Track and Trace mechanism for evasion prone goods mandates digital unique identification marking with penalties to enforce compliance.
The Budget proposes a statutory framework to implement a Track and Trace Mechanism in GST law for evasion prone goods, defining Unique Identification Marking to include digital stamps, digital marks or similar secure, non removable markings and introducing penalty provisions to enforce compliance with marking and tracking requirements.

Accountability demanded as politicians shift blame while fiscal choices and hiring practices leave households and jobs unaddressed.
Priyanka Gandhi criticised leaders for blaming predecessors to avoid responsibility, argued income tax relief did not benefit most people, and said GST and omission of inflation in budget harmed households and small businesses. She asserted thousands of public posts remain vacant and are being filled through lateral entry and contractual appointments, and contrasted current governance unfavourably with earlier public-sector led infrastructure and employment generation.

GST revenue growth signals stronger collections and higher refunds, boosting net receipts and indicating improved compliance.
Gross GST revenue rose year on year by about twelve percent in January driven by higher domestic supplies and a larger increase in import GST; refunds issued in the month also increased substantially. After adjustment for refunds, net GST receipts registered a positive year on year gain. Industry commentators linked the collections growth to firmer economic activity and sustained compliance, while noting statewise variation in growth and potential improvements in refund processing efficiency.

Full foreign investment in insurance raises concerns over unchanged GST and wider fiscal, inflation and social-service impacts.
Approval of full foreign investment in the insurance sector is criticised for permitting complete foreign equity while leaving insurance-related Goods and Services Tax unchanged, raising questions about who benefits. The piece links this decision to cuts in social services, housing and welfare allocations, concern over unchecked inflation and fiscal borrowing to meet deficit targets, and doubts that tax-threshold increases or current measures will materially boost real incomes or manufacturing growth.

Budget neglect of farmers and job creation criticized as lacking targeted relief or employment measures.
Opposition parties labelled the Union Budget disappointing for Gujarat, citing no substantive relief for farmers or employment generation, absence of GST waiver on fertiliser, limited agricultural measures beyond higher credit limits, and conditional tax-exemption announcements. They also criticised the lack of support for key regional industries, reductions in allocations to national institutions with fee increases, and argued that MSME measures and stipends alone will not create jobs without demand-side tax and fuel relief.

Gross and net GST collections for January 2025, with refunds and state settlements, show provisional growth in revenues.
The release presents provisional January 2025 GST receipts: gross collections by CGST, SGST, IGST and CESS from domestic activity and imports; domestic and export/import refunds; and resulting net GST revenue monthly and year to date. It includes state wise growth rates and pre/post settlement SGST allocations showing the SGST portion of IGST settled to States/UTs, with figures subject to finalisation.

Just and proportional resource distribution demanded to correct perceived discriminatory fiscal allocations and ensure equitable state funding.
Karnataka demands immediate release of withheld and underpaid central grants and MSP dues, revision of tax devolution and capital assistance formulas, merger or abolition of cesses into the divisible tax pool or permission for an additional State GST, constitutional amendment to raise the Professional Tax ceiling, extension of Ayushman Bharat to all NFSA eligible families, revised disaster relief allocation criteria, full funding and state consultation for Centrally Sponsored Schemes, and a special grant for Western Ghats development.

GST reform is urgent: Economic Survey urged Ease of Doing Business 2.0 but neglected GST overhaul and tax enforcement reform.
The Economic Survey calls for an Ease of Doing Business 2.0 but is criticised for omitting a comprehensive GST 2.0 and for not addressing the decade-long 'tax terrorism'; it affirms MGNREGA's role in rural asset creation while noting government measures that constrain it, raises concerns about regulator integrity amid growing investor participation, and stresses that industrial policy should use protection to make MSMEs competitive rather than shelter monopolies, also urging attention to environmental public-health under an Ease of Living 1.0.

Legacy cases resolution scheme expands to include non-subsumed petroleum tax disputes, streamlining backlog resolution and revenue recovery.
The State approved the Himachal Pradesh Sadhbhawana Legacy Cases Resolution Scheme, 2025, extending scope to include disputes under non-subsumed enactments and addressing petroleum-product cases under the State Value Added Tax Act through 2017-18, aiming to reduce legacy tax litigation backlog and increase revenue realization.

GST fraud uncovered involving fake invoices and fraudulent input tax credit, prompting arrests and multi-city raids.
The DGGI Bengaluru unit uncovered a large scale GST fraud involving fabricated invoices and fraudulent availing and passing of Input Tax Credit, with fake invoices totaling a multi hundred crore value and fake ITC identified separately. Investigators found at least fifteen non operational companies engaged in circular trading to inflate turnover, several listed on stock exchanges to facilitate share price manipulation and exit, common IP addresses used for filing GST returns, and original documents recovered across multiple premises; two suspects have been arrested and one remains at large.

