E commerce GST liability expanded to cover platform supplied passenger transport and restaurant services, raising classification and ITC issues.
The note explains that recent notifications extend Electronic Commerce Operator liability under Section 9(5) to broader passenger transport and most restaurant services supplied through platforms, prescribe a concessional tax rate and special compliance requirements, and raise key operational and legal questions about characterization of takeaways, composite versus separate supplies, reversal or non reversal of common input tax credit, and the legal status of circulars mandating cash discharge of concessional tax. (AI Summary)

GST classification drives automobile tax treatment, affecting valuation, input credits, after sales supply characterisation and compliance.
GST treatment of the automobile sector focuses on valuation, input tax credit, classification and timing of tax liabilities. Related party supplies must follow Rule 28 valuation options or deemed invoice value when recipient claims full input tax credit. Job work rules, vendor tooling transfers, and mixed supplies of parts and labour present documentary and supply character issues. After sales contracts, service coupons and used vehicle margin taxation require factual tests to determine composite versus separate taxability, while import and part classification affect applicable rates and litigation exposure. (AI Summary)

GST classification of cryptocurrency shapes taxation: treat trading, mining, wallets and exchanges as taxable supplies under GST.
GST applicability to cryptocurrency depends on classification: cryptocurrencies are not legal tender or conventional securities, so they may be treated as movable property or intangibles subject to GST. An administrative proposal would treat mining as a supply of services (taxable on rewards and fees), require wallets and exchanges to register and pay tax, treat trading as supply of goods with related services taxable, apply specified place-of-supply rules for domestic transactions, and impose IGST on cross-border supplies. (AI Summary)

Notional interest inclusion in GST: where refundable deposit influences consideration, notional interest forms part of taxable value.
Applicability of GST to notional interest on refundable security deposits depends on whether the deposit or notional interest operates as consideration under Section 15. A refundable deposit returned in full is not consideration, but any portion retained and applied as compensation becomes part of the taxable value. Inclusion of notional interest requires a factual nexus showing the deposit influenced the contract price, so valuation is determined case by case by examining contract terms and whether the deposit reduced periodic charges. (AI Summary)

Export realization requirement may trigger repayment obligations for exporters under Rule 96B when proceeds remain unrealized.
Rule 96B requires repayment, with interest, of refunded unutilised input tax credit or integrated tax to the extent export proceeds remain unrealized beyond the period specified under FEMA and any RBI extensions; exporters must deposit the unrealized proportion within thirty days of that period's expiry or face recovery under the Act's erroneous refund provisions with interest, while the rule allows re availment of credit if proceeds are subsequently realized or RBI relaxes realization requirements. (AI Summary)

Export refund entitlement tied to realization of proceeds: repayment obligation arises if export proceeds remain unrealized within permitted period.
The note explains that exporters may claim refunds either under a Letter of Undertaking or after payment of integrated tax, and that a rule requires repayment of refunded amounts to the extent export proceeds are not realized within the period specified under foreign exchange law. The banking regulator's extension of the realization period alters the timeframe for repayment and re availment of credit. The piece highlights a legal tension because the export refund regime for goods does not make inward remittance a precondition, and therefore conditioning refunds on realization may exceed the taxation statute's scope. (AI Summary)

GST on concealed interest raises consumer cost in no-cost EMI schemes, as bank-charged interest attracts tax.
No-cost EMI schemes reallocate retailer discounts to financiers so consumers pay product price plus an embedded interest component; when routed through credit card services the interest-equivalent amount often falls outside the GST exemption for interest on loans, and administrative guidance treats that component as subject to GST, increasing the effective cost borne by the consumer. (AI Summary)