Inherent power to quash criminal proceedings under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is exercisable sparingly where the FIR, taken at face value, discloses no offence or is frivolous, mala fide, vexatious, or an abuse of process. A pending civil suit concerning the same property does not itself justify quashing when allegations disclose an independent criminal offence. Alleged fraudulent execution of a power of attorney, including purported execution by a minor and a person outside India, warranted continuation of criminal proceedings; the High Court's refusal to interfere was upheld.

The Inventory-based Cross-border E-Commerce Facilitation Framework requires Exporters-on-Record to register through ANF 9A, maintain linked digital inventory records, ensure seller-declared goods match inventory, and secure destination-country compliance before export. Sellers must receive specified inventory visibility and timely seller-attributable export benefits. The framework regulates returned consignments, requires independent compliance certification and five-year record preservation, and provides a DGFT-based dispute-resolution process while preserving micro and small enterprise seller rights. Registration changes must be notified within 30 days, and non-compliance or false information may attract regulatory and legal action.

Gold smuggling enforcement operations under the Customs Act, 1962 involved alleged concealment and unlawful movement of foreign-origin gold. At an international airport, an alleged syndicate used an airline employee to transfer gold received from arriving passengers outside Customs and immigration controls, with gold disguised as silver-coloured bracelets. A separate railway operation concerned gold concealed in a specially made cloth waist belt and intended for delivery to a jeweller. The actions addressed concealment, evasion of Customs controls, and illicit transport of foreign-origin gold.

Corrigenda to the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026 correct textual, terminological, numerical and cross-reference errors. They replace "security agreement" with "social security agreement", "pay" with "wages", and remove "by way of penalty" from the expression concerning employer damages. The corrections also revise the wage-ceiling terminology, aggregation wording, internal paragraph references, a reference to funds, and specified numerical entries.

The Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 is corrected through textual, terminological and cross-reference amendments. The corrigenda standardise references to Employees' Provident Funds, clarify provisions concerning excluded employees, members, international workers, exempted provident funds, nominees and contributions, and correct references to the Provident Fund Act, 1925, the Code on Wages, 2019 and Rule 65. They also revise investment-loss terminology, account nomenclature, numbering, dates, campaign references and security classifications in Form-II.

The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026, modernises the evidentiary treatment of banking records by extending "bankers' books" to physical, electronic, digital, virtual and cloud-based records. It recognises electronic bank records as admissible evidence, allows production in physical or electronic form, and provides for standardised certificates authenticated by manual, digital or electronic signatures. The Bill also defines "special cause" for compelling bank officers to produce records or testify where the bank is not a party, and permits extension to specified financial-sector entities subject to conditions.

Section 54 capital gains exemption may remain available in full where the assessee invests the entire sale proceeds in a replacement residential property jointly registered with a spouse and son. The provision is described as beneficial and does not require exclusive registration in the assessee's name. Where the investment is sourced from the assessee's sale proceeds, inclusion of family members who are legal heirs in the title does not defeat the exemption. A purposive and liberal interpretation, recognising constructive ownership, supports full exemption rather than restricting it because of the son's joint ownership.

Reassessment based solely on investigation-wing information concerning bank deposits, debits and credits requires the Assessing Officer's independent application of mind. Recorded reasons must disclose a reason to believe, founded on relevant material, that income escaped assessment; the material need not conclusively establish escapement at the notice stage. Mere reproduction of information about account transactions, without independent belief that deposits represent undisclosed income, does not satisfy this requirement. The reassessment was therefore invalid and quashed.

Input tax credit is subject to electronically communicated credit details not being restricted and must be reversed with applicable interest where the supplier has not paid tax, with re-availment permitted after payment. The electronic statement identifies available and restricted credit, while prior matching mechanisms are removed. Outward-supply details and returns may not be furnished when prior compliance remains outstanding, subject to notified exceptions. The Government may cap the proportion of output tax liability discharged through the electronic credit ledger. Deadlines for credit, credit notes and specified compliance actions are shifted to 30 November.

Inventory-based cross-border e-commerce exports may be undertaken through a DGFT-registered Exporter-on-Record holding export-only inventory procured from Indian GST-registered Sellers-on-Record against confirmed overseas buyer orders. Export Inventory must be separately identified, segregated and digitally traceable. The Exporter-on-Record must pay sellers within seven days of acceptance, may claim eligible Export Rebates and Refunds, and must distribute seller-attributable benefits proportionately after any administrative charge. It must manage and bear reverse-logistics costs, while returned or rejected consignments cannot enter the domestic market.

