GST exemption applies to catering and food-serving services provided to educational institutions, including schools, pre-schools and Anganwadis. It covers mid-day meal services as well as other food-serving arrangements. Anganwadis are treated as educational institutions because they provide pre-school non-formal education. The exemption remains available regardless of whether the service is funded by government grants or corporate donations.

International transshipment of FCL and LCL cargo is permitted through seaports, international airports and other Customs stations, subject to Customs compliance and priority verification. Diverted liquid bulk, break bulk and solid/dry bulk cargo may be temporarily unloaded, stored and onward transshipped or re-exported under Customs supervision, approved-custodian custody, inventory controls, testing, quantity verification and suitable bonds or undertakings. Such cargo must remain under Customs control and cannot enter home consumption or the Domestic Tariff Area. Multi-station movement requires prior consent, secure-storage verification and Customs-controlled transport.

GST exemption applies to access to a road or bridge where consideration is paid as toll or annuity under the transport-support service classification. Road construction services fall under a separate construction-service classification. Deferred annual instalments described as annuities, when paid as consideration for construction of roads, remain consideration for construction and do not qualify for the exemption applicable to road-access services. GST therefore applies to annuity or deferred payments for road construction.

Tax deducted at source on eligible payments to notified parties remains deductible and payable even where payment occurs after 5 June 1992. Tax collections may be appropriated only against each notified party's income-tax liability for the period from 1 April 1991 to 6 June 1992; any amount exceeding that liability must be refunded to the Custodian with applicable statutory interest. Accountability also requires periodic and requested statements identifying tax deducted at source received for each notified party and amounts appropriated against their liabilities.

TRQ allocation for raw sugar imports is available to millers and refiners with functional in-house refining facilities, subject to online application, capacity evidence and scrutiny. Allocation considers refining capacity, requested quantity and import history. Holders must submit contractual evidence, import or surrender allocated quantities within prescribed periods, and process imported raw sugar at their own facilities. Every 1.05 kg of raw sugar must yield 1 kg of refined sugar sold domestically within the stipulated period. Eligible Advance Authorisation holders may convert to TRQ upon payment of exempted GST and compliance with domestic-sale and reporting conditions.

GST Appellate Tribunal filing timelines are extended until 31 July 2026 for appeals concerning orders communicated before 1 May 2026 and applications concerning orders passed before 1 February 2026. Appeals relating to orders communicated on or after 1 May 2026 remain subject to a three-month filing period from communication. Applications relating to orders passed on or after 1 February 2026 remain subject to a six-month filing period from the date of the order.

The rupee strengthened marginally against the US dollar as the dollar index softened, but elevated crude oil prices, geopolitical uncertainty, reduced foreign participation and net foreign equity outflows constrained currency sentiment. RBI measures to attract foreign currency inflows, including FCNR(B) deposits, were expected to generate substantial inflows, although these had not produced meaningful rupee strength. Energy-market disruption and restrictions on fuel exports through the Strait of Hormuz added to external-sector pressures.

Raw sugar under Exim Code 170114 is freely importable within a duty-free Tariff Rate Quota of 10 lakh MT up to 31 October 2026, subject to prescribed conditions. Advance Authorisations issued under SION E52 may be converted once to the Tariff Rate Quota Scheme for raw sugar actually imported up to 20 August 2026. Conversion covers refined sugar produced or to be produced from such imports, subject to payment of exempted GST, domestic sale by 31 October 2026, and further prescribed conditions.

SPMCIL performs a sovereign production mandate covering secure currency, coinage, passports and other products of national importance through its mints, currency presses, security presses and paper mill. Modernisation, compliance, transparency, efficiency, productivity, quality and corporate governance support the fulfilment of sovereign requirements. Individual employees and units were recognised for performance in productivity, environment and safety, energy conservation, knowledge and development, vigilance, and official-language implementation.

Digital-platform distribution requires a distinction between technical standardisation and commercial control. Exclusivity, standard operating procedures, price limits, and inability to modify software or data feeds may be technical requirements of a single global platform and do not alone establish a Dependent Agent PE. Service PE analysis excludes auxiliary stewardship activities and included services qualifying as technical or consultancy services. Where an Indian distributor contracts, invoices, collects fees, and bears risks in its own name, and receives arm's-length compensation for its functions, risks, and assets, further profit attribution to an assumed PE requires additional functions performed in India.

E-Way Bill compliance under GST requires pre-movement assessment of whether goods movement is covered, exempted or specially regulated, followed by generation by the responsible consignor, consignee or transporter. The E-Way Bill must correspond with the tax invoice, bill of supply or delivery challan and actual goods movement. Vehicle details require updating when conveyances change, and validity must be monitored during transit. Discrepancies may be examined on interception and can result in detention or seizure under the statutory enforcement framework. Reconciliation with invoices, records, inventory and GST returns supports an effective audit trail.

