Implementation of the CFS Gate Module under ICES Version 1.5 for movement of containerised import cargo from port terminals to Container Freight Stations was deferred until 18 March 2018 due to incomplete one-time authorisation registrations by Main Line Operators. Registration was required by 17 March 2018. Gate passes could not be generated at the time of truck movement from terminal to Container Freight Station. Instead of Form-II, Preventive Officers were required to endorse movement particulars on the Cargo Movement Approval Order.

Implementation of the CFS Gate Module under ICES Version 1.5 for movement of containerised import cargo from the port terminal to Container Freight Stations is postponed pending registration of TR bonds and one-time authorisations. Until the module becomes operational, Gate Passes cannot be generated for truck movements from the terminal to CFSs. The existing Form-II procedure continues, with Preventive Officers required to endorse truck, container, seal and Gate Pass details, including date and time.

Registration under Section 12AA requires verification of the charitable nature of an applicant's objects and the genuineness of its activities. Where supporting material is not furnished, preventing that verification, the applicant should receive a further opportunity to submit the required documents. The registration application must then be reconsidered and decided afresh on merits after granting that opportunity.

Non-resident status must be determined under the statutory residence tests and the taxpayer's actual period of stay in India, rather than an incorrect residential-status declaration in the original return. Where an individual remained outside India for more than 182 days during the relevant previous years, the 60-day condition in Section 6(1)(c), read with Explanation 1(b), did not alter non-resident status on the stated facts. Deposits and income in a foreign bank account of such a non-resident could not be taxed in India, and the related additions were deleted.

Import general manifests must include the appropriate Terminal Operator Code to direct containers to the correct scanning location. For Haldia Dock Complex-bound containers, the port code remains INCCU1 and the Terminal Operator Code must be INCCU1HDC1. If such a container is selected for scanning, the Container Scanning Division Superintendent must notify the Haldia Deputy or Assistant Commissioner through e-office. The consignment may be released only after 100% examination because container-scanning facilities are not functional at Haldia Dock Complex.

Anti-dumping duty on imports of Calcined Gypsum Powder originating in or exported from Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates remains in force up to and including 16 March 2027, unless earlier revoked, superseded or amended. The extension operates within the existing anti-dumping duty framework under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and the Anti-dumping Duty Rules, 1995.

New rule 164 establishes an electronic procedure for waiver of interest, penalty, or both under section 128A for eligible section 73 demands. Applicants must file FORM GST SPL-01 for notices or statements or FORM GST SPL-02 for orders, provide payment details, and withdraw related appeals or writ petitions where applicable. The proper officer may issue a notice in FORM GST SPL-03, receive a reply in FORM GST SPL-04, and accept or reject the application through prescribed forms. Failure to issue an order within the prescribed period results in deemed approval and conclusion of proceedings.

Proper-officer functions under sections 73 and 74 of the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are assigned to all Assistant Commissioners and Goods and Services Tax Officers of the Department of Trade and Taxes. They are authorised to perform these functions as Proper Officers within the meaning of the Act. The assignment applies retrospectively from 1 July 2017.

Department of Financial Services received the First Prize under the Rajbhasha Kirti award for outstanding implementation and innovative achievements in Official Language Hindi during 2025-26. Recognition was conferred for effective use of Hindi in official work, efforts to maximise its departmental use, and promotion of innovative and creative Hindi-language practices.

Expansion of the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement has entered negotiations to broaden the existing arrangement into areas of mutual interest. The proposed expansion seeks to deepen economic relations and create greater benefits and opportunities for the respective private sectors. Terms of Reference are being finalised to define the scope and structure of the future expanded agreement.

The First Additional Protocol recognises electronic Certificates of Origin as having the same legal validity and value as paper certificates under the India-MERCOSUR Preferential Trade Agreement. Electronic certificates must be issued and electronically signed by duly authorised entities and officials under the respective domestic legislation of the Parties. The amendment supports paperless trade documentation and electronic verification of origin for preferential tariff treatment, subject to completion of internal procedures and reciprocal notification.

