Article
Intermediary services: Exporters relief from artificial deeming provisions
By Asish Philip and Apeksha Bansal
One of the trade facilitation measures proposed by the GST Council in its recent meeting is an amendment in the specific place of supply provisions for intermediary services under Section 13(8)(b) of the Integrated Goods and Servies Tax Act, 2017, deeming place of supply as the location of supplier i.e., India. The first article in this issue of Indirect Tax Amicus deliberates the impact of this amendment on past and current litigation. According to the authors, the move will provide level playing field to the Indian exporters while the importers should examine their business model and evaluate the impact of GST liability.
Taxability of post sale discounts: Recent changes – Certainty, confusion and calls for reform
By Shivam Mehta and Tanya Garg
As a part of GST 2.0 reforms, certain amendments have been proposed in the legislature governing discounts. Moreover, certain clarifications have been provided vide Circular No. 251/08/2025 GST dated 12 September 2025. According to the authors, on a comprehensive reading of the Circular and the proposed legislative amendments, it seems that though these clarifications have garnered a sigh of relief for taxpayers, several issues still remain open, and demand for a re-look at the discount schemes floated by the companies. Industry players hence need to revisit their discount schemes to ensure they are aligned with the new clarifications and are compliant with the law.
Customs Tariff classification v. Origin compliance – Does one prevail over the other to avail FTA Benefits?
By Anjali Hirawat and Shruti Khanna
The article covers a recent Supreme Court decision holding that even if the classification of the particular goods is disputed by the customs authorities, FTA benefits cannot be denied if the goods meet the requisite origin criteria and the same is also supported by a valid Certificate of Origin submitted by the importer, provided that the competing tariff heading/entry is also covered for the purposes of FTA benefit. According to the authors, the judgment is a welcome relief for the industry and furthers the Government’s intention to promote trade with the help of the FTAs.
Self-Assessed or Self-Trapped? The reach of Section 75(12)
By Shubham Vijay and Aanchal Gupta
Section 75(12) of the CGST Act encompasses a recovery mechanism by permitting the Department to bypass the adjudication process where the assessee has already self-assessed the tax liability but has failed to discharge the corresponding liability. Discussing various situations where the Department has been raising demands under said provisions, the authors point out that Section 75(12) does not include circumstances where tax payment is done pursuance of audit/investigation and in no manner render interest payable in every circumstance of self-assessed tax or otherwise. Observing that there is a need for balance between recovery and natural justice, the authors believe that the Government should issue a comprehensive clarification delineating the limited circumstances in which the said provision can be invoked.
From Soil to Solar: GST reforms to boost fertiliser industry and renewable energy sector
By Shweta Walecha, Divya Bhardwaj and Aashna Sehgal
This article discusses the key GST rate changes in the fertiliser industry as well as in the renewable energy sector, while pointing out the implication for the industry. The authors also elaborately discuss the pending challenges, including issues relating to subsidy-linked ITC blockage, uneven rate rationalisation (e.g., pesticides), and refund delays, which require continued policy attention.
Goods and Services Tax (GST)
Notifications and Circulars
- Filing of appeals before GST Appellate Tribunal is to be in staggered manner
Ratio decidendi
- Export refund – Omission of Rules 89(4B) and 96(10) – Pending proceedings to lapse – Bombay High Court
- Exports – Refund of unutilized ITC of compensation cess under Section 16(3)(a) when IGST refund also availed under Section 16(3)(b) – Bombay High Court
- Refund of unutilized ITC on zero-rated supply – Relevant date for limitation – Gujarat High Court
- Service of order – Uploading in the portal is not ‘communicating’ to the assessee – Madras High Court
- Service of order – Expression ‘communicated to such person’ has its own significance – Uploading order on common portal when not enough – Rajasthan High Court
- Show cause notice to legal representative is mandatory in case of tax demand after death of the taxpayer – Allahabad High Court
- Not issuing separate e-way bills for each invoice is a technical error – No liability of seizure or penalty – Allahabad High Court
- Non updating of vehicle number in the e-way bill by the transporter when is not fatal – Allahabad High Court
- Non-filing of returns under Section 39 – Best judgement under Section 62 – No embargo on Officer to wait for completion of 5 years – Madras High Court
- Amnesty scheme – Withdrawal of appeal before the cut-off date when is not fatal – Madras High Court
- Unsigned notice/order does not remain invalid once assessee responds to such defective proceedings – Andhra Pradesh High Court
- Amount deposited under protest and not quantified for any demand can be used towards pre-deposit for filing appeal – Allahabad High Court
- Interest payable when refund delayed due to technical glitch in system – Section 56 is a mandatory provision – Gujarat High Court
- Refund of unutilized ITC due to closure of unit is not permissible – Sikkim High Court
- ITC reversal is not required for goods issued for demonstration by product specialists – Kerala AAR
Customs and FTP
Notifications and Circulars
- RoDTEP scheme extended till 31 March 2026 – Grace period for filing Annual Return extended till 30 November 2025
- India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement come into effect from 1 October 2025
- Project imports – Exemptions to various projects extended till 30 September 2027
- Rice exports – Non-basmati rice export contracts to be registered with APEDA
- Spices import not permissible under Duty Free Import Authorisation
Ratio decidendi
- FTA benefit is available if origin conditions are satisfied – Classification is not material if both the tariff entries are eligible – Supreme Court
- Customs or DRI officers cannot declare DEPB scrips issued by DGFT as void – CESTAT New Delhi
- Customs or DRI officers cannot hold BRCs issued by Banks as not valid – CESTAT New Delhi
- Demand of Customs duty under Section 125(2) when not sustainable – CESTAT New Delhi
- Exported goods are not liable for confiscation even if remittance not received/not correctly received – CESTAT New Delhi
- Valuation – Licence fee for use of software when not includible in value of CD imported with the software – CESTAT New Delhi
- Valuation – Commissioner of Customs has no authority to re-determine Retail Sale Price for levying additional duty – CESTAT Mumbai
- Valuation – Technical assistance fee paid for post-importation activities is not includible in value of capital goods – CESTAT Bengaluru
Central Excise, Service Tax & VAT
Ratio decidendi
- Airport services – No exclusion from service tax to ‘handling of export cargo’ – Supreme Court
- Mere uploading of report online will not make the service fall under OIDAR services – CESTAT Hyderabad
- Technical Testing and Analysis service provided to foreign clients eligible for export benefit if report delivered to clients abroad – CESTAT Hyderabad
News Nuggets
- CESTAT – All appeals to be filed online – Manual filing to discontinue from 31 December 2025
