Deduction under section 80P(2)(d) was available to a co-operative society that was not a co-operative bank, despite cancellation of its licence. The High Court upheld that entitlement and quashed reassessment notices and related departmental orders. The Supreme Court found no ground to interfere, leaving the High Court's decision and the quashing of reassessment action undisturbed.

Section 263 revision requires an assessment order to be both erroneous and prejudicial to the Revenue; revenue loss or the Commissioner's disagreement with a legally sustainable view does not suffice. Export quota-sale premium accepted for deduction under Section 80HHC was treated as outside the specified export-incentive receipts under Sections 28(iiia) to 28(iiic) and therefore subject to the exclusion under Explanation (baa) to Section 80HHC. Although a CBDT Office Memorandum binds departmental officers, it cannot override statutory interpretation applied in judicial proceedings. As the Assessing Officer had not applied the relevant statutory criteria, the assessment satisfied both conditions for revision and the Commissioner's Section 263 action was justified.

Premium earned on a domestic transfer of export quota does not fall within the export-incentive receipts specified in Sections 28(iiia) to 28(iiic and therefore does not qualify for the Section 80HHC deduction. Departmental circulars and administrative instructions bind Revenue authorities but cannot bind constitutional courts or override statutory provisions and judicial interpretation. The CBDT Office Memorandum's treatment of export-quota premium as a specified incentive creates a legal fiction inconsistent with the statutory scheme, since such premium lacks the foreign-exchange character and other essential attributes of the enumerated receipts.

Refund of unutilised input tax credit under the inverted duty structure provision is available where inputs and outward supplies are commercially distinct and input GST rates exceed the output rate. Perfumes, fragrances, chemicals and packaging materials, compared with agarbati as the output supply, create a qualifying input-output rate differential. A circular addressing the same goods taxed at different rates over time does not bar such a claim. Departmental circulars bind tax officers but remain persuasive before the Tribunal and cannot expand statutory refund restrictions.

Section 129(3) requires the proper officer to issue a penalty order within seven days of serving notice. The statutory term "shall" makes that period mandatory, particularly because fiscal provisions require strict construction. Issuing the penalty order 28 days after service of notice breaches the prescribed time limit; the order is consequently void ab initio and a nullity in law.

Show-cause notices, detention orders and appellate orders founded on factual errors or grounds outside the notice violate principles of natural justice by denying an effective opportunity to respond and are unsustainable. For goods returned by a job worker to the principal, e-way-bill consignment value is limited to the transaction value of the taxable job-work service and excludes the value of the principal's original goods. Where job-work charges and applicable tax remain below the prescribed threshold, an e-way bill is not mandatory and penalty under Section 129 does not arise.

Excess IGST paid on zero-rated export supplies due to incorrect GSTR-3B reporting remains refundable where export details and tax liability were correctly reported in GSTR-1, but the automated Customs refund process failed because of a return mismatch. A subsequent duplicate IGST payment made to obtain the automated export refund does not extinguish the earlier payment, which remains excess tax. Clerical reconciliation errors and procedural discrepancies in GSTR-3B cannot justify retention of tax beyond the amount lawfully due, as such retention is impermissible under Article 265 of the Constitution.

Works-contract services supplied to Kerala Water Authority attract GST at 18% from 1 January 2022 because the Authority, although described as a local authority under State law, does not fall within the exhaustive CGST statutory definition of a local authority. Its GST registration classification does not change that position, and the concessional rate no longer applies to supplies made to governmental authorities. Interest on differential GST is confined to the portion discharged through the Electronic Cash Ledger; no interest is payable on the portion paid through the Electronic Credit Ledger.

Detention penalty for diversion of goods without specified statutory contravention - Natural justice in GST detention proceedings - Appellate non-application of mind to natural justice objections Detention penalty for diversion of goods without specified statutory contravention - Sustainability of penalty for alleged unloading of iron and steel goods at an undeclared destination, without a specific charge of contravention of the Act or Rules - HELD THAT: - Liability under the detention provis... ... ...

Revocation of cancellation of GST registration - Payment of interest, late fee and penalty for return default Revocation of cancellation of GST registration - Payment of interest, late fee and penalty for return default - Revocation of GST registration cancelled for non-furnishing of returns where tax had been paid but interest, late fee and penalty remained unpaid. - HELD THAT: - The proviso to Rule 23(1) requires, in a case of cancellation for failure to furnish returns, not merely furnishi... ... ...

