Article

Arrest of perpetrators for fraudulent passing and availing ITC in GST – Some issues

By Atul Gupta

The article in this issue of Tax Amicus discusses elaborately an amendment in Section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 by the Finance Act, 2020, relating to punishment to perpetrators for fraudulent passing and availing Input Tax Credit in GST. The article highlights that before the amendment perpetrators might not be liable to be arrested without warrant and that such perpetrators may be considered to have committed offence as abetter under clause (l) of Section 132, but they may not be alleged to be the offenders in respect of any of the offences which are cognizable and non-bailable. The author raises the question as to whether the clause ‘and retain the benefits arising out of’ is also applicable to ‘whoever commits’. According to him, then, the amendment may now restrict the scope of Section 132(1). He however also notes that the way the amendment has been made and structured, ‘whoever commits the offence’ may be covered separately...

Goods & Services Tax (GST)

Notifications and Circulars

47th GST Council Meeting – Clarifications 47th GST Council Meeting – Changes in law and procedure and in respect of specified goods and services

Ratio decidendi

• Interest component of EMI of the loan granted on credit card is liable to GST – Calcutta High Court
• Refund due to inverted duty structure – Same input and output supplies – CBIC Circular dated 31 March 2020 is conflicting to parent legislation – Rajasthan High Court
• Non-submission of certified copy of order at the time of filing of appeal when merely a technical defect – Orissa High Court
• Service of international inbound roaming is exports – Bombay High Court
• Show-cause notice is mandatory – Summary of SCN is not enough even if assessee files concise reply – Jharkhand High Court
• Registration application – Reasons mandatorily to be given for rejection – Madras High Court
• Annuity (deferred payments) towards construction of roads is exempt from GST – Karnataka High Court
• Demo vehicles purchased for test drives are eligible for Input Tax Credit – West Bengal AAR
• No GST on reimbursements received from industry partners for stipends paid to trainees – Maharashtra AAR
• Service received from overseas commission agent is not import of service – Uttarakhand AAR
• Service of legacy waste through bio mining process, maintaining of micro compost centers and processing wet waste, removal of wet waste and bulk waste etc. would qualify as ‘pure services’ – Tamil Nadu AAR
• Vessel support services provided to group company outside India when is ‘export of service’ – Tamil Nadu AAR
• Complimentary ticket to unrelated person is not liable to GST – Punjab Appellate AAR
• Administering Covid-19 vaccine is composite supply – Andhra Pradesh AAR

Customs

Notifications and Circulars

• IGST exemption for imports under Advance authorisation and EPCG schemes, and by an EOU – Sunset date for exemption omitted
• IGST exemption withdrawn on imports by Research Institutions, Government departments, Laboratories, IIT and Regional Cancer Institutes
• Defence imports – Exemption extended to imports by ‘any entity’
• E-commerce export of jewellery made from precious metals – SOP notified
• Open Cells for use in manufacture of LCD and LED TV panels – Exemption during 1 January 2022 till 12 July 2022 clarified
• Paper Import Monitoring System (PIMS) clarified
• Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) – Advance registration abolished
• Shri V. Lakshmikumaran, Founder and Managing Partner, L&S nominated as non-official member in Board of Trade

Ratio decidendi

• No time limit for amendment of shipping bill – Time limit laid by Circular No. 36/2010-Cus. is illegal – Bombay High Court
• Settlement of case – Application by person who has not filed Bill of Entry, maintainable – Bombay High Court
• Vehicle-mounted computers, tablet computers and mobile computers are classifiable under Heading 8471 – Customs AAR
• Populated Printed Circuit Boards for DWDM Equipment-Photonic Service Switch – Classification under TI 8517 70 10 – CESTAT Mumbai
• Standardised vanilla extract classifiable under Heading 1302 and not as extracted oleoresins under Heading 3301 – Court of Justice of the European Union

Central Excise, Service Tax & VAT

Ratio decidendi

• Consulting Engineer – Body Corporate covered during period prior to amendments in 2005 – Supreme Court
• Sabka Vishwas (LDR) Scheme – Delay in payment of amount under Scheme when condonable – Karnataka High Court
• Remission of duty when goods kept in Customs warehouse after Let Export Order destroyed by fire – Bombay High Court
• Refund – Unjust enrichment – Amount shown as expenditure does not automatically gets credited in income side – CESTAT Mumbai
• Valuation – Tax collected at source (TCS) is not additional consideration flowing from buyer – CESTAT Ahmedabad
• SEZ – Cenvat credit available to SEZ unit even when exemption option available before July 2013 – CESTAT Prayagraj
• SEZ – Refund not deniable merely because the service not included in approved list – CESTAT Ahmedabad