Personal hearing before adverse GST order - Violation of principles of natural justice Validity of the adverse GST order passed without affording the petitioner an opportunity of hearing - HELD THAT: - The State could not demonstrate that an opportunity of hearing had been granted. The petitioner's contention that the order was passed in breach of the principles of natural justice was therefore found sustainable. [Paras 3, 4] The impugned order was quashed, with liberty to the Departme... ... ...

Personal hearing before an adverse GST order is required to satisfy principles of natural justice. Where the State cannot establish that an opportunity of hearing was granted, a challenge based on procedural unfairness is sustainable. An adverse GST order issued without such hearing is liable to be quashed, while the Department may pass a fresh order only after providing a proper opportunity of hearing.

Interest deduction on borrowings used for business purposes u/s 36(1)(iii) - Presumption of utilisation of interest-free funds Allowability of interest on borrowings allegedly used to acquire industrial land employed as a storage yard for trading inventories - HELD THAT: - Interest is disallowable under section 36(1)(iii) only where borrowed funds are not used for business purposes. The transport documents established that the land was actively used for storage of the assessee's trading i... ... ...

INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CENTRES AUTHORITY NOTIFICATION Gandhinagar, the 27th January, 2026 IFSCA/GN/2026/006.-In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 28 read with sub-section (1) of Section 12 and sub-section (1) of Section 13 of the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019, and Section 28C of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, the International Financial Services Centres Authority hereby makes the following r... ... ...

Third-party fund management services permit a Registered FME to launch and manage Restricted Schemes for an eligible third-party fund manager after obtaining authorisation. The FME must maintain additional net worth, appoint a dedicated Principal Officer for each scheme, strengthen compliance, and remain liable despite any contractual or indemnity arrangement. It must conduct third-party due diligence and monitoring, ensure investor disclosures and conflict-management measures, segregate funds and operations, extend complaint mechanisms, conduct periodic audits, and retain termination rights in investors' interests or on direction. Schemes managed under the arrangement remain schemes of the FME.

Job work under heading 9988 covers treatment or processing of goods belonging to another registered person and falls within item (id). Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others under item (iv) exclude such job work and apply where the inputs belong to persons other than registered persons under the DGST Act. The entries operate in distinct fields.

Money-laundering investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act concerns alleged diversion of bank-loan funds through fake or forged project-completion reports. The allegations include sale of five mortgaged properties at grossly undervalued consideration, with some buyers suspected to be benamis or proxies. These sales were allegedly intended to alienate assets and prevent their attachment under anti-money-laundering law.

Banking services at public sector banks were disrupted by a nationwide strike seeking a five-day workweek and resolution of wage-related demands. Branch operations affecting cash deposits, withdrawals, cheque clearance and administrative work were impacted, while digital banking channels remained functional. The central demand is declaration of all Saturdays as bank holidays, with other pending issues concerning pension updation, uniform dearness allowance for pensioners, and an option for National Pension System employees to move to the Old Pension Scheme.

Goodwill qualifies as an intangible asset eligible for depreciation. Applying the governing Supreme Court ruling, the contrary appellate view cannot be sustained, and depreciation on goodwill is allowable in favour of the assessee.

Eligible registered persons with aggregate turnover not exceeding two crore rupees may optionally file annual GST returns for financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 before the applicable due date; a return not furnished by that date is deemed furnished. Eligible composition taxpayers may file FORM GSTR-9A, while other eligible registered persons may file FORM GSTR-9. The common portal will not permit filing after the due date. Taxpayers may self-assess and voluntarily pay short-paid tax or ineligible input tax credit through FORM GST DRC-03.

GST recovery from entities undergoing insolvency proceedings requires timely filing of departmental claims as an operational creditor. Admission of insolvency proceedings triggers a moratorium that bars recovery action, including bank attachment, while assessments and interest may extend only up to the moratorium date. Claims must be supported by assessment and recovery records. An approved resolution plan binds the Department; if liquidation begins, claims must be filed afresh with the liquidator. Officers must track proceedings, file claims and appeals within time, and prevent revenue loss.