Extended limitation for duty recovery requires more than an incorrect valuation or short payment. The Revenue must independently establish wilful misstatement or suppression of material facts with intent to evade duty. Where material valuation facts were already known to the Department, an assessee's omission cannot, without more, be treated as suppression to overcome expiry of normal limitation. A show-cause notice must identify the factual basis for concealment, wilfulness, and intent; statutory labels alone are insufficient. This distinction remains relevant to GST proceedings involving fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression.

GST summons and arrest operate at distinct statutory stages. Summons under Section 70 do not by themselves establish an apprehension of arrest, whereas Section 69 arrest requires the Commissioner's reasons to believe and an authorisation order. That order must be communicated before arrest so the affected person can meaningfully seek anticipatory bail or other remedies. Communication does not guarantee bail, create immunity from investigation, or impose an automatic cooling-off period. It is separate from communication of grounds of arrest and enables judicial review of the statutory satisfaction underlying arrest.

ISO 26000:2010 provides voluntary, non-certifiable guidance for integrating social responsibility into organizational strategy, governance and operations. It applies across organizational types and promotes accountability, transparency, ethical behaviour, stakeholder engagement, respect for law and international norms, human rights and sustainable development. Its core subjects cover governance, human rights, labour practices, environmental responsibility, fair operating practices, consumer issues, and community development. Implementation includes stakeholder identification, assessment of existing practices, priority-setting, action planning, operational integration, training, monitoring, transparent reporting and continual improvement.

Lean Manufacturing maximises customer value by eliminating or reducing non-value-added activities and redesigning processes for improved quality, safety, speed, and efficiency. It addresses defects, overproduction, waiting, non-utilised talent, unnecessary transportation, excess inventory, motion, and extra processing through tools such as Value Stream Mapping, 5S, Just-In-Time, Kanban, Total Productive Maintenance, Poka-Yoke, pull production, and Kaizen. Implementation depends on management commitment, employee involvement, process analysis, performance measurement, and continuous improvement, while also reducing material waste, energy use, emissions, and resource consumption.

Genchi Genbutsu requires leaders to visit the actual workplace, observe the process, and assess real conditions before taking corrective action. It promotes fact-based decisions, root-cause identification, faster problem solving, and continuous improvement instead of reliance solely on reports or assumptions. Implementation includes identifying the issue, observing people, machines, materials, methods, and environment, asking focused questions, applying root-cause tools, implementing corrective measures, and monitoring results. Effective use requires regular workplace visits, open communication, careful observation, employee involvement, and combination of direct findings with performance data.

SARFAESI measures should ordinarily be challenged through the effective remedy before the Debts Recovery Tribunal under Section 17, with writ jurisdiction reserved for recognised exceptional circumstances such as procedural or natural-justice breaches. Disputed one-time settlement proposals, including the authority to make them, completeness of terms and compliance with payment conditions, require factual inquiry and cannot be summarily enforced in writ proceedings. Delayed settlement instalments cannot be compelled merely by offering interest, as this would impose contractual obligations on the secured creditor. Parties may pursue available remedies concerning the settlement proposal, with rights and contentions reserved.

Cheating requires proof of a fraudulent or dishonest false representation, deception, and consequent delivery of property or legally cognisable loss or harm. No evidence established that the Income Tax Department acted on a false representation, that issuance of a tax certificate was dishonestly induced, or that collateral title deeds created security or yielded monetary benefit. Criminal conspiracy requires cogent evidence of a prior agreement or meeting of minds to commit an illegal act or use illegal means. Suspicion, association, and unexplained circumstances cannot establish that agreement; without independent substantive evidence, the conspiracy charge remains unproved. Convictions for both offences require proof beyond reasonable doubt of their essential ingredients.

CENVAT credit on duty-paid goods received and used in manufacture cannot be denied merely because goods receipt notes describe the goods differently from first-stage dealer invoices. Documentary correlation through matching invoice and purchase-order particulars, vehicle numbers and quantities establishes receipt, while recording the goods as MS scrap after receipt for foundry melting explains the description mismatch. Identical executive statements without supporting documentary evidence do not establish non-receipt of goods. Credit availed under Rule 3 of the CENVAT Credit Rules was therefore correctly taken, and denial was unsustainable.

Rule 26(2) of the Central Excise Rules, 2002 permits penalty where a person issues an excise-duty invoice without delivery of goods, abets such issuance, or abets preparation of a document enabling ineligible benefit. Penalty for alleged abetment of wrongful CENVAT credit cannot rest merely on receipt of goods from a broker. Liability requires evidence that the person issued or abetted issuance of an invoice or other document on which ineligible credit was taken or likely to be taken. In the absence of such evidence, the proposed penalty was unsustainable.