Customs duty recovery may continue after levy notifications expire where liability accrued on importation, but valid Advance Authorisations supported by unrevoked export-obligation discharge and redemption certificates confer exemption from countervailing and anti-dumping duties. Product-specific trade-remedial duty on alleged castings requires component-wise proof that the goods retain the essential character of castings; intended end use is insufficient. Extended limitation requires collusion, wilful misstatement or suppression intended to evade duty, and prior departmental knowledge defeats that basis. Demands beyond the statutory outer limit are time-barred.

Classification of low-ethoxylated lauryl alcohol ethoxylate depends on the tariff headings and Chapter Note 3 under GIR 1. Chapter Note 3 imposes cumulative conditions: the product must form a transparent or translucent liquid or stable emulsion without separation of insoluble matter, and reduce surface tension. Chemical test reports showing a translucent liquid with separated insoluble matter fail the first condition, even where the surface-tension requirement is met. Water-insoluble surface-active products are excluded from Heading 3402 and classified as miscellaneous chemical products under Heading 3824. Classification under Heading 3824 consequently displaced the duty demand, interest and penalties founded on Heading 3402.

Accused persons must receive prosecution sanction orders where non-supply would prejudice defence preparation and risk a miscarriage of justice. A limitation objection concerning alleged misconduct may be premature at trial inception when evidence is needed to determine whether conduct forms part of a continuing series or an isolated, time-barred act; delay may also be condoned upon proper explanation. Absence of sanction can be raised at the threshold, whereas alleged defects in an existing sanction, including non-application of mind, require examination at trial. Repeal of the Companies Act, 1956 does not invalidate pending investigations or consequential prosecutions preserved under the General Clauses Act and the Companies Act, 2013 savings provisions.

Fraudulent removal and replacement of financed, hypothecated machinery with lower-value machinery can establish fraudulent trading through cumulative documentary and circumstantial evidence. Financing records, invoices, hypothecation, independent valuations, physical indications of removal, lack of creditor consent, and an unsupported explanation for substituted machinery supported the inference of fraudulent intent. A technical dispute over the machinery's identity did not remove the Adjudicating Authority's jurisdiction. The Appellate Tribunal upheld fraudulent trading under the Code and affirmed the contribution direction, finding no basis to treat the quantified depletion of the corporate debtor's assets as arbitrary; depreciation and realisable-value arguments did not displace that finding.

Post-conviction compounding of a cheque dishonour offence is unavailable once criminal revision has been dismissed on merits and has affirmed the conviction and sentence. Finality prevents inherent jurisdiction from being used to review or nullify a concluded criminal adjudication, and a subsequent settlement cannot indirectly reopen the conviction. Authorities permitting compounding were distinguishable on the stated facts. The petition seeking compounding was not maintainable; compounding was declined and the petition was dismissed with costs.

The issue is whether reverse charge on employee site accommodation rented from generally unregistered providers requires GST registration in every State where accommodation is arranged. It also considers whether including accommodation in salary or reimbursing employee-incurred accommodation expenses changes reverse charge exposure or the requirement for State-wise registration.

United States-China trade relations are being conducted through continued tariff policy, prior export restrictions, and a trade truce after escalating tariffs did not achieve their intended effect of changing Chinese economic conduct. China's concentrated supply of rare-earth inputs used in electronics provided negotiating leverage and contributed to the trade armistice. Indications that Chinese goods are routed through third countries to lessen tariff exposure qualify the decline in the bilateral goods imbalance. Continued tariffs have not constrained China's manufacturing expansion or its access to export markets.

RBI required Latur District Central Cooperative Bank to remove directors considered ineligible for exceeding the ten-year maximum tenure applicable to district central cooperative bank directors. The action invoked director ineligibility under the Banking Regulation Act. Following a complaint and a court-directed timeline for regulatory action, RBI sought responses from the concerned directors, seven of whom resigned. An issue was raised over whether the tenure cap could apply retrospectively to appointments made before its stated commencement and whether it was being applied uniformly.

Unidentified specific-purpose contributions recorded as corpus donations require consideration of whether they must also be treated as anonymous contributions for audit-report and income-tax return purposes. The issue includes the effect of unavailable donor names on filing the donor statement in Form 10BD and on corresponding disclosures in audit reporting and return filing.

Service of hearing notices and the resulting reasonable opportunity of hearing before the Commissioner (Appeals) require examination. The appellant contends that notices were not served and that CESTAT decided the appeal on merits without addressing that procedural objection. Verification is pending on whether a response concerning this issue was filed before CESTAT, with further hearing listed for 18 February 2026.

