A 10% pre-deposit for a GST appeal automatically stays any further recovery action. Issue Once a taxpayer has made the mandatory 10% pre-deposit of a disputed tax demand in order to file a statutory appeal under Section 107 of the CGST Act, can the tax authorities legally continue to attach or freeze the taxpayer’s bank… Read More »
Interest on a delayed GST refund is calculated from the date of the original application, not from the date of a later appellate order. Issue When a GST refund is initially rejected by the adjudicating authority but is later sanctioned upon a successful appeal, from what date does the 60-day interest-free period for paying the… Read More »
Educational consultancy services provided to foreign universities for helping Indian students with admissions are considered an “export of service” and are not “intermediary services” under the IGST Act. Issue Do educational consultancy services, provided to foreign universities for facilitating the admission of Indian students (for which the consultant is paid a commission by the university),… Read More »
A beneficial GST circular granting relief on reinsurance services has been held to apply retrospectively, leading to the quashing of old, confirmed tax demands. Issue Can a beneficial circular issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), which regularizes the GST liability for a specific past period, be applied retrospectively to quash… Read More »
A deposit into the Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) is a valid payment to the government. Issue Does a deposit of money into a company’s Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) under the GST regime constitute a valid deposit “with the Government” for the purpose of satisfying a court-mandated bail condition, even if the payment wasn’t made through… Read More »
Interest on a delayed GST refund is mandatory, even if the delay is caused by technical glitches in the government’s own IT systems. Issue Is the government liable to pay interest under Section 56 of the CGST Act, 2017, on a delayed GST refund, even when the delay was not the taxpayer’s fault but was… Read More »
No pre-attachment hearing is required, but a summons isn’t enough to trigger attachment. Issue This case dealt with two critical legal questions regarding provisional attachment under Section 83 of the CGST Act: Is a “pre-decisional hearing” a mandatory requirement before a tax officer can provisionally attach a taxpayer’s property? Does the mere issuance of a… Read More »
A court has stayed a GST demand raised for a pre-IBC resolution plan period. Issue Can the GST department raise and recover a tax demand for a period that is prior to the approval of a company’s resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), especially when the department failed to file a claim… Read More »
A court can temporarily suspend a GST registration cancellation to allow a taxpayer to access the portal and file their pending returns. Issue How can a taxpayer resolve the procedural deadlock of being unable to file their pending GST returns (which is often a pre-condition for having their registration restored) because their GST registration has… Read More »
Commerce Ministry Clarifies SOFTEX Filing for SEZ and DTA Transactions The Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a clarification regarding the mandatory filing of SOFTEX Forms (Software Export Declaration) for transactions involving Special Economic Zone (SEZ) units and Domestic Tariff Area (DTA) units. Key Points of the Clarification SEZ to SEZ Transactions (Not Required): The… Read More »