The One Time Settlement Scheme, 2022 is extended to Luxury Tax, Entertainment Tax, RD Cess, Profession Tax, and Entry of Motor Vehicles into Local Areas tax disputes, requiring payment of 50% of balance tax. Pending Central Sales Tax demands involving unavailable statutory forms are treated as disputed demands in specified circumstances. Cases with only interest or penalty outstanding may be settled on payment of 15% of that balance. Specified pending proceedings are treated as disputed cases, while undisputed deferment cases receive waiver of interest.

The Telangana One Time Settlement Scheme, 2022, for settling disputed tax under legacy Acts received an extended timetable. Applications could be filed up to 31 July 2022; scrutiny, arrear confirmation and intimation were to be completed up to 15 August 2022; and taxpayers were required to submit settlement letters and pay the agreed amount up to 31 August 2022. Further necessary action was assigned to the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes.

Biometric-based Aadhaar authentication requirements for GST registration under rule 8(4A) of the Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 are exempted in all States and Union territories other than Gujarat. The specification is issued under rule 8(4B) on the recommendations of the Council.

The Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2022, effective from 1 December 2022, omit rules 122, 124, 125, 134 and 137 of the Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. Rule 127 is amended to describe the Authority's mandate as functions rather than duties, and the Explanation is revised to define "Authority" as the Authority notified under the Act.

Appellate Tribunal filing timelines under the Odisha Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are revised. Appeals for orders communicated before 1 May 2026 and applications for orders passed before 1 February 2026 may be filed up to 31 July 2026. Appeals and applications relating to later orders remain governed by the statutory periods of three months from communication and six months from the order date, respectively. The earlier notification is superseded, subject to actions already taken or omitted, and the revision is deemed effective from 30 June 2026.

Integrated IEPFA Portal 2.0 is proposed to modernise investor claim processing through digital KYC, pre-filled Form IEPF-5, entitlement search, and a simplified e-Verification Report filing workflow. Stakeholder feedback included Aadhaar eKYC address validation, KYC for authorised representatives, entitlement-letter validation checks, bulk DSC and eSign functionality, integration of approved IEPF Form-4 data, lower-value share valuation using NSE and BSE data, and alerts for frequent address changes to prevent fraud.

Proper officers for scrutiny of returns and assessment of non-filers under the Telangana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 include authorised officers not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner of State Tax in the State Enforcement Wing. Such authorisation may be given by the Additional Commissioner of State Tax, Additional Commissioner of State Tax (GR-I), or Special Commissioner of State Tax of that wing. The notification takes effect immediately.

The amendments prescribe deemed revocation of specified registration suspensions upon furnishing pending returns, re-credit of electronic credit ledger amounts after deposit of erroneous refunds, and additional UPI and IMPS payment mechanisms. They establish the manner for calculating interest on delayed tax payment and wrongly availed and utilised input tax credit. Refund rules are revised for electricity exports, export valuation, shipping-bill mismatches and withheld integrated tax refunds. GSTR-3B, GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C reporting instructions and related GST forms are also updated.

Notional annual letting value of unsold units held as stock-in-trade may be assessed under income from house property for periods before Section 23(5) became applicable; the provision's later insertion does not bar assessment for an earlier year. No notional rent is chargeable where units are work-in-progress or where advances were received but final possession was not delivered. Annual letting value must be determined by reference to municipal ratable value and cannot be calculated through an ad hoc percentage of investment. Whether the units constituted work-in-progress requires verification; if so, no notional rental income arises.

Claimed loss from forward contracts for coriander was rejected as non-genuine because the transactions lacked payment, delivery, broker or exchange involvement, independent verification, and commercial explanation, and were settled only through journal entries. Applying the burden of proof, substance-over-form approach and test of human probabilities, the loss was treated as arising from sham arrangements designed to create a tax set-off against share-trading profits. The asserted commodity-contract loss was also speculative and could not be set off against non-speculative business income. The disallowance of the loss and denial of its adjustment against share-trading income remained effective.

