Non-submission of a written reply to a GST show-cause notice does not, by itself, dispense with an opportunity for a personal hearing. An oral hearing can enable the taxpayer to present its position independently of a written reply. The notice required a reply but recorded the hearing date, time and venue as not applicable. The substantive tax liability remains undecided.

GST registration cancellation is unjustified solely for non-deposit of input tax credit where returns are regularly filed. Sections 73 and 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 provide the applicable procedure for recovery of input tax credit. The recovery issue should therefore be addressed through that procedure rather than cancellation of registration on that ground alone.

Conditional bail for the accused in proceedings concerning an alleged GST offence requires a personal bond with two sureties, attendance when called on notice, and abstention from similar offences. The accused had remained in judicial custody since arrest, a voluntary statement had been recorded, and the respondents accepted release on conditions. The bail application was made under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in relation to an alleged offence under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

GST adjudication is procedurally vitiated when a show-cause notice under GST legislation requires a reply but specifies no date, time or venue for a personal hearing and no opportunity of hearing is afforded. Procedural fairness requires an opportunity of hearing before adjudication, notwithstanding the requirement to submit a reply to the notice.

Pre-trial bail is granted on a personal bond and two sureties, subject to cooperation in the judicial process. On a preliminary assessment, no material implicating the accused applicant is apparent apart from the applicant's disclosure statement. The grant does not adjudicate the merits of the prosecution, and the criminal trial remains pending.

Input tax credit on imports should not be denied solely because IGST is absent from the GST portal where the apparent cause is an ICEGATE-GSTN integration failure and the taxpayer has no role in transmitting the data. Documents supporting payment of tax should be considered, and IGST paid on imports reconciled and duly reflected in the electronic credit ledger. Non-reflection caused by a systemic lapse does not itself determine credit entitlement; the merits and other contentions remain open for fresh consideration.

GST registration cancellation notices must disclose the specific contravention and material particulars needed for an effective reply. Where wrongful input tax credit is alleged, relevant particulars may include the suppliers and the period involved. Fundamental omissions cannot be cured by invoking statutory provisions on appeal or relying on particulars in separate proceedings. Additional evidence in GST appeals must comply with Rule 112 and its procedural safeguards. An inquiry report relied on adversely must be open to an effective and reasonable opportunity for rebuttal.

Confiscation for stock discrepancies requires independent proof of the statutory ingredients, including intent to evade tax; a discrepancy alone does not establish clandestine supply or deliberate evasion. Visual estimates unsupported by actual weighment and internally contradictory verification sheets do not reliably establish excess stock. Stock-accounting discrepancies must be examined under the regular demand and assessment provisions rather than treated as grounds for automatic confiscation. Departmental appeals involving interpretation of the GST Act fall outside prescribed monetary limits, including disputes over whether confiscation or regular demand provisions apply to stock discrepancies.

Rule 138(3) exempts qualifying intra-State feeder movements of up to 50 kilometres from furnishing e-way bill Part-B conveyance details when goods move from the consignor's business to the transporter's business for further transportation. The e-way bill remains valid, and an automated portal warning cannot override the exemption. A minor procedural omission unconnected with intent to evade tax cannot sustain a penalty under section 129(3). Route deviation alone does not establish evasion without corroborating evidence, which the Revenue must produce. Recurring legal issues fall outside the prescribed monetary limits for departmental appeals.

Specialised ophthalmic chairs, stools, refraction chair units, operating tables, instrument tables and trolleys fall under heading 9402 as medical or surgical furniture, rather than heading 9018 for medical or ophthalmic instruments and appliances. The HSN Explanatory Notes exclude medical and surgical furniture from heading 9018 and cover specialised operating and examination tables, eye-treatment seats and medical instrument tables and trolleys under heading 9402. Motorised surgeon's chairs, doctors' stools and refraction chair units fall under subheading 94021090; operating tables and instrument tables and trolleys fall under 94029090. Their supplies attract 18% GST, comprising 9% CGST and 9% SGST.

Advertisement, marketing and promotion expenditure can be treated as an international transaction only where an agreement, arrangement or understanding with the associated enterprise is established. Incidental enhancement of brand value and comparisons with other companies' expenditure do not establish such a transaction, and the Bright Line Test is not a prescribed method for determining the arm's length price. Management support fee cross-charges included in a cost-plus service base must be examined alongside their effect on related service revenue; section 92(3) prevents transfer pricing provisions from reducing taxable income. Challenges directed solely at the initiation of penalty proceedings under sections 270A and 271AA are premature at that stage.

