Input tax credit fraud uncovered through bogus GST invoices leading to arrest under CGST Section 132 and ongoing investigation.
CGST Anti Evasion officers uncovered a network of seven firms issuing bogus GST invoices without movement of goods to avail and pass on inadmissible input tax credit of approximately thirty-four crore; the organiser admitted involvement citing bank action, was arrested under CGST penal provisions as the offences are cognizable and non bailable, and further investigation continues.

GST compensation released to states, with central disbursement complemented by prior back to back loans to address shortfalls.
Central Government released additional GST Compensation of Rs. 17,000 crore on 3 November 2021, bringing total compensation disbursed in 2021 22 to Rs. 60,000 crore. The release follows GST Council decisions and is accompanied by back to back loans of Rs. 1.59 lakh crore issued in lieu of compensation shortfalls during the current financial year. A state wise schedule of allocations for the Rs. 17,000 crore tranche is provided.

GST revenue recovery driven by increased compliance and administrative measures boosting collections and IGST settlements.
October 2021 saw the second-highest monthly gross GST collections driven by economic recovery and strengthened tax administration; receipts comprised central, state and integrated components with regular IGST settlements and notable import contributions. Enhanced compliance resulted from facilitative measures (nil filing by SMS, QRMP, auto-population, GSTN capacity upgrades) together with deterrence (e-way bill blocking, registration suspension for serial non-filers, blocking of credit), while the GST Council continues to consider further steps to curb fraudulent input tax credit.

Back-to-back loan facility for GST compensation shortfall enables frontloaded state funding to support pandemic response and capital projects.
The Central Government released a tranche under the back-to-back loan facility to States and UTs with legislatures to address GST compensation shortfalls, with all eligible recipients agreeing to the funding mechanism; the loans are intended to support pandemic response and capital expenditure. The tranche is financed from five-year Central borrowings issued in the current financial year at a stated weighted average yield and is not expected to require additional market borrowing, and a recipient-wise allocation schedule accompanies the release.

GST evasion enforcement: arrests for fake firms and fraudulent input tax credit, ongoing probe and seizures.
Arrests were effected under the GST Act for operating multiple fake firms and fake billing schemes that generated and utilised fraudulent input tax credit to defraud the exchequer; investigative seizures included falsified stamps, banking instruments, transporter and weighing records and other papers used to substantiate sham transactions, three persons have been arrested and remanded to judicial custody while further probe continues.

Input Tax Credit availability: late supplier records after return deadline will not be reflected or auto populated for recipients.
Availability of Input Tax Credit depends on timely reporting of supplier invoices and debit notes by the return filing deadline; records reported after that deadline will be shown as ITC Not Available in the recipient's reconciliation and will not auto populate into the recipient's return, and recipients claiming credit contrary to these timing rules may face action by tax authorities.

Input Tax Credit availability: auto-drafted statement shows ITC based on supplier returns and monthly availability.
Form GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted Input Tax Credit statement that indicates, for each supplier-filed document, whether ITC is available to the recipient; it is generated from supplier-filed returns and input service distributor information and published to taxpayers on a monthly cycle to assist in ITC reconciliation and GST return compliance.

Fraudulent Input Tax Credit claim leads to arrest for alleged IGST refund fraud and ongoing GST investigation.
Central GST officers uncovered a network of fictitious exporters that allegedly availed and utilized fake Input Tax Credit to claim unlawful IGST refunds. Risk analysis identified a risky exporter and e way bill tracing showed purported supplies inconsistent with vehicle movements, supporting a coordinated scheme. An individual alleged to have masterminded the network was arrested and remanded to judicial custody; further criminal investigation by tax authorities is ongoing.

Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant released to eligible states under constitutional provision following Fifteenth Finance Commission recommendations.
The Department of Expenditure released the seventh monthly instalment of the Post Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant, disbursing Rs. 9,871 crore to 17 eligible States under the Fifteenth Finance Commission framework, raising total releases in 2021 22 to Rs. 69,097 crore of a recommended Rs. 1,18,452 crore; eligibility and quantum were based on the assessed gap between State revenue and expenditure after accounting for devolution.

Back-to-back loan facility funds States to cover GST compensation shortfall and support health and infrastructure spending.
The Central Government released funds to States and Union Territories with legislatures under a back-to-back loan facility to meet the GST compensation shortfall, passing through central borrowings on specified tenor tranches to bridge gaps from inadequate cess collections; eligible units agreed to the arrangement, which is additional to routine cess-based compensation and is frontloaded to assist public expenditure planning, health infrastructure and capital projects, with allocations set out by State and tenor tranche.

GST revenue collection rises, signalling recovery and higher Centre-State settlements after regular IGST transfers and compliance boost.
The release reports gross GST revenue collected for September 2021 by component and notes that regular IGST transfers to CGST and SGST increased total Centre and State receipts after settlement; it records higher receipts versus the prior year, stronger import and domestic transaction revenues, rising average quarterly collections as an indicator of economic recovery, contributions from anti evasion measures, and a state wise table showing varied jurisdictional growth.

