The recent decision in M/s MMTC-PAMP India Private Limited vs Commissioner of Taxes [2026-VIL-1004-GAU] underscores a critical principle in tax administration: investigative powers must not be misused for coercive recovery. The ruling provides clarity on the scope of authority during search and inspection proceedings under GST law. At the heart of the matter was the alleged wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC) by a supplier whose registration had subsequently been cancelled. The inves... ... ...

Statutory Power of Seizure Is Accompanied by a Statutory Time Limit Section 67 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 [CGST Act] confers substantial powers of inspection, search and seizure upon the proper officer. Under Section 67(2), where the prescribed conditions are satisfied, the proper officer may seize goods liable to confiscation and documents, books or things considered useful or relevant to proceedings under the CGST Act. Where physical seizure of the goods is not practica... ... ...

Author's note During my professional practice I came across client who owns and operates bus stops at various locations in Delhi, which is actually a BOT contract with government. He asked me that, "Can I record these bus stops as asset in my Balance sheet?", but he has the right to operate those bus stops but not owns them, he can collect revenue for period as mentioned in contract. So what Ind AS says? Let's discuss Client case, say STS Ventures is my client The Government of ... ... ...

Capital Gain exemption Section 54F of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ('Act' for short) provides exemption from long term capital gains arising from transfer of a long-term capital asset other than a residential house, where the assessee invests in one residential house in India. This exemption is available only to the individual and Hindu Undivided Family. The purchase of new house shall be occurred within one year before or 2 years after the transfer of the said property. The said exemption is ava... ... ...

The Commercial Arrangement Creates a Genuine GST Question A common commercial arrangement raises an interesting GST issue. Suppose Aayra Developers, a registered developer, has allotted two commercial shops to Mr. R, an individual not registered under GST. Mr. R subsequently lets out these shops to Harpreet Ltd., a company registered under GST. Apart from rent payable to Mr. R, maintenance charges for the commercial complex are payable to Aayra Developers. Since Mr. R is unregistered, a pr... ... ...

Arbitrability of contractual GST reimbursement claims - Scope of enquiry at arbitrator-appointment stage Scope of enquiry at arbitrator-appointment stage - Prima facie existence of arbitration agreement - Scope of enquiry in the appointment of an arbitrator where the arbitration agreement is admitted - HELD THAT: - The enquiry at the stage of appointing an arbitrator is confined to the prima facie existence of an arbitration agreement and does not extend to adjudicating other objections. Sinc... ... ...

Self-help repossession of hypothecated vehicles - compliance with RBI safeguards - Delay in challenge to unlawful repossession - Compensation for arbitrary deprivation of livelihood Self-help repossession of hypothecated vehicle - RBI fair-practice safeguards - Validity of the loan agreement's repossession clause and the financier's right to self-help repossession of the hypothecated commercial vehicle - HELD THAT: - A financier may contractually repossess a financed vehicle upon defa... ... ...

Release of determined VAT refund - Interest on delayed VAT refund - Release of the VAT refund already determined by the assessing authority, with statutory interest for prolonged departmental delay HELD THAT: - As the assessing authority had found the petitioner entitled to the refund and the Department had not released it for a prolonged period, the Court found no good reason to grant further time for payment. [Paras 5, 6] The respondents were directed to calculate and pay the determined ... ... ...

CENVAT credit denial - proof of receipt and use of inputs - procedural defects in invoices Denial of CENVAT credit on inputs despite departmental verification and records establishing their receipt and use in manufacture - HELD THAT: - The departmental verification report recorded that the party-wise ledgers disclosed receipt of the goods and payment of duty on the invoices. The authorities neither called for that report nor sought an explanation from the Range Officer, and no contrary eviden... ... ...

Assessable value of final goods using reusable tools and dies - Captive-consumption exemption for separately sold tools and dies - Extended limitation for omission of amortised tool value Valuation of final goods using reusable tools and dies - Amortisation of tool and die cost - Inclusion in the assessable value of final products of tools and dies manufactured or procured by the appellant and separately sold to customers - HELD THAT: - As the tools and dies were repeatedly used for manufactu... ... ...

