Specified intra-State supplies of handicraft goods are exempt from tax under Punjab GST to the extent tax exceeds listed rates of 1.5%, 2.5% or 6%, subject to tariff classification and descriptions. Handicraft goods must be predominantly handmade, though tools or machinery may be used, and must have substantial ornamentation or other distinctive aesthetic, artistic, ethnic or cultural features distinguishing them from mechanically produced goods. Handmade or hand-embroidered shawls are subject to different rates based on sale value.

Registered persons must electronically furnish FORM GSTR-3B for January, February and March 2018 by the prescribed monthly due dates. Tax, interest, penalty, fees and other payable amounts must be discharged, subject to the statutory payment framework, no later than the applicable return-filing due date through debit to the electronic cash ledger or electronic credit ledger, as applicable.

Open justice and Article 19(1)(a) protect fair and accurate media reporting of proceedings conducted in open court, subject to permissible restrictions for privacy, fair-trial and other countervailing interests. Oral exchanges and tentative observations during hearings are not part of the formal judicial record or judicial determinations; blanket limits on reporting them would undermine transparency and accountability. Judicial restraint remains necessary in off-the-cuff language. Relief against coercive action arising from an FIR or complaint must be pursued through available criminal-procedure remedies, including inherent jurisdiction, rather than unrelated appellate proceedings.

Post-supply discounts may be excluded from the value of supply only where the supplier issues a credit note and the recipient reverses attributable input tax credit. The credit-note mechanism expressly covers such discounts. Refund provisions additionally include unutilised input tax credit allowed under the relevant proviso, while the specified treatment of refunds under subsections (5) and (6) excludes claims for goods exported with payment of tax.

Punjab SGST rate schedules are amended with deemed effect from 27 July 2018 through additions, omissions, substitutions and exclusions across the 2.5%, 6%, 9% and 14% schedules. Ethyl alcohol supplied for petrol blending is placed in the 2.5% schedule and excluded from the 9% entry. The changes revise classifications for fertilizer-grade phosphoric acid, apparel, coir products, bamboo flooring, fuel-cell vehicles, paints, domestic appliances, lithium-ion batteries, television sets and specified vehicles, while omitting several 14% entries and refining product-specific exclusions.

Customs designation is extended to Mandalgarh, Bhilwara, Rajasthan, as item (xiii) in the Rajasthan entry under serial number 10. The location may be used for unloading imported goods and loading export goods, including any class of such goods, under the statutory framework for appointing customs places within inland container depot arrangements.

Punjab GST refund provisions distinguish refunds of unutilised input tax credit on zero-rated supplies without payment of tax from refunds of integrated tax paid on exports. Input tax credit relating to specified concessional supplies and other inputs or input services used for exporting goods is covered. Refund of integrated tax paid on exports is ineligible where specified State, integrated-tax or customs benefits have been used, subject to stated EPCG capital-goods exceptions.

The India-Mauritius tax treaty Protocol replaces the treaty preamble to confirm that eliminating double taxation must not create opportunities for non-taxation or reduced taxation through tax evasion, avoidance, or treaty-shopping arrangements benefiting third-jurisdiction residents. It inserts an entitlement-to-benefits rule denying treaty relief where, considering all relevant facts and circumstances, obtaining the benefit was one of an arrangement's or transaction's principal purposes, unless granting relief accords with the relevant treaty provision's object and purpose. The Protocol entered into force on 10 August 2026 and applies from that date regardless of when tax is levied or the relevant taxable year.

Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (ICERT) will function as an Attached Office under the administrative control of MeitY with immediate effect. ICERT will also continue as the appointed agency for purposes of the Information Technology Act, 2000, as amended. The declaration formalises ICERT's administrative placement without displacing its continuing statutory agency role under that Act.

The Sixth Schedule to the Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004 is amended to add the High Commission of Jamaica to the listed embassies eligible for VAT exemption or refund on taxable goods purchased for official use and for diplomats' personal use, reflecting reciprocal treatment. VAT refunds require each invoice to meet the prescribed minimum value of Rs. 5,000. The earlier notification on the subject is rescinded with immediate effect, and the amendment operates from 21 November 2025.

Registration of the recipient political party, non-cash remittance, banking records and donation receipts are necessary evidentiary facts for a political-contribution deduction, but do not conclusively prove a genuine contribution. Where credible material indicates an accommodation-entry arrangement involving return of funds through intermediaries, the claimant must substantiate the transaction and address taxpayer-specific circumstances. General allegations about a recipient cannot alone displace a claim without a sufficient nexus to the taxpayer's own payment. Penalty initiation requires separate determination of under-reporting or misreporting and a reasonable opportunity of hearing.