Remuneration paid to foreign nationals under a genuine direct employer-employee relationship falls outside GST because employee services in the course of employment are excluded from supply. Employment contracts, payroll, tax withholding, benefits and parity with Indian employees support direct employment rather than secondment or manpower supply. Such employees do not qualify as non-resident taxable persons where they make no supplies and have an Indian residence; their services therefore do not satisfy the conditions for imported services. Alternatively, where a related-party supply is assumed, absence of an invoice and full recipient input tax credit result in nil taxable value, leaving no IGST payable.

Biometric Aadhaar authentication is required from October 1 for domestic LPG consumers to book subsidised refills at the regulated retail selling price. Authentication can be completed through delivery personnel, distributor showrooms or designated mobile applications. Consumers unwilling or unable to authenticate may obtain LPG at the applicable market price without subsidy after registering their choice through specified digital channels. The framework distinguishes subsidised LPG linked to Aadhaar-authenticated consumers from market-priced LPG and seeks targeted subsidy delivery, reduced leakage, and prevention of diversion, duplicate connections and ineligible access.

Government grants for acquisition of depreciable fixed assets may be accounted for through the deferred income method. The asset remains recorded at gross book cost, and depreciation is charged on that full cost. The deferred grant is recognised in the Income and Expenditure Account systematically over the asset's useful life in the same periods or proportion as related depreciation. For tax computation, the grant is generally deducted from actual cost or written-down value, potentially creating differences between book and tax depreciation.

Directors of District Central Cooperative Banks and Central Cooperative Banks are subject to a maximum 10-year tenure under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, as amended by the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025. RBI directed removal of a director ineligible to continue under section 10A(2A)(i), read with section 56, following concerns that directors of Latur District Central Cooperative Bank had exceeded the permitted tenure.

GST classification distinguishes petroleum exploration, mining and drilling support under heading 9986 from professional, technical and business services under heading 9983. Operational oil and gas extraction support includes well-related and extraction-unit activities, but excludes geological, geophysical and related consulting. Geological and geophysical consulting and mineral exploration or evaluation fall within heading 9983. Services outside these specified entries must be classified under their respective headings and taxed accordingly.

Input tax credit on debit notes is determined, from 1 January 2021, by the financial year in which the debit note is issued rather than that of the underlying invoice. For ITC availed on or after that date, the amended rule governs debit notes issued either before or after that date. Where an e-invoice is generated in the prescribed manner, electronic production of the QR code containing the embedded Invoice Reference Number is sufficient instead of a physical tax invoice during movement of goods.

Upon expiry of the temporary global measure, an India-targeted 10 per cent Section 301 tariff, linked to forced-labour concerns, replaced it; the effective charge for most covered exports remained MFN duty plus 10 per cent. The current regime applies the Section 301 tariff to Indian exports except specified goods, with separate sectoral duties on steel, aluminium and auto components. Smartphones, medicines and energy products are exempt.

Income-tax Rules, 2026 now permit faceless assessment, reassessment or recomputation communications to be issued by electronic communication rather than by affixing a digital signature. Recovery-of-tax procedures are revised by deleting specified provisions, omitting an exception for arrest and detention, and correcting a cross-reference. The deadline in the valuer-registration and authorised income-tax-practitioner registration rules is extended to 31 March 2027. Revised Form 169 requires asset-specific valuer applications, eligibility and disqualification disclosures, supporting qualifications and a declaration of impartiality; revised Form 171 requires practitioner eligibility, qualifications, registration and disqualification particulars. The procedural amendments to rules 160, 176 and 225 apply from 1 April 2026, while the remaining changes apply from 17 September 2026.

Risk-based selective physical boarding of vessels at Paradeep, Dhamra and Gopalpur ports will be based on advance profiling of compliance history, voyage details, ports of call, itinerary, cargo, and declarations concerning crew effects, stores and satellite devices. Port operators must provide weekly berth lists, while the Boarding Section must assess risk and report physical boardings with recorded justifications. Where physical boarding is not selected, the master and shipping agent remain responsible for accurate, complete and truthful electronic declarations and compliance with customs requirements for onboard stores. Masters must safeguard declared stores and prevent unlawful unloading or consumption, while agents must promptly report logistical, itinerary and documentation changes. Cargo discharge and sailing operations proceed upon Entry Inward and advance port clearance.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 will be operationalised across ports in phases from 1 September 2026. Cochin Port is scheduled for implementation from 21 September 2026. Shipping lines, shipping agents and other stakeholders operating through Cochin Customs must comply with the framework and timely file prescribed electronic messages through the Customs Automated System to facilitate smooth cargo operations and clearance.