Under section 24(4), excess tax identified on final assessment, revision of assessment, or an order in appeal, revision or review must be refunded to the dealer after adjustment of any tax arrears. Where the refundable amount is at least one hundred rupees and is not refunded within the applicable 90-day period, the Government must pay interest at one per cent of that amount for each month or part of a month after that period. For an assessment or revision of assessment, the period runs from the date of the order; for an order in appeal, revision or review, it runs from receipt of the order.

GST Portal composition categories distinguish the traditional scheme under Section 10(1) of the CGST Act from the separate scheme under Section 10(2A), following functionality changes introduced from 1 November 2026. Multiple applicable categories may be selected within the Section 10(1) option, but the Section 10(2A) option permits only one selection; the two options cannot be combined. Existing composition taxpayers may seek a registration amendment to change or update their selected category through FORM GST REG-14. The amendment does not itself establish statutory eligibility or confer an unrestricted right to change the basis of taxation retrospectively.

GST tax deducted at source (TDS) applies, from 1 November 2026, to registered purchasers receiving specified goods from other registered persons, subject to the conditions in Section 51 of the CGST Act. Coverage extends to used cooking oil under tariff heading 1518, plastic waste and scrap under heading 3915, tyre waste and scrap under heading 4004, and electrical and electronic waste and scrap under heading 8549. Metal scrap under Chapters 72 to 81 has been covered since 10 October 2024. The contract value of taxable supplies must exceed Rs. 2.5 lakh, excluding GST and compensation cess shown on the invoice; the threshold concerns the contract, not individual invoices or monthly turnover.

Post-supply discounts are excluded from taxable value from 1 November 2026 where the supplier issues a credit note and the recipient reverses the attributable input tax credit. From 1 January 2027, the notified e-invoicing framework covers supplies to registered persons, exports, specified domestic reverse-charge supplies received from unregistered persons and imported services, subject to the applicable provisions. Registration changes permit eligible suppliers selling goods through e-commerce operators to register using an eligible operator warehouse, subject to conditions. Refund procedures and electronic credit ledger restrictions are also revised. The specified registration exemption is withdrawn for suppliers of listed waste, scrap and used cooking oil, which are also included in the specified-goods category for tax deduction at source.

Warning signs include receivables or inventory growing faster than sales, old or doubtful debts, vague current-asset balances, related-party or director advances, overdue statutory dues and short-term borrowing used for long-term assets. Statutory arrears may carry interest, penalties and legal consequences; negative net worth may trigger directors' duties in some jurisdictions. Disputed tax demands, guarantees and pending litigation may appear in the notes as contingent liabilities rather than in headline figures. Reporting-date window dressing can make a balance sheet appear stronger without improving the underlying position.

Automatic cancellation requires timely filing of applicable returns, payment of outstanding dues and satisfaction of either the output tax liability condition or the alternative final-return condition. The monetary condition requires monthly output tax liability on supplies to registered persons, as declared through the prescribed outward-supply mechanisms, not to exceed Rs. 2.5 lakh in any month from registration until application. Where prescribed returns or the alternative final return are not furnished, or dues remain unpaid, the application is forwarded to the proper officer rather than automatically rejected. Deemed approval applies if the officer takes no action within 15 days of receiving the forwarded application or a reply to the notice.

Where source coverage has not been confirmed, reviewers should record the relevant business or GSTIN, period and required source; an incomplete review does not establish supplier reporting failure. Once an input has been compared, reviewers should retain its reference and review date, identify invoice fields searched, and consider reference variations or competing candidates. Where supporting records exist but a discrepancy remains open, reviewers should identify the differing field, evidence examined and confirmation needed, and assign the next step to an owner. These descriptions are suggested review language, not statutory classifications or product tab names; input tax credit eligibility and return treatment require separate verification under applicable GST rules.

As at October 2026, foreign exchange transactions are governed by FEMA and RBI directions. Hedging with authorised dealers generally requires genuine underlying exposure, supported by contracts and invoices. Export proceeds must be realised within the period prescribed by RBI, with EDPMS and softex reconciliations monitored to avoid caution listing. Exchange differences on monetary items are accounted for under Ind AS 21 or AS 11, and hedge accounting choices should be documented.

The proposed five-gate appraisal tests the problem and alternatives, compares forecasts with outcomes from similar projects, uses multiple investment measures, examines downside scenarios and matches funding to asset life. Alternatives include doing nothing, outsourcing, leasing or making better use of existing assets. Lease-versus-purchase analysis should compare total after-tax cost, flexibility and risk. Appraisals should model depreciation under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and GST input tax credit on capital goods, and check eligibility conditions and clawback risks for applicable incentives.