GST recovery against a partnership firm may extend personally to its partners once the firm's tax liability has crystallised. Joint and several liability permits recovery from an erstwhile partner for dues relating to the period during which that person was a partner. Garnishee proceedings may require a bank holding funds for a partner to remit amounts towards the firm's unpaid dues through Form GST DRC-13. This post-adjudication recovery mechanism differs from provisional attachment. Retirement does not remove liability for pre-retirement dues, and delayed retirement intimation may extend liability until received by the Commissioner.

GST appellate rights permit taxpayers to contest liability despite voluntary payment at the show-cause-notice stage without admission of liability. NIL-demand adjudication orders had generated zero-value Demand and Collection Register entries, and portal validation prevented filing of Form GST APL 01 where the disputed amount exceeded the recorded demand. From 7 September 2026, the validation restricting appeals against NIL or zero-demand orders has been removed, allowing appeals where a liability dispute remains and reducing dependence on rectification orders.

General penalty under section 125 of the Central Goods and Services Tax framework is a residual sanction for an established contravention where no separate penalty is prescribed. It is discretionary, not automatic, and must be proportionate to the breach. Section 126 protects against penalties for minor or readily rectifiable procedural and documentation errors made without fraudulent intent or gross negligence, requires a hearing, and requires specification of the breach and applicable requirement. A general penalty cannot replace a specific statutory penalty or late-fee mechanism.

Government departmental appeals should comply strictly with limitation periods, with condonation of delay treated as exceptional because departments have specialised personnel, legal support, established procedures, and digital facilities for timely filing. Electronic communication, portal-based orders, digital signatures, standard drafting tools, and online filing reduce the force of conventional delay explanations. Portal copies of orders may be used through an appropriate verification framework. Accountable monitoring, merit-based appeal scrutiny, and avoidance of repetitive or settled-issue challenges are necessary to reduce pendency and public expenditure.

GST dues secured by a statutory first charge under section 82 of the CGST Act do not acquire secured-creditor status in corporate insolvency. Section 82 is subject to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, which governs claim treatment, priority and distribution. Government tax claims are dealt with under the insolvency distribution waterfall and cannot be elevated to secured claims solely by reason of a statutory charge. Additional tax liabilities created through scrutiny during the moratorium may be rejected from the insolvency claim process.

The July 2022 Rule 43 amendment excludes duty credit scrip values from exempt-supply calculations for input tax credit reversal, but is analysed as a prospective fresh concession rather than a retrospective clarification. Pre-amendment MEIS scrip sales may therefore remain subject to proportionate reversal of common-input credit. Fraud-based proceedings require deliberate suppression, fraud, or wilful misstatement; non-reversal alone is insufficient. Where those elements are unproved, proceedings may be treated under the ordinary short-payment framework, with its applicable limitation and penalty provisions.

Eligible Manufacturer Importer Scheme enrolment is streamlined by reducing manual data requirements and limiting mandatory uploads to the Udyam Registration Certificate where MSME status is claimed, a prescribed Chartered Accountant's Certificate bearing UDIN, and an authorisation letter. Backend IT verification replaces several earlier document uploads, but eligibility safeguards remain. Applicants must provide core identity, GST, manufacturing and compliance particulars, declare their financial and legal status, and disclose earlier EMI applications. The Chartered Accountant's Certificate must address solvency and financial capability and explain negative net worth or negative net current assets.

De novo quantification of construction-service tax liability required application of Rule 2A of the Service Tax (Determination of Value) Rules, 2006 and reconciliation of Form 26AS with the books of account. Repeating the earlier demand confirmation without undertaking the directed requantification was unsustainable. Year-wise reconciliation had been furnished, and tax identified as payable through that exercise had been deposited. The demand confirmation was set aside with consequential relief.

Statutory appeals under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act must be filed within three months, with condonation available for a further one month on sufficient cause. Where an appeal was filed beyond both periods, the delay was nevertheless condoned in view of its extent, factual issues requiring appellate consideration, and a co-ordinate bench decision. The appellate order was set aside, and the appellate authority was required to decide the matter according to law while keeping all merits contentions open.