Pradeep Reddy Unnathi Partners
Pradeep Reddy
Contact Info
Customs or GST challenges don’t have to hold business back—they can be growth opportunities.
I am a Chartered Accountant with 11+ years of experience in GST and Customs matters.
My professional journey includes working with firms like PwC and Deloitte before establishing my practice, where I focus on GST and Customs litigation support and transaction structuring.
Areas Where I Can Add Value
- Assisting with GST and Customs litigation, including dispute resolution and representation.
- Providing support for Customs Classification & Valuation matters.
- Advising on tax-efficient transaction structuring tailored to your business needs.
- Identifying and advising on incentives/benefits and relaxations for trade and import-export activities.
I focus on delivering clear, actionable insights specific to the Indirect Tax challenges of your business, with experience working across diverse sectors, including e-commerce, electric vehicles (EVs), gaming, and manufacturing.
One-on-One Consultation
https://calendly.com/team-unnathipartners/30min
Contact us at
+91-9353382049
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Showing 1 to 20 of 109 Results
MOOWR approval delays often arise from insurance, bonding, portal issues and differing local compliance practices rather than eligibility.
MOOWR applications may be delayed by procedural requirements even where eligibility is clear. Applicants must secure compliant all-risk insurance for deferred customs duty, a triple duty bond and an indemnity bond. Delays may arise from deficiency memoranda, online filing issues and differing local practices on warehoused goods, inspections, layout and documentation. Early engagement with insurers and the jurisdictional Commissionerate, dated submission records, and import planning after compliance with bonded-goods security and segregation requirements can assist in managing the approval process. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
FTA preferential tariff claims require pre-filing origin, product-rule, consignment and tariff verification to avoid denial and compliance exposure.
Free Trade Agreement preferential tariff claims require eligibility and compliance checks before filing the Bill of Entry. Importers must verify exclusion-list coverage, Product Specific Rules, Rules of Origin, direct-consignment conditions and the current staged tariff rate. The claim requires an appropriate declaration in the Bill of Entry, a valid Certificate of Origin, and supporting material demonstrating origin compliance. Failure to meet or substantiate these requirements may lead to denial of preference, interest and penalties. (AI Summary)
Customs - Import - Export - SEZ
FTA preferential-duty claims require valid origin evidence, accurate classification, transit documentation, invoicing disclosure, and current tariff notification compliance.
FTA preferential-duty claims require documentary compliance at the Bill of Entry stage, including a valid Certificate of Origin, matching HS classifications, and complete CAROTAR, 2020 origin declarations. Origin claims should be supported by actual value-addition calculations and applicable Product Specific Rules. Transshipment may require evidence of direct transport and non-manipulation, while third-party invoicing should be disclosed on the Certificate of Origin. Importers must also use the current applicable tariff notification when claiming preferential treatment. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
GST appeal deadlines require strict follow-through, as missed filing windows can leave recovery proceedings fully active.
An appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act must ordinarily be filed within three months of communication of the order, with a further one-month period available only on showing sufficient cause. A similar appellate structure applies to the GST Appellate Tribunal under Section 112. Once this three-plus-one-month window expires, the appellate authority is generally understood to lack power to condone further delay, and recovery proceedings may continue once a demand attains finality, including through bank attachment and other statutory tools. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
GST appeal portal glitches may be addressed through manual filing, representation, or a writ petition when limitation has expired.
A GST appeal against a demand order must ordinarily be filed within three months, with a further condonable month on sufficient cause being shown; beyond that period the Appellate Authority lacks statutory power to entertain delay. Where a timely appeal fails because of a portal glitch, the suggested response is to preserve contemporaneous evidence, seek a short administrative extension or manual filing, and, if necessary, invoke the High Court's writ jurisdiction under Article 226, which is not bound by the appellate limitation ceiling. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Customs demand classification and igst credit determine limitation, evidentiary burden, and input tax treatment.
Customs demand notices require careful classification between Section 28(1) and Section 28(4), because the applicable provision affects limitation and defence strategy. Routine demands involving misclassification, undervaluation, or procedural errors fall under Section 28(1), while fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts under Section 28(4) extends the look-back period and requires proof of actual misrepresentation. The discussion also notes that IGST paid as part of customs duty may be claimed as input tax credit under Sections 16 and 17 of the CGST Act, supported by Rule 36(4) of the CGST Rules. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Customs duty deferral under MOOWR can preserve working capital by postponing payment until domestic sale of finished goods.
Customs duty under the MOOWR framework may be deferred until finished goods are sold in the domestic market, instead of being paid upfront at import. For capital goods, the duty deferral is interest-free for the entire life of the asset, allowing working capital to remain in the business rather than being locked in duty payments. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Key money in hotel management deals may be taxable as consideration, unless no fresh supply exists or export conditions apply.
Key money in hotel management agreements is an upfront payment linked to renovation, rebranding, and long-term operational commitments. The GST question is whether the payment is consideration for a taxable supply under Section 7(1)(a) of the CGST Act, or whether the owner's obligations already arise independently under the agreement, leaving no fresh quid pro quo. The article also notes that, if the recipient is outside India and statutory conditions are satisfied, the payment may be examined as an export of service under the IGST Act. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Customs valuation disputes and APAs: separate regimes mean transfer pricing certainty does not automatically bind import valuation scrutiny.
Advance Pricing Agreements bind only transfer pricing authorities and do not control customs valuation of related-party imports. Customs authorities and the Special Valuation Branch apply a separate valuation framework under the Customs Valuation Rules, 2007, including scrutiny of royalty or licence fee payments that may form part of the customs transaction value if they are a condition of sale. The article stresses that transfer pricing and customs documentation should remain internally consistent on relationship characterisation, payment flows, functional analysis, and ancillary payments. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
GST dispute strategy: choose provisional assessment, advance ruling, appeal, or writ based on uncertainty, notice stage, and jurisdiction.
