Support for Alternative Trade Instruments under EPM now identifies exporters by Importer Exporter Code (IEC), abolishing declarations of intent and Unique Identification Numbers; existing UINs cease to operate. Support covers advance, revolving, and bullet-interest export factoring, with factors required to upload transaction data under modality-specific triggers. Factors must upload data within one month, while exporters must confirm eligible records and file monthly consolidated claims within two months of upload. Export eligibility depends on the Export General Manifest filing date. Eligible MSME exporters may access both factoring support and interest subvention, but cannot claim the same invoice or interest cost under both interventions; duplicate or excess claims attract recovery with interest and penalties.

The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement operates as an enhanced framework for deeper engagement between India and EFTA countries, supporting expanded bilateral trade, investment and business linkages. Business expansion and investment opportunities were examined in technology, innovation, financial services and manufacturing, together with partnerships involving Indian businesses. The framework includes investment commitments and direct job creation over a 15-year period.

FORM GSTR-9 is substituted as the annual return for reporting taxable and non-taxable supplies, advances, exports, Special Economic Zone and deemed-export supplies, reverse-charge supplies, credit and debit notes, amendments, input tax credit, reversals, taxes paid, demands, refunds and HSN summaries. Filing requires prior filing of FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B. Additional liability not previously declared may be reported, but input tax credit unclaimed in the relevant financial year cannot be claimed through the annual return; additional liability declared in the form is paid through FORM DRC-03 only by the electronic cash ledger.

Net-profit estimation for gross contract receipts was reduced from 8% to 6% in an income-tax appeal. Concurrent appellate findings relied on departmental circulars and consistent Tribunal decisions supporting the 6% rate. As no error justifying appellate interference with that estimation was established, the reduction was treated as justified and the Revenue's challenge failed.

GST classification determines the treatment of food-related supplies and alcoholic-liquor job work. Cooking and supplying food through cloud kitchens or central kitchens, including takeaway or delivery, constitutes restaurant service and attracts GST at 5% without ITC. Ice-cream parlors selling pre-manufactured ice cream without cooking or preparation make a supply of goods taxable at 18%, despite incidental service elements. Contract manufacturing or job work relating to alcoholic liquor for human consumption is excluded from job work in relation to food and food products and attracts GST at 18%.

Availability of the benefit under section 128A of the CGST Act, 2017 is to be addressed in Odisha by applying, mutatis mutandis, CBIC clarification within the framework of the OGST Act, 2017. The clarification is intended to secure uniform implementation of issues concerning the section 128A benefit by tax administration and first appellate authorities.

Accumulated ITC refunds for supplier-issued invoices are restricted to credit supported by details uploaded in FORM GSTR-1 and reflected in the applicant's FORM GSTR-2A. Credit based on supplier invoices not uploaded and not reflected in GSTR-2A is not eligible for refund under this mechanism. The restriction does not apply to ITC relating to imports, Input Service Distributor invoices, or inward supplies liable to reverse charge, for which the earlier refund treatment continues.

Non-exclusive off-the-shelf software licence payments are not royalty where the licence grants only a right to use copyrighted software and transfers no copyright or right to use copyright. Payments under software distribution or end-user licence arrangements for resale or use therefore fall outside royalty taxation under Section 9(1)(vi) and Article 12 of the India-New Zealand tax treaty. Domestic-law amendments expanding royalty provisions do not alter the treaty definition unless the treaty is correspondingly amended.

Compliance timeline for registered debenture trustees to transfer activities outside the securities regulator's purview to separate business units is extended until April 27, 2027. The extension addresses operational difficulties in establishing implementation systems and processes, alongside an ongoing review of the debenture trusteeship and separate business unit framework. All other terms and conditions governing such activities remain unchanged.

