Maintainability of a writ challenge to assessment additions requiring factual and evidentiary appraisal was addressed where a statutory appellate remedy was available. The Supreme Court found no reason to interfere with the High Court's decision and dismissed the special leave petition. The legal point concerns recourse to statutory appellate mechanisms for fact-intensive assessment disputes instead of writ jurisdiction.

Turmeric Extract / Curcuma Elixir marketed as a dietary supplement for wellness, immune support and nutrition, without a specific therapeutic claim, falls under Heading 2106 as a food preparation rather than Chapter 30 medicaments or Chapter 33 products. Classification follows common parlance, essential character and primary use; its water-based composition and absence of separated essential oil or cosmetic, perfumery or flavouring use support this treatment. The applicable GST rate was 18% before 22 September 2025 and 5% thereafter. MRP does not affect classification or GST rate under Heading 2106 because no express value-based rate condition applies.

GST exemption under Entry 69(e)(iii), effective 10 October 2024, applies to training supplied by a body accredited with an NCVET-recognised Awarding Body when it relates to an NSQF-aligned qualification supported by an NCVET-approved qualification package. The exemption covers the entire course fee attributable to the qualifying programme, because the accreditation arrangement imposes no fee cap. Amounts charged for services unrelated to the approved NSQF qualification remain taxable.

GST exemption applies to health insurance services supplied under MEDISEP Phase II for Clause A beneficiaries where the State Government is party to the insurance contract and pays the entire premium. As the person liable to pay consideration, the State Government is the recipient of the supply, while employees, pensioners and family members remain insured beneficiaries. The exemption for insurance services under a Government scheme does not require the Government to be the insured person or direct beneficiary, provided it bears the full premium in accordance with the contractual arrangement.

Student-enrolment services supplied by an Indian representative to overseas universities are intermediary services where the representative arranges or facilitates the university's educational supply to students, does not provide education on its own account, and earns enrolment-linked commission. This structure involves three parties and two supplies. Export treatment depends on the place of supply: until 29.03.2026, intermediary services are located at the Indian supplier's location and therefore do not meet export requirements; from 30.03.2026, the overseas recipient's location becomes the place of supply, allowing export treatment.

Section 129 penalty may be imposed where goods move under a second e-way bill generated on the same invoice after the original bill expires without a timely extension. Rule 138 requires an e-way bill before movement, while Rule 138(10) permits extension only within eight hours after expiry and does not authorise a later replacement bill. A materially altered invoice number, unsubstantiated vehicle-breakdown claims, unexplained route delay and change in loading location may support, on a preponderance of probabilities, an inference of fraud, deception and intent to evade tax. On those facts, the penalty was warranted.

Pre-deposit for a Tribunal appeal is not an independent tax liability. Where the first appellate authority reduces the tax remaining in dispute, the prescribed pre-deposit requirement must be assessed against that reduced disputed tax. If the amount deposited for the first appeal already equals or exceeds the applicable percentage of the surviving disputed tax, no further pre-deposit is required for the Tribunal appeal. Requiring an additional payment despite adequate prior deposit would mechanically duplicate the pre-deposit obligation and create an anomalous, unworkable result.

GST transport provisions do not require a transporter to declare or follow a specified route. Where goods carry valid documents, use of a longer route, explained by difficult terrain for a heavily loaded vehicle, does not alone establish an intention to evade tax. Detention and penalty under Section 129 require a statutory breach or material showing mala fide intent to evade tax; absence of evidence of an intended in-State destination or evasion makes route-based action unsustainable.

Service of a statutory show cause notice is mandatory before tax, interest, and penalty may be determined under Section 74. The notice must state the foundational facts, proposed demand, and allegations, enabling the taxpayer to make an effective representation. An electronic summary in FORM GST DRC-01 or DRC-02 must accompany, rather than replace, that notice; correspondence, summons, and an order in FORM GST DRC-07 are also insufficient substitutes. Where no statutory notice is served, the denial of audi alteram partem invalidates the demand proceedings and requires the first appellate order to be set aside.

