Infrastructure approval: state clears Shaktipeeth Expressway with HUDCO financing, land-acquisition measures, and related urban guarantees.
The cabinet approved the 802-km Maharashtra Shaktipeeth Expressway to be implemented by the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, with HUDCO financing for land acquisition and provisions for negotiating with landowners. It also doubled several hostel allowances for Scheduled Tribes students, approved draft amendments to align the state GST Act with central changes, expanded eligibility for a tax-arrears settlement scheme to include non-Companies Act public entities, transferred land for a High Court complex, waived slum rehabilitation dues, allocated land for a sewage treatment plant, and authorised a state guarantee with waived fees for HUDCO loans to local bodies.

Smuggling of foreign-origin cigarettes triggers seizure under Customs Act for mis-declaration and COTPA packaging violations.
Seizure followed intelligence-led inspection of a container mis-declared as bathroom and sanitary fittings, which contained foreign-origin cigarettes lacking mandatory COTPA packaging and labelling; the contraband was seized under the Customs Act, 1962, and further investigation is underway.

State GST loss risk from bank unit relocation may reduce state revenue and displace contractual staff, claims civil society group.
A civil society group claims the bank's proposed relocation of its Global Market Unit will reduce state GST revenue and displace contractual staff, contending the bank's operational rationalisation explanation is generic and fails to address a prior 2008 commitment to retain the unit; the group has filed a complaint through the centralized public grievance mechanism.

GST fraud via bogus export claims uncovered, alleging collusion between customs officers and exporters to claim illicit refunds.
Allegations describe a scheme to obtain GST refunds by showing fictitious exports through land customs stations, with customs officers accused of authorising Let Export Orders and clearing consignments while using a clearing agent to channel instructions. Investigators cite thousands of E-way bills not matching actual goods or border-force records, firms not operating from registered addresses, and manipulation of procedural thresholds to present exports under higher GST slabs to maximise refundable tax.

Custodian of the revenue principle questioned as tribunal refund direction faces interim interruption pending higher court review.
Whether a high court may act as the custodian of the revenue was considered after CESTAT allowed a service tax appeal directing a refund and the revenue's appeal under section 35G was recorded as not maintainable; the high court noted the writ and appeal were disposed of as not pressed yet recorded an eight week restraint on the tribunal's refund direction, prompting the Supreme Court to issue notice to the revenue and temporarily interrupt the high court order while permitting a possible appeal under section 35L.

Input tax credit adjustment: re submission and acceptance on IMS restores ITC and normalises supplier liability.
Where a recipient wrongly rejects an invoice, debit note or credit note on IMS, the recipient may request the supplier to re submit the identical record in the same period's amendment flow or in a subsequent amendment table; upon supplier re submission and recipient acceptance on IMS the recipient recomputes GSTR 2B and claims or adjusts the full ITC for that tax period. Supplier liability does not increase when identical records are re filed because amendments record only the delta; initially added liabilities from rejected credit notes are reversed once the identical credit note is re submitted.

Filing limitation on GST returns: three-year bar to late filing, portal will block returns beyond the filing window.
A statutory filing limitation prevents submission of specified GST returns after three years from the original due date. The Finance Act, 2023 imposes a three-year bar on filing returns covering specified return types (including GSTR-1, GSTR-3B variants, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8 and GSTR-9/9C), and the GST portal will enforce blocking of returns whose due dates are older than three years. Taxpayers are advised to reconcile records and file outstanding returns within the allowable period.

Industrial node development: government pushes innovation zones, startup incubators and real-time project monitoring to attract investors.
Ministerial direction to accelerate development of three NICDC-led industrial nodes in Andhra Pradesh emphasises creation of innovation-driven ecosystems to attract anchor investors and startups through dedicated incubators and earmarked MSME and startup zones with subsidised, state-of-the-art infrastructure, complemented by country-specific investment conclaves and a centralized real-time project monitoring dashboard to ensure timely delivery, quality-control mechanisms, fast-tracked land acquisition and integrated corridor-based planning under the NICDC development model.

Inter-operable e-way bill services enable cross-portal generation and management of e-way bills ensuring continuity during portal downtime.
The E-Way Bill 2.0 portal introduces enhanced inter-operable services-including generation from supplier Part-A, consolidated bill generation and retrieval, extension of validity, and transporter detail updates-available for E-Way Bills issued on either portal, with web and API access (sandbox for testing). Both portals will mirror data in real time so users can perform operations on either system during downtime, enabling updates to Part-B and carriage of the alternate-system slip, thereby reducing single-portal dependency and supporting seamless cross-portal operations.

GST compliance drive expands mandatory registration and outreach, strengthening revenue mobilisation and preventing fraudulent taxpayer enrolment.
Deputy Chief Minister directed the Tax, Excise & Narcotics department to intensify registration drives for eligible businesses, especially hotels, restaurants and resorts, using targeted awareness campaigns with the state chamber, monthly performance reviews to boost registrations and revenue, and administrative safeguards including 16 GST seva kendras with biometric Aadhaar authentication and physical premise checks to prevent fraudulent registrations.

