• Supreme Court reviewed its earlier order & held DRI can issue Notice -

• 20.11.2024 : In this case, on being review petition No.400 of 2021 filed by the department (seeking review of the judgment and order dated 09.03.2021 passed by the Apex Court in Civil Appeal No. 1827 of 2018 in case of M/s Canon (I) Pvt Ltd Verses Commissioner of Customs), the Supreme Court reviewed its earlier order dated 09.03.2021 and allowed the Review Petition No. 400/2021 insofar as the issue of jurisdiction of the proper officer to issue show cause notice under Section 28 is concerned and also held that its findings related to limitation period remain undisturbed.
  

• CBIC clarified on refund of IGST & Compensation Cess under Rule 96(10) on imports-
• 11.09.2024 : CBIC vide GST Circular No. 233/27/2024-GST dated 10.09.2024 [touch  / click to view] clarified that where the inputs were initially imported without  payment  of  IGST and  compensation  cess  by  availing  benefits  under Notification No. 78/2017-Customs dated 13.10.2017 or Notification No. 79/2017-Customs dated 13.10.2017, but subsequently, IGST and compensation cess on such imported inputs are paid at a later date, along with interest, and the Bill of Entry in respect of the import of the said inputs is got reassessed through the jurisdictional Customs authorities to this effect, then the IGST, paid on exports of goods, refunded to the said exporter shall not be considered to be in contravention of provisions of sub-rule (10) of rule 96 of CGST Rules, 2017.

• Budget in brief :-
• 23.07.2024 : The FM presented the final budget for FY 2024-25 & announced the major tax proposals as under :-
• Income Tax related :- 
• 1. Increased standard deduction of salaried employees from ₹ 50,000/- to ₹ 75,000/- for those opting for new tax regime. Similarly, deduction on family pension for pensioners enhanced from ₹ 15,000/- to ₹ 25,000/-.
• 2. Assessments now, can be reopened beyond three years up to 5 years from end of year of assessment, only if, the escaped income is more than ₹ 50 Lakh.

• 3. The new tax regime rate structure is also revised to give a salaried employee benefits up to ₹ 17,500/- in income tax.

•  New tax regime proposed tax structure :-

• Income slabs (Rs.)	Tax Rate %
  0 ~ 3 lakh	Nil
  3 ~ 7 lakh	5%
  7 ~ 10 lakh	10%
  10 ~ 12 lakh	15%
  12 ~ 15 lakh	20%
  Above 15 lakh	30%

  4. Abolishing Angel Tax for all classes of investors.

• 5. A simpler tax regime for foreign shipping companies operating domestic cruises is proposed looking at the tremendous potential of cruise tourism.
• 6. Short term capital gains tax would now attract 20% on certain financial assets.
• 7. Long term gains on all financial and non-financial assets to attract 12.5 per cent rate. 
• 8. For dispute resolution and dispose-off backlogs, Union Finance Minister proposed Vivad se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 for resolution of certain income tax disputes pending in appeal.
• 9. The monetary limits for filing appeals related to Income Tax, Excise and Service Tax in High Courts, Supreme Courts and tribunals has been increased to ₹ 60 Lakh, ₹ 2 Crore and ₹ 5 Crore, respectively.
• Customs related :- 
• 1. Custom duties have been revised to rationalize and revise them for ease of trade and reduction of disputes.
• 2. Giving relief to cancer patients, Budget fully exempted three more cancer treating medicines from custom duties, namely, Trastuzumab Deruxtecan, Osimertinib and Durvalumab.
• 3. There will be reduction in Basic Customs Duty (BCD) on X-ray machines tubes and flat panel detectors. BCD on mobile phones, Printed Circuit Board Assembly (PCBA) and mobile chargers reduced to 15 per cent.
• 4. To give a fillip to processing and refining of critical minerals, Budget fully exempted custom duties on 25 rare earth minerals like lithium and reduced BCD on two of them.
• 5. Budget proposed to exempt capital goods for manufacturing of solar panels.
• 6. To boost India’s seafood exports, BCD on broodstock, polychaete worms, shrimps and fish feed reduced to 5 per cent.
• 7. Budget will foster competitiveness of Indian leather and textiles articles of export.
• 8. BCD reduced from 7.5 per cent to 5 per cent in Methylene Diphenyl Diisocyanate (MDI) used for manufacture of spandex yarn.
• 9. Custom duties on gold and silver reduced to 6 per cent and on platinum to 6.4 per cent.
• 10. BCD on ferro nickel and blister copper removed, while, BCD on ammonium nitrate increased from 7.5 to 10 per cent to support existing and new capacities in pipeline.
• 11. BCD on PVC flex banners increased from 10 to 25 per cent considering the hazard to environment.
• 12. To incentivize domestic manufacturing, BCD on PCBA of specific telecom equipments increased from 10 to 15 per cent.
• GST related :- 
• 1. Would further simplify and rationalize the tax structure to expand it to remaining sectors.
• 2. Budget also proposed to further digitalise and make paperless the remaining services of Customs and Income Tax including rectification and order giving effect to appellate orders over the next two years.
• 3. Present Sections 73 and 74 related to demand of GST would be applicable up to FY 2023-24 only and proposed new Section 74A from FY 2024-25.

• 4. In section 16 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, with effect from the 1st day of July, 2017, after sub-section (4), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely :–

       “(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4), in respect of an invoice or debit note for supply of goods or services or both pertaining to the Financial Years 2017- 18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, the registered person shall be entitled to take input tax credit in any return under section 39 which is filed upto the thirtieth day of November, 2021.

        (6) Where registration of a registered person is cancelled under section 29 and subsequently the cancellation of registration is revoked by any order, either under section 30 or pursuant to any order made by the Appellate Authority or the Appellate Tribunal or court and where availment of input tax credit in respect of an invoice or debit note was not restricted under sub-section (4) on the date of order of cancellation of registration, the said person shall be entitled to take the input tax credit in respect of such invoice or debit note for supply of goods or services or both, in a return under section 39,–

            (i) filed upto thirtieth day of November following the financial year to which such invoice or debit note pertains or furnishing of the relevant annual return, whichever is earlier; or

             (ii) for the period from the date of cancellation of registration or the effective date of cancellation of registration, as the case may be, till the date of order of revocation of cancellation of registration, where such return is filed within thirty days from the date of order of revocation of cancellation of registration, whichever is later.”.

