Author: admin_gst

COVID-19 limitation exclusion and destination-specific e-way bills govern revisional timelines and penalties for undocumented third-party plywood deliveries.
Case-Laws
GST
COVID-19 limitation exclusion applies to judicial, quasi-judicial and departmental proceedings, and must be excluded when calculating the period for exercising revisional powers where the statutory period overlaps that exclusion. For transport compliance, an e-way bill and tax invoice must cover the actual movement and destination of goods. Documents issued after detention do not cure the absence of destination-specific documentation at interception, particularly where no evidence supports a claimed technical glitch. Such undocumented third-party unloading may be treated as a wilful contravention intended to evade tax and may attract penalty under Section 129(1).
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Commensurate GST price reduction for cinema tickets overrides base-price increases where suppliers cannot prove benefits reached viewers.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 171 of the CGST Act requires suppliers to pass any GST-rate reduction to recipients through a commensurate reduction in prices. For cinema admission tickets, increased base prices and general commercial pricing considerations do not displace that obligation. A supplier must provide cogent evidence that the tax benefit reached viewers; failure to challenge the DGAP methodology or substantiate price increases supports a finding of non-passing. Non-reduction of first- and second-class ticket prices after the rate cut constituted contravention, requiring deposit of the profiteered amount with interest in consumer welfare funds; no penalty was imposed.
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CBI arrests 'absconding' IRS officer in Rs 40-lakh bribery case
GST
Dated:- 21-9-2026
PTI
New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) The CBI has taken the custody of “absconding” IRS officer Vinay Kumar Kantheti from Uttarakhand's Rishikesh in connection with Rs 40-lakh alleged bribe demanded to settle a GST and royalty matter involving a stone-quarrying firm in Maharashtra, officials said Monday.

In a trap operation on August 27, the CBI had apprehended Customs House Agent Narinder Rajput while allegedly accepting Rs 40 lakh on behalf of Superintendent, CGST Rakesh Kumar Sinha and Kantheti, the agency said.

The CBI had also arrested Kantheti, a 2009-batch IRS officer posted as the Additional Commissioner, CGST in Maharashtra's Raigad dist

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Advisory on use of version 3.3 of emSigner
GST
Dated:- 21-9-2026

This is an advance information to the all users – Taxpayers and Tax Officers, of GST System who use Digital Certificate Signature on the GST Portal.

A new version of emSigner (v3.3) is being made available for download for the purpose of providing compatibility with tokens (USB dongles) that are issued on or after 21-September-2026.

A. Users with valid certificates: There is no change for the users having existing valid digital certificates and their existing token (USB Dongle) are working, as of 21-Sep-2026. If your existing DSC works normally, you may continue using your current emSigner version.

If you encounter signing failures or if your certificate

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tem
Requirement

Operating system
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit); Linux (Ubuntu 18 and above); macOS (10.6 and above)