Trust-based regulatory reform combines startup financing and procurement access with compliance reduction, decriminalisation, labour-law consolidation, licensing digitisation, foreign-investment liberalisation and National Single Window System services. Startup measures include seed funding, fund-of-funds investment, credit guarantees, tax reforms and relaxed public-procurement entry conditions. The digital approvals framework integrates Central and State services, identifies applicable approvals, auto-populates common data and automates selected industrial and production-visa processes.

India-EU Free Trade Agreement opportunities were central to India-Netherlands engagement on expanding bilateral trade, investment partnerships, market access, and collaboration across key sectors. Complementary economic strengths and closer industry-to-industry engagement were linked to concrete business partnerships, investments, and stronger India-Europe supply-chain integration. Direct meetings and a business roundtable also addressed investment opportunities, commercial partnerships, business priorities, and private-sector cooperation in technology, logistics, energy, electronics, industrial solutions, and retail.

GST treatment of directors' remuneration depends on employment status and the nature of the payment. Remuneration paid to independent directors or other non-employee directors is consideration for taxable services, with GST payable by the company under the reverse charge mechanism. For employee-directors, amounts recorded as salary and subjected to salary-based tax deduction at source fall within the employment-services exclusion. Separately recorded non-salary payments subjected to tax deduction as professional or technical fees are taxable, and GST is payable by the company under reverse charge.

Sections 153 to 155 of the Finance Act, 2026, including amendments to section 15, section 34, section 54 and section 101A, come into force on 1 November 2026. The Central Government appoints that date under its statutory power to bring these Finance Act provisions into operation within the Central Goods and Services Tax framework.

An application for revocation of cancellation of GST registration must ordinarily be made within 30 days of service of the cancellation order. Where it is made after 30 days but within 90 days, time may be extended on sufficient cause and reasons recorded in writing. The Joint or Additional Commissioner may grant an extension not exceeding 30 days, and the Commissioner may grant a further extension not exceeding 30 days.

Employee stock option discount represents business expenditure under Section 37(1) because it is incurred to secure employees' continued services during the vesting period. Section 37(1) does not require an actual cash outflow. The difference between the market price at grant and the exercise price is an ascertained liability that accrues over the vesting period, even though final quantification occurs upon exercise. Issuing shares at a discount is not merely a short receipt of capital; the resulting loss is expenditure incurred wholly for business purposes and is deductible.

Omission of Rule 89(4B) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 without a saving clause removed its availability as a statutory basis for subsequent action. A show-cause notice issued after the omission could not rely on the deleted rule because no provision preserved pending or later proceedings under it. The notice was therefore treated as non est in law and quashed for lack of extant statutory authority.

Secondary or post-sale discounts under GST are subject, for implementation of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, to central GST clarifications made applicable mutatis mutandis. The State-level application is clarificatory and intended to secure uniformity across field, enforcement, assessment and appellate formations. Operational difficulties in applying the clarification may be placed before the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha.

Where fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression to evade tax is not established in proceedings initiated under section 74, tax must be redetermined as though the notice were issued under section 73(1). Pending GST-system remand functionality, the appellate remand must be issued manually in APL-04. The assessing officer must issue a fresh section 73 order through standalone DRC-07 and close or nullify the earlier section 74 order through DRC-08 for zero amount, with appropriate remarks.

CBDT's revised monetary threshold for pursuing High Court tax appeals resulted in dismissal of the Revenue's appeal because the tax effect fell below the prescribed limit. The underlying dispute concerned deletion of a disallowance for payments potentially taxable in India, but the substantive question on the nature and taxability of those payments remained open. The Revenue may seek restoration if the tax effect is subsequently shown to exceed the applicable threshold.

Finality of proceedings prevents a writ challenge to demand notices that merely implement an underlying order where the challenge to that order was unconditionally withdrawn before the Supreme Court without liberty to pursue further remedies. Because withdrawal caused the underlying order to attain finality, consequential notices supplied no independent ground to reopen the concluded dispute. The writ challenge to those notices was therefore unavailable.