Accounts and records in GST: Registered persons must maintain detailed transactional, stock and documentary registers with audit and retention obligations.
Section 35 and Section 36 with Rules 56-58 require registered persons to maintain comprehensive books and records at principal and additional places of business, documenting production, supplies, stock details, input tax credit, output tax (including reverse charge and TDS), imports/exports, advances and documentary registers; specialised registers are mandated for works contracts, agents, transporters and warehouse operators; electronic records are allowed with backup, digital authentication and edit logs; serial numbering, statutory retention periods and GST audit obligations apply. (AI Summary)

Bond requirements for duty-free imports by EOUs under GST need immediate clarity to ensure operational continuity.
The article requests urgent clarification on bond-based duty relief for 100% EOUs under GST. It asks whether existing B-17 running bonds may be used temporarily for duty-free BCD imports, whether Customs' Continuity Bond format must be modified, whether bonds should be running or one-time and port-specific, and whether security or surety (and what BG percentage) is required. It further asks whether acceptance and execution of such bonds shifts to Central GST Commissionerates and whether procurement certificates remain necessary. On exports, it questions whether EOUs may export through merchant exporters without duty, which duty components apply, and how merchant exporters obtain refunds for non-IGST components. (AI Summary)

Removal of mandatory warehousing requirements allows EOUs and similar units to operate without bonded warehouse licensing, with digital records required.
Removal of mandatory warehousing requirement exempts 100% EOUs, STPIs and EHTPs from bonded warehouse licensing and related warehousing regulations; they need not obtain permissions under Sections 58 and 65, appoint warehouse keepers, provide undertakings or insurance, obtain warehouse codes, re warehouse, or file ex bond bills. Units must maintain digital records of imported goods in prescribed Form A with an audit trail, obtain procurement certificates for duty free imports, provide copies of bills of entry to jurisdictional offices, and follow specified procedures for inter unit transfers. Outstanding clarifications include the status of the B 17 bond and formats for indigenous duty free procurement records. (AI Summary)

Inclusion of free supplies in valuation: fair market value may be added to taxable base for abatement purposes.
Free supplies from a service recipient to a provider are not consideration that flows to or benefits the provider and thus do not form part of the gross amount charged under the valuation provision; nevertheless, valuation rules in the revised regime expressly define a Total Amount that adds the fair market value of recipient supplied goods to the gross amount charged for abatement purposes, which operates independently of the Larger Bench's exclusionary reasoning. (AI Summary)

Service tax on construction activity: exemptions, abatement and reverse charge rules govern taxable value and liability allocation.
Exemptions cover construction and allied services for structures intended predominantly for non-commercial use, historical and cultural sites, educational and clinical establishments, irrigation, water and sewerage infrastructure, specified residential complexes and other specified public-purpose works; an abatement reduces taxable value for constructions intended for sale subject to non-claim of input credit and inclusion of land value; reverse charge applies for foreign service providers with exemptions for non-commercial recipients; works contracts attract tax on transfer of property in goods with specified liability allocation between provider and recipient; key terms including original works and governmental authority are defined. (AI Summary)

Service tax on construction: declared service covers construction and expanded works contract scope, including movable property.
Construction activities were previously taxed under Commercial or Industrial Construction Service, Works Contract Service, or Construction of Complex, each with distinct taxable events and reliefs. Under the reformed regime, construction of complexes, buildings or civil structures (including additions, alterations and remodeling) constitutes a Declared Service, and the widened definition of Works Contract covers transfers of property in goods and activities relating to both movable and immovable property, with statutory guidance on completion certificates and eligible certifying professionals. (AI Summary)

Works contract service tax: valuation options determine taxable service portion and reverse charge can shift liability to recipient.
Service tax on works contract applies where transfer of property in goods leviable to sales tax is involved in activities like construction, repair or installation. Valuation under Rule 2A uses Option I (detailed computation isolating labour/service) or Option II (specified percentage rates where Option I cannot apply), with Option II restricted if VAT on materials has been paid on actuals. Reverse charge rules partially shift liability to recipients (not eligible for general exemption), and point of taxation for recipient-liability is the date of payment. (AI Summary)

Reverse charge on services: recipient liable for apportioned tax shares under sequential valuation rules, creating practical valuation uncertainty.
Reverse charge shifts partial service tax liability to recipients for specified services; works contract valuation follows a mandatory sequence: total consideration minus property value for VAT, then total minus actual goods value, and only failing those, prescribed abatement percentages apply (40% original works, 60% other contracts, 25% certain pre completion receipts). The sequencing limits abatement to a residual method, creating practical valuation and compliance difficulties for recipients. The proposal permits refunds of unutilized Cenvat for "small providers" but leaves the term and eligibility unclear, complicating refund claims. (AI Summary)

Service tax reform: shift to a negative-list framework with revised rates, valuation rules, and expanded reverse charge obligations.
Restoration of the standard service tax rate is coupled with revised composition rates, increased Cenvat reversal for exempt services, and a shift to a uniform ad-valorem levy for air transport with abatement. A new negative list framework, a defined concept of "service," and consolidated exemptions replace much of the prior regime; Place of Provision Rules are introduced for export treatment. Valuation rules for works contracts, revised abatements affecting Cenvat eligibility, amendments to credit availability and reverse charge allocations, and procedural reforms on audits, limitation, appeals, point of taxation and limited retrospective reliefs are also proposed. (AI Summary)