Input tax credit in Bill To-Ship To export transactions depends on statutory conditions and reliable evidence of receipt, transport and export, not on toll plaza records. Goods may be delivered directly to a ship-to location on the recipient's instructions and need not begin movement from the supplier's registered premises. Where the immediate supplier is registered and invoices, e-way bills, bilty copies, transporter confirmation, export records and banking evidence are undisputed, upstream supplier defaults alone do not transfer liability to the recipient. Appellate proceedings remain confined to the grounds contained in the show cause notice.

Under Rule 43 of the Income-tax (Certificate Proceedings) Rules, 1962, a Recovery Officer must decide a third party's bona fide claim of independent possession before pursuing physical delivery through an Advocate Commissioner. Rule 39 concerns property occupied by the defaulter, persons acting for the defaulter, or persons claiming through a post-attachment title. Where an occupier disputes the identity or boundaries of the auctioned property and asserts a pre-existing partition-based title, the objection requires prior determination.

GST common adjudication requires separate verification of an officer's jurisdiction and the administrative assignment of a particular case. Notifications and statutory provisions confer competence; circulars may distribute covered cases among already empowered officers but cannot create or transfer jurisdiction. Under the highest-tax-demand criterion, the noticee with the greatest demand and its principal place of business identify the relevant allocation entry and designated Commissionerate. The selected officer must independently fall within the notification's authorised class and the proceedings must be covered by its terms.

GST reform proposals seek to simplify registration, reconcile return liabilities and input tax credit, and automate refunds. Registration changes include simplified applications, automatic acceptance of eligible amendments and cancellations, and simplified registration for qualifying small e-commerce suppliers. Return reforms provide reconciliation between GSTR-1, GSTR-1A, IFF, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2B, supported by reverse-charge and ITC statements. Refund measures include automated electronic cash ledger refunds, deemed acknowledgements, risk-based provisional refunds, system-readable refund applications, and revised rules for zero-rated and pre-deposit refunds.

GST appeal limitation begins on communication of the decision or order under Section 107(1) of the CGST Act, 2017, not on its issuance date or the retrospective effective date of registration cancellation. The authority must establish actual or constructive knowledge through legally effective service and supporting records before treating an appeal as delayed. Portal availability is a recognised statutory service mode, but its sufficiency for appellate limitation depends on the applicable interpretation and circumstances. Limited condonation applies only after the correct communication date is identified.

For payments to non-residents, no express statutory limitation is identified for orders under Section 201(1). The doctrine of reasonable time therefore requires an assessee-in-default order to be made within a reasonable period. While the authorities discussed apply four years from the end of the relevant financial year, the analysis treats the later seven-year limitation for resident-payment TDS defaults as the appropriate reasonable period for non-resident TDS proceedings, given the common purpose of securing tax at the earliest stage.

Rule 89(4) export-refund calculation must use corrected zero-rated turnover, Net ITC and adjusted total turnover. Valid GST-adjusting credit notes may alter turnover, but only where their statutory basis, invoice linkage, documentary support and applicable time limit are established. Commercial credit notes that merely reduce amounts payable do not automatically reduce GST or turnover for the formula. If a deduction is inadmissible, the permissible refund must be recalculated and compared with the amount claimed or sanctioned; an error alone does not establish an excess refund.

Temporary injunction principles under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 support tailored restraints where publications prima facie portray a person as involved in criminality and risk continuing reputational harm. The relevant assessment considers absence of delay or acquiescence, inadequacy of monetary compensation, balance of convenience, and the risk that media reporting may prejudice investigation or trial. Freedom of speech must be balanced against reputation, dignity, privacy and fair-trial rights. Fair and accurate reporting of FIRs, regulatory disclosures, and judicial or statutory orders remains permissible; non-compliant material may be de-indexed under applicable guidelines.

Fiscal prosecution may proceed without prior assessment or quantified tax evasion where an offence independently concerns delayed filing of a mandatory wealth-tax return or a knowingly false income-tax statement. Section 35B treats willful non-filing by the prescribed due date as a prima facie basis for cognizance; subsequent filing does not cure the alleged default, and culpable mental state requires trial-stage consideration. Section 279 requires prior sanction, while Section 277 penalises statements knowingly believed false. Prima facie material linking undisclosed foreign-company associations or investments with contrary denials may support prosecution without prior assessment or tax quantification. Defences on merits are to be examined at trial.