•  

• Recommendations of 53rd GST Council Meeting held on 22.06.2024 -
• 22.06.2024 : In its 53rd meeting, the GST Council has recommended many measures are detailed in our blog post [ Click / Touch to view ] 

• Time limit further extended for issuing of GST order under Section 73(9) -
• 29.12.2023 : The CBIC has issued Notification No.56/2023-CT dated 28.12.2023 { view } whereby extended the time limit specified under Section 73(10) for issuing order under Section 73(9) of CGST Act, 2017 for (i) up to 30.04.2024 for FY 2018-19 and (ii) up to 31.08.2024 for FY 2019-20.  In other words, now the GST department may issue SCN of normal period under Section 73 before 3 months of these dates for the respective FYs mentioned hereinabove for recovery of non/short paid GST or wrongly availed ITC. 

• Govt is considering raising arrest threshold limit in GST & restricting Summons -
• 15.11.2023 : The industry has been advocating for changes in penal provisions, which are overly severe and therefore the govt is considering raising arrest threshold limit in GST evasion to Rs.3 cr, which is currently Rs.2 cr.  The CBIC is also exploring proposal to amend the process of Summons, making it more restrictive and allowed only under "certain conditions", according to sources.

• Time limit extended for issuing of GST order under Section 73(9) -
• 31.03.2023 : The CBIC has issued Notification No.9/2023-CT dated 31.03.2023 whereby extended the time limit specified under Section 73(10) for issuing order under Section 73(9) of CGST Act, 2017 for (i) up to 31.12.2023 for FY 2017-18; (ii) up to 31.03.2024 for FY 2018-19 and (iii) up to 30.06.2024 for FY 2019-20.  In other words, now the GST department may issue SCN of normal period under Section 73 before 3 months of these dates for the respective FYs mentioned hereinabove.

• Recommendations of 49th GST Council Meeting held on 18th Feb'23 -
• 18.02.2023 : The 49th GST Council has mainly recommended following measures :-
• - GST Appellate Tribunal maybe formed soon.
• - Reduced GST rate from 18% to 5% for "Rab"
• - Reduced GST rate from 18% to 12% for "Pencil Sharpners"
• - If a device like tag- tracking device or data logger is already affixed on a container, no separate IGST shall be levied on such affixed device and the ‘nil’ IGST treatment available for the containers under notification No. 104/94-Customs shall also be available to the such affixed device subject to the existing conditions.
• - Recommended extension of time limit for application for revocation of cancellation of registration from 30 days to 90 days.
• - Rationalisation of late fee for Annual Return -
• Registered persons having an aggregate turnover of up to Rs. 5 crores in the said financial year: Rs 50 per day (Rs 25 CGST + Rs 25 SGST), subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.04 per cent. of his turnover in the State or Union territory (0.02% CGST + 0.02% SGST).
• Registered persons having an aggregate turnover of more than Rs. 5 crores and up to Rs. 20 crores in the said financial year: Rs 100 per day (Rs 50 CGST + Rs 50 SGST), subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.04 per cent. of his turnover in the State or Union territory (0.02% CGST + 0.02% SGST).
• - To provide relief to a large number of taxpayers, the Council recommended amnesty schemes in respect of pending returns in FORM GSTR-4, FORM GSTR-9 and FORM GSTR-10 by way of conditional waiver/ reduction of late fee.
• Council recommended to rationalize the provision of place of supply for services of transportation of goods by deletion of section 13(9) of IGST Act, 2017 so as to provide that the place of supply of services of transportation of goods, in cases where location of supplier of services or location of recipient of services is outside India, shall be the location of the recipient of services

• Budget in brief :-
• 01.02.2023 : The FM presented the budget for FY 2023-24 & announced the major tax proposals as under :-
• Income Tax related :- 
• 1. Income limit for rebate u/s 87A raised from Rs.5 lakh to Rs.7 lakh in the new regime
• 2. Basic exemption limit for new tax regime raised from Rs.2.5 lakh to Rs.3 lakh & thereafter made slabs of Rs.3 lakh each till Rs.15 lakh with rising IT rate of 5% for each slab and 30% beyond Rs.15 lakh
• 3. Extended benefit of standard deduction of Rs.50,000/- to Salaries & Rs.15000/- to Family Pension under new tax regime
• 4. Raised tax exemption limit to Rs25 lakh on leave case encashment on retirement for non-government salaried employees
• GST related :-
• 1. Registered Person supplying Goods through ECO can opt for Composition Levy
• 2. Non-payment within 180 days to lead to ITC reversal and not payment of output tax
• 3. ITC not available on goods and services received for CSR activities
• 4. Maximum time limit up to which GSTR-1 / 3B / 9 / 9C and 8 can be furnished
• 5. Manner of computation of period of delay for interest on delayed refunds
• 6. Penalty for ECO, if unregistered / composition persons wrongly supply through them
• 7. Decriminalization of some offences and increase of monetary limit for prosecution from Rs.1 cr to Rs.2 cr except offences of issuing invoices without supply of goods or services or both
• 8. Changes in cases allowed for compounding of offenses and revised payment limit for compounding
• 9. High sea sales / Merchant Trading Transaction not to be supply from July 2017
• 10. Sharing of information by GST portal with other systems
• 11. Change in the definition of OIDAR and non-taxable online recipient
• 12. POS within India where supplier /recipient within India and destination outside India
• Customs related :-
• Exemptions withdrawn in following goods (i.e. now Customs duties would be applicable) –
• Goods for manufacture of specified refractory products, Wood in chips or particles for manufacture paper and paperboard; newsprint, Specified goods for use in high voltage power transmission project, Specified goods and their parts for use in manmade or synthetic fibre or yarn industry, Specified goods and its parts for use in textiles industry, Parts and raw materials for manufacture of goods of off- shore oil exploration or exploitation, Goods required for substitution of ozone depleting substances (ODS) and setting up of new capacity with non-ODS technology Machinery, instruments, apparatus and appliances or raw material for renovation or modernization of a fertilizer plant fertilizer plants and spare parts, consumable stores, essentials for maintenance of that plant, Specified machinery and capital goods for use in the silk textile industry Spares, supplied with outboard motors for maintenance of such outboard motors, Specified advance capital goods/machinery used in agriculture, Shuttle less looms and parts/components for its manufacturing, Parts or components for use in manufacture of populated printed circuit board of DVR, NVR,CCTV camera, Machinery/Capital goods for manufacturing sports goods, Bacteria removing clarifier, Machinery/ Capital goods used in Fisheries sector, Goods required for setting up crude petroleum refinery, Specified machinery/capital goods in leather / footwear industry, Fogging Machines imported by Municipal Committee, District Board to combat Malaria etc, Geothermal ground source heat pumps, Machinery/Capital goods for making Gems & Jewellery, Goods specified under 8422 3000, 8422 4000 or 8422 9090 in packaging Industry, Machineries under 8438 used in food processing industry, Specified textile Machinery specified under 8444, 8445, 8446, 8447, 8448 (except 84483100), 8449, Atmospheric Water Generator, Presses for manufacturing of particle board or fibre building board, of wood or other ligneous material and other machinery for treating wood or cork, Snow Ski and other snow ski equipment; water-skis, surf –boards, sailboards and other water sports equipment, Human Embryo, Monofilament yarn