Entry 27 of the GST exemption notification exempts services of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is represented by interest or discount; recovery of loan amounts may therefore qualify for exemption. A pure legal issue arising from a statutory exemption notification may be raised at any stage of adjudication. Application of the exemption to an amount said to have been recovered from a written-off housing loan account requires cogent documentary proof of both the write-off and the relevant recovery. Certified banker's-book entries are prima facie evidence, and necessary supporting documents may be required for determination.

Entry 27 exempts services of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is interest or discount, excluding interest involved in credit-card services. Entitlement to exemption for disputed turnover requires cogent, transaction-specific and State-specific evidence linking the amount to exempt interest and the relevant registration. Consolidated audit material, returns and unsupported Chartered Accountant certificates do not discharge that burden where they fail to correlate interest adjustments with identified borrower accounts. Withholding relevant available evidence permits an adverse inference. Qualifying interest is exempt in principle, but an unsubstantiated claim that turnover relates to another State fails.

Refund of unutilized input tax credit under the GST framework is available to Special Economic Zone units. Section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, read with Rule 89 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, does not limit refund applications to suppliers making supplies to such units. The reference to suppliers in the second proviso to Rule 89 identifies an eligible applicant category and does not exclude Special Economic Zone units from seeking refunds.

The first proviso to Section 223(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 mandates that an accused must receive an opportunity of hearing before cognizance is taken on a complaint. Cognizance taken without affording that mandatory pre-cognizance hearing is invalid, as the statutory safeguard is a condition that must be satisfied before proceeding on the complaint.

GST registration cancellation and rejection of revocation may be challenged through the statutory appellate mechanism where an effective appeal is available. Failure to satisfactorily establish a timely response to the show-cause notice, together with allegations of transactions and input-tax-credit claims involving cancelled registrants, supported declining writ relief. The appellate remedy under the CGST framework was treated as complete, requiring the challenge to proceed through that route.

Section 16(2)(c) of the CGST Act makes input tax credit conditional on proof that the supplier paid the charged tax, and the condition is treated as neither arbitrary nor disproportionate; a supplier's default does not justify reading it down. Challenges concerning receipt of goods, supplier tax payment, adequacy of hearing, non-application of mind, statutory overlap, and duplicate demands involve factual or mixed questions. Those objections must be pursued through the statutory appeal, where they remain open for independent determination. A hearing defect is curable and, without a jurisdictional defect, does not justify writ intervention.

Proper-officer functions may be assigned by circular to officers already appointed as Central Tax officers, with specified functions and monetary limits for action under the CGST Act. The relevant distinction is between assigning functions to existing tax officers and assigning them to persons lacking appointment as customs officers. Where a demand order considers defence material and affords a personal hearing, factual and documentary objections require appellate review. An effective statutory appeal remains the appropriate route absent a recognised exception to writ intervention.

Expiry of the ordinary limitation period did not preclude the petitioner's use of the statutory appellate remedy. The petitioner received two weeks to file the appeal, which must be entertained on merits without a limitation objection. The direction preserves access to statutory appellate review notwithstanding the lapse of the ordinary filing period.

Service of a show-cause notice under Section 73 exclusively through the GST portal after cancellation of registration breaches principles of natural justice. Once registration is cancelled, the registered person is not obliged to continue monitoring the portal, so portal-only service does not provide an effective opportunity to respond. A proper alternative mode of service is required. The order passed without such effective notice was quashed, while the Department retained liberty to issue a valid notice and continue proceedings in accordance with law.

Section 75(7) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 requires a show-cause notice to clearly specify the proposed amounts of tax, interest and penalty. Where Form DRC-01 does not quantify the proposed interest and penalty, those liabilities cannot be confirmed. Confirmation of unquantified interest or penalty is contrary to the statutory requirement that the notice disclose the amounts proposed for recovery.

Expiry of an e-way bill alone does not justify detention, tax or penalty under Section 129(3) unless material supports an inference of intent to evade tax. Breach of e-way bill requirements is insufficient where invoices, transport documents and e-way bill particulars consistently identify the goods and physical verification finds no discrepancy in description, quantity, value or tax. An unrebutted explanation that a vehicle breakdown during the Covid-19 lockdown caused expiry, without independent enquiry or contrary evidence, prevents an adverse inference of tax evasion.