The Monetary Policy Committee retained the policy repo rate and neutral policy stance while seeking greater clarity on inflation risks from higher energy costs. Stock exchanges introduced the Closing Auction Session for eligible futures and options shares in the equity cash segment to determine closing prices through a more transparent and robust auction-based price-discovery mechanism. Equity markets showed volatile, limited gains amid geopolitical uncertainty, energy-price concerns, profit booking and the new mechanism's introduction.

The prohibition on direct or indirect import or transit of goods originating in or exported from Pakistan extends to goods routed through third countries and falsely declared as having another origin. Misdeclaration of country of origin, false descriptions, forged documentation, and trans-shipment arrangements may contravene that prohibition and invite action under the Customs Act, 1962. Dry dates declared as UAE-origin and Guggul resin declared as Somalia-origin were investigated as goods of Pakistan origin routed through Dubai.

Pending GST appeals before two or more State Benches may be placed before the Principal Bench where an identical question of law arises and the President of GSTAT is satisfied of that condition. Transfer is not automatic and should be sought through an application or representation to the President, rather than by withdrawal and re-filing. The request should provide appeal details, identify the common legal issue, and explain why uniform adjudication is required. Applications may also be filed or mentioned before the respective pending State Benches or Registries.

Foreign exchange market movement reflected a rupee appreciation against the US dollar following the monetary policy decision to retain the repo rate and neutral stance. Market sentiment was supported by softer crude oil prices, weakness in the US dollar, lower US Treasury yields and foreign equity inflows. The monetary policy framework sought to support capital inflows and maintain an orderly rupee trajectory, with geopolitical developments and US economic data remaining relevant to near-term exchange-rate expectations.

Appointment of Appellate Authorities under the Madhya Pradesh GST framework is made under the State GST Act and Rule 109A of the Madhya Pradesh GST Rules. The appointed Joint Commissioners of State Tax may exercise the powers and discharge the duties of Appellate Authorities within their assigned territorial jurisdictions, including specified divisions and allocated appeal cases relating to Anti Evasion Bureaux.

Rule 164 establishes an electronic mechanism for waiver of interest, penalty, or both under section 128A for specified section 73 demands. Eligible persons must file FORM GST SPL-01 for notices or statements and FORM GST SPL-02 for demand orders, supported by tax-payment details and proof of withdrawal of pending appeals or writ petitions. The proper officer may issue a deficiency notice, accept an eligible application through FORM GST SPL-05, or reject it through FORM GST SPL-07. Timely inaction results in deemed approval. Waiver becomes void if required additional tax or specified remaining interest or penalty is not paid within the prescribed period.

Transfer-pricing benchmarking cannot aggregate independently negotiated non-associated enterprise annual maintenance contracts, involving market and credit risks, with associated enterprise marketing support services performed on a cost-plus basis; arm's length pricing requires actual segmental data. Comparable selection for software development services requires functional similarity and reliable segmental operating data: diversified software-product companies and entities with unexplained abnormal revenue and profit growth should be excluded, while certain companies require reconsideration of financial and employee-cost data. A fully funded captive cost-plus service provider bearing no working-capital risk should not receive a negative working-capital adjustment, as this would artificially increase its arm's length margin.

A money-laundering investigation concerns alleged proceeds of crime arising from a multi-state chit fund operation associated with Welfare Building and Estates Pvt Ltd. The company is alleged to have collected investor deposits through investment schemes promising high returns before defaulting. Searches at premises linked to its former managing director form part of the inquiry into alleged laundering. The underlying alleged fraud had previously resulted in a CBI case and multiple police FIRs.

Penalty for concealment or furnishing inaccurate particulars is not leviable where genuine statutory expenditure is disallowed solely because its year of allowability is disputed. The payments for labour, provident fund, insurance, electricity and land-compensation dues were not alleged to be misrepresented, bogus or non-genuine. As the expenditure remained allowable either on sale of stock-in-trade or, if capital in nature, on sale of the capital asset, the dispute concerned only the timing of deduction. The penalty was therefore not sustainable.

Penalty for concealment or furnishing inaccurate particulars was not leviable where genuine statutory liabilities were claimed as revenue expenditure and the dispute concerned only the timing or manner of deduction. The expenses, including labour, provident fund, ESIC, electricity and land-compensation dues connected with acquired land, were not alleged to be false, bogus, or misrepresented. They remained allowable either through stock-in-trade on sale or as capital expenditure on sale of the capital asset. As the controversy concerned allowability timing rather than concealment or inaccurate particulars, Section 271(1)(c) penalty did not apply.