IGST refund validation: exporters must validate bank accounts in PFMS to enable refunds and avoid account changes.
IGST export refunds are treated as filed via the shipping bill once the Export General Manifest is filed and a valid Form GSTR-3 return is furnished. Exporters must validate bank accounts in the Public Financial Management System (PFMS); closed or non-validated accounts cannot receive sanctioned refunds. The customs house has published a list of such accounts and advises exporters to update and avoid changing validated account details during the current financial year.

FPI investment limits in government securities increased, triggering SEBI guidelines and AD Category I compliance obligations.
Revision of FPI investment limits increases permitted holdings in Central Government Securities and State Development Loans for the October-December 2017 quarter, with the revised allocations effective October 3, 2017. SEBI will issue operational guidelines for allocation and monitoring of the revised limits, and AD Category I banks must inform their constituents; the directions are issued under FEMA and subject to other applicable permissions.

Interest rate hedging for mutual funds allows imperfect futures hedges subject to high correlation, limits, and disclosure.
Permits mutual funds to hedge debt portfolio interest rate risk using Interest Rate Futures on a weighted average modified duration basis with a formulaic limit on short positions; allows imperfect hedging exempt from gross exposure up to 20% of scheme net assets provided correlation with the IRF is at least 0.9 (measured over prior 90 days), rebalancing occurs within five working days upon deviation, and net modified duration of the hedged portion remains non negative; excess hedging must be included in gross exposure and scheme characteristics must not be altered.

International transshipment procedures: landing permission waived before berthing, with post-berthing reporting and delayed TSA filing permitted.
Pre-berthing landing permission for international transshipment containers is waived; liners must submit a vessel-wise report to Customs ITP Cell by the next working day after berthing for assignment of Container Bond numbers and dates to monitor re-export within the six-month period. Containers arriving by road or rake from other Indian ports still require prior landing permission. Unloading will be supervised by the Superintendent of Customs (VCTPL) based on the IGM, and TSA filing may be made within two working days after sailing, with liners responsible for validity of re-export.

De-notification of Customs Notified Area: dock sector removed subject to perimeter, liability, lighting and CCTV conditions.
An area of 33,323.92 square meters in Princess and Victoria Docks, from Purple Gate to 14 VD, is de notified from the Mumbai Docks Customs Notified Area to allow coastal passenger transport facilities that do not require customs clearance. The de notification is conditional: the Mumbai Port Trust must construct a permanent perimeter boundary wall for the Customs Notified Area; assume responsibility for incidents until the permanent wall is completed; ensure sufficient night lighting; maintain 24x7 CCTV on the temporary boundary; and make CCTV footage available to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs (Preventive) when required.

Ban on import of fireworks: ensure strict compliance and enforcement under existing import restrictions and licensing regime.
Directive to ensure enforcement of the ban on importation of fireworks by strict compliance with Notification GSR No.64(E) dated 27.01.1992; importation is a restricted item requiring a DGFT licence and no licence under Explosives Rules, 2008 has been issued by PESO for possession or sale. Customs formations are to alert officers and take measures to prevent illegal importation and smuggling.

Challan correction for PMGKY payments to regularize Form 1 filings when procedural errors prevented timely recognition.
The circular permits administrative correction of PMGKY challans where tax and required deposits were paid on time but recorded with incorrect challan particulars, while excluding PMGKD deposit corrections as outside CBDT authority; it prescribes allowable correction types (assessment year, PAN, specified major and minor head changes), requires jurisdictional recommendations assessing bona fides, directs Systems to process corrections and notify declarants, and sets deadlines for subsequent filing of Form 1 and issuance of Form 2 following verification.

Festival-season tax enforcement targets high-value goods, e-way bills, warehouses, and transporters to curb evasion during peak sales.
Festival-season enforcement instructions required intensive checks on high-sales goods, warehouses, transporters, courier-linked consignments, e-commerce transactions, and vehicle movement to curb tax evasion. The circular directed intelligence gathering, bill verification, e-way bill monitoring, and inspection of banks, post offices, wholesale traders, stockists, cold storages, and warehouses, while also covering pan masala, tobacco products, gold, bullion, sweets, dry fruits, electronics, textiles, garments, utensils, gift items, and firecrackers. It further limited special investigation of small traders absent prima facie heavy tax evasion and required written permission for special investigation, along with fortnightly reporting.

Audit authorization through scrutiny module required to ensure uniform processing and avoid duplicative allocations.
All tax audits must be processed and authorized through the scrutiny module using dealer dossier data and required field entries to ensure uniformity and supervisory review. Works contract, input tax credit and entry tax audits are to be prioritized; other audits are to be taken up only in exceptional cases. The scrutiny module must be used to avoid duplicity from parallel VATIS allocations.

E-payment of customs duty required for specified importers; electronic remittance mandated where per bill threshold is met.
E-payment of customs duty is compulsory for importers registered under the Authorised Economic Operator Programme and for importers whose customs duty per bill of entry meets or exceeds the statutory per-bill threshold, pursuant to Notification 80/2017, effective 01.09.2017; prior public notices on implementation and bank scheduling remain applicable.

