Section 271AAB search-penalty liability depends on income qualifying as undisclosed income and on clear communication of the precise statutory charge. A residual cash addition based on judicial estimation and attributed to agricultural income or household savings, without seized material or an admission establishing undisclosed income, does not meet the statutory condition for search penalty. Show-cause notices and penalty orders must identify the applicable clause or limb of section 271AAB; omission of the charge prevents the assessee from responding effectively and infringes principles of natural justice.

Penalty proceedings under section 271AAB require the notice to state the precise charge and applicable statutory limb. Failure to specify the limb deprives the assessee of a meaningful opportunity to answer the particular allegation and constitutes a fatal defect in initiating the penalty. Applying coordinate-bench reasoning, the section 271AAB penalty was unsustainable and deleted.

Interference with dismissal of a miscellaneous application for non-appearance was not warranted prima facie because the assessee did not provide a proper explanation for its absence. The appellant could seek restoration of the application before the Tribunal within the stipulated period. The substantial questions of law remained unadjudicated and were left open.

Reassessment proceedings for Assessment Year 2021-22, initiated on allegations that excessive insurance commission had been routed through facilitators, were stayed pending the next hearing. The available material did not prima facie identify the petitioner as a facilitator or disclose information indicating that its income had escaped assessment. The interim relief prevented further reassessment action pending consideration of the notice's factual basis.

Section 16(5), retrospectively effective from 1 July 2017, permits input tax credit on invoices or debit notes for financial years 2017-18 through 2020-21 where the relevant return was filed by 30 November 2021. The provision operates notwithstanding the general time restriction under Section 16(4). Input tax credit disputes falling within this period require examination under the amended deadline, with taxpayers afforded a sufficient opportunity of hearing in accordance with principles of natural justice before further action.

GST registration cancelled for continuous non-filing of returns may be restored despite expiry of the statutory appeal limitation where outstanding statutory dues are paid. Although cancellation is permitted for continued return defaults and the appellate remedy had become time-barred, interference was granted because comparable circumstances supported restoration and the parties agreed. The cancellation was set aside, requiring revocation and restoration of registration upon payment of outstanding dues.

Section 73(9) adjudication must comply with principles of natural justice by providing a reasonable and effective opportunity to answer a proposed demand. Fixing the deadline for a reply and the personal-hearing date on the same day denies that opportunity, preventing the affected person from properly presenting its case. Such a procedural defect vitiates the adjudication order and requires fresh adjudication after an adequate opportunity of hearing.

Rule 96(10) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, which restricted integrated tax refunds on zero-rated supplies, was previously struck down by a coordinate bench. Its subsequent omission reinforces that the restriction cannot be used to deny an integrated tax refund. The refund claimant is entitled to the refund together with applicable interest.

Anticipatory bail requires a reasonably founded apprehension of arrest. An arrest-authorisation order under section 69 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, communicated to the person concerned, is the foundational jurisdictional requirement for seeking that protection. Summons under section 70 requiring appearance or production of documents, without an existing arrest-authorisation order or imminent coercive action, do not establish a sufficient apprehension of arrest. In the absence of such an order, the apprehension remains speculative and anticipatory bail is not warranted.

Interest on borrowings used for real-estate project work-in-progress is deductible where the developer follows the percentage-completion method: project work-in-progress is stock-in-trade, not an asset acquired for business extension and first put to use, so the proviso to Section 36(1)(iii) does not require capitalisation. For a temporary advance to a group concern, disallowance is limited to interest actually charged to profit and loss, particularly where interest-free funds substantially financed the advance. Any non-allowable interest must be removed from project work-in-progress to prevent a later deduction as project cost when revenue is recognised.

Form C in Schedule IV of the Information Technology (Certifying Authorities) Rules, 2000 is amended to include fields for official address, organisation, and organisational unit. These entries are placed after residential address and before the mobile phone number field. The amendment takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette and expands the prescribed information fields within the certifying-authority framework.