• Recommendations of 48th GST Council Meeting held on 17th Dec'22 -
• 18.12.2022 : 48th GST Council has mainly recommended following measures :-
• - Reduced GST rate from 5% to Nil for "Husk of pulses including Chilka & Concentrates
•   including chuni/churi, khand"
• - Reduced GST rate from 18% to 5% for "Ethyl alcohol supplied to refineries for blending with petrol"
• - To include supply of Mentha arvensis under RCM as has been done for Mentha Oil
• - Clarified that :-
•    - Rab (rab-salawat) is classifiable under CTH 1702 [GST rate 18%]
•    - Fryums manufactured using extrusion process is covered under CTH 19059030 [18%]
•    - Compensation Cess @22% is applicable to motor vehicle fulfilling all 4 conditions :-
•      (1) Popularly known as SUV,                       (2) Engine Capacity > 1500 cc,
•      (3) Length > 4000 mm,                                (4) Ground clearance > 169 mm
•  
•     - Goods falling in lower rate category of 5% under Schedule I of Notifn No.1/17-CTR imported
•       for petroleum operations will attract lower rate of 5% and the rate 12% shall be applicable
•       only if the general rate is more than 12%
•  
• - No GST is payable if residential dwelling is rented to a registered person in his/her personal capicity
•   on his own account
•  
• - Incentive paid to to banks by Central Govt for RuPay debit cards and low value BHIM-UPI transactions
•   are in the nature of subsidy and thus not taxable
•  
• - Refund to unregistered persons - Amendment in CGST Rules along with issuance of Circular
•   to prescribe procedure for filing refund application by unregistered buyers in cases such as contract
•   / agreement for supply of services (like construction of flat/house and long-term insurance policy)
•   is canelled and the time period of issuance of credit note by the concerned supplie is over.
•    
• - From 1.10.2023 unregistered suppliers & composition taxpayers maybe allowed to make intra-state
•   supply of goods through ECOs (E-Commerce Operators) subject to certain conditions.
• - PAN-linked mobile number and e-mail address (fetched from CBDT database) to be captured and
•   recorded in FORM GST REG-01 and OTP-based verification to be conducted at the time of registration
•   on such PAN-linked mobile number and email address to restrict misuse of PAN of a person by
•   unscrupulous elements without knowledge of the said PAN-holder.
•    

• Supreme Court directed GSTN to open GST Portal for filing of TRAN-1 & TRAN-2
• 22.07.2022 : Apśex Court vide its Order dated 22.07.2022 (in case of Union of India Vs FILCO Trade Centre Pvt Ltd & Others) has directed GSTN (GST Network) to :-
• 1. Open GSTN for filing of concerned forms for availing Transitional Credit through TRAN-1 & TRAN-2 from 1.9.2022 31.10.2022;
• 2. Aggrieved assessees were also directed to file the relevant form or REVISE already filed form irrespective of whether the taxpayer has filed writ petition before the High Court or whether case of the taxpayer has been decided by Information Technology Grievance Redressal Committee (ITGRC);
• 3. GSTN to ensure that there are no technical glitch during the said time;
• 4. The concerned officers are given 90 days to verify the veracity of the claim / transitional credit;
• 5. Thereafter the allowed Transitional Credit is to be reflected in Electronic Credit Ledger.      

• Recommendations of 47th GST Council Meeting -
• 29.06.2022 : 47th GST Council has mainly recommended following measures :-
• - Rationalized GST rates on Goods & Services which would be effective from 18.07.2022.
• - Waived requirement of mandatory registration for selling of goods through ECOs w.e.f. 01.01.2023.
• - Composition taxpayers would be allowed to make intra-state supply through ECOs.
• - Amendment in formula prescribed in Rule 89(5) for calculation of refund of unutilized ITC by allowing proportionate input service credit to that of inputs.
• - Present exemption of IGST on import of goods under AA / EPCG / EOU scheme to be continued & E-wallet scheme not to be pursued further.

• Govt mandated e-invoicing mandatory for turnover beyond Rs.20 cr from 1.4.22 
• 25.02.2022 : Govt mandated e-invoicing for the taxpayers having aggregate turnover exceeding Rs.20 crores w.e.f. 1.4.2022.  Hitherto e-invoicing was applicable for turnover beyond Rs.50 crores. {Ref Notification No. 1/2022-CT dated 24.2.2022}

• CBIC notified Shipping Bill Conversion Regulations
• 23.02.2022 : CBIC notified the Shipping Bill (Post export conversion in relation to instrument based scheme) Regulations, 2022 whereby henceforth the exporter would be able to file application for conversion of Shipping Bill within 1 year from date of export. {Ref Notification No. 11/2022-Customs (N.T.) dated 22.2.2022}   

• Gujarat High Court allowed GST Refund of accumulated ITC to SEZ Unit
• 21.02.2022 : Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat (C/SCA/638/2021 order dated 18.02.2022) has allowed GST Refund of accumulated ITC to M/s IPCA Laboratories (SEZ Unit).  In this case the GST ITC accumulated due to taking IGST credit distributed by its ISD and IGST on inward supply charged by the supplier.  The HC directed the department to process claim of refund of the unutilized IGST Credit of Rs.21,66,887 lying in the Electronic Credit Ledger under Section 54 of the CGST Act 2017 within a period of three weeks.

• Gauhati High Court allowed GST payment in 48 installments
• 16.02.2022 : Hon'ble High Court of Guauhati {WP(C)/924/2022 order dated 15.02.2022 in case of Veteran Security Services Vs Union of India} has allowed the petitioner to pay its GST dues amounting to Rs.2.58 crores plus interest in 48 installments due to financial hardships as against 24 to 36 installments suggested in CBIC Circular No. 996/3/2015-CX dated 28.02.2015.

• Gujarat High Court asked Customs deptt to Refund IGST with 9% interest
• 11.02.2022 : Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat {C/SCA/15431/2021 order dated 11.02.2022 in case of Sri App Enterprises Vs Principal Commissioner of Customs} asked the Customs to Refund IGST paid by the petitioner on exported goods along with 9% interest from the date of shipping bills (Sept'17 & Oct'17) till the date of actual refund in light of earlier order in C/MCA/356/2020 dated 13.07.2020 of this high court in case of Amit Cotton Industries Vs Principal Commissioner of Customs.

