GST trader verification instructions require geo-tagged surveys, turnover-based checks, and REG-30 compliance for new and migrated registrants.
Instructions were issued for the survey and verification of newly registered and migrated GST traders through employee-led checks, handheld devices, and mobile-app-based photography with geo-location capture. Traders not operating at the declared address, traders who migrated to GST and later cancelled registration, traders who did not migrate, and cancelled service tax registrants found carrying on business were all to be identified and checked under prescribed turnover thresholds and timelines. Newly registered e-way bill users and low-tax traders were also assigned for verification in REG-30 format under GST rules.

GST refund processing requires manual applications, prescribed undertakings, inter-authority payment coordination, and bars credit refunds where drawback is availed.
Manual GST refund processing applies to accumulated input tax credit from inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances until the portal module is available. Applications in FORM GST RFD-01A require prescribed periodic returns, supporting statements and, where applicable, undertakings. Deemed-export claims may be made by the supplier or recipient subject to reciprocal non-claim undertakings. Rejected debits are re-credited to the electronic credit ledger, while Central and State tax authorities coordinate payment of their respective sanctioned components. Accumulated input tax credit refund is unavailable where GST drawback has been availed.

Schemes of Arrangement: revised filing, independent valuation, public shareholding safeguards and mandatory lock-in and listing timelines.
Amendments require draft schemes for wholly owned subsidiary mergers to be filed with stock exchanges for disclosure; mandate that valuation reports and fairness opinions be supplied by an Independent Chartered Accountant and an Independent SEBI-registered Merchant Banker absent material conflicts; impose a minimum public-holding safeguard in the post-scheme shareholding on a fully diluted basis; prescribe staged lock-in of pre-scheme share capital for unlisted issuers seeking listing with limited exceptions and permitted pledges or inter-se promoter transfers; and require completion of listing and commencement of trading within a specified period after the court order with prior newspaper disclosures.

SION modification: import quantity requirement increased for raw sesame seeds against hulled sesame seeds export.
Modification of SION K 36 revises the input requirement for Hulled Sesame Seeds: the prescribed input quantity of Raw Sesame Seeds at S. No. 1 is amended to a higher quantity per unit of export. The change is notified under Paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 and updates the Handbook of Procedure Vol. II SION entry for the specified export item.

Revised process requires mandatory preliminary Customs feasibility assessment before online IMC submission for ICD/CFS/AFS projects.
Developers must obtain a mandatory preliminary feasibility assessment from the jurisdictional Customs Commissioner-completed within one month-covering land availability and title, land use permissions, promoter antecedents and project viability, before submitting applications online to the IMC; CBEC will forward Commissionerate views and the IMC will consider proposals via the new electronic module.

Customs authorization for drugs consignments allows a designated CDSCO Drugs Inspector to clear import and export entries at the port.
Authorization is granted for a designated CDSCO Drugs Inspector to process and clear import Bills of Entry and export Shipping Bills for drugs and pharmaceuticals under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and rules at Krishnapatnam Port, Nellore, and stakeholders are directed to utilize the inspector's services and report any implementation difficulties to the customs office.

Payments in Indian rupees allowed at duty free shops via INR cards; arrival payments limited, departure payments unrestricted.
Payments by passengers at Duty Free Shops may be made directly in Indian rupees through INR credit or debit cards without conversion of foreign exchange and without conversion charges; DFS must display all prices in Indian rupees only. The pre existing cash ceiling in Indian currency remains applicable; INR card payments in the arrival hall are subject to the incoming passenger Indian currency ceiling, while INR card payments in the departure hall are permitted without limit for outgoing passengers. If a passenger opts to pay in foreign currency, the DFS shall apply the exchange rate notified under Section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Delegation of Powers: authorises officers not below Deputy Assistant Commissioner to exercise assessment and penalty powers under the GST Act.
The Chief Commissioner, invoking sub section (3) of Section 5 of the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, delegates to all officers not below the rank of Deputy Assistant Commissioner of State Tax in the Divisions and in the Enforcement Wing the power to exercise the powers contained in sub section (12) of Section 67 and sub section (1) of Section 122 of the Andhra Pradesh GST Act; these orders take effect immediately.