Form C is inserted in Schedule IV to establish an electronic application process for issuance of an individual-class Digital Signature Certificate through Aadhaar-based identity verification. The application is automatically generated through Aadhaar e-KYC electronic authentication and requires the applicant's photograph, Aadhaar number, name, residential address, and Aadhaar e-KYC services reference number or response code as mandatory particulars.

Exceptional circumstances arising from hospitalisation after an accident and a resulting coma justified equitable writ relief against delay in challenging a service-tax adjudication order. The petitioner's incapacity to conduct business and consequent lack of awareness of the show-cause notice and adjudication order supported departure from the ordinarily available appellate remedy. Fresh adjudication on merits was made conditional on deposit of 25% of the disputed tax within the stipulated period.

Digital signature certification standards require SHA-2 and prescribed cryptographic key lengths of 2048 or 4096 bits, while SHA-1 certificates issued before commencement remain valid until expiry. Key-use requirements mandate periodic replacement of certifying authority and subscriber keys, reasonable notice to relying parties of new signing key pairs, and maximum validity periods of ten years for certifying authority key pairs and associated certificates and three years for subscriber key pairs and associated certificates.

The amendments require both the Digital Signature and its attached digital signature certificate to be stored or transmitted with the electronic record. Digital Signature Certificate verification must proceed through the Controller's self-signed certificate, the licensed Certifying Authority's public key certificate, and the subscriber certificate. The certificate revocation list must be checked for validity or revocation, and signature verification fails where any certificate in the trust chain is untrusted.

Financial stability is pursued by strengthening resilience rather than preventing every shock. The framework combines prudent regulation, risk-based supervision, stress testing, countercyclical macroprudential measures, targeted temporary liquidity assistance and resolution. Monetary policy remains directed to price stability, while financial-stability risks are addressed through regulatory, supervisory and macroprudential tools. System-wide resilience requires sound banks and NBFCs, reliable payment and technology infrastructure, robust data on interconnected exposures, scenario analysis, credible safety nets, and proactive proportionate oversight of cyber, model and third-party risks.

Jai Research Foundation is approved as a Research Association for scientific research under section 45(4)(b), for the purposes of section 45(3)(a)(i) and Income-tax Rules 32 and 33. The approval applies for tax years 2026-2027 through 2030-2031, subject to compliance with rule 33. For each tax year in which donations are received, the association must prepare and deliver Form 15 by 31 May following that tax year. It must also provide each donor with a Form 16 certificate specifying the donation amount.

Import of insecticides included in the Schedule to the Insecticides Act for non-insecticidal use, including acrylonitrile, requires an import permit under the amended Insecticides Rules. Applications must be filed with the Registration Committee in Form IA, supported by information on manufacturing use, storage, regulatory approvals, import history and consumption. The Committee may verify the information, process complete applications within the prescribed timeframe, and issue permits generally valid for one year or for three years where the importer holds pesticide-registration certification for raw-material use. Pending portal applications are subject to the revised requirements. Incomplete applications may be rejected, and permits may be cancelled for incorrect information. Small unit packs of certified reference materials or reference standards are exempt.

Trade Finance Sub-Committee composition is revised uniformly for all interventions under the Niryat Protsahan sub-scheme of the Export Promotion Mission. The committee is co-chaired by the Development Commissioner, Ministry of MSME, and the Additional Secretary for Trade Finance, Department of Commerce, with members representing trade finance, financial services, export promotion, internal finance, credit-guarantee and export-finance functions. The EPM-section Joint DGFT serves as convenor. Representatives of export credit insurance, banking, financial-services centres and factoring entities participate as invitees. The committee may co-opt additional participants and engage trade-finance experts or industry representatives for technical appraisal. All other existing provisions remain unchanged.

NRD-CSR (R012) reporting for banks maintaining non-resident deposit accounts is conducted through the CIMS Sankalan portal, replacing the earlier XBRL-based submission framework. Banks must report bank-wise consolidated data using the revised NRD-CSR format, maturity codes, record types and validation checks. Returns may be submitted through system-to-system integration, XML file upload, or a screen-based web form; access and reporting channels are managed through CIMS. Monthly returns must be submitted by the 10th day of the following month. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, without affecting approvals required under other laws.