System type
64-bit operating system

Installed RAM
8 GB and above

Storage
64 GB and above

1.2 Java

Item
Requirement

Java runtime
Java 1.8 – OpenJDK or Oracle

Availability
Java must be pre-installed; it is not bundled with the installer

Higher versions
Java 9 and above are not supported

1.3 Browser

Browser
Supported version

Internet Explorer
10.0 and above

Firefox
6.0 and above

Chrome
16.0 and above

Safari
6.0 and above

Opera
12.1 and above

Microsoft Edge
Since first version

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Refund of excess IGST on exports cannot be denied for a clerical GSTR-3B reporting error.
Case-Laws
GST
Excess IGST paid twice on export supplies is refundable where export turnover and IGST liability were correctly reported in GSTR-1 but mistakenly classified under supplies other than zero-rated supplies in GSTR-3B. The mismatch prevented automated customs refund, leading to a second IGST payment through a corrected return; refund of that second payment did not extinguish the claim for the original excess payment. A clerical reporting error, supported by return reconciliation, does not constitute a substantive breach justifying denial. Retaining tax paid twice would lack authority of law, and refund cannot be denied on procedural grounds or the stated limitation objection.
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E-Way Bill Validity Extension Limits Excessive Penalties for Brief Post-Expiry Transport Delays When Renewal Window Recently Elapsed
Case-Laws
GST
E-way bill rules permit validity extensions in exceptional circumstances and provide a further eight-hour window after expiry to seek extension. Transport after that period may justify detention and penalty, but a brief delay in renewing the e-way bill does not necessarily warrant a 200% penalty. Where interception occurred shortly after the additional extension window, comparable decisions supported relief while recognising that the lapse could still attract a nominal sanction. The 200% penalty orders were set aside, subject to payment of a token fine and refund of the balance penalty deposit.
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Outsourced hospital food supply remains taxable, while unproven suppression requires ordinary demand proceedings and tax-inclusive valuation.
Case-Laws
GST
Food supplied by an independent outsourced caterer to a hospital is a separate taxable supply, not a composite healthcare supply, because the caterer contracts only to supply food and cannot rely on the healthcare-provider clarification. Reliance on that clarification, although legally incorrect, does not by itself establish fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression with intent to evade tax; the demand must therefore proceed under the ordinary tax-demand route. Where invoices did not separately identify or collect tax, the invoiced consideration is tax-inclusive and differential tax must be recomputed using cum-tax valuation after invoice verification.
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Input tax credit verification requires invoice-wise reconciliation, while incorrect IGST reporting on intra-State renting does not bar credit.
Case-Laws
GST
Input tax credit claimed in GSTR-3B but not reflected in GSTR-2A requires category-wise and invoice-wise reconciliation; invoices alone or supplier default do not establish entitlement, while the entire mismatch cannot be disallowed without verification. Supplier certificates may be considered under the applicable circular but must be verified, and reverse-charge credit and tax-head or B2B-to-B2C reporting errors require independent examination. Effective opportunity of hearing is required before adjudication. Renting of immovable property is supplied where the property is located; where the supplier and property are in the same State, CGST and SGST credit remains available despite erroneous IGST reporting if tax is paid and no revenue loss arises.
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GST registration revocation requires payment of return-related interest, late fees and penalties beyond outstanding tax.
Case-Laws
GST
Revocation of GST registration following cancellation for non-furnishing of returns requires filing outstanding returns and paying tax, interest, late fee and penalty. Verification limited to return filing and tax payment does not satisfy the proviso to Rule 23(1), which makes payment of these ancillary statutory liabilities a condition for revocation. The revocation order was modified to require recovery of unpaid interest and late fee and imposition of penalty under Rule 23.
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Vested appeal rights prevent retrospective pre-deposit requirements in penalty-only appeals arising from pre-amendment show-cause notices.
Case-Laws
GST
The vested right of appeal arises when the lis is instituted, and a later amendment imposing a fresh pre-deposit obligation does not apply to pending proceedings without clear legislative intent. Where a penalty-only appeal arose from a show-cause notice issued before the amended proviso took effect, the post-amendment pre-deposit requirement could not be imposed. The Registry's objection was set aside, the appeal was admitted without pre-deposit, and jurisdictional and merits issues remained open for final hearing.
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Local authority status under GST excludes statutory bodies outside enumerated categories, limiting Kerala Water Authority's works-contract concession.
Case-Laws
GST
GST local-authority status is confined to bodies expressly enumerated in the CGST/KGST definition; a statutory body is not included merely because its constituting State law deems it a local authority. Accordingly, works contract services supplied to Kerala Water Authority attract GST at 18% from 1 January 2022 rather than the concessional local-authority rate. On delayed differential GST, interest applies only to the portion discharged through the electronic cash ledger, not to the portion paid through the electronic credit ledger.