• Gujarat High Court directed GST deptt to take manual GSTR-6 returns
• 11.02.2022 : Hon'ble High Court of Gujarat {C/SCA/9151/2021 order dated 11.02.2022 in case of Bodal Chemicals Ltd Vs Union of India} has directed GST deptt to allow the petitioner to furnish manually GSTR-6 return with details of the ISD credit of Rs.20,52,989/- and also permit distribution of such credit to the constituents of the writ applicant within 6 weeks.

• Rajasthan High Court directed DGGI not to take coercive action till further order
• 09.02.2022 : Jodhpur bench of Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan {CWP/2189/2022 order dated 9.2.22 in case of Dhariwal Products Vs Union of India} has directed DGGI that till next date of hearing :- (1) No coercive steps shall be taken against the petitioner/its representatives in furtherance of the search/seizure operations dated 05.01.2022/ 06.01.2022 and (2) the summons issued in pursuance thereof and the petitioner shall not be forced to deposit any amount towards GST without adhering to the procedure provided under Section 74 of the CGST Act.  In this case, it is alleged that on the direction of DGGI (Directorate General of GST Intelligence) officers the petitioner has deposited Rs.11.5 crores; that the DGGI forcibly extracted confessional statement which was retracted later.

• Rajasthan High Court granted bail in GST case
• 05.02.2022 : Jaipur bench of Hon'ble High Court of Rajasthan {CRLMB-18825/2021 order dated 5.2.22 in case of Dananjay Singh Vs Union of India} has granted bail under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. to the petitioner on furnishing of a personal bond in the sum of Rs.50,000/- with two sureties of Rs.25,000/- each to the satisfaction of the learned trial Judge for his appearance before the court concerned on all the dates of hearing as and when called upon to do so.  The present bail application has been filed under Section 439 Cr.P.C. arising out of file No.DGGI/INV/MISC/433/2021-GR-H-O/O ADG-DGGI-ZU-JAIPUR Registered at Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI), Jaipur alleging GST evasion of Rs.16,99,89,923.

• Punjab-Haryana High Court held detention of goods in transit check by SGST deptt without jurisdiction
• 04.02.2022 : Hon'ble High Court of Punjab-Haryana {CWP-18392-2021 order dated 4.2.22 in case of Shiv Enterprises Vs State of Punjab} quashed & set aside the order dated 30.08.2021 issued by office of Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Mobile Wing, Chandigarh-2 and notice dated 14.09.2021 issued under Section 130 of the CGST Act & directed to release conveyance and goods in question forthwith.  In this case, despite the documents (invoice, e-way bill, etc.) being in order, the same were detained on the pretext that the genuineness of the tendered documents need verification from regular bills of A/c and on verification, it has been found that inward supply to the sellers/suppliers of the petitioner is from one Balbir Enterprises who is not having inward supply and is only engaged in outward supply without paying any tax.

• CESTAT allowed refund of Cesses not transferred to GST TRAN-1
• 02.02.2022 : The Principal Bench of CESTAT, New Delhi {FINAL ORDER NO. 50086-50087 / 2022 in case of Hindustan Zinc Ltd Vs Commissioner of Central Excise & CGST, Udaipur} directed the deptt to disburse the refund of Cesses with applicable interest, as per Rules, within a period of 60 days.  The issue involved in this case is whether appellants are entitled to refund of unutilized Cenvat credit of (i) education cess (ii) Secondary and Higher Education Cess, lying unutilized (credit balance) as on 30th June 2017.  
•        

• Supreme Court upheld Madras HC order disallowing Input Service GST refund
• 13.09.2021 : Today the Apex Court upheld Madras High Court order (Tvl. Transtonnelstroy Afcons Joint Venture Vs Union of India WP Nos.8596, 8597, 8602, 8603 & 8608 of 2019), which implies that GST refund of input service portion would not be allowed in case of inverted tax structure.  The Apex Court has set aside the order of Gujarat High Court in case of VKC Footsteps India Pvt Ltd Vs Union of India (SCA No.2792 of 2019) wherein such GST refund was allowed.  However, the Apex Court in its order also directed the GST Council to consider observations of paragraphs 104 to 111 of the Order in accordance with the law.  RESULT - The GST assessees who are having huge amounts of accumulation in their ITC ledger due to input service credit, in case of inverted tax structure, would suffer to great extent as such refund is held as inadmissible and they couldn't utilise such ITC and accumulation would go on rising.  SOLUTION - For detailed advise as to how to overcome from such accumulation, the assessees may contact us.
•    