Carry bags made from compostable polymers or biodegradable plastic substitutes fall under Chapter 39 as plastic articles, rather than Chapter 48 as paper articles. Where headings 3901 to 3925 do not apply and no specific entry covers the product under heading 3926, residual HSN 39269099 applies. Entry 319 of Schedule I to Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate) covers biodegradable plastic bags and provides a 5% GST rate, strictly subject to their biodegradability. Interim testing indicated conformity with IS/ISO 17088, while the final test report remained pending.

Tea packaged with spoons, glass cups or wooden honey dippers for a single price constitutes a mixed supply where the items are independently marketable and not naturally bundled in the ordinary course of business. Tea's predominance alone does not establish a composite supply. A mixed supply attracts the highest GST rate applicable to its components: 18% for tea paired with stainless steel or plastic spoons or glass cups, and 5% for specified teas paired with wooden honey dippers. For these combinations, the HSN code corresponds to the higher-rated component; where both components attract the same rate, either component's code may be used.

Rice husk composite board made from extracted fibres bonded with PVC resin exceeding 15% by weight falls under heading 4411 as fibreboard, rather than heading 4410 as particle board. The HSN notes to heading 4410 exclude boards with organic binder exceeding that threshold. Classification depends on the interpretative rules, tariff notes and HSN, having regard to composition, manufacturing process and essential character; Indian Standard specifications are not mandatory for primary tariff classification. Specific GST rate entries for rice husk board apply across Chapter 44 or any other chapter: the rate was 12% before 22 September 2025 and 5% from that date.

Escaped income of at least Rs. 50 lakh is a jurisdictional condition for reassessment beyond the ordinary three-year period under Section 149(1)(b). Time allowed to respond to a show-cause notice and periods covered by a court-ordered stay may be excluded when computing limitation, while the sixth proviso provides a consequential minimum seven-day period. These provisions do not enlarge substantive jurisdiction. Approval under Section 151 requires independent consideration of the assessee's reply, the escaped-income quantum and the permissible reopening period. An order must stand on its recorded reasons, which cannot be supplemented for the first time in writ proceedings.

Income-tax claims arising before approval of a resolution plan and excluded from it are extinguished, and reassessment for those dues cannot be initiated or continued against the corporate debtor. The approved plan binds government creditors, and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code overrides inconsistent laws. Rejection of a waiver of statutory obligations does not preserve excluded claims or permit fresh demands for the earlier period. Clean-slate protection bars reassessment itself, not merely recovery. Reassessment powers cannot be used against the resolved debtor solely to collect evidence against former promoters or third parties; other available powers may be used to pursue permissible action against them.

Pre-approval income tax claims omitted from an approved resolution plan stand extinguished, and the plan binds government creditors. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code overrides inconsistent Income Tax Act provisions, preventing reassessment to pursue those claims. Refusal to waive statutory obligations in the plan approval order does not preserve an excluded claim. Reassessment provisions address income that has escaped assessment and cannot be used merely to collect evidence against former management or third parties. Lawful action against them may be pursued under separate statutory powers.

Charitable exemption for fee-based citizen services requires an annual examination of whether charges are significantly above service costs and, if so, whether the applicable receipts threshold is exceeded under the first proviso to Section 2(15). Charges at cost or nominally above cost do not constitute trade, commerce or business, and registration under Section 12AA does not preclude the enquiry. Application of income under Section 11 is a separate enquiry: once accounts and relevant material are produced, denial must rest on their scrutiny rather than general observations. Operating expenditure ordinarily qualifies if the activity advances general public utility without attracting the proviso. A penalty under Section 271(1)(c) cannot survive independently of its foundational addition.

Sales-tax incentives for industrial development are capital receipts when their purpose is to attract investment and generate employment; their source or delivery mechanism does not determine their character. For the export deduction under section 80HHC, sales tax and excise duty are excluded from total turnover despite section 145A, while 90% of net interest is excluded from business profits. Interest relating to Deep Discount Bonds Series A and B was deductible.

Interest under section 28 of the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 on enhanced compensation for compulsory acquisition of agricultural land forms part of the compensation and is treated as a capital receipt, not income from other sources. Amendments governing taxation of interest on compensation do not alter its compensatory character. The interest is not taxable under section 56(2)(viii) read with section 57(iv). Where the addition treating the interest as taxable is deleted, a consequential penalty under section 270A based on that addition loses its foundation and is deleted.