Amnesty under Section 128A: guidance issued for portal filing and escalation of technical issues via GSTN complaint channel.
Advisory instructs taxpayers facing technical difficulties in filing amnesty applications under Section 128A to follow the procedural steps in the provided tutorial link and, if problems persist, to raise a complaint through the GSTN Self service portal as the designated remedial mechanism.

Illegal gratification and bribery allegations result in arrests after a CBI trap; investigation and searches continue.
CBI registered a complaint alleging a CGST Superintendent and a Tax Advocate conspired to demand and accept an undue advantage to waive a penalty for alleged non-filing of GST returns; a controlled trap led to their apprehension and searches at their premises as the criminal investigation continues.

Bribery allegation leads to arrests; searches recover cash and property and documents seized in ongoing probe.
An anti corruption probe alleges a Superintendent of CGST and a tax advocate demanded an undue advantage to waive GST penalty; they were caught in a trap accepting the first instalment and arrested. Subsequent searches of the accused's residential and official premises recovered additional cash, numerous property documents reflecting high value immovable assets, a vehicle, and case related documents. Both accused were produced before the Special Judge (Anti Corruption) and remanded to judicial custody while investigation continues.

Bribery allegation: public servant and lawyer arrested in sting; assets and documents seized during probe resulting in remand.
Allegations of public corruption describe a CGST superintendent and a tax lawyer who allegedly conspired to demand and receive an undue advantage to waive a penalty for non filing of GST returns; a controlled operation led to their arrest while accepting an instalment, followed by searches of premises and seizure of property documents, a vehicle, cash and official records now under scrutiny, and both accused were remanded to judicial custody.

Refund filing compliance: QRMP taxpayers may file refunds only for invoices whose GSTR-3B has been filed; exclude IFF invoices.
The GST Portal requires refund claims to be filed only after furnishing all returns due under Para 6 of Circular No. 125/44/2019-GST, primarily GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. A technical validation error affecting QRMP taxpayers' IFF invoices for the first two months was corrected. QRMP taxpayers may now file refund applications only for invoices for which the corresponding GSTR-3B has already been filed; IFF invoices with GSTR-3B yet to be filed must be excluded.

Bribery allegation: tax officer and lawyer arrested after alleged demand and receipt of undue advantage in penalty waiver scheme.
Allegations of bribery and conspiracy arose when a CGST superintendent allegedly demanded an undue advantage to waive a penalty for non-filing of GST returns; a tax lawyer purportedly colluded with the superintendent to pressure the complainant to deliver the payment. The complainant reported the demand to the investigating agency, which conducted a trap and arrested both accused while they allegedly accepted an initial instalment of the demanded sum.

GST revenue impact leaves non consumer states disadvantaged, prompting calls for equitable fiscal treatment and relief.
The Goods and Services Tax has reduced Himachal Pradesh's state receipts relative to prior VAT and excise collections, creating a structural fiscal disadvantage for a non consumer state and prompting calls for equitable fiscal treatment. Concurrently, a Border Tourism initiative eases regulated tourist access to strategically sensitive areas in Kinnaur and Lahaul Spiti under revised ID based protocols while ITBP and Army continue to manage security and movement.

Action against shell companies: coordinated cancellation of registrations and investigations to protect genuine taxpayers.
Directives require detection and enforcement against shell companies, with suspicious Central GST registrants reported to the Centre for cancellation of registration and State GST registrants subjected to departmental probes that may lead to cancellation and FIRs; on-site inspections of newly registered firms, technological efficiency, transparency in tax collection, and targeted strategies for low-collection zones were also mandated.

Reverse Charge Mechanism liability clarified as pre-show cause proceedings close, addressing IGST on services from overseas branches.
The document concerns alleged IGST liability under the Reverse Charge Mechanism for services received from overseas branch offices for July 2017-March 2022. Tax authorities issued pre-show cause notices asserting import-of-services liability; the taxpayer disputed applicability citing administrative circulars and eligibility for GST credit or refund against export of IT services and stated compliance with GST rules. The investigative directorate has closed the pre-show cause notice proceedings for the specified periods, concluding that stage of the administrative process.

GST revenue contraction signals fiscal distress after CAG-adjusted accounting reveals lower state collections and alleged government cover-up.
CAG figures for April 2025 are reported to show a contraction in State GST receipts and declines in tax, non tax and state own revenues year on year. The opposition contrasts these audit figures with a government press release that touted record net GST for April, highlighting that net GST is calculated after adjustments - specifically an advance apportionment of IGST recorded under minor head 110 of major head 0006 - and alleges the government's prior statement omitted or obscured this accounting impact.