Inverted duty refund for processed fabrics using higher-taxed inputs - Consequential recomputation of refund by appellate authority Inverted duty refund for processed fabrics using higher-taxed inputs - Inapplicability of Circular No. 135/05/2020-GST to supplies without GST-rate reduction - Eligibility for refund of accumulated input tax credit under inverted duty structure where fabrics are processed on job-work basis using higher-taxed chemicals, dyes and consumables, while the output suppl... ... ...

Inverted-duty refund on processed fabrics - credit-note adjustment to turnover - Inverted-duty refund on processed fabrics - scope of identical input-output supplies restriction - Consequential recomputation of refund - prohibition on appellate remand Credit notes - exclusion from turnover for inverted-duty refund - Treatment of credit notes issued in respect of returned or rejected supplies while computing turnover for refund of accumulated input tax credit on processed fabrics - HELD THAT: ... ... ...

Outsourced hospital food supply and composite healthcare services - Failure to establish fraud or suppression - Cum-tax valuation of untaxed food supplies Composite supply of healthcare services - Outsourced hospital food supply - Taxability of food supplied by an outsourced caterer to a hospital for consumption by in-patients, claimed as part of composite healthcare services. - HELD THAT: - A composite supply requires two or more taxable supplies that are naturally bundled and supplied toget... ... ...

Statutory limit on condonation of delay in GST registration appeals - Maintainability of departmental appeal after implementation of impugned order Statutory limit on condonation of delay by appellate authority - Jurisdiction of the First Appellate Authority to condone delay in appeals against cancellation of GST registration beyond the outer limit prescribed under Section 107(4) of the Act. - HELD THAT: - The extraordinary and equitable jurisdiction exercised by a High Court under Article 22... ... ...

Vested right of appeal - Prospective application of pre-deposit requirement in penalty-only appeals Vested right of appeal - Prospective application of pre-deposit requirement in penalty-only appeals - Applicability of the post-amendment pre-deposit requirement to a penalty-only appeal arising from a pre-amendment show-cause notice. - HELD THAT: - The right of appeal was held to be a substantive right vesting when the lis is instituted. A subsequent amendment imposing a fresh pre-deposit burd... ... ...

Effective opportunity of hearing in input tax credit adjudication - Input tax credit eligibility despite GSTR-3B/GSTR-2A mismatch - Intra-State supply of immovable-property renting-incorrect IGST reporting Effective opportunity of hearing in input tax credit adjudication - Remand in the interests of natural justice - Effective opportunity of hearing in adjudication of the disputed input tax credit demand. - HELD THAT: - Although the appellant had not appeared despite the opportunities before ... ... ...

E-way bill validity extension - Penalty for expired e-way bill E-way bill validity extension - Penalty for expired e-way bill - Imposition of a 200% penalty for transport of goods where the e-way bill had expired shortly after the permissible period for its extension. - HELD THAT: - Although detention and penalty may follow transport in contravention of the statutory requirements, the e-way bill rule permits extension in exceptional circumstances and allows a further eight-hour period after e... ... ...

GST show cause notices-clubbing of multiple financial years GST show cause notices-clubbing of multiple financial years - Validity of the GST assessment order covering July 2017 to March 2023 by clubbing more than one financial year. - HELD THAT: - Following the earlier common order, the Court held that GST proceedings must be initiated with reference to the applicable tax period and that a show cause notice or order cannot be clubbed for more than one financial year. An order so passed is wi... ... ...

Fraudulent GST registrations - registrations obtained through misuse of PAN and Aadhaar particulars - Biometric-based Aadhaar authentication HELD THAT: - The material before the Court showed that biometric-based Aadhaar authentication was then confined to registrations identified by the system as risky, despite the continuing problem of fraudulent registrations using stolen or frozen identity particulars. As the respondents could not identify any difficulty in making such authentication ma... ... ...

E-way bill rules permit validity extensions in exceptional circumstances and provide a further eight-hour window after expiry to seek extension. Transport after that period may justify detention and penalty, but a brief delay in renewing the e-way bill does not necessarily warrant a 200% penalty. Where interception occurred shortly after the additional extension window, comparable decisions supported relief while recognising that the lapse could still attract a nominal sanction. The 200% penalty orders were set aside, subject to payment of a token fine and refund of the balance penalty deposit.