• 43rd GST Council extended dates of various compliances related to GST -
• 03.06.2021 : 43rd GST Council has extended dates of various compliances related to GST as under -
• (1) Allowed companies registered with RoC to file their GSTR-1 & GSTR-3B by EVC instead of Digital Signatures during the period from 27.4.21 to 31.8.21. 
• (2) For Taxpayers having turnover more than Rs.5 cr - Reduced rate of interest from 18% to 9% for delay in payment of GST for first 15 days from due date for the months Mar'21, Apr'21 & May'21.
•      For Taxpayers having turnover up to Rs.5 cr -
•             (A) For Mar'21 - Reduced rate of interest for delay in payment of GST from 18% to
•                   (a) 0% for first 15 days, and
•                   (b) 9% for next 45 days, 
•                   (c) 18% after 45 days.
•             (B) For Apr'21 - Reduced rate of interest for delay in payment of GST from 18% to
•                   (a) 0% for first 15 days, and
•                   (b) 9% for next 30 days, 
•                   (c) 18% after 30 days.
•             (C) For May'21 - Reduced rate of interest for delay in payment of GST from 18% to
•                   (a) 0% for first 15 days, and
•                   (b) 9% for next 15 days, 
•                   (c) 18% after 15 days.
•                  {Refer Notification No.18/21-CT dated 1.6.21}
• (3) For Taxpayers liable to file return as per Section 39(2) -
•             (A) For quarter ending Mar'21- Reduced rate of interest for delay in payment of GST from 18% to
•                   (a) 0% for first 15 days, and
•                   (b) 9% for next 45 days, 
•                   (c) 18% after 45 days.
•                  {Refer Notification No.18/21-CT dated 1.6.21}
• (4) Waived late fee for filing GSTR-3B as under {Refer Notification No.19/21-CT dated 1.6.21} -
•   (A) For Taxpayers having turnover > Rs.5 cr - if 3B return of Mar~May'21 filed within 15 days from due dt
•   (B) For Taxpayers having turnover < Rs.5 cr - if 3B return of -
•        (a) Mar'21 filed within 60 days from due date
•        (b) Apr'21 filed within 45 days from due date
•        (c) May'21 filed within 30 days from due date
• Waived late fee in excess of Rs.500 for those taxpayers who failed to file their 3B return from Jul'17 to Apr'21 but file their 3B returns between 1.6.21 to 31.8.21 and if CGST payable is NIL then waived such late fee in excess of Rs.250.
• Moreover, henceforth, from month of Jun'21 & onwards or quarter ending Jun'21 onwards, waived late fee in excess of -
• Rs.250   - whose CGST amount is NIL;
• Rs.1000 - whose CGST amount is not NIL & turnover is up to Rs.1.5 cr;
• Rs.2500 - whose CGST amount is not NIL & turnover is > Rs.1.5 cr & up to Rs.5 cr;
• (5) Waived late fee for filing GSTR-1 as under {Refer Notification No.20/21-CT dated 1.6.21} -
• Waived late fee from quarter ending Jun'21 & onwards (i.e. for FY 2021-22 & onwards) in excess of -
• Rs.250   - whose outward supplies is NIL;
• Rs.1000 - whose outward supplies is not NIL & turnover is up to Rs.1.5 cr;
• Rs.2500 - whose CGST amount is not NIL & turnover is > Rs.1.5 cr & up to Rs.5 cr.
• (6) Waived late fee for filing GSTR-4 as under {Refer Notification No.21/21-CT dated 1.6.21} -
• Waived late fee for FY 2021-22 & onwards in excess of -
• Rs.250   - whose CGST is NIL;
• Rs.1000 - whose CGST is not NIL;
• (7) Waived late fee for filing GSTR-7 from Jun'21 & onwards in excess of Rs.1,000 {Refer Notification No.22/21-CT dated 1.6.21} 
• (8) Extended compliance of any action by any authority or by any person to 30.6.21 which falls due between 15.4.21 to 29.6.21. {Refer Notification No.24/21-CT dated 1.6.21}
• (9) Extended due date of furnishing declaration in Form ITC-4 for Jan~Mar'21 to 30.6.2021. {Refer Notification No.26/21-CT dated 1.6.21}
• (10) The IFF for the month of May'21 may be filed between 1.6.21 to 28.6.21 {Refer Notification No.27/21-CT dated 1.6.21} 

• Govt extended dates of various compliances related to GST -
• 01.05.2021 : Government has extended dates of various compliances related to GST as under -
• (1) Allowed companies registered with RoC to file their GSTR-1 & GSTR-3B by EVC instead of Digital Signatures during the period from 27.4.21 to 31.5.21. {Refer Notification No.7/21-CT dated 27.4.21}
• (2) For Taxpayers having turnover more than Rs.5 cr - Reduced rate of interest from 18% to 9% for delay in payment of GST for first 15 days from due date for the months March'21 & April'21.
•      For Taxpayers having turnover up to Rs.5 cr - Reduced rate of interest from 18% to (a) 0% for delay in payment of GST for first 15 days, and (b) 9% for next 15 days, from due date for the months March'21 & April'21.  {Refer Notification No.8/21-CT dated 1.5.21}
• (3) Waived late fee for filing GSTR-3B as under {Refer Notification No.9/21-CT dated 1.5.21} -
•   (A) For Taxpayers having turnover > Rs.5 cr - if 3B return of Mar/Apr'21 filed within 15 days from due dt
•   (B) For Taxpayers having turnover < Rs.5 cr - if 3B return of Jan~Apr'21 filed within 30 days from due dt
• (4) Extended due date of filing of GSTR-4 for FY 2020-21 to 31.5.2021. {Refer Notification No.10/21-CT dated 1.5.21} 
• (5) Extended due date of furnishing declaration in Form ITC-4 for Jan~Mar'21 to 31.5.2021. {Refer Notification No.11/21-CT dated 1.5.21} 
• (6) Extended due date of filing of GSTR-1 for Apr'21 to 26.5.2021. {Refer Notification No.12/21-CT dated 1.5.21} 

(7) Inserted proviso to Rule 36(4) of CGST Rules, 2017 by which the taxpayer may take 110% ITC in their GSTR-3B for May'21 cumulatively for Apr'21 & May'21  {Refer Notification No.13/21-CT dated 1.5.21} 

• (8) Extended compliance of any action by any authority or by any person to 31.5.21 which falls due between 15.4.21 to 30.5.21. {Refer Notification No.14/21-CT dated 1.5.21} 

• Apex court ruled that DRI cannot issue SCN under Section 28 of Customs Act'62
• 09.03.2021 : Hon'ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No.1827 of 2018 in case of M/s Canon India Pvt Ltd Vs Commissioner of Customs held that the Additional Director of DRI (Directorate of Revenue Intelligence) is not the proper officer to issue Show Cause Notice under Section 28(4) of the Customs Act, 1962 and set aside the entire proceedings in the case by terming as invalid & without authority of law.

• Now every GST registered person have to mention HSN codes in Tax Invoices
• 09.03.2021 : As per Notification No.78/2020-CT dated 15.10.2020, with effect from 1.4.2021 every GST registered person have to mention HSN codes as follows :-
• 1. Annual Turnover up to Rs.5 crores  : 4 digits of HSN
• 2. Annual Turnover more than Rs.5 cr : 6 digits of HSN
• Apart from the above, GST registered person supplying some products falling under chapter 28, 29, 38 and 39 need to mention 8 digits of HSN code in Tax Invoice {refer Notification No.90/2020-CT dated 1.12.2020} 

• Govt mandated e-invoicing for annual turnover limit of Rs.50 cr from 1.4.21
• 09.03.2021 : CBIC has issued Notification No.5/2021-CT dated 8.3.2021 whereby mandated e-invoicing for businesses having turnover more than Rs.50 crores w.e.f. 1.4.2021, earlier this limit was Rs.100 crores from 1.1.21 (Refer Notification No.88/2020-CT dated 10.11.2020) and prior to that this limit was Rs.500 crores from 1.10.2020 (Refer Notification No.61/2020-CT dated 30.7.2020).