GST exemption clarified: penal charges by regulated lenders are not taxable and small value payment settlements are exempted.
GST does not apply to penal charges levied by RBI regulated banks and NBFCs, as these charges are treated as contractual breach charges rather than taxable consideration. CBIC further clarifies that RBI regulated Payment Aggregators qualify for a GST exemption limited to the payment settlement function for single transaction card payments within a small value threshold, while Payment Gateway services that only provide routing and do not handle funds remain outside this exemption.

Biometric Aadhaar authentication now required for certain GST registrations, and appointment-based GSK verification follows, with OTP alternative available.
An amendment to Rule 8 enables Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication and document verification via GSTN. After filing Form GST REG-01 applicants receive either an OTP Aadhaar link or a link to book a GST Suvidha Kendra appointment; if booked, they must attend the GSK with the appointment confirmation, jurisdiction details, original Aadhaar and PAN, and original uploaded documents. Biometric authentication and verification at the GSK are required for individuals in REG-01, and ARNs are generated only after these processes are completed.

Caste census proposed to determine disadvantaged groups' share and enable removal of the reservation cap to expand affirmative action.
Central operative measures advocated are a nationwide caste census to establish disadvantaged communities' share in resources, employment and institutional representation, and legislative action to remove the 50 percent reservation ceiling to broaden affirmative action; pilot state surveys are identified as precursors to a national exercise and a bill to repeal the cap is committed to be advanced in the legislature.

Non-editable auto-populated GST liability: implementation postponed; taxpayers urged to prepare for imminent portal change.
Introduction of a non-editable auto-populated liability field in GSTR-3B was scheduled to take effect from January 2025 but implementation has been deferred following trade requests; the GST Portal will not make auto-populated liability non-editable in the January tax period, the change will be introduced soon, and taxpayers are advised to prepare for the upcoming alteration to reporting and compliance.

E Way Bill for gold applies to intrastate movements within Kerala, excluding imitation jewellery; new EWB system option available.
A new EWB system option allows generation of E Way Bills for goods under Chapter 71 for intrastate movements within Kerala, excluding imitation jewellery; imitation jewellery must continue to use the existing EWB option, and taxpayers should refer to the EWB portal or GST helpdesk for guidance.

Tax relief on CNG compression charges sought and GST coverage for natural gas urged to reduce industry costs.
Expectation that oil and gas prices will remain high short term due to paused LNG export projects and time needed for increased U.S. energy output to ease supply; GAIL will scale up capex to advance pipeline and petrochemical projects, accelerate its net zero target to 2035 with significant investment, and seeks removal of compression charges on CNG and GST coverage for natural gas to reduce costs.

Extortion allegation: journalist accused of threatening to malign a real estate agent to extract payments, new FIR registered.
An FIR was filed under section 308 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita alleging extortion by a jailed journalist who, purportedly using his claimed access to officials and media influence, threatened to malign a real estate agent and implicate him in a false case to extract payments; initial sums were allegedly paid and further demands prompted the complainant to approach police, and the matter is subject to ongoing investigation.

Business continuity for e-Invoice and e-Waybill systems ensures cross-portal redundancy and unified authentication for uninterrupted filing access.
Advisory sets out redundancy and continuity mechanisms for e Invoice and e Waybill operations: multiple IRPs and dual e Waybill portals as alternate channels; a unified authentication token valid across NIC e Invoice and e Waybill portals; API interoperability enabling cross portal execution of key functions (IRN details, cancellation, e Waybill generation and retrieval, select Part B updates); and a sandbox for testing. Taxpayers are urged to verify direct API cross portal support and coordinate with IRPs, ERPs, GSPs, ASPs and system integrators to enable these redundancies.

Document Identification Number verification protects taxpayers from counterfeit GST summons; use the official CBIC DIN portal to confirm authenticity.
Counterfeit summons are being circulated using fake Document Identification Numbers (DIN) and departmental insignia. Taxpayers must authenticate any summons, notice or letter via the CBIC "VERIFY CBIC-DIN" online facility. If DIN verification indicates a communication is fraudulent, the recipient should immediately report it to the appropriate DGGI or CGST formation to enable enforcement action. The guidance reiterates adherence to the prescribed DIN generation and quoting procedure for official communications.

Electoral process integrity questioned; calls to replace electronic voting with ballot papers and ensure impartial voter rolls.
The commentary frames intra-coalition contestation as political norm and distinguishes local electoral contests from national ideological battles. It alleges impartiality failures in preparation of voters' lists and presses for procedural change by replacing electronic voting machines with ballot papers to protect electoral integrity. Separately, it urges GST simplification by reducing multiple tax rates to one or two rates to enhance implementation.