Wildlife-smuggling enforcement at Trichy International Airport involved interception of two Indian passengers arriving from Bangkok via Colombo on specific intelligence. Examination of their baggage revealed 45 live reptiles, sedated and concealed in 27 food packets. Coordinated action resulted in seizure of the reptiles and arrest of the passengers under the Customs Act, 1962.

Registered concessionaires under Toll-Operate-Transfer concession agreements supplying operation and maintenance services must pay Union Territory tax on amounts charged or debited from the Escrow Account towards operation and maintenance expenses. Tax is payable in the tax period in which the relevant expenditure is charged or debited.

Registered Toll-Operate-Transfer concessionaires supplying operation and maintenance services to concessioning authorities must pay integrated tax on amounts charged or debited from the escrow account towards operation and maintenance expenses. Tax is payable in the tax period in which the relevant expenditure is charged or debited. The procedure applies where the concessionaire holds exclusive toll collection rights, must operate and maintain the road or highway, and pays an upfront concession fee.

Non-commercial construction and related services supplied to governmental nuclear-power organisations fell outside the invoked construction and maintenance service categories. A bona fide belief in non-taxability meant that non-registration and non-filing of returns, without evidence of intent to evade tax, did not establish suppression or permit the extended limitation period. Composite construction agreements required assessment as works contract service rather than under the construction and maintenance categories used in the demand. The service-tax demand, interest and penalties were set aside with consequential relief.

Registered concessionaires supplying operation and maintenance services under a Toll-Operate-Transfer concession agreement must pay central tax on amounts charged or debited from the Escrow Account towards operation and maintenance expenses. Tax becomes payable in the tax period in which the relevant expenditure is charged or debited. The arrangement applies where the concessionaire holds exclusive toll collection rights, operates and maintains the road or highway, and pays the concession fee upfront.

Union Territory GST treatment of intra-State delivery services supplied through electronic commerce operators is revised. Electronic commerce operators must pay tax on delivery services other than postal and courier services. This liability does not apply where the supplier providing services through the operator is liable for registration under the specified Union Territory GST and Central GST registration provisions. The revised treatment takes effect from 1 November 2026.

Inter-State supplies of delivery services, other than postal and courier services, made through an electronic commerce operator are subject to the operator's tax-payment liability. This liability does not apply where the supplier is liable for registration under the applicable inter-State supply and central tax registration provisions. The substituted treatment takes effect from 1 November 2026.

Electronic commerce operators must pay CGST on intra-State supplies of delivery services supplied through their platforms, excluding postal and courier services. Operator tax-payment liability does not apply where the supplier using the electronic commerce operator is liable for registration under the CGST registration provision. The revised treatment takes effect on 1 November 2026.

Union territory tax liability under the reverse charge mechanism for services is amended by substituting the figure "9" for "6" in column (3) against serial number 15 of the prescribed table. The revised table entry takes effect on 1 November 2026 and applies prospectively within the UTGST framework governing services subject to reverse charge.

Reverse-charge liability for integrated tax services is amended for the service entry at serial number 17. The figure in column (3) is substituted from "12" to "18". The revised entry takes effect from 1 November 2026 as part of the framework governing services on which integrated tax is payable under the reverse charge mechanism.

Reverse-charge tax liability for listed services under section 9(3) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is modified through a targeted change to the prescribed services table. Against serial number 15, column (3), the figure "6" is replaced by "9". The substitution takes effect on 1 November 2026 and updates the referenced entry for services on which tax is payable under reverse charge.

Union Territory GST service exemptions are amended to include specified helicopter seat-share transport, services of the Seamen's Provident Fund Organisation, governmental grants of toll collection rights, and coffee curing supplied to cultivators. Storage or warehousing treatment covers cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables and seeds intended for sowing. Goods transport agency services relating to goods supplied through an electronic commerce operator are excluded from the relevant exemption, and seed is broadly defined to include propagating and planting material.