Electronic voluntary and self-initiated customs payments on ICEGATE replace manual TR-6 payment procedures for past-cleared import and export transactions. Registered users may generate challans and pay electronically without further approval, but the facility cannot be used for live consignments or replace application-generated challans. Payments may be made through the Electronic Cash Ledger or enabled challan-wise modes. Manual TR-6 payments require specific approval after the transition date, supported by recorded reasons.

Accountant-certification for TDS and TCS defaults enables a person responsible for deduction or collection of tax to avoid being treated as an assessee in default under section 398(2). Form No. 149 applies to non-deduction or short deduction of tax, and Form No. 150 applies to non-collection or short collection of tax. The applicable form must be furnished to the Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or an authorised person. Rule 221 consolidates the earlier separate TDS and TCS certification framework into one provision.

PMLA attachment may continue against property holders who are not accused in the scheduled offence while proceedings against the principal accused remain pending, provided the property is alleged to represent proceeds of crime. Fixed assets may be attached as the value of proceeds of crime where material indicates layering through the entities and they do not provide cogent evidence rebutting the statutory presumptions and burden of proof. Prior acquisition or asserted explained sources do not alone exclude attachment. Attachment cannot exceed the value of proceeds of crime, but final quantification may require relief before the Special Court where prosecution proceedings remain pending.

Automated Out of Charge is available for eligible Bills of Entry filed by Authorized Economic Operator Tier 2 and Tier 3 clients through web-based goods registration. Eligibility requires completion of assessment and OTP-based authentication for duty deferment, and the Bill of Entry must not be selected for examination, scanning, or a partner government agency-related no-objection certificate. The facility operates on a risk basis, subject to a Customs system HOLD override where intelligence is available.

Air transshipment of imported goods may be covered by the TA (Transshipment Air Global) bond for Air-to-Air and Air-to-ICD movements. Registered at any Air Customs port, the TA bond may be used at other Air Customs EDI ports. The local TP transshipment bond remains available for carriers and airlines that prefer local bonds. Registered users may file Air Transshipment EDI messages through email or web upload on ICEGATE, while Service Centre filing continues unchanged.

Condonation of delay in a statutory GST appeal is discussed in the context of recovery proceedings initiated while a belated appeal against an adjudication order remains pending. The note describes circumstances in which, owing to the assessee's factual challenge to tax liability and the particular facts presented, delayed appellate access may be permitted and recovery action, including bank-account recovery, may be set aside. It also highlights that condonation does not determine the underlying tax demand: the appellate authority must examine the merits independently, with all contentions on liability remaining open.

Assessment orders passed without the taxpayer's replies to show-cause notices were set aside after the High Court accepted that bona fide reasons, unavoidable circumstances and sufficient cause had prevented participation. Applying a justice-oriented approach, the Court also set aside the consequential appellate order that had rejected the appeals as time-barred. Subject to costs, the proceedings were remitted to the assessing authority from the stage of filing replies, with directions to allow submission of documents and provide a sufficient and reasonable hearing before fresh adjudication.

GST demand alleging suppression of taxable value in bank guarantees should follow scrutiny and verification of self-assessment returns. The GST framework permits scrutiny, audit, special audit, inspection and investigation to identify possible revenue leakage; a Form GST DRC-01 notice should not be issued directly without first undertaking the relevant exercise. The demand order discussed was quashed and remitted for inspection or investigation and, if warranted, fresh determination of revenue leakage from guarantees issued to customers. The valuation and taxability issues concerning corporate guarantees were left open. Limitation exclusion was directed for the intervening period, and recovery remained in abeyance pending the statutory exercise.

A provisional attachment under the Telangana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 operates for only one year from the date of its order. On expiry of that statutory period, the attachment ceases automatically by operation of law, making a merits determination of its validity unnecessary. The writ petition challenging the attachment was therefore disposed of as infructuous, while preserving the Bank's liberty to pursue other remedies in accordance with law if required.

Ophthalmic binocular surgical microscopes are classified under tariff heading 9018 because they are specialised instruments for eye examination and surgery, and the relevant explanatory notes exclude them from heading 9011 for compound optical microscopes. Heading 9012, covering non-optical microscopes and related scientific apparatus, does not apply. As goods under heading 9018, these microscopes fall within Entry No. 483 of Schedule I to Notification No. 09/2025-Central Tax (Rate) and attract GST at 5 per cent.