Non-issuance of a Form GST DRC-04 acknowledgment for GST payments made during inspection rendered the proceedings concluded in Form GST DRC-05 invalid. The representation disputing the payments and seeking a refund had not been considered. Delay in submitting it did not alone justify rejecting the claim, given the family wedding coinciding with the inspection and related customary formalities. The orders were set aside, and refund of IGST, CGST and SGST was directed within eight weeks of receipt of the order. Manual appeals were permitted within twelve weeks.

The benefit of bail cannot be denied merely because an accused cannot furnish the bail bond in the prescribed manner, as withholding it on that ground affects the right to personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. Where a family-member surety requirement prevents release, it may be modified to permit two local solvent sureties and additional cash security. The security is to be held in an interest-bearing account at a nationalised bank, renewable until conclusion of the trial and subject to its final outcome. The remaining bail conditions stay intact.

Intermediaries arrange or facilitate supplies for others, while services supplied on a principal-to-principal basis on the supplier's own account are not intermediary services. Such services to overseas group entities qualify as exports where the recipient and place of supply are outside India, payment is received in convertible foreign exchange, and the Indian supplier and foreign recipient are separately incorporated. Qualifying exports support refunds of unutilised input tax credit with statutory interest. Principal Bench jurisdiction applies to refund appeals involving place of supply, including where intermediary status determines it. Refund rejection grounds must be specified in the show-cause notice and appellate findings reasoned; inadequately communicated grounds violate natural justice.

The concessional 12% GST rate for railway construction requires a composite supply of works contract relating to immovable property. Classification as construction services or supply to the railways alone does not establish eligibility. For railway earthwork, bridge and allied services, invoices described general construction services and a qualifying composite works contract was not established. The services attracted 18% GST rather than the concessional rate.

Section 56 provides for interest where an admissible GST refund is not granted within 60 days of receipt of the refund application. Interest cannot be denied solely because disputed tax was paid through the Electronic Credit Ledger and the debited input tax credit was restored through FORM GST PMT-03 after the demand was set aside. Sections 107(6) and 107(7) prescribe minimum payments for an appeal and the statutory stay of recovery, not a ceiling on payment. Paying the entire disputed demand does not waive entitlement to otherwise payable statutory refund interest.

Suppressed outward supplies cannot be established by aggregate diary figures without a demonstrable factual basis. A reasoned determination requires identification and entry-wise examination of relevant transactions, reconciliation with accounts and statutory returns, and consideration of the taxpayer's explanations and supporting evidence. Missing invoices or books during investigation do not alone establish suppression; subsequently produced invoices and claims of disclosure in GSTR-1 also require verification. Consequential tax and penalty must be determined through a reasoned decision after a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

Incomplete or expired e-way bills can attract a penalty under Section 129(3) when goods are transported without a valid explanation. A valid e-way bill requires completed Parts A and B, including vehicle particulars. The registered person causing movement remains responsible for valid transit documentation despite transporter negligence. Compliance must exist at interception; later updates to vehicle details or disclosure in GSTR-1 returns do not cure the breach. Matching goods and invoices, or an asserted absence of intent to evade tax, do not justify waiver where the documentation defaults lack a substantiated explanation.

For bunched appeals, Section 109(8) of the CGST Act, read with Rule 110A of the CGST Rules, permits placement before a Single Member Bench only with the President's approval, if their cumulative value does not exceed Rs. 50 lakh and no question of law arises. Rejection of an IGST refund is a denial of entitlement, rather than a determination against the taxpayer of tax, input tax credit, fine, fee or penalty under that provision. Whether the amending notification is curative and retrospective or substantive and prospective raises a question of law requiring Division Bench consideration. Retrospective operation and refund entitlement remain to be determined on merits.

Kraft, greaseproof and glassine paper bags made using adhesive glue fall under HSN 48194000 as other sacks and bags, including cones, within heading 4819. They are not covered by the specified GST exemption notifications and attract GST at 5% under Entry 319 of Schedule I, comprising 2.5% central tax and 2.5% state tax. Input tax credit on inputs and input services used to manufacture these taxable bags is available subject to the conditions in section 16 of the CGST and TNGST Acts.