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GST detention penalties require a specific statutory charge, disclosed evidence, and a meaningful hearing before penalties can stand.
Case-Laws
GST
GST detention penalties under section 129 require a pleaded and established contravention of the Act or Rules. A show-cause notice must identify the defective documents and the precise legal provision allegedly breached; a vague allegation of diversion or unloading at an undeclared destination is insufficient. Reliance on inculpatory statements requires their disclosure, and an offered personal hearing and cross-examination opportunity must be genuinely afforded before adjudication. Appellate review must address material natural-justice objections and identify the statutory contravention rather than rely on route or invoicing observations alone.
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E-Way Bill consignment value excludes principal's goods on job-work returns, limiting detention where transport documents are present.
Case-Laws
GST
Consignment value for goods returned by a job worker comprises the job-work charges and applicable tax, not the value of the principal's goods. Under section 15 read with Explanation 2 to Rule 138, the return movement represents the job-work service; where its taxable value is below the prescribed threshold, an e-way bill is not mandatory. Detention and penalty action cannot rest on allegations contradicted by departmental records, including the presence of a tax-paid job-work invoice, delivery challan and e-way bill. A detention or appellate order must remain within the show-cause notice's factual allegations and give reasons for treating an e-way bill as invalid; reliance on unalleged grounds breaches natural justice.
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Inverted duty refunds remain available where higher-taxed processing inputs create credit accumulation without any reduction in output GST rates.
Case-Laws
GST
Refund of accumulated input tax credit under an inverted duty structure remains available where processed fabrics retain the same GST rate and credit accumulates from higher-taxed chemicals, dyes and consumables used in job-work processing. Circular No. 135/05/2020-GST concerns credit accumulation caused by a GST-rate reduction on the same goods and does not bar such refund claims. Once substantive refund eligibility is determined, an appellate direction for arithmetical recomputation merely implements that determination and is not a prohibited remand, provided the original authority cannot reconsider the merits. Refund orders allowing consequential recalculation were sustained.
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Inverted duty refunds cover distinct manufacturing inputs, while administrative clarifications on identical goods do not bar eligible claims.
Case-Laws
GST
Unutilised input tax credit accumulated from an inverted duty structure is refundable where manufacturing inputs are taxed at a higher rate than the outward supply and are distinct from the finished goods. For Agarbati manufacturing, perfumes, fragrances, chemicals, packaging materials and cardboard qualify as inputs whose higher tax rates may support refund eligibility. A CBIC clarification addressing situations where input and output supplies are the same goods does not restrict such claims. CBIC circulars bind central tax officers but not the Appellate Tribunal, although they may carry persuasive value.
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Mandatory detention-penalty timelines invalidate orders issued after the statutory seven-day period and undermine appellate affirmations.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 129(3) requires a detention-penalty order to be passed within seven days of service of notice. The seven-day period is mandatory, not directory; an order made after that period, including one issued 28 days after notice, breaches the statutory requirement. Such delay vitiates the detention-penalty proceedings, renders the original order void ab initio and a nullity, and leaves no valid basis for an appellate order affirming the penalty.
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Credit-note turnover adjustments preserve inverted-duty refunds, while ministerial re-computation does not constitute an impermissible appellate remand.
Case-Laws
GST
Credit notes for returned or rejected processed-fabric supplies are excluded from outward taxable supply turnover when calculating an inverted-duty refund of accumulated input tax credit. The identical input-output supplies clarification is confined to accumulation caused by a rate reduction on the same goods over time; it does not apply where higher-taxed chemicals and dyes are used to process fabrics taxed at a lower rate without an output-rate reduction. Once refund eligibility and computational parameters are determined, consequential re-quantification is ministerial, does not reopen the merits, and does not constitute an appellate remand.
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Statutory limits on GST appeal condonation prevail, while restored registrations can render departmental challenges infructuous and ineffective.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 107(4) of the GST law fixes an outer limit on an appellate authority's power to condone delay in appeals against cancellation of registration. Extraordinary writ jurisdiction cannot enlarge that statutory appellate jurisdiction; condonation beyond the prescribed maximum is legally unsustainable. Where the Department has implemented appellate directions by restoring cancelled GST registrations, it cannot seek annulment without addressing the resulting alteration of the taxpayers' legal and commercial position. The departmental appeals consequently become infructuous where no effective or workable relief remains available.
