Section 148 reassessment notices must be issued by an officer having pecuniary jurisdiction under the applicable CBDT allocation instruction. For non-corporate assessees in mofussil areas whose returned income exceeds the prescribed threshold, jurisdiction lies with an Assistant Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner rather than an Income-tax Officer. Issuance of a reassessment notice by an Income-tax Officer lacking that inherent jurisdiction renders the notice invalid. The reassessment proceedings and consequential assessment founded on that notice are void ab initio and cannot be sustained.

Section 115JB of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which governs minimum alternate tax, does not apply to banking companies regulated under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Precedent had resolved the applicability issue against the Revenue. Pending related matters before the Supreme Court do not alter the position that banking companies governed by the Banking Regulation Act fall outside Section 115JB.

Personal hearing at the original adjudication stage is necessary in proceedings concerning unpaid or short-paid tax, erroneous refunds, or improper input-tax availment where the taxpayer must produce books of account and explain relevant issues. Fixing only a date for a written reply does not provide that meaningful opportunity. Failure to afford a personal hearing at the original stage vitiates the proceedings, and an appellate opportunity cannot cure the defect where the appellate order does not adequately address it.

Ex parte demand orders under Section 73(9) may be set aside where bona fide and unavoidable circumstances prevented the noticee from replying to a show-cause notice and submitting supporting documents. A justice-oriented approach requires a reasonable opportunity to respond and participate in adjudication. The demand order was set aside, and fresh adjudication was directed after permitting submission of a reply and supporting documents.

The identified CGST issues concern whether a consolidated show cause notice may cover multiple financial years, the limitation period under section 74(10), issuance of notices under section 74(1), separate year-wise adjudication, and quasi-judicial fairness in taxation. Notice was issued on an application for condonation of delay and on a Special Leave Petition, with dasti service permitted. The listed GST issues remain without a stated substantive determination on limitation, validity of a consolidated notice, or the required adjudication process.

Pecuniary jurisdiction limits under the applicable CBDT instruction required reassessment of a non-corporate assessee in a mofussil area exceeding the prescribed limit to be handled by an Assistant or Deputy Commissioner, rather than an Income-tax Officer. As the reassessment notice was issued by an officer lacking that jurisdiction and the defect was unrebutted, the notice was inherently invalid. The consequential assessment was quashed as void ab initio, rendering the remaining grounds academic.

ISIN limits for privately placed debt securities are revised to permit up to seventeen ISINs maturing in a financial year, with additional ISINs for eligible capital gains tax debt securities. Twelve ISINs are available for plain vanilla debt securities, subject to further ISINs after prescribed outstanding-amount thresholds, and five are available for specified structured and debt-capital instruments. Legacy ISINs in those categories are grandfathered subject to restrictions on new issuance. Government serviced, extra-budgetary resources and ESG debt securities are excluded from ISIN-limit calculations.

Mandatory Credit Risk-o-Meter disclosure applies to listed and proposed-to-be-listed debt securities across offer documents, private placement materials, advertisements, and Online Bond Platform Provider interfaces. The colour-coded meter maps credit ratings to six risk levels, identifies the rating agency and actual rating, reflects the lowest rating where multiple ratings exist, and highlights unsecured instruments and Issuer is Not Cooperating status. Online Bond Platform Providers must use credit ratings from SEBI-registered agencies, update the meter within 24 hours of rating-change intimation, prohibit manual overrides, and maintain audit trails.

Merchant banker appointment remains mandatory for private-placement issuance unless an issuer satisfies all exemption conditions. The issuer must be regulated by an Indian financial sector regulator, listed for at least one year without pending listing-compliance fines or penalties, and free from specified payment defaults during the preceding three financial years and current financial year, as certified by its statutory auditor. The debt must generally be senior or unsubordinated and secured by a first or pari passu charge, with specified public-sector exceptions, and must have a minimum AA- rating.

National Land Monetization Corporation is facilitating a two-phase e-tender-cum-e-auction of 459 encumbrance-free land parcels of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited through the RailTel E-Nivida e-Procurement Platform. Participation requires registration, fulfilment of prescribed requirements and submission of earnest money deposit within the applicable deadlines. Physical and online mock e-auction training familiarises prospective bidders with the bidding interface and participation procedure. Investor outreach provides information on plot details, eligibility requirements, registration and bidding conditions.

TDS applicability to electricity-bill payments made to a state electricity distribution company is questioned where aggregate payments during a financial year exceed the stated threshold. The issue is whether such payments fall within the scope of withholding under section 194Q.

Fresh assessments following remand to the Dispute Resolution Panel remain governed by the limitation period under Section 153(2A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Section 144C creates a time-bound assessment framework involving the Panel. Its exclusion of Section 153 for passing a final assessment order after receipt of Panel directions is limited to that stage and does not displace the limitation applicable where remand requires a fresh determination. As Panel proceedings continue the assessment process, remanded fresh assessments completed beyond the prescribed period are time-barred.

Madhya Pradesh SGST exemption notification is amended to replace its reference to Schedule IV of the earlier rate notification with Schedule II of the notification dated 19 September 2025. Made under the State Government's exemption power under the Madhya Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, on the Council's recommendations, the amendment takes effect from 22 September 2025.

The Data Protection Board of India is established under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, effective from publication in the Official Gazette. It is constituted to exercise powers conferred on it and perform functions assigned under that Act, with its head office situated in the National Capital Region of India.

Registered persons whose aggregate turnover in any financial year does not exceed two crore rupees are exempted from furnishing the annual return under the first proviso to section 44(1) of the Madhya Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Coverage begins with financial year 2024-25 and subsequent financial years, and the measure is deemed effective from 17 September 2025.

Suspension of registration prevents a registered person from issuing tax invoices or charging tax on supplies, while revocation restores applicable invoicing and return obligations for the suspension period. Input tax credit on invoices or debit notes not uploaded by suppliers is restricted to 20 per cent of eligible credit relating to uploaded documents. Before issuing a tax-demand notice, the proper officer must communicate the ascertained tax, interest and penalty liability through FORM GST DRC-01A, allowing the person to make partial payment or submit objections.

The Data Protection Board of India's composition is specified under section 19(1) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023. In exercise of the statutory power to determine the Board's membership, the Central Government fixes the Board at four members. The Board's membership strength is therefore set for its constitution and functioning under the statutory framework governing digital personal data protection.

TDS credit in domestic deductor-default cases depends on verified actual deduction from the taxpayer's income, not solely on deposit, TDS statements, Form 16 or Form 16A, or Form 26AS reflection. Section 205 bars direct or indirect recovery, including refund adjustment, to the extent tax was deducted. The taxpayer must provide reliable payment-specific evidence, and the Assessing Officer must verify the claim while the Department proceeds against the defaulting deductor.

Section 119(2)(b) may permit admission of a delayed revised-return claim where expiry of the Section 139(5) period causes genuine hardship. Condonation removes only the procedural bar and does not establish exemption, refund, or interest entitlement. Genuine hardship requires assessment of bona fides, the nature of the omission, promptness after discovery, legal plausibility, and the consequence of refusal. Circular No. 9/2015 permits prima facie verification and inquiry, but substantive taxability and refund entitlement remain for merits examination.

Provisional refund is not available to registered persons who have not completed Aadhaar authentication. It is also unavailable to persons supplying areca nuts, pan masala, tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes, or essential oils. The specified goods are classified under the relevant Customs Tariff chapters, headings, sub-headings and tariff items, with classification determined using the applicable tariff interpretative rules and notes.