GSTR-3B due dates for February to April 2020 remain unchanged, but delayed filing attracts concessional interest or nil interest only when returns are filed within prescribed cut-off dates. Late fee waiver for GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 is conditional on timely furnishing. Composition taxpayers receive extended timelines for CMP-08, GSTR-4, CMP-02 and ITC-03. Rule 36(4) input tax credit compliance applies cumulatively for February to August 2020 in the September GSTR-3B. Expired e-way bills and specified returns or statements receive limited extensions. Earlier GST guidance on secondary or post-sales discounts is withdrawn ab initio.

Clarifications concerning GST treatment of secondary or post-sales discounts are withdrawn ab initio under section 168(1) of the Jharkhand Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The withdrawal follows representations expressing apprehension about the implications of the earlier clarification and is intended to ensure uniform implementation of GST provisions across field formations. Suitable trade notices are requested to publicise the withdrawal.

Integrated GST service-exemption provisions exempt specified imports without consideration by Indian establishments of foreign shipping companies, helicopter seat-sharing services on designated routes, statutory provident fund services, grants of toll collection rights and coffee-curing services for cultivators. The goods transport agency entry does not apply where goods are supplied through an electronic commerce operator. Storage and warehousing coverage extends to cereals, pulses, fruits, vegetables and seeds meant for sowing, supported by an expanded definition of seed and a revised definition of goods transport agency.

With effect from 1 November 2026, GST service exemptions extend to helicopter seat-share travel connected with specified locations, storage or warehousing of specified agricultural produce and seeds meant for sowing, Seamen's Provident Fund Organisation services, governmental grants of toll collection rights, and coffee curing for cultivators. Goods transport agency services concerning goods supplied through an electronic commerce operator are excluded from the relevant entry. Goods transport agency and seed are also defined for exemption purposes.

Probate proceedings require independent judicial satisfaction that a Will is genuine; a legal heir's failure to file a written statement does not prevent a challenge based on suspicious circumstances or reduce the propounder's burden of proof. Compliance with execution and attestation requirements is insufficient where material doubts exist. The propounder must provide cogent, satisfactory proof that the testator freely executed the Will with understanding of its contents and effect. Unexplained exclusion of heirs, beneficiary participation, uncertain drafting or comprehension, and inconsistent witness evidence may prevent probate. Testamentary directions lacking definite terms may be void for uncertainty and cannot dispose of property outside the testator's estate.

Input tax credit conditions are revised for specified hotel accommodation, restaurant, railway food supply and outdoor catering services. Limited credit is retained for qualifying same-line business inputs, while credit on other goods and services remains unavailable; in specified hotel and outdoor-catering cases, same-line credit is capped at the tax paid or payable at 2.5%. Passenger transport and rental services using electrically operated vehicles, where battery charging is included in consideration, receive corresponding concessional-rate entries with restricted same-line credit. Delivery services through electronic commerce operators are also recast with a no-credit condition.

From 1 November 2026, IGST service-rate conditions permit limited input tax credit for specified same-line input services in hotel accommodation, restaurant, railway food and drink, and outdoor catering supplies. Credit for hotel accommodation and outdoor catering inputs is capped at the tax calculated at 5% where the supplier charges a higher rate. Passenger transport and rental services involving electrically operated vehicles may use a 5% rate subject to restricted credit conditions, with an alternative 18% rate. Specified electronic commerce delivery services are subject to a 5% rate and complete input tax credit restriction.

Credit on goods and services used to supply specified hotel accommodation, restaurant, rail catering, and outdoor-catering services cannot be taken, except for defined same-line business inputs or input services. Where an eligible same-line hotel-accommodation or outdoor-catering input service bears central tax above 2.5%, credit is capped at the tax payable at 2.5%. Transportation and rental services involving electrically operated vehicles, where battery-charging cost is included in consideration, receive 2.5% central-tax treatment subject to equivalent credit restrictions and limited same-line input service credit.