An interim arbitral award conclusively deciding preliminary stamping questions that will not be revisited in the final award may be challenged before the final award; a rejected jurisdictional plea is ordinarily challengeable after it. Stamp charging provisions require strict construction. For an instrument signed in different states, the applicable stamp law depends on a real territorial nexus and the instrument's character, rather than conclusively on the first signature. The lender's signature in Delhi completed the loan agreements requiring both lender and borrower signatures, so Delhi stamp law applies. Executed facility schedules required to be read with the loan terms form part of the contractual documentation; their stated facility amounts cannot be disregarded when assessing monetary value.

Quasi-judicial immunity does not protect conduct involving negligence, recklessness, lack of good faith or undue favour, although an erroneous order or technical violation alone does not warrant disciplinary action. Section 161 limits rectification to errors apparent on the record. Charges alleging that an officer exceeded this power and substantially reduced confirmed demands may require factual scrutiny where they disclose a prima facie case of misconduct. An assertion of good faith or the absence of a departmental appeal against the underlying orders does not by itself bar an enquiry.

Service line and development charges for dedicated electricity distribution infrastructure can be taxable as consideration for transferring the right to use goods under Section 4(8) of the Andhra Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2005, despite the licensee retaining ownership and control. Recovery of equipment costs alone does not establish a transfer; control, operation and maintenance are relevant. The infrastructure was developed for specified applicants, who could not independently operate the equipment, as an ancillary activity connected with electricity supply. Sections 42, 43 and 46 of the Electricity Act, 2003 govern distribution licensees' duties and recovery of infrastructure expenses.

Former Entry 54 of List II permits States to impose a surcharge calculated on valid sales tax as an enhancement of that tax. The subject of a tax differs from its measure: the surcharge varies with taxable turnover rather than a dealer's income, and a prohibition on passing it to purchasers does not change its character. A larger-bench reference addresses genuine uncertainty in binding law. The perceived conflict concerned different levies and legislative fields; a subsequent larger-bench decision displaced the premise that royalty was a tax, while the governing sales-tax precedent remained authoritative.

Removal of inputs as such after reversal of the CENVAT credit originally taken is not trading and does not attract payment under Rule 6(3) of the CENVAT Credit Rules, 2004. Rule 3(5) provides for reversal of the credit on such removal, including removals to sister units or independent buyers. Although trading was declared an exempted service from 1 April 2011, the Rule 6(3) payment requirement for specified exempted activities does not apply to these removals.

Service tax on a factory-land lease qualifies for input service credit where it has a manufacturing nexus; deletion of 'setting up' from the inclusive definition does not exclude it. Neither the absence of production when credit was taken nor later factory registration defeated the established nexus. Admissible credit is not recoverable solely because it was recorded under another registration of the same legal person; distribution or factory entry is the proper course, and absence of distributor registration is a curable irregularity. Credit cannot be retaken or refunded at the original registration; fresh availment at the factory remains unadjudicated. Adjudication beyond six months does not automatically invalidate an order; the period applies where possible, and adjudication must occur within a reasonable time. Interest requires credit to be both wrongly taken and utilised; penalty requires applicable statutory conditions and cannot rest on an unnotified ground.

Duty-free inputs used to manufacture finished goods are subject to duty and interest when the required export does not occur, including where the goods fail quality testing and are destroyed without intimation to the authorities. Exemption conditions are construed strictly, and the obligation to pay duty and interest under the bond continues when those conditions are not fulfilled. The normal limitation period does not apply to enforcement of that obligation. The exemption notifications require duty and interest but do not mandate a penalty; the absence of an intention to evade duty is also relevant to penalty.

Section 35G of the Central Excise Act, 1944 excludes Tribunal orders involving questions relating to the rate of duty or value for assessment from the High Court's appellate jurisdiction. Section 35L treats taxability as a question relating to the rate of duty and provides for an appeal to the Supreme Court. An appeal against a Tribunal determination on the taxability of computer reservation services under reverse charge therefore follows the Section 35L route rather than the High Court route.

The limitation period for an appeal under section 85 of the Finance Act, 1994 runs from the established date of receipt where prior effective service is not proved. Section 37C of the Central Excise Act, 1944 governs service in service tax proceedings through section 83 of the Finance Act. The order was affixed to the office notice board without proof of prior effective service. The appeal filed after a copy was provided was within limitation, and its merits remain to be adjudicated.

The limitation period for an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) under Section 85 of the Finance Act, 1994 runs from receipt of the order. Proper service is required under Section 37C of the Central Excise Act, 1944, which applies to service tax through Section 83 of the Finance Act. Where delivery is disputed, dispatch by registered post and non-return of the article alone do not establish effective service for computing limitation.

Book printing constitutes manufacture or production under excise law, with printed books attracting a nil tariff rate. Processes amounting to manufacture or production are included in the negative list of services and are therefore excluded from service tax. The tax department bears the burden of establishing taxability; a difference between Form 26AS and ST-3 returns alone cannot support a demand without identification of a taxable service and its statutory elements. The extended limitation period cannot be invoked where no positive act of evasion is identified.