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Advocate-Client Privilege Limits: GST investigations may examine counsel conduct while preserving unrelated client data confidentiality
Case-Laws
GST
GST search powers may extend to an advocate's cabin and electronic records within authorised premises where recorded reasons support statutory satisfaction; a pre-search hearing is not required. Advocate-client privilege protects client communications and confidentiality, but does not immunise an advocate's own conduct from investigation. Only cloned electronic data relevant to the investigation may be used, and unrelated client material must remain confidential. Sealed investigative records need not be disclosed while investigation continues because disclosure may expose its course and witness statements. Absence of a show cause notice at the investigation stage does not invalidate searches or summonses.
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Special GST law bars general criminal prosecution where alleged tax defaults are already addressed under the CGST framework.
Case-Laws
GST
GST-related tax fraud allegations based on non-response and non-payment of Central or State GST must be addressed under the CGST Act where proceedings under that special enactment have already commenced. Sections 4 and 5 of the BNSS preserve the investigative and procedural framework prescribed by special statutes, preventing recourse to general criminal law for offences governed by such statutes. On this basis, BNS prosecution for the alleged GST defaults, including the charge-sheet and cognizance order against the taxpayer, was set aside.
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Bovine semen sorting is taxable as a scientific and technical service, not exempt animal husbandry support.
Case-Laws
GST
Bovine semen sorting, a laboratory process separating X-bearing and Y-bearing sperm cells, is a value-addition, testing and separation service performed on biological material. It neither constitutes nor directly supports livestock rearing, feeding, breeding management or animal husbandry, and is not an intermediate production process by way of job work relating to rearing of animals. In the absence of a specific scientific and technical service entry, it falls within SAC 998349 as other technical and scientific services, attracting GST at 18% without exemption.
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Alternative statutory remedy in GST adjudication generally bars writ review after an Order-in-Original, absent patent jurisdictional error.
Case-Laws
GST
Availability of an efficacious statutory appeal materially constrains Article 226 writ jurisdiction in GST adjudication. Once show-cause proceedings culminate in an Order-in-Original, disputes over overlapping State and Central input tax credit proceedings, factual and evidentiary material, and a multi-year notice should ordinarily be examined on appeal. A statutory pre-deposit obligation and the earlier filing of a writ during pending notice proceedings do not alone justify bypassing that remedy. Absent patent jurisdictional infirmity, appellate review remains available on all permissible grounds; the writ petition was dismissed with liberty to appeal.
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Same-subject-matter bar under GST requires identical contravention, so distinct credit allegations proceed through statutory appeals.
Case-Laws
GST
Section 6(2)(b) of the CGST Act bars parallel Central and State GST proceedings only where they seek to adjudicate the identical liability or contravention; shared assessee, tax period, input tax credit, or transactional background does not suffice. Allegations of fraudulent credit based on invoices without actual goods supply remain distinct unless that precise infraction was already adjudicated in State proceedings, so the Central proceedings were not barred. Writ review remains available despite a statutory appeal, but disputes over replies, relied-upon material, genuineness, goods receipt, fraud, suppression, and duplicate liability ordinarily require examination of the adjudication record in appeal absent exceptional circumstances. The writ petition was dismissed, with merits left open in appeal.
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Statutory appellate remedy channels parallel GST proceedings and jurisdiction objections from writ review to factual appellate examination.
Case-Laws
GST
Availability of a statutory appeal against an Order-in-Original required the writ challenge to be pursued before the appellate authority. The objection that parallel Central and State GST proceedings concerned the same subject matter required factual examination of their scope, allegations, transactions, liabilities and evidentiary foundations. That inquiry, together with challenges to the demand and evidentiary findings, was left for appellate consideration. The writ petition was dismissed, while all contentions on jurisdiction, parallel proceedings and the demand remained open in appeal.
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Weekly-market fee collection rights leased by Panchayats remain public-authority functions and fall outside GST when linked to markets and fairs.
Case-Laws
GST
Leasing by a Town Panchayat of weekly-market entrance-fee collection rights to tender contractors is undertaken in its capacity as a public authority where it directly relates to the statutory function of markets and fairs. The phrase “in relation to” covers integral, incidental and ancillary arrangements needed to discharge that function. Contractors' collection under Panchayat-prescribed fees, receipts and conditions does not change the activity's statutory character or make it independently commercial. The leasing is neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services and therefore falls outside GST under the applicable notification.
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