Full description requirement for imported wood: detailed logs, measurements and measurement method required to support customs assessment.
Bills of Entry for wood under tariff headings 4403 and 4407 must provide full descriptions including wood type, average cubic measure (Avg CFT), girth, length, number of logs/pieces and grade. Importers must produce supplier log lists/packing lists that state the measurement system and formula used for CBM calculation, and suppliers should individually number logs/pieces to allow correlation during cargo examination; importers bear the onus of correct declaration under the self assessment regime.

Proper officer designation under the Haryana GST Act assigns specific tax, refund, enforcement and adjudication functions to officer cadres within jurisdiction.
The order designates specific officer cadres to perform discrete functions under the Haryana GST Act, 2017, mapping registration, amendment, cancellation and revocation tasks, provisional and final assessments, scrutiny, audit, refund administration, inspection, search and seizure, recovery, adjudication and penalty functions to appropriate Excise & Taxation Officers, Assistant Excise & Taxation Officers, Deputy and Joint Excise & Taxation Commissioners, subject to territorial jurisdiction and specified administrative approvals.

Export of services: satellite launch treated as export when place of supply is outside India, making the supply zero-rated.
Where the recipient of a satellite launch service is located outside India and the place of supply is outside India, the supply meets the statutory conditions for export of services (including payment in convertible foreign exchange and distinct persons requirement) and is zero rated under the IGST framework; supplies to persons located in India have place of supply determined by recipient location if registered or handover location if not, and are taxable under CGST/UTGST/IGST as applicable.

Drawback Rules 2017 narrow drawback scope, discontinue composite rates and prescribe AIR suffixes and provisional payment rules.
Notification of the Drawback Rules, 2017 and revised AIRs effective 1 October 2017 limits drawback to Customs duties and specified remnant Central Excise duty, discontinues composite rates, mandates tariff-item suffixes ('B' for general AIRs, 'D' for alternative garment AIRs), requires fresh Brand Rate applications for exports with let export date on or after 1 October 2017, disallows Brand Rate fixation under Rule 7 where AIR shows NIL or no rate (requiring Rule 6 instead), and provides for provisional drawback payments equivalent to applicable AIRs subject to claim conditions.

Self-sealing electronic container seals enable exporter-applied RFID sealing with vendor certification and Customs data integration.
The Self Sealing Procedure allows exporters to affix RFID one time bolt seals at approved factory/warehouse premises, subject to declaration of the seal serial at shipping bill filing and Customs oversight for tampering. Seals must conform to ISO 17712:2013 (H) and ISO/IEC 18000 6 Class 1 Gen 2; vendors must submit manufacturer certifications, support reader scanners at ports/ICDs, transmit prescribed transaction data to RMD and integrate with Customs systems, and ensure seal TID linkage to exporter IEC. Mandatory implementation was deferred to permit vendor and reader readiness.

Form DPT-3 availability: new e form to be deployed after November; existing e form permitted until rollout.
The amendment substitutes the existing Form DPT-3 with a new Form DPT-3 as the operative filing format. The Ministry clarifies that the new Form DPT-3 will be made available for e filing after the month of November, 2017, and until the new e form is deployed stakeholders may continue to use the existing e form for filings.

Extension of time for Form GST TRAN-1 submission granted; new filing deadline set by state tax authority.
The Commissioner of State Taxes, Nagaland, exercising powers under the Nagaland Goods and Services Tax Rules and the Nagaland GST Act on the Council's recommendation, extended the period for submitting the declaration in Form GST TRAN-1, issuing an administrative order that sets a new filing deadline for TRAN-1 submissions under the relevant rule.

Foreign Portfolio Investor participation in commodity derivatives in IFSC permitted subject to non agricultural, cash settled, foreign currency conditions.
Foreign Portfolio Investors are permitted to participate in commodity derivatives on IFSC stock exchanges only for non agricultural commodity contracts, which must be cash settled on settlement prices determined on overseas exchanges and denominated exclusively in foreign currency; exchanges must amend bye laws, notify members and publish the provisions, with the instruction issued under the regulator's investor protection and market development mandate and effective from the date of issuance.

Office locations under central tax commissionerate updated with interim premises; trade to refer Annexure A for addresses.
Notification specifying the addresses of Division and Range offices under the Central Tax Commissionerate, Patna I and identifying certain premises as Interim Locations where new Division/Range Offices will operate temporarily while suitable permanent premises are being hired; trade and industry are directed to consult Annexure A for precise interim and final office locations.

Self-sealing of export containers allowed under GST with electronic RFID seals and mandatory customs intimations.
Self-sealing of export containers replaces prior supervised factory sealing; prior supervised users and AEOs are automatically eligible. Exporters continuing self-sealing under Bond/LUT/refund must intimate the jurisdictional Superintendent and copy the Deputy/Asst Commissioner (Tech) in the Annexure A format for RMD communication. Changes of approved premises require fresh permission per Circular 26/2017. Each self-sealing event must be intimated in Annexure B. Exporters must affix a tamper proof electronic (RFID) seal with a unique number declared in the Shipping Bill and preload specified exporter and shipment data into the seal before sealing.