• CBIC extended due date of filing GST Annual Returns to 31.03.2021
• 01.03.2021 : CBIC has extended the due date of filing GST Annual Returns (GSTR 9 & GSTR-9C) from 28.02.2021 to 31.03.2021 (refer Notification No.04/2021-CT dated 28.02.2021 amending Notification No. 95/2020 dated 30.12.2020) 

• Bharat Bandh today against GST, Fuel price hike, e Way Bill
• 26.02.2021 : All commercial markets across the country will remain closed today in view of the Bharat Bandh called by the Confederation of All India Taders (CAIT) in protest against rising fuel prices, the new e way bill issues and the GST. For this, around 40,000 trade associations have decided to extend their support.
•  

• Budget in brief :-
• 02.02.2021 : Yesterday, the FM presented the budget for FY 2021-22 & announced the major tax proposals as under :-
• DIRECT TAXES : No change in Income Tax Slabs. 
• 1. Senior citizen pensioners of age 75 years or above, having additional interest income, need not file their ITR, however, their banks would deduct appropriate income tax;
• 2. Affordable housing deduction for individual under Section 80EEA and Tax holiday for strart-ups extended till 31.03.2021;
• 3. Restricted exemption under Section 10(10D) for ULIP plans taken on or after 01.02.2021 where premium is more than Rs.2.5 lakh per annum;
• 4. Interest accrued on PF contribution above Rs.2.5 lakh/yr became taxable under Section 10(11 & 12);
• 5. No audit required till turnover of Rs.10 crore (earlier this limit was Rs.5 crore).
• INDIRECT TAXES : 
• Customs -
• 1. Reduced Customs duty on Gold, Silver, Copper scrap;
• 2. Raised Customs duty on Solar Inverters/Lanterns, Mobile parts/accessories, Auto parts, LED lights, ACs, Refrigerators, etc.;
• 3. New cess imposed - Agriculture Infrastructure & Development (AID) Cess;
• 4. Exemption on import of Leather withdrawn;
• 5. Inserting sub-section 4A to Section 25 of Customs Act'62 whereby any exemption, unless otherwise specified or varied or rescinded, be valid up to 31st March falling immediately after two years from the date of such grant;
• 6. Any inquiry or investigation under the Act culminating in the issuance of a notice under Section 28(1) or (4) shall be completed by issuing such notice within two years from the date of initiation of audit, search, seizure or summons, as the case may be; 
• GST - 
• 1. Amending Section 16 of CGST Act to allow taxpayers' claim of the ITC based on GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B;
• 2. Amending Section 50 of CGST Act retrospectively from 01.07.2017 for charging of interest on net cash liability;
• 3. Amending Section 35 & 44 of CGST Act whereby self certified reconciliation statement be filed instead of Annual Return Form GSTR-9C at presently;
• 4.  Omitting words "129 and 130" from explanation to Section 74;
• 5. Substituting Section 83(1) of CGST Act allowing the Commissioner to attach provisionally any property including bank account belonging to the taxable person or any person specified in Sectionn 122(1A);
• 6. Inserting proviso to Section 107 of CGST Act mandating pre-deposit of 25% of penalty imposed under Section 129(3) for filing appeal;
• 7. Related to e Way Bill - raising penalty from 100% to 200% under Section 129(1) and omitting Section 129(2) and substituting Section 129(3) whereby the proper officer has to pass an order within 7 days from date of service of notice and proposed mandatory penalty of 100% of GST payable under Section 130(2);

• Facility to unblocking of e-Way Bill is now available ONLINE at GST Portal
• 09.12.2020 : Un-blocking of E-Way Bill (EWB) generation facility is now available ONLINE at GST Portal (gst.gov.in) and after login, the user can file GST EWB-05 request online as per following steps -
• To file an online application for unblocking EWB generation facility on GST Portal, a taxpayer need to:
• Login to the portal and navigate to Services> User services> My Applications
• Select application type as “Application for unblocking of E-way bill” and click New Application
• Submit application in Form EWB-05, with upload of up to 04 documents.

The application so filed is populated to dashboard of jurisdictional tax official. The tax official can issue a Notice for personal hearing to the taxpayer. Then the taxpayer can file their reply to the notice online, along with supporting documents.

At conclusion of the proceedings, the Tax Officer can issue an order (in Form EWB-06) approving the taxpayer application for unblocking the EWB generation facility. After which their EWB generation facility will be restored for the duration specified in the order.

If the Tax Officer rejects the taxpayer’s application vide order in Form EWB-06, the EWB generation facility will remain blocked and the taxpayer shall be required to file their pending returns (in Form GSTR-3B / Statement in FORM CMP-08, so as to reduce the pendency to less than two tax periods), for restoration of the EWB generation facility.

Notice(s)/ Order issued by Tax Officer will be sent via SMS and mail to taxpayer and will be made available on the taxpayer dashboard (Services > User Services > View Additional Notices/Orders option).

• From 1.12.20 e-Way Bill be blocked for GST taxpayers who not filed 2 GSTR-3B/CMP-08
  17.11.2020 : The CBIC urged businesses to ensure that their pending tax returns are filed as defaults could prevent them from transporting goods using e-Way Bills.  The taxpayers who have two or more periods, GSTR-3B returns or GST CMP-08 statements, pending will not be able to generate Part A of the e-Way Bill from 1st Dec'20.  Earlier, w.e.f. 15.10.2020, such blockage of e-way bills were for the taxpayers having their annual turnover more than Rs.5 crore, however, from 01.12.2020, the e-way bill of the taxpayers having their annual turnover up to Rs.5 crore would also be blocked if their 2 or more GSTR-3B returns / GST CMP-08 statements are not filed.

• Cable TV networks in Telangana not paying GST since 2017: PIL
• 17.10.2020 : A public interest litigation petition (PIL) filed in Telangana High Court seeks the cancelling of licenses of cable television networks, direct-to-home (DTH) service providers, unencrypted satellite networks, internet protocol television (IPTV) providers and multi system operators (MSO’s) for allegedly violating provisions of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act. The PIL alleged that the Central tax authorities have failed to collect GST from these networks who have been evading the tax collected from the consumers since 2017.  Petitioner N Rama Rao submitted that the said networks have violated the provisions of GST Act by not registering themselves with an intention to evade the tax collection. According to the information available under the RTI Act, most of the MSOs in Telangana are converting the tax collected from subscribers into black money. The secretaries to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Ministry of Finance, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, tax authorities concerned, and various cable operators are named as the respondents.

• CBIC advises to file GST returns so that e-Way Bill could not be blocked
• 16.10.2020 : The CBIC urged businesses to ensure that their pending tax returns are filed as defaults could prevent them from transporting goods using e-Way Bills.  CBIC said that taxpayers with sales above Rs.5 crore in the previous fiscal are advised to ensure that all their due returns have been filed. “Such taxpayers who have two or more GSTR-3B returns pending will not be able to generate Part A of the e-Way Bill from 15 October, 2020" CBIC said in a tweet.