Provisional assessment under GST and customs law is available where the value of supply, tax rate, or final duty liability cannot be determined with certainty and temporary business continuity requires clearance or payment on a provisional basis. Advance ruling under the CGST framework provides pre-transaction clarity on the tax treatment of proposed supplies or import arrangements and binds both the applicant and the jurisdictional officer. After a show cause notice, the statutory dispute path runs through reply, adjudication, and the appellate hierarchy, while writ jurisdiction is generally reserved for lack of jurisdiction, natural justice violations, or manifest arbitrariness. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
GST on BOT airport handback turns on movable assets, going concern treatment, and input tax credit reversal.
GST consequences at the end of a BOT concession differ between completed buildings and movable assets. Handback of terminal buildings and civil structures does not attract GST, but permanent transfer or disposal of movable business assets on which input tax credit was availed is treated as a supply even on an "as is where is" basis. The liability is determined by the higher of tax on transaction or open market value and the residual input tax credit after prescribed pro-rata reduction. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Customs duty compliance through HSN audits, MOOWR planning, drawback discipline, and FTA documentation can materially reduce import costs.
Customs duty compliance requires periodic review of HSN classification, timely use of MOOWR for duty deferral, strict adherence to drawback and e-BRC requirements, duty-free re-import conditions for rejected goods, and retrospective refund claims for missed FTA preferential tariff benefits under the prescribed limitation period. (AI Summary)
Customs - Import - Export - SEZ
Clean slate doctrine under IBC can extinguish pre-approval GST demands and bar fresh post-resolution claims.
An approved resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code can extinguish pre-approval GST liabilities because IBC prevails over inconsistent tax law and operates with a moratorium during CIRP. Creditors, including GST authorities, must file claims within the insolvency process, and liabilities not provided for in the resolution framework cannot ordinarily be revived later. Under the clean slate doctrine, an approved resolution plan binds all stakeholders, including government authorities, and bars fresh demands for pre-resolution liabilities. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
GST audit stage offers the decisive opportunity to submit reconciliations and written responses to prevent escalation to an SCN.
The pivotal legal battleground in GST disputes is the audit stage; an ASMT-10 notice offers a critical opportunity to submit reconciliations, explanations and supporting documents in writing to avert a Show Cause Notice. Once an SCN is issued, adjudication relies on departmental files and later forums lack bandwidth to re-examine detailed reconciliations, often resulting in remand. Therefore, prioritising timely, documented reconciliation responses at audit and SCN stages reduces escalation, litigation risk and costs. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
GST summons response: produce only requested records, stick to verifiable facts, and obtain approval before responding.
A GST summons under Section 70 is an inquiry; respond by producing only the documents expressly requested and avoid voluntary, unrelated disclosures. If records are unavailable, state that honestly and provide a written explanation. Confine answers to verifiable facts and decline to confirm uncertain details to avoid criminal exposure, since summons proceedings are deemed judicial in nature. Obtain management or legal approval before submitting documents or recording statements. Statements made under duress can be retracted following proper procedure with legal support. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Input Service Distribution requirement now governs third party credit allocation across registrations, while cross charge covers internal services.
ISD registration is required for distribution of Input Tax Credit on common input services procured from external vendors under a single PAN; ISDs must hold a separate GSTIN, issue ISD invoices as prescribed, file GSTR 6 monthly, and distribute ITC monthly and proportionally by turnover to consuming locations. Cross charge is reserved for internally generated services, supported by intra or inter company MOUs and transfer pricing documentation; ISDs may also distribute credits for invoices subject to the Reverse Charge Mechanism where permitted. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
Parallel proceedings bar under Section 6(2)(b) stops duplicate GST adjudication, allowing the later authority to withdraw proceedings.
The statutory bar prevents a proper officer from initiating proceedings on a subject matter where another proper officer has already commenced proceedings; when facts and alleged tax liability overlap for ISD credit distribution, the later authority must desist, and a focused representation demonstrating prior proceedings and invoking the overlap test can prompt withdrawal of duplicative action. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
FOC import reporting: correctly classify BOE values to reflect job work forex inflows, avoiding negative NFE.
EOUs receiving materials on a Free of Cost basis must report actual forex movements in the QPR: BOE declared values used for customs valuation are not foreign exchange outflows and should not be recorded as purchases, whereas job work charges received in foreign exchange are the true inflows. IGCR bond duty obligations are separate customs compliance matters and do not count as forex outflows for NFE calculation. (AI Summary)
Customs - Import - Export - SEZ
Duty drawback compliance risks: ignoring customs notices can trigger IEC blocking and severe commercial losses.
Duty drawback compliance and timely response to customs communications are essential for exporters; failure to produce a Bank Realisation Certificate and to answer notices led to IEC blocking and severe commercial losses. Exporters must maintain a BRC for each export invoice, respond to notices within required timeframes, voluntarily repay drawback where forex is not realised, and use a compliance calendar and disciplined recordkeeping to reconcile drawback claims with foreign exchange receipts. (AI Summary)
Customs - Import - Export - SEZ
GST summons: provide only requested documents, disclose missing records promptly, and limit answers to verifiable facts.
A GST summons is an information gathering power used to verify records and cooperation; it is not an accusation. Respond by producing exactly the documents requested, provide prompt written notice if records are missing, and avoid unsolicited materials or legal opinions. Limit statements to verifiable facts; say "I don't know" when outside personal knowledge. Obtain written management authorization before representing an entity, retain dated evidence of submissions, and seek counsel if pressured to sign or admit facts. (AI Summary)
Goods and Services Tax - GST
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12 Sep 2024 
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