A collection of judgments is useful only if it is organised by the question each one answers. A chronological list is difficult to use when a reply has to be drafted. A subject index is far more practical.

The categories below reflect the questions that arise most often in GST proceedings. Building a personal index under these headings, with the facts of each decision noted alongside, converts reading into a working resource.

Procedural fairness

A substantial body of decisions deals with orders passed without considering the reply, without granting a hearing that was requested, or without recording reasons. Courts have consistently required that an order deal with the submissions actually made.

When indexing a decision in this category, record the following.

  • Whether a reply was on record and whether the order referred to it

  • Whether a hearing was requested and whether it was granted

  • Whether the order was set aside outright or remanded for fresh consideration

Input tax credit and supplier default

Decisions in this area consider how far a recipient can be held responsible for the failure of a supplier to report or pay tax, and what evidence discharges the burden on the recipient. The outcome usually turns on the strength of the evidence of a genuine transaction.

Registration and its cancellation

Courts have examined cancellation orders that give no reasons, notices that do not indicate that retrospective cancellation is proposed, and the exercise of discretion in revocation. The theme running through them is that a drastic consequence requires a reasoned order.

Provisional attachment

Attachment under section 83 has been examined closely because it operates before any determination of liability. The requirements of forming and recording an opinion, and the limited duration of an attachment, feature repeatedly.

Limitation and extension of time

A separate line of cases considers the validity and effect of notifications extending time limits for adjudication, and the interaction of those extensions with the periods in sections 73 and 74. These are important because they can decide a matter without reaching the merits.

Refunds

Refund litigation covers rejection without a hearing, the computation of refund in inverted duty situations, and the treatment of interest on delayed refunds.

Cite fewer decisions and cite them with their facts. One decision that matches the facts is worth more than five that merely contain a helpful sentence.

A note of caution

Before relying on any decision, confirm that it has not been stayed or reversed, and that the provision it interpreted has not since been amended. In indirect tax, an amendment following an adverse decision is a familiar sequence.