Odisha applies six central GST clarifications, with necessary changes, in implementing the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The subjects include differences between input tax credit availed in FORM GSTR-3B and credit detailed in FORM GSTR-2A for financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19, and credit entitlement where the place of supply is determined under the proviso to section 12(8) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The applicable clarifications also address the effect on limitation of section 75(2) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; other GST issues; the treatment of GST statutory dues where insolvency proceedings have been finalised under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016; and the manner of filing refund applications by unregistered persons.

Registered persons with aggregate turnover of up to Rs. 2 crore in financial year 2021-22 are exempt from filing the annual return in Form GSTR-9 for that financial year under the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The exemption was issued on 15 July 2022 by the Commissioner of State Tax, Odisha, on the recommendations of the Council, under the first proviso to section 44 of the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Section 90(2) permits application of the more beneficial domestic or tax treaty provisions, while section 74 governs the carry-forward and set-off of capital losses. Brought-forward short-term capital losses from years in which domestic law applied need not be set off against current-year long-term capital gains exempt under the India-Mauritius tax treaty and may be carried forward. Distinct streams of capital gains and losses may be treated separately when selecting beneficial provisions.

For goods transported from 1 February to 31 March 2018, an e-way bill was not required. Consequently, the resulting demand based on that requirement was invalid. The State accepted that the applicable legal position was governed by a Division Bench decision concerning the e-way bill requirement for goods transported during that period.

Depository receipts may be issued against units of a registered real estate investment trust as foreign-currency instruments listed on specified international exchanges. The underlying units must be deposited with a registered domestic custodian. Fresh issues require approval by at least 75% of votes cast, subject to exceptions for simultaneous initial domestic offerings and subsequent offerings within a previously approved limit. Units held for DR issuance count as non-public holdings when calculating minimum public unitholding. Applicable holding limits require aggregation of domestic and DR-backed units, including holdings of persons acting in concert where relevant.

Where a Bill of Export is filed under a claim for drawback or another similar scheme laid down under the Customs and Central Excise Duties Drawback Rules, 2017, the Unit, Developer or Domestic Tariff Area supplier must claim the benefit from the Specified Officer. If the Unit or Developer does not intend to claim the benefit, it must give a disclaimer to the Domestic Tariff Area supplier so that the supplier can claim it.

Dynamic QR code applicability to business-to-consumer (B2C) invoices and compliance with Notification No. 14/2020-Central Tax dated 21 March 2020 are addressed in a clarification issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under section 168(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The clarification is adopted under the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act.

A service exporter who is a resident individual is deemed to have submitted the export declaration form (EDF) when the exporter provides the authorised dealer with the information required in relation to receipt of payment for crediting the exporter's account. For a service exporter other than a resident individual, the same deemed submission applies if the inward remittance for the service does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh or its foreign-currency equivalent. For imports of services, details furnished by an importer other than a resident individual must be entered in IDPMS where the invoice or contract value exceeds Rs. 10 lakh or its foreign-currency equivalent. Entry must be made within five working days of receipt of the details.

GST adjudication under the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act requires a show cause notice before an order is passed, and the order must remain within the grounds stated in the notice. Proceedings under section 74 must substantiate mens rea in the notice or its annexure. A separate, case-specific annexure must identify discrepancies and relevant statutory provisions; DRC-01A intimations and enquiry reports must not be used as substitutes. An opportunity of hearing must be granted where requested in writing or where an adverse decision is contemplated.

Central clarifications dated 17 December 2021 on GST applicable to restaurant services supplied through e-commerce operators under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, have been adopted under the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act. The adopted clarifications are intended to guide territorial, enforcement, circle and assessment unit officers in relation to GST on these services.

Central field formations have been instructed, pending the recommended amendments to the CGST Act, to implement measures concerning arrest, e-way bill verification and a minimum threshold for show-cause notices. The amendments were recommended to take effect on 1 April 2027; state GST formations may issue similar instructions within their jurisdictions to promote uniformity. Proposed reforms include raising existing exemption thresholds to account for inflation and deleting the blocked input tax credit restrictions under section 17(5). Further proposals seek to reduce frivolous adjudication orders, strengthen first appeals under section 107 and shorten the time limit for issuing show-cause notices under section 74A from 42 months to 33 months.