Interception, monitoring and decryption safeguards are amended by replacing "security agency" in rule 23(1) with "competent authority and the security agency". The provision therefore covers the competent authority alongside the security agency. The amendment takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Interception, monitoring and decryption of information in computer resources require a reasoned direction by the competent authority, issued only where other reasonable means cannot obtain the information. Emergency action requires written intimation and competent-authority approval, failing which the activity must cease. Directions must identify the targeted information or persons, name the officer authorised to receive the information, remain time-bound, and be subject to review. Authorised agencies, intermediaries, persons in charge of computer resources and decryption key holders must provide specified assistance, maintain records and preserve secrecy; use and disclosure are confined to investigation, authorised security-agency sharing and judicial proceedings.

Statutory appeals must be filed within the prescribed two-month limitation period, with delay condonable only for a further 30 days. An appeal filed after both periods is time-barred and may be declined. Acknowledged service of the original order, a reply to the show-cause notice, and participation in the personal hearing support the conclusion that procedural opportunity was available. A substantially delayed writ petition does not ordinarily warrant discretionary relief against rejection of such an appeal.

GST refund claims may bundle successive tax periods across financial years. Accumulated input tax credit refunds under an inverted duty structure exclude identical input and output goods affected only by a later rate reduction. For non-zero-rated and non-deemed-export tax refunds, cash and electronic credit ledger components must be returned in their original proportions, with the credit component re-credited through FORM GST PMT-03. Accumulated input tax credit refunds are restricted to supplier-furnished invoices reflected in FORM GSTR-2A, and Annexure B requires HSN/SAC details where stated on inward invoices.

Foreign-currency loans advanced to overseas associated enterprises require an economically comparable arm's-length benchmark; LIBOR-linked rates are appropriate where the loans are received and used abroad, unlike Indian corporate-bond yields. A royalty CUP comparison requires materially comparable uncontrolled transactions, including comparable territories, trademarks, products and market conditions; an undisplaced TNMM analysis supports the existing royalty treatment. Recurring market research for established products remains revenue expenditure where it creates no identifiable capital asset, and unsupported ad hoc expense disallowances are not sustainable. For industrial-undertaking deductions, manufacturing by-product and scrap sales satisfy the direct-nexus requirement, whereas machinery lease rent does not.

Jurisdiction covers Chapter IX contraventions within the officer's State or Union Territory, with the location of the computer system or network determining where a complaint is made. Complaints use the prescribed form and a fee linked to compensation claimed. Respondents may plead guilty or show cause, while the officer may dismiss the matter or conduct inquiry after considering reports, evidence and submissions. Electronic records may be relied upon, and matters disclosing offences requiring punishment rather than financial consequences must be transferred for criminal jurisdiction.

The Presiding Officer of the Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal is entitled to house rent allowance at the rate applicable from time to time to a Group 'A' Central Government officer drawing equivalent pay. This amendment to the service conditions takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Service conditions for the Presiding Officer of the Cyber Regulations Appellate Tribunal aligned salary, allowances and benefits with those admissible to a Secretary to the Government of India and treated the officer as a public servant. Pay of retired appointees was reduced by applicable pension, provident-fund contribution or other retirement benefits. Leave, travel, accommodation, medical facilities, pension and provident-fund coverage generally followed Secretary-level or Group A Central Government standards, with residual matters governed by Group A service rules.

Depreciation under the applicable entry extends to an aircraft operated as an aeroplane, as the expression "aircraft" is broader and an aeroplane falls within the specified category. A restrictive reading confined to aero-engines or vehicle parts does not apply. The aircraft therefore qualified for depreciation at 40%, sustaining the assessee's claimed allowance.

Monitoring and collection of traffic data or information generated, transmitted, received or stored in a computer resource under section 69B require an order of the competent authority. Directions may be issued for cyber security purposes, including forecasting imminent incidents; monitoring network applications; identifying viruses or computer contaminants; tracking breaches, affected computer resources and suspected persons; conducting forensic examination and information-security audits; accessing stored information to enforce cyber-security law; and addressing other cyber-security matters. Reasons must accompany each direction, and a copy must reach the Review Committee within seven working days.