• CBIC : Director's remuneration declared as Salary not taxable under GST
• On 10.6.2020, CBIC issued Circular No. 140/10/2020-GST whereby clarified that the part of Director's remuneration which are declared as "Salaries" in the books of a company, and subjected to TDS under Section 192 of the IT Act, are not taxable under GST being consideration for services by an employee to the employer in the course of OR in relation to his employment in terms of Schedule III of the CGST Act, 2017, however, the part of employee Director's remuneration which is subjected to TDS under Section 194J of the IT Act as "Fees for professional or Technical Services" shall be treated as consideration for providing services which are outside the scope of Schedule III of the CGST Act, and is therefore, taxable and in terms of Notification No. 13/2017–CT(Rate) dated 28.06.2017, the recipient of the said services i.e. the Company, is liable to discharge the applicable GST on it on reverse charge basis.  In simple words, the 26AS Form of director itself speak its status of payment received from company whether taxable under GST or not.

• CBIC : Refund of missing invoices in GSTR 2A not allowed but other ITC refund allowed as per GST Circular No.135
• On 10.6.2020, CBIC issued Circular No. 139/9/2020-GST whereby clarified that the treatment of refund of ITC relating to imports, ISD invoices and the inward supplies liable to Reverse Charge (RCM supplies) will be allowed as it was before the issuance of Circular No. 135/05/2020- GST dated 31st March, 2020, however, other than these ITC, the missing invoices in GSTR-2A would not be allowed.
• CBIC : Assessees of U.T. Dadra, Daman & Diu shall take ITC till 31.07.2020 due to merger of 2 UTs
• On 9.6.2020, CBIC issued Notification No. 45/2020-CT whereby the GST Registered persons working in the new Union Territory "Daman, Diu, Dadra & Nagar Haveli" (which has come into effect from 27.1.2020 after the merger of Union Territory "Daman & Diu" into "Dadra & Nagar Haveli") required to complete the procedure related to transfer of their ITC in GSTR-3B till 31.07.2020.  Earlier, this deadline was till 31.5.2020 vide Notification No.10/2020-CT.
• CBIC : Nil returns of GSTR 3B may be filed by SMS
• On 8.6.2020, CBIC issued a press release, according to which, from now on, the GST registered person (who has not supplied any goods and/or services and has not taken any ITC) can file their NIL GSTR-3B return by SMS.  For this, he has to send message "NIL 3B 24xxxxxxxxxxXYZ mmYY" to 14409 and when he gets 6 letters OTP, he will have to send another SMS "CNF 3B OTP" again to 14409.

• ‘Wrong Destination’ not a Ground for Imposing Penalty under GST: Telangana HC
• 02.05.2020 : The High Court of Telangana held that penalty under the GST Acts cannot be levied on the ground of ‘wrong destination’ and any action of collecting penalty under threat of detention of the vehicle carrying goods for such an absurd reason is arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 265 and 300-A of the Constitution of India. When the consignment of the petitioner was coming from Vidyanagar, Karnataka with all requisite documents through a vehicle, it was detained at Jeedimetla, and a notice under Section 129(3) of the CGST Act, 2017 was issued alleging ‘wrong destination’ and imposed penalty accordingly.  The petitioner further contended that the said collection of tax and penalty by the respondents is through coercion and threat in spite of the fact that the consignment was covered by all the requisite documents. It is alleged that when the goods were in transit in an inter-State sale, the respondents cannot detain the same and demand and collect the tax in the manner they have done which is arbitrary and without jurisdiction.

• CBIC introduced personal hearings via Video Conferencing
• 28.4.2020 : CBIC vide its instruction dated 27.4.2020 (F.No.390/Misc/3/2019-JC) instructed its field formations to conduct personal hearings in adjudication / appellate proceedings via video conferencing in cases related to Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax matters due to Covid19.  The assessees in this regard need to inform their respective adjudicating / appellate authorities for availing virtual hearings.

• GST registrants could now transfer cash ledger balance themselves using FORM GST PMT-9
• 28.4.2020 : GST Portal has now enabled Form GST PMT-9 so that the GST registrants could themselves transfer GST amount of their cash ledger balance from one head to another (like IGST to CGST / SGST / UTGST, or vice versa) and due to this facility the unnecessary delay could be avoided in filing & processing of GST refunds.

• Jharkhand HC : GST Interest Liability is Automatic, Leviable only after Completion of Adjudication Proceedings
  23.4.2020 : The petitioners approached the High Court for relief contending that the impugned letter issued by respondent demanding interest amount on the alleged ground of delay in submitting GSTR-3B Return for the months of February and March 2018, is not sustainable in the eyes of law, as the said amount of interest has been determined without initiating any adjudication process under Sections 73 or 74 of the CGST Act. The petitioner further contended that they are not liable to pay interest as there has been no delay on its part in the furnishing of GSTR-3B Return and, consequently, there is no delay on its part in depositing the tax with the respondent Authority, as in GSTN Portal, the due date for furnishing of return for the months of February and March 2018 was shown as 31st March 2019.  While quashing the letter for recovery of interest, the bench said, “we have already held that though the liability of interest is automatic, but the same is required to be adjudicated in the event an assessee disputes the computation or very leviability of interest, by the initiation of adjudication proceedings under Section 73 or 74 of the CGST Act, in our opinion, till such adjudication is completed by the Proper Officer, the amount of interest cannot be termed as an amount payable under the Act or the Rules. Thus, without initiation of any adjudication proceedings, no recovery proceeding under Section 79 of the Act can be initiated for recovery of the interest amount.”

• CBIC issued GST Circular clarifying treatment of Advances & LuT
• 14.4.2020 : CBIC issued Circular No.137/07/2020-GST dated 13.4.2020 clarifying the treatment of Advances & LuT.  It was clarified that -
• (1) In case GST is paid by the supplier on advances received for a future event which got cancelled subsequently and for which invoice is issued before supply of service, the supplier is required to issue a “credit note” in terms of section 34 of the CGST Act & declare the details of such credit notes in the return for the month.  However, in cases where there is no output liability against which a credit note can be adjusted, registered persons may proceed to file a claim under “Excess payment of tax, if any” through FORM GST RFD-01. 
• (2) If order cancelled before issue of invoice but after issue of receipt voucher, then he can issue refund voucher in terms of Section 31(3)(e) of CGST Act read with Rule 51 of CGST Rules and apply for refund of GST in FORM GST RFD-01 under category "Refund of excess payment of tax".