Revenue neutrality in inter-unit clearances - Extended period of limitation - disclosure in ER-1 returns Revenue neutrality in inter-unit clearances - Differential excise duty on iron ore pellets transferred to the assessee's own manufacturing units, where the duty was available as CENVAT credit to those units - HELD THAT: - The receiving units used the pellets as inputs, availed CENVAT credit of the duty paid and cleared their finished goods on payment of duty. Since the clearances were ... ... ...

Bagasse - agricultural waste or residue or result of any process of manufacture - Rule 6(3) Cenvat credit obligation on electricity generated from bagasse - Recovery under Rule 6(3) of the Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004 on electricity generated from bagasse and sold outside the factory, and on press-mud supplied free of cost without maintenance of separate input accounts HELD THAT: - Bagasse, being agricultural waste or residue and not the result of any process of manufacture, could not fall withi... ... ...

Admissibility of investigation statements u/s 9D of the Central Excise Act - Admissibility of CPU and pen drive data under Section 36B - Proof of clandestine clearance of Sponge Iron and Charcoal Section 9D procedure for investigation statements - Cross-examination of statement makers - Admissibility of investigation statements relied upon to establish clandestine clearance of Sponge Iron and Charcoal - HELD THAT: - The statements relied upon by the Revenue had neither been tested through exa... ... ...

CENVAT credit of concessional countervailing duty on imported coal - equivalence of concessional CVD with excise duty - Admissibility of CENVAT credit of additional customs duty paid at the concessional rate on imported coal under Notification No. 12/2012-Customs - HELD THAT: - Following the coordinate-bench decision on the identical issue in [2026 (9) TMI 1108 - GUJARAT HIGH COURT] the Court held that CVD paid at the concessional rate under the Customs notification is to be treated as equiva... ... ...

Revenue neutrality Revenue neutrality - CENVAT credit of reverse charge service tax - Sustainability of service tax demand under reverse charge for alleged supply of manpower where any tax payable was available as CENVAT credit to the appellant. - HELD THAT: - The Tribunal found it admitted that any service tax payable under reverse charge would have been available to the appellant as CENVAT credit. The matter was therefore revenue-neutral, rendering the demand unsustainable; penalty could co... ... ...

Taxability of composite works contracts prior to separate works contract service Composite works contracts - pre-01.06.2007 service tax levy - Levy of service tax under construction of residential complex service on a composite works contract executed before 01.06.2007 - HELD THAT: - The contracts involved use of materials and were composite works contracts. The question as to whether the "Works Contract Services" provided before 01.06.2007 could be charged under other heads or otherwise h... ... ...

Scheduled offence and money-laundering jurisdiction - Corresponding law under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act - Criminal misconduct by public servant - Whether offence under Section 5(1)(d) of the J&K Prevention of Corruption Act continued to correspond to a scheduled offence after omission of Section 13(1)(d) of the Central Prevention of Corruption Act? - HELD THAT: - A scheduled offence is indispensable for proceeds of crime and an investigation for money laundering. Under Section 2(... ... ...

Parole on compassionate grounds - seeking Grant of parole to enable the appellant to attend to his wife's treatment for an undisputed stage IV cancer condition HELD THAT: - The availability of other family members to care for the appellant's wife could not constitute a basis to refuse parole in view of the seriousness of her undisputed ailment. [Paras 5, 6] Parole was granted for five days under escort at the appellant's cost, subject to his reporting back to the concerned pris... ... ...

Effect of statutory omission on prior foreign exchange contraventions - Foreign investment reporting and share-allotment defaults - Mens rea in civil foreign exchange penalty proceedings - Confiscation of property involved in foreign exchange contravention - Liability of directors for foreign exchange contraventions Effect of statutory omission on prior foreign exchange contraventions - Applicability of Section 6(3) of FEMA to foreign-investment contraventions committed before its omission - ... ... ...

Pre-existing dispute over outcome-based professional fee for GST proceedings - Section 9 application - Operational debt - crystallisation of success fee - afterthoughts and moonshine disputes Admission of a Section 9 application for unpaid outcome-based professional fee arising from GST proceedings in the presence of a pre-existing dispute - HELD THAT: - Contemporaneous correspondence and rejection of the invoices before the statutory demand disclosed a substantive contest over the meaning an... ... ...