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Summary: The 57th GST Council meeting has recommended a set of structural reforms aimed at addressing long-standing pain points in the GST framework that have constrained business operations. The recommendations collectively seek to unlock working capital by broadening the scope of creditable expenditure and expanding refund entitlements, reduce compliance friction in interstate commerce and cross-border service arrangements, and recalibrate the enforcement framework to ensure proportionality. While these measures represent a meaningful policy shift toward the original objectives of GST, their commercial impact will ultimately depend on the clarity of the legislative amendments that follow and the effectiveness of their administrative implementation.

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BRICS 2026: The Next Frontier Must Be Easier Market Access And Lower Tariffs

Summary: The New Delhi Declaration adopted at the 18th BRICS Summit signals progress on customs cooperation and regulatory alignment, but its real test lies in whether it can deliver lower tariffs, fewer non-tariff barriers, and faster market access for exporters. This blog examines why India should pursue targeted tariff liberalisation and regulatory interoperability through the BRICS platform, and what a credible, phased trade architecture could look like, without compromising domestic industry or geopolitical balance.

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A Tale of Two Secondments: Search for the Real Employer

Summary: Two recent rulings, by the Delhi ITAT and the Delhi High Court, reached opposite conclusions on the same question: Who is the real employer of seconded personnel? Although arising in different contexts, both referred to factors established in the OECD Commentary on Article 15 for determining the true employer but differed in their emphasis on those factors. While the Tribunal focused more on local control and secondees’ integration into the Indian entity, the High Court prioritised the secondees’ continuing relationship with the foreign employer. These contradictory outcomes highlight that the taxability of secondments hinges on case-specific facts, making the alignment of contractual arrangements, operational reality, and documentation extremely critical.

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When a Promise Becomes Taxable: What the Torrent Power Judgment Really Means for Corporate Guarantees

Summary: The Gujarat High Court’s ruling on corporate guarantees is not merely about whether GST is payable. It is about the limits of statutory fiction, the sanctity of commercial reality and the constitutional discipline that must govern taxation.

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Summary: The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal has clarified that consideration received on the buy-back of vested but unexercised stock options is taxable as long-term capital gains, and not as a salary perquisite, providing significant relief to employees participating in the ESOP liquidity programme.

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Reassessing the sanctity of CA certificates: Evidentiary standards in quasi-judicial proceedings

Summary: CA certificates are governed by the relevant statutory provisions. CAs must issue them in accordance with the professionalism outlined in the ICAI’s code of conduct. Across tax frameworks, such certificates substantiate positions and claims. However, a certificate cannot, on its own, discharge the burden of proof, where the underlying records are not produced. Strict evidentiary rules do not govern tax proceedings, foundational principles do. In this environment, a certificate that is adequately documented, and issued in strict conformity with ICAI standards shall withstand scrutiny from the revenue and will be preferred compared to one that is devoid of such safeguards.

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Mumbai ITAT holds that commercial and charitable activities can co-exist

Summary: Mumbai ITAT in Reliance Foundation Hospital Trust has held that a charitable organisation’s registration cannot be denied merely because of the scale of its operations, sophisticated infrastructure, or substantial receipts. The ITAT examined the scope of enquiry and emphasised that renewal of charitable registration should be decided as per the law and evidence available on record.

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Buy-Back within Group is not a Taxable Exit: The Huntsman Verdict

Summary: The Delhi ITAT in the Huntsman Investment case ruled that intra-group share buy-backs can qualify as “corporate reorganisation” under Article 13(5) of the India-Netherlands DTAA, shielding capital gains from Indian taxation. The Tribunal emphasized substance over technicality, noting that Huntsman BV’s ownership percentage in its Indian subsidiary remained unchanged despite the buy-back. It relied on professional guidance and comparable treaty protocols to interpret “reorganisation.”

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When Shipped, Not Declared: The Bombay HC’s Decision On Foreign Exporter’s Customs Liability

Summary: The Customs Act assigns importers and exporters parallel duties that do not usually converge. Yet Indian authorities have started to rope foreign exporters into importers’ alleged violations in the wake of the Act’s extraterritorial reach. This approach treats the supply chain as a single unit of liability. The Hon’ble Bombay High Court’s (“HC”) ruling in the case of Karl Mayer[1] firmly rejects such approach. Unless there is evidence of complicity, the exporter’s responsibility ends when the goods are shipped. What changes, however, when the exporter controls the importer? This blog attempts to shed light on this controversy, among many others.

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Benami Act versus IBC: NCLT cannot override sovereign acts under penal statutes

Summary: The Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988, is a special penal statute and actions under it are sovereign actions. The Supreme Court recently settled that where an action is taken under such a penal statute, it being a sovereign action, is excluded from the jurisdiction of civil fora. This blog analyses how the Supreme Court resolves the conflict between two conflicting special legislations operating in different domain.

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