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Global Accounting and Audit Update: PCAOB Inspection Finds No Reportable Audit Deficiencies; FASB Opens Consultation on Codification Changes
This global financial reporting and audit update summarises two important international developments: a PCAOB inspection outcome involving one of the Big Four accounting firms and a new FASB proposal...
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Ind AS 118: Recasting Financial Statements as a Tool for Better Financial Communication
Opening perspectiveFinancial statements are not useful merely because they contain correct accounting numbers. Their real value lies in the manner in which recognised assets, liabilities, equity, inco...
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SEBI Settlement and Stock Exchange Penalty: SAT Clarifies That Both May Co-exist
1. Why the Hindustan Foods ruling mattersThe Securities Appellate Tribunal (“SAT”), by its order dated August 13, 2026 in Hindustan Foods Limited v. BSE Limited & Anr., has clarified an important poin...
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Director Tenure in Promoter-Led Listed Companies: Linking Evaluation with Governance Accountability
1. The Core QuestionIndian company law permits shareholders to remove directors, but the practical effect of that power changes significantly in a promoter-controlled listed company. Where the promote...
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Personal Guarantor Insolvency and the 99.9% Haircut Debate: A Fresh Look at the NCLT Ruling in the Subhash Chandra Matter
1. Why the Decision MattersThe decision of the NCLT, Principal Bench, in Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd. v. Dr. Subhash Chandra [2026] 190 taxmann.com 10 (NCLT - New Delhi) has become significant beca...
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Reworking GST Export Refunds: A Case for a More Practical Mechanism
In international commerce, the settled principle is that a country should export goods and services, not domestic taxes. Therefore, taxes suffered on procurements used for export activity should flow...
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SQM 1 and AQMM V2: One Quality Agenda, Two Different Instruments
1. The central distinctionThe Institute of Chartered Accountants of India has placed audit quality at the centre of two important initiatives: the Standard on Quality Management (SQM) 1, “Quality Mana...
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GST Departmental Audit and Limitation: Why FORM GST ADT-01 Cannot Be Viewed in Isolation
1. Core propositionSection 65 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 permits departmental audit of a registered person, but it does not prescribe a separate outer time limit for issuing the a...
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GST’s Statutory Pause Button: Revisiting “Call Book” Proceedings after Tata Steel
The GST law was designed as a time-bound code. It fixes periods for issuance and adjudication of notices, distinguishes ordinary cases from fraud or suppression cases, and expects the tax administrati...
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GST on Telecom Licence Fee and Spectrum Charges: Can the CERC Ruling Reopen the Debate?
1. Why the issue has become importantTelecom companies in India make substantial recurring payments to the Department of Telecommunications (“DoT”). Two of the most important payments are the licence...
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Missing E-Way Bills under Section 129: Late Compliance, No Compliance, and the Unsettled Line Between Lapse and Evasion
Two recent decisions of the GST Appellate Tribunal, Lucknow Bench, have brought back an old but important GST controversy: when goods are intercepted without an e-way bill, is that fact alone enough t...
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Retrospective “Clarification” and the Limits of Taxing Power: Karnataka High Court’s Decision in Jindal Thermal Power
1. Why the ruling mattersThe Karnataka High Court’s judgment dated August 6, 2026, in Jindal Thermal Power Company Limited, earlier known as Jindal Tractebel Power Company Ltd., v. Deputy Commissioner...
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Tax Treatment of Pre-Exercise ESOP Liquidity: Salary Perquisite or Capital Gains?
1. Why pre-exercise ESOP monetisation creates a tax problemEmployee Stock Option Plans, commonly known as ESOPs, are now a regular feature of compensation structures in India as well as in multination...
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Vicarious Liability of Ex-Officers Under FEMA 1999 for Non-Realisation of Export Proceeds — Appellate Tribunal's Ruling
IntroductionThe question of whether a former officer of a company can be held vicariously liable under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 ("FEMA") for contraventions committed by the company du...
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Nil Turnover in GST Returns Cannot by Itself Justify Cancellation of Registration: Gujarat High Court
Introduction: Registration Cancellation and Its Commercial ConsequencesGST registration is the statutory foundation upon which a person conducts business within the GST framework — issuing tax invoice...
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Section 112(2) CGST Act: GSTAT's Discretion to Refuse Small-Value GST Appeals Explained
Background: Controlling Litigation on Small-Value DisputesThe GST framework contains a built-in mechanism to discourage appeals involving trivial amounts of tax, input tax credit, fine, fee or penalty...
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Section 14A of the Income-tax Act: A Case for Reviewing Revenue Efficacy and Curtailing Disproportionate Litigation
Background and Legislative History of Section 14ASection 14A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was inserted via Clause 11 of the Finance Act, 2001, with retrospective effect from 1 April 1962. The provisio...
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Ind AS 118 Exposure Draft: A New Approach to Presenting Financial Performance
Opening PerspectiveThe proposed Ind AS 118, Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, is not intended to alter how an entity measures profit, assets, liabilities or other financial statemen...
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ASIC Issues Fresh Guidance on the Professional Year Pathway for Future Financial Advisers
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has released updated guidance for individuals undertaking the “professional year” requirement on the pathway to becoming financial advisers...
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Private Companies and NCD Private Placements: The Section 180–Rule 14 Compliance Puzzle
1. The issue in briefThe Companies Act, 2013 created a structured regime for corporate borrowings, shareholder approvals and private placement of securities. However, after the Ministry of Corporate A...