Long-term capital loss on a documented share sale to an unrelated purchaser remains allowable unless evidence establishes that the apparent transaction is false; tax reduction alone does not make it sham. Shares consistently held as investments, with delivery and limited transactions, generate capital rather than business losses. Advertising, brand, trademark, business-development, professional, and premises-rent costs supporting operations without creating a capital asset are revenue expenditure. No notional interest arises on an interest-free advance where sufficient interest-free funds exist and no borrowed-fund nexus is shown. Short tax deduction at source does not trigger expenditure disallowance. Exchange gain on borrowing for capital assets is capital in character. Accrued zero-coupon debenture premium is proportionately deductible where the recipient is unidentifiable at year-end, and a valid deduction claim may be considered on appeal despite omission from the return.

TNVAT's inclusive definition of manufacture covers the production, extraction and processing involved in lignite mining, including removal of overburden, excavation, conveyance and stacking. Capital goods used to produce lignite for taxable sale qualify for input tax credit. Credit is, however, restricted to the proportion attributable to taxable lignite sales and is unavailable where lignite is used to generate exempt electricity. A pre-existing clarification allowing concessional treatment for relevant mining operations continues under the savings provision where it is not inconsistent with TNVAT provisions.

Listed Central Excise and service-tax appeals filed on or after 1 July 2017, concerning acts done or omissions made before the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 came into force, are assigned to specified Central Excise Officers. Each appeal is identified by appeal number, assessee and registration particulars. The assignments are made under the Central Excise Rules, Service Tax Rules and transitional saving clauses of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, enabling the designated officer to pass the applicable Orders-in-Appeal under the Central Excise Act or the Finance Act.

Appeals filed on or after 1 July 2017 under the Central Excise Act, 1944, or the Finance Act, 1994, are reassigned to identified Central Excise Officers for passing Orders-in-Appeal. The arrangement applies to matters done or omitted before commencement of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Annexure particulars identify the appeals and the corresponding officer exercising appellate jurisdiction.

Public-access blocking of information hosted on computer resources may be directed where a request falls within the grounds specified in section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. Complaints are routed through organisational Nodal Officers, and the Designated Officer examines requests through a committee, provides identifiable hosts an opportunity to respond where feasible, and submits recommendations for approval by the Secretary, Department of Information Technology. Emergency interim blocking may proceed without a hearing but requires prompt committee consideration and a final decision. Intermediaries must maintain designated contacts and comply with issued directions.

Identified legacy Central Excise and Service Tax appeals filed on or after 1 July 2017 in Kolkata Zone are reassigned to specified Central Excise Officers for appellate disposal. The reassignment is made under the Central Excise Rules, Service Tax Rules, and the transitional saving provision under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, partially modifying the earlier administrative allocation. Designated officers must pass Orders-in-Appeal under the applicable Central Excise or Service Tax appellate provision.

Written complaints containing definite charges of misbehaviour or incapacity must undergo preliminary scrutiny by the Central Government. Where investigation is necessary, a designated Committee may record evidence, collect material, and submit findings to the President. If reasonable grounds for inquiry exist, a Supreme Court Judge is appointed to conduct it, while the concerned Chairperson or Member receives notice, relevant materials, and a reasonable opportunity to submit a written defence. The inquiry follows natural justice, permits medical examination in incapacity matters, and may be accompanied by suspension.

Alleged bogus purchases are not fully taxable where the underlying purchases are not wholly fictitious, even if suppliers differ from those recorded in the books. Taxable income is limited to the profit element embedded in such purchases rather than the full purchase price. The addition is confined to 12.5% of the alleged purchases as the estimated embedded profit, notwithstanding repeated non-compliance during assessment and first appellate proceedings.

Salary and allowances of the Chairperson and Members correspond to those of a Secretary to the Government of India, including associated benefits. For appointees drawing or entitled to retirement benefits, pay is reduced by the gross amount of pension, employer contributions or other retirement benefits. Serving judges and Indian Legal Service members receive pension credit under their parent service and General Provident Fund coverage; other appointees are governed by the Contributory Provident Fund. Leave, travel, medical, housing and conveyance facilities follow specified central-service equivalences.

Salary and allowances of the Cyber Appellate Tribunal Chairperson and Members are made equivalent to those admissible to a Secretary to the Government of India, including associated benefits. Where the Chairperson is a retired Supreme Court or High Court Judge, pay is reduced by pension, Contributory Provident Fund contributions, or other retirement benefits drawn or receivable, and service conditions follow applicable Ministry of Finance instructions. Members retired from Central or State Government service are subject to an equivalent reduction in pay for retirement benefits.