Self-service BoE retrieval functionality: webinars explain how taxpayers can fetch missing Bill of Entry details into GSTR-2A.
Self-service functionality enabling taxpayers to fetch missing Bill of Entry (BoE) details from ICEGATE for population in Form GSTR-2A is available on the GST Portal. GSTN is conducting multilingual webinars to demonstrate the BoE fetching process, answer live queries via YouTube live chat/comments, and will archive recordings on its dedicated YouTube channel for later viewing.

Bill of Entry retrieval lets taxpayers fetch missing import records from ICEGATE into the GST portal for GSTR-2A reconciliation.
On-demand retrieval allows taxpayers to fetch missing Bill of Entry details from ICEGATE into the GST portal when records do not auto-populate in GSTR-2A after the two-day update period. Users enter Port Code, BoE Number, BoE Date and Reference Date, then trigger QUERY ICEGATE; query history and status appear about thirty minutes later. Retrieved fields for IMPG and IMPGSEZ records include period for GSTR-2A, Reference Date, BoE identifiers, taxable value and tax amount, with IMPGSEZ also showing supplier GSTIN and trade name. Taxpayers must verify details and may raise helpdesk tickets with specified information if problems occur.

GST rate concessions and exemptions for specified medicines and goods, plus procedural reforms to streamline compliance and refunds.
The Council recommended targeted GST rate changes and exemptions for specified medicines, goods and services, including nil IGST on certain personal use imported orphan drugs and concessional rates for COVID 19 treatments; reclassification and re rating of several goods; introduction of reverse charge and export against LUT requirements for mentha oil; a special composition scheme for brick kilns; service sector parity adjustments and new e commerce tax liabilities; clarifications on classification and refund scope; procedural relaxations for ITC 04 filings and retrospective interest amendment; and compliance streamlining measures, while establishing two GoMs to study inverted duty correction and technology based compliance enhancements.

GST Council meeting outcomes announced by the Finance Minister, providing regulatory guidance on GST administration and implementation.
Chairing the GST Council, the Finance Minister presented the Council's regulatory outcomes and policy guidance on the administration of the Goods and Services Tax and communicated operative decisions to the public via a media conference, serving as an official press release summarising the Council's conclusions and implementation directions.

E-way bill requirement for service-led supplies: generate EWB when goods accompany a service using HSN and SAC codes.
Advisory explains that the E-way bill obligation under Rule 138 applies to movement of goods, not pure service supplies; no EWB is required where only services and no goods move. Where services involve movement of goods, taxpayers should generate an E-way bill by entering the goods HSN code along with the Service Accounting Code on the portal.

Fake input tax credit racket triggers arrests and criminal prosecution under GST law provisions for invoice fraud.
A criminal scheme generated and circulated fraudulent input tax credit using at least thirteen fictitious firms created on forged documents; a creator, a commission agent and a chartered accountant coordinated transfers from established firms to fake firms and then to a private company, from which cash was withdrawn and returned after commission deductions, resulting in a recorded fraudulent ITC of about Rs. 121 crore and arrests under GST penal provisions with investigations ongoing.

GST revenue recovery signals economic rebound as monthly collections and settlements rise after pandemic slowdown.
Gross GST revenue for August 2021 totaled Rs. 1,12,020 crore, comprising CGST, SGST, IGST (including import receipts) and cess; regular IGST settlements and an equal ad hoc IGST distribution between Centre and States/UTs produced consolidated post settlement CGST and SGST totals. The release highlights year on year and pre pandemic growth in collections, attributes the rebound to economic recovery and anti evasion measures, and provides a state wise table of monthly GST collection growth, excluding GST on import of goods.

Late fee amnesty extension expands filing window, revocation opportunities and EVC-based GST return filing access.
The Government extended the late fee amnesty closing date for reduced or waived late fees on FORM GSTR-3B for affected tax periods, widened the filing window for revocation of cancellation of registration limited to cancellations under clause (b) or (c) of sub section (2) of section 29 of the CGST Act, and further permitted EVC-based filing for FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-1/IFF to facilitate compliance.

HSN Code reporting requirement mandates digit-specific HSN in GSTR-1; technical issues can block filing and require corrective action.
Requirement to declare the HSN Code on tax invoices and in GSTR-1 is mandated with digit-specific reporting tied to aggregate turnover. Taxpayers must include the applicable HSN in Table 12 of GSTR-1. Reported operational issues include missing HSN entries in the Table 12 drop-down, blank HSN fields in JSON from the offline tool, and upload errors such as processing failures and duplicate invoice number rejections, for which taxpayers are directed to follow published corrective guidance.