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.

Mandatory HSN codes: dropdown selection and split B2B/B2C Table 12 with non-blocking validation warnings for GSTR-1 filings.
Implementation mandates selection of HSN codes from a drop-down in Table 12 of GSTR 1 and GSTR 1A, standardising HSN capture. Table 12 is split into B2B and B2C tabs with added validations on supply values and tax amounts; validations are initially in warning mode and do not block filing.

Disability pension expansion broadens eligibility and removes age limits, extending benefits to additional disability categories.
Haryana amended the Divyang pension rules to add ten disability categories aligned with the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, removed the age limit for hemophilia and thalassemia, and confirmed that assistance for hemophilia, thalassemia and sickle cell anemia is payable in addition to other social security pensions. The Cabinet also introduced a One Time Settlement Scheme offering tiered concessions, complete waiver of interest and penalties, and installment options for certain principal settlements, and approved a multi year Clean Air Project to strengthen air quality management and interstate coordination.

Contract awards impose integrated EPC obligations for coal and ash handling systems, with specified technical deliverables and completion timeline.
BTL EPC Ltd received back-to-back EPC contract awards from Adani Power Ltd and NTPC Limited for coal handling, ash handling and related material transport systems, with GST included. The contracts allocate integrated EPC responsibilities-design, engineering, procurement and installation-covering conveyors, transfer towers, feeders, substations and safety systems; the NTPC award specifies conveyor quantity, total length and throughput capacity and a 22 month completion period. Contractual and compliance implications include performance, commissioning obligations and tax treatment.

Invoice Management System implementation faces calls for extended pilot to address operational and compliance challenges for MSMEs.
FISME requests a nine month extension and a pilot phase for the Invoice Management System, asserting that recipient actions in IMS affect supplier compliance regardless of supplier participation, making the system effectively non optional. The brief rollout window between API release and go live forces rapid software changes, training and process reengineering, imposing disproportionate operational and technological burdens on MSMEs and retailers and risking disruption to Input Tax Credit reconciliation and GST compliance.

Production-linked incentive scheme expansion boosts domestic component manufacturing for air conditioners and LED lights, enabling higher local value addition.
The Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for White Goods provisionally selected 24 beneficiaries in the third round-18 new applicants and 6 existing beneficiaries upgraded-while 13 applicants were referred to the Committee of Experts and one applicant withdrew; overall 84 companies under the Scheme are projected to bring committed investments and increased production during the Scheme period. The Scheme offers graded incentives on incremental sales after a gestation period to build a domestic component ecosystem for Air Conditioners and LED Lights and raise domestic value addition.

Tax terrorism and raid raj reforms urged to restore investor confidence and protect manufacturing and wages.
The budget is urged to eliminate raid raj and Tax Terrorism by reforming a punitive, arbitrary tax administration-simplifying GST, reducing multiplicity of rates and cesses, curbing GST evasion and fraudulent entities, and replacing adversarial enforcement with predictable compliance-to restore investor confidence, protect manufacturing jobs against import competition, and shore up wages and purchasing power to stimulate domestic investment and consumption.

Tax terrorism undermining investment: budget must end punitive tax practices and protect manufacturing and wages.
The statement asserts that a punitive tax regime labelled as Tax Terrorism-exemplified by a complex, multi rate GST with alleged large evasion and fraudulent entities-has depressed private domestic investment and driven wealthy emigrants. It further links sustained Chinese imports and a large trade deficit to damage in labour intensive manufacturing, and attributes weak consumption to stagnant or declining real wages. The statement urges the upcoming budget to eliminate raid raj and tax terrorism, simplify GST and curb evasion, protect manufacturing jobs, and restore wages and purchasing power to revive investment.

GST refund fraud: bail granted to accused amid custodial detention and indications of wider third party involvement.
Grant of bail to eight accused in an alleged GST refund fraud where firms allegedly existed only on paper to claim export-related refunds for medicines; prosecution cites conspiracy to register bogus exporters and procedural malpractices, while the court noted wider involvement of firm owners and authorized signatories and the applicants' prolonged custody and indigence in evaluating continued detention.

SGST reimbursement relief for hydropower projects enhances viability through state-CPSU joint ventures and state equity participation.
Approval of SGST reimbursement concessions was granted for two hydropower projects to improve financial viability via joint ventures between the state and CPSUs, with state equity participation; the projects involve substantial capital investment and are expected to provide recurring free power allocations and local area development funds. The cabinet also approved a restoration policy for terminated large hydropower projects with substantial site progress to facilitate timely revival and promote investment and employment.

Waiver scheme under Section 128A: portal forms available; older appeals require appellate authority to request backend withdrawal.
Advisory confirms GST SPL 01 and GST SPL 02 are available on the GST portal and that waiver applications require withdrawal of appeals against the underlying demand. Portal withdrawal for APL 01 is available except for appeals filed before 21.03.2023; for those pending appeals taxpayers must request the concerned Appellate Authority to forward a withdrawal request to GSTN through the State Nodal Officer for backend removal. Difficulties should be reported via the GST self service ticketing category "Issues related to Waiver Scheme."

GSTR-2B generation schedule updated; recomputation allowed after system actions following revised filing timelines.
Generation of the Draft GSTR-2B for December 2024 (Quarter Oct-Dec 2024) is rescheduled to 16 January 2025 pursuant to extended filing due dates, in accordance with rule 60 of the CGST Rules, 2017. Taxpayers may recompute the Draft GSTR-2B if actions are taken in the Invoice Management System after the draft's generation on or after 16 January 2025, allowing updates to inward supplies data following the revised schedule.

Central allocation unfairness: Karnataka's contributions exceed its share, prompting claims of inequitable resource distribution.
The Chief Minister alleges a substantial shortfall in the Union government's allocation to Karnataka, arguing the state's significant GDP and GST contributions are not reflected in central tax devolution and grants. He attributes the shortfall to a reduction in Karnataka's tax share under the 15th Finance Commission, quantifies the resulting five year loss, and asserts the denial of a recommended compensatory special grant. The statement frames the issue as inequitable resource allocation within fiscal federalism, criticises state political leaders for not advocating the state's entitlement, and calls for public mobilisation to claim the state's fiscal rights.