(3) If the goods supplied by a supplier are returned by the recipient and where tax invoice had been issued, the supplier is required to issue a “credit note” in terms of section 34 of the CGST Act. He shall declare the details of such credit notes in the return for the month during which such credit note has been issued. The tax liability shall be adjusted in the return subject to conditions of section 34 of the CGST Act. There is no need to file a separate refund claim in such a case. However, in cases where there is no output liability against which a credit note can be adjusted, registered persons may proceed to file a claim under “Excess payment of tax, if any” through FORM GST RFD-01.

(4) If letter of undertaking (LuT) could not be furnished for FY-2020-21 between 1.4.2020 to 29.6.2020, then the same may be furnished till 30.6.2020 and till then the exporters may quote their previous FY-2019-20 LuT Number for exports under LuT.

GST Dept should Release the Seized Goods soon after Security Deposit is made: Allahabad HC
11.4.2020 : M/s Skipper Limited was required to furnish a bank guarantee equivalent to the amount of his liability determined under Section 129 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 at the time of the seizure of goods and conveyance in transit. The seized vehicle and goods have been released on the strength of such security deposit. While relying on the decision of the Supreme Court and the legislative intent, the high court observed, “the legislative intent is to secure revenue interests and equally to ensure the expeditious release of the seized goods and conveyances. This procedure is distinct from the adjudicatory process of determination of tax liability. The scheme of Section 129 of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Service Tax (UPGST) Act, 2017 thus achieves the purpose of keeping trade and commercial transactions unhindered by the adjudicatory process for determination of tax liability, while at the same time protecting revenue interests and allowing the adjudicatory mechanism to run its course independently.

• 
  Calcutta HC released co-accused on bail due to delay in investigation by GST department
• 11.4.2020 : On 8th April'20, the Calcutta High Court released three co-accused (Nagendra Dubey, Sanjay Pandit & Vijay Rajpuria) on bail, who were in custody since June'19, due to delay in investigation by the respondent GST department.  Earlier this month, the High Court has released the main accused Arvind Munka on 1st April'20 on furnishing of bail bond.   

Raj.HC strikes down GST Demand against UltraTech for old unpaid dues of Binani Cement
11.4.2020 : The assessee, Binani Cement suffered huge losses and was unable to pay the debts to the Financial Creditor i.e. Bank of Baroda.  Consequently, the Binani Cements was acquired by the Aditya Birla Group-owned cement company through Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in 2018 for Rs 7,900 crore.  After the acquisition the company was renamed as UltraTech Nathdwara Cement.  The primary issue in the dispute lies in several notices issued by the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Department of Rajasthan for all the old unpaid dues of Binani Cement. The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Department of Rajasthan contended that it was not heard by the committee of creditors (CoC) before finalizing the resolution plan and as such, it is not bound by it.  The division bench consisting of Justice Vijay Bishnoi and Justice Sandeep Mehta allowed the petition of UltraTech Cement, the court ruled that the purpose of the statute is to revive the dying industry by providing an opportunity for a resolution applicant to take over the same and begin the operation on a clean slate. “We are of the firm view that the authorities should have adopted a pragmatic approach and immediately withdrawn the demands rather than indulging in totally frivolous litigation, thereby unnecessarily adding to the overflowing dockets of cases in the courts,” said the division bench of the High Court of Rajasthan.

GST Dept cannot detain Goods for bonafide Misclassifation: Kerala HC
11.4.2020 : In a major relief to Hindustan Coca Cola, the Kerala High Court recently quashed the notices issued by the Goods and Service Tax (GST) department and directed to release the seized goods which were detained on the ground of bonafide misclassification of goods.  Justice Amit Rawal, while presiding over the case directed the squad officer to release the seized goods on the grounds that there was a bonafide miscalculation as to whether the goods would be exigible to 12% or 28% of GST.  The single-judge bench relying on the decision in J.K Synthetics Limited V. Commercial Taxes Officer held that the charging provisions must be construed strictly but not the machinery provisions which would be construed like any other statute. The High Court observed that the process of detention of the goods cannot be resorted to when the dispute is bonafide, especially concerning the eligibility of tax and, more particularly, the rate of tax.

• Remuneration to Directors will attract GST, says Authority for Advance Rulings
• 10.4.2020 : In an order that could set precedent, the Rajasthan Authority for Advanced Ruling held that consideration paid to directors by a company will attract the goods and services tax. Companies will be taxed under the reverse-charge mechanism where a recipient of goods or services pays the tax instead of the supplier. Experts said the ruling is against the position laid down by courts under the erstwhile indirect tax regime—that employer-employee relationship cannot be taxed. Consideration in the form of salary and commission to directors is against the services provided to the company, according to the AAR. Therefore, the company is a ‘recipient’, while the directors are ‘suppliers’ of the services, it said. Such a consideration would therefore become liable to tax under the reverse-charge mechanism, the AAR ruled.

Government to release all GST, customs refund worth Rs 18k crore
10.4.2020 : In a bid to provide relief to businesses hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government on Wednesday said it will release all GST & Customs refunds to provide benefit to around 1 lakh business entities including MSMEs.  “It has been decided to issue all pending GST and Custom refunds which would provide benefit to around 1 lakh business entities, including MSME. Thus, the total refund granted will be approximately Rs. 18,000 crore,” said a statement.

• CBIC clarified that if Cenvat credit reverse before utilization is equal to credit not taken
• The Joint Commissioner, CGST, Daman vide his Order-In-Original dated 13.09.2019 has dropped the Show Cause Notice issued to the assessee in view of the clarification issued by CBIC (vide letter no. 116/31/2019-CX), that as per Rule 6 of Cenvat Credit Rules, 2004, if assessee takes Cenvat credit on common inputs used for manufacturing exempted & taxable goods but reverse the Cenvat on exempted inputs later then it will be presumed that it has not taken Cenvat credit and the Notification No.30/2004-CE is not applicable in such case.

• Supreme Court upheld Delhi HC order for 2.5% pre-deposit in 2nd stage appeal
• The Supreme Court vide its order dated 01.02.2019 has dismissed the appeal of the Central Excise and Service Tax Department in which the Delhi High Court on 31.05.2018 ruled in favour of M/s Santani Sales Organization to file an appeal to the Tribunal (CESTAT) for pre-deposit only 10% will be required instead of 17.5%, (i.e. only differential amount of 2.5% needs to be deposited towards pre-deposit for filing 2nd stage appeal before a Tribunal).

• Gujarat High Court held that KSEZ cannot give SCN to EOU for recovery of CST refund
  The Gujarat High Court ordered on 25.04.2018 that the Union of India (KASEZ) cannot give a show cause notice to the EOU in 2017 for recovery of the CST refund given in 2007.