition. The legal point concerns recourse to statutory appellate mechanisms for fact-intensive assessment disputes instead of writ jurisdiction.

Turmeric Extract / Curcuma Elixir marketed as a dietary supplement for wellness, immune support and nutrition, without a specific therapeutic claim, falls under Heading 2106 as a food preparation rather than Chapter 30 medicaments or Chapter 33 products. Classification follows common parlance, essential character and primary use; its water-based composition and absence of separated essential oil or cosmetic, perfumery or flavouring use support this treatment. The applicable GST rate was 18% before 22 September 2025 and 5% thereafter. MRP does not affect classification or GST rate under Heading 2106 because no express value-based rate condition applies.

GST exemption under Entry 69(e)(iii), effective 10 October 2024, applies to training supplied by a body accredited with an NCVET-recognised Awarding Body when it relates to an NSQF-aligned qualification supported by an NCVET-approved qualification package. The exemption covers the entire course fee attributable to the qualifying programme, because the accreditation arrangement imposes no fee cap. Amounts charged for services unrelated to the approved NSQF qualification remain taxable.

GST exemption applies to health insurance services supplied under MEDISEP Phase II for Clause A beneficiaries where the State Government is party to the insurance contract and pays the entire premium. As the person liable to pay consideration, the State Government is the recipient of the supply, while employees, pensioners and family members remain insured beneficiaries. The exemption for insurance services under a Government scheme does not require the Government to be the insured person or direct beneficiary, provided it bears the full premium in accordance with the contractual arrangement.

Student-enrolment services supplied by an Indian representative to overseas universities are intermediary services where the representative arranges or facilitates the university's educational supply to students, does not provide education on its own account, and earns enrolment-linked commission. This structure involves three parties and two supplies. Export treatment depends on the place of supply: until 29.03.2026, intermediary services are located at the Indian supplier's location and therefore do not meet export requirements; from 30.03.2026, the overseas recipient's location becomes the place of supply, allowing export treatment.

Section 129 penalty may be imposed where goods move under a second e-way bill generated on the same invoice after the original bill expires without a timely extension. Rule 138 requires an e-way bill before movement, while Rule 138(10) permits extension only within eight hours after expiry and does not authorise a later replacement bill. A materially altered invoice number, unsubstantiated vehicle-breakdown claims, unexplained route delay and change in loading location may support, on a preponderance of probabilities, an inference of fraud, deception and intent to evade tax. On those facts, the penalty was warranted.

Pre-deposit for a Tribunal appeal is not an independent tax liability. Where the first appellate authority reduces the tax remaining in dispute, the prescribed pre-deposit requirement must be assessed against that reduced disputed tax. If the amount deposited for the first appeal already equals or exceeds the applicable percentage of the surviving disputed tax, no further pre-deposit is required for the Tribunal appeal. Requiring an additional payment despite adequate prior deposit would mechanically duplicate the pre-deposit obligation and create an anomalous, unworkable result.

GST transport provisions do not require a transporter to declare or follow a specified route. Where goods carry valid documents, use of a longer route, explained by difficult terrain for a heavily loaded vehicle, does not alone establish an intention to evade tax. Detention and penalty under Section 129 require a statutory breach or material showing mala fide intent to evade tax; absence of evidence of an intended in-State destination or evasion makes route-based action unsustainable.

Service of a statutory show cause notice is mandatory before tax, interest, and penalty may be determined under Section 74. The notice must state the foundational facts, proposed demand, and allegations, enabling the taxpayer to make an effective representation. An electronic summary in FORM GST DRC-01 or DRC-02 must accompany, rather than replace, that notice; correspondence, summons, and an order in FORM GST DRC-07 are also insufficient substitutes. Where no statutory notice is served, the denial of audi alteram partem invalidates the demand proceedings and requires the first appellate order to be set aside.

Entry 27 of the GST exemption notification exempts services of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is represented by interest or discount; recovery of loan amounts may therefore qualify for exemption. A pure legal issue arising from a statutory exemption notification may be raised at any stage of adjudication. Application of the exemption to an amount said to have been recovered from a written-off housing loan account requires cogent documentary proof of both the write-off and the relevant recovery. Certified banker's-book entries are prima facie evidence, and necessary supporting documents may be required for determination.

Entry 27 exempts services of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is interest or discount, excluding interest involved in credit-card services. Entitlement to exemption for disputed turnover requires cogent, transaction-specific and State-specific evidence linking the amount to exempt interest and the relevant registration. Consolidated audit material, returns and unsupported Chartered Accountant certificates do not discharge that burden where they fail to correlate interest adjustments with identified borrower accounts. Withholding relevant available evidence permits an adverse inference. Qualifying interest is exempt in principle, but an unsubstantiated claim that turnover relates to another State fails.