US-led maritime blockade and sanctions are assessed as substantially restricting Iran's oil exports while enabling increased non-Iranian petroleum flows through the Strait of Hormuz and alternative routes. The conflict continues to disrupt a major global oil-and-gas transit corridor despite partial restoration of shipping flows. Regional proxy attacks on oil facilities and shipping near the Bab el-Mandeb extend the disruption, threatening Red Sea and Suez Canal routes and contributing to higher energy prices and inflationary pressure.

Rupee depreciation against the US dollar was attributed to elevated crude oil prices, rising global yields and net foreign portfolio equity outflows, which increased pressure through the import bill. Record foreign exchange reserves, active Reserve Bank market intervention and robust domestic growth provided countervailing support. Sustained costly crude oil and foreign portfolio outflows nevertheless remained the principal near-term pressures on currency stability.

Wrongful buyer rejection of a valid GST credit note may add the related GST amount to the supplier's output tax liability. Same-month rejection is rectified through Form GSTR-1A, Table 9, by amending the credit note with unchanged original particulars. Later-period rejection is rectified through the current unfiled GSTR-1, Table 9C, using the same historical credit-note details. A Table 9C amendment may create a zero-delta GSTR-1 entry while GSTR-3B continues to show the rejection-related tax addition. Buyer acceptance in IMS is required to remove the tax clawback and reconcile the returns.

Large-value GST refunds for zero-rated supplies require accurate application of the Rule 89(4) formula, including reconciliation of Net ITC with GSTR-2B and the electronic credit ledger, application of the domestic-value cap, and correct Adjusted Total Turnover. A deficiency memo treats an incomplete application as not filed, while a merit-based proposed rejection requires notice, written response and an opportunity of being heard. Objection-specific documentation should address ITC eligibility, export nexus, export-realisation evidence, turnover reconciliation, credit notes, Letter of Undertaking validity and exempt-supply classification.

Respondent taxpayers should ordinarily file a ground-wise Counter/Reply with supporting documents within one month of receiving a departmental appeal under Rule 36 of the GSTAT (Procedure) Rules, 2025. The Reply should address the specific factual and legal challenges, link them to favourable appellate findings, and organise the relevant record. Written Submissions are distinct hearing-oriented materials and may later present detailed legal propositions and precedents. An affidavit is not automatically required, but may be relevant for additional factual material or where specifically required. Any adverse part of the Order-in-Appeal may require separate consideration of a Cross-Objection or other statutory remedy.

GST adjudicatory proceedings commence through issuance of a show-cause notice, which crystallises the liability or contravention to be decided. The notice must clearly identify the allegations, relevant transactions and period, legal provisions, evidence, quantification, and proposed consequences. Section 75 confines an adjudication order to the grounds and amounts stated in the notice and requires relevant facts and reasons for the decision. The order must consider the taxpayer's defence, evaluate evidence, record findings, and explain the quantified consequence. Search, seizure and summons remain investigative measures and do not by themselves define the subject matter of adjudication.

GSTR-2A-GSTR-3B input tax credit mismatches require reconciliation and cannot be determined solely by comparing return figures. Fresh adjudication must remain within the tax heads, grounds and amount in the show-cause notice and cannot enlarge the demand. The adjudicating authority must undertake invoice-wise and, where necessary, supplier-wise verification; examine invoices, purchase records, books and the electronic credit ledger; verify supplier compliance and taxpayer bona fides; and assess applicable credit conditions for the relevant periods. Interest and penalty must follow the fresh tax determination.

Input tax credit under GST enables a registered person to use eligible tax paid on inward supplies for discharging tax liability on outward supplies and reduces cascading taxation. Eligibility, availment and utilisation remain subject to prescribed documents, receipt of supplies, payment of tax, return filing, supplier invoice reporting, time limits, restrictions and reversal. Input tax credit is a conditional statutory entitlement rather than an inherent, constitutional or unconditional vested right. Tax paid at a preceding stage does not by itself create an enforceable claim to credit; prescribed statutory requirements must be fulfilled.

The substituted proviso to section 107(6) of the CGST Act, effective from 1 October 2025, extends the pre-deposit requirement to appeals against penalty-only orders. The right of appeal is treated as a substantive right vesting upon issuance of the show-cause notice. Accordingly, where the show-cause notice preceded 1 October 2025, subsequent proceedings or a later penalty order do not attract the amended pre-deposit condition. The expanded requirement applies prospectively to proceedings initiated on or after its effective date.