Deemed export supplies: prior intimation, endorsed tax invoices and digital records enable tax refund claims by supplier or recipient.
Supplies by registered persons to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units are treated as deemed exports under Section 147 of the APGST Act, 2017, with refund of tax paid claimable by either supplier or recipient. The recipient must give prior intimation in Form A to the supplier and relevant jurisdictional Assistant Commissioners; the supplier issues a tax invoice which the recipient endorses and forwards as proof. Recipient units must maintain mandatory digital records per Form B with an audit trail and submit a monthly digital copy to the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner by the tenth day of the following month.

SEZ default authorised services reiterated, maintaining IGST-exempt list for unit approval committees' permitted services under circular
A uniform default list of 66 authorised services is to be followed in SEZs and permitted by all Unit Approval Committees as default authorised operations. The Board of Approval, after noting that some States were not extending IGST exemption post GST implementation, approved reiteration of the previously approved list; the Annexure sets out the specific services to be treated as default authorised services for SEZ units.

Eligibility for Letter of Undertaking expanded to suppliers meeting foreign remittance criteria permitting LUT in place of bond for exports.
Clarification sets out that a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for zero rating exports is available to any registered person meeting specified foreign inward remittance thresholds or to status holders regardless of thresholds; LUTs/bonds must be accepted within three working days, supplies to EOUs and merchant exporter purchases are taxable unless exported by the actual exporter under LUT or IGST payment, bank guarantees may be limited or waived on grounds such as export promotion council registration or aggregation of remittances across state registrations, and self declarations and submitted proof are to be accepted unless contrary evidence exists.

Deemed export treatment for supplies to EOUs allows refund claims by supplier or recipient under prescribed procedures.
Supplies to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units are treated as deemed exports permitting refund claims by supplier or recipient; recipients must give prior intimation in Form A to supplier and both jurisdictional Assistant Commissioners, suppliers issue tax invoices which recipients endorse and circulate as proof, and recipients must maintain Form B based digital records with an audit trail and submit monthly digital transaction copies to the jurisdictional Assistant Commissioner by the tenth of the following month.

GST return reconciliation: system matches GSTR-1/2 to GSTR-3B, requiring additional ledger debits or ITC credits as needed.
System-based reconciliation requires suppliers to file FORM GSTR-1 and recipients to finalise FORM GSTR-2 using auto-populated FORM GSTR-2A; the portal auto-drafts FORM GSTR-3 and computes revised tax payable in Table 12. Where reconciled tax payable exceeds payments shown in FORM GSTR-3B, additional tax must be paid by debiting the electronic cash or credit ledger with interest under section 49; excess eligible ITC in FORM GSTR-2 is credited to the electronic credit ledger upon submission of FORM GSTR-3 and may be applied to increased tax liabilities.

GST data analysis cells to monitor ITC claims, detect bogus transactions, and record enforcement actions online.
Instructions require each zone to constitute a Data Analysis Cell under the Zonal Additional Commissioner for systematic analysis of GST data relating to online registration, migration, GSTR-3B and other returns, and departmental e-way bill information. The cell is to identify possible tax evasion, incorrect ITC claims, and bogus transactions, and submit reports for further zonal consideration. The instructions also require soft copy reporting by e-mail and online recording of innovative enforcement actions through the departmental portal using specified modules.

Adverse tax audit reports trigger verification of assessment orders, reporting to higher authority, and compliance-driven administrative review.
Instructions were issued for action on adverse tax audit reports. The Joint Commissioner (Tax Audit) must verify whether turnover and tax in the assessment order match the facts in the audit report. If they match, the order is to be placed on the audit file. If they do not match, a clear factual report must be sent to the Zonal Additional Commissioner, who will examine the matter, direct lawful action, and consider administrative action against the officer. Year-wise information in the prescribed format was also required.

GST return filing: calendar, periodicity rules, reduced late fees, edit-before-offset requirement and staged correction mechanisms.
The circular clarifies GST return filing periodicity and due dates for FORM GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and composition returns, confirms self-assessment of aggregate turnover to determine quarterly GSTR-1 eligibility up to Rs. 1.5 Crore, fixes reduced late fees for October onward, keeps system reconciliation with GSTR-2/GSTR-3 in abeyance pending notification, prohibits negative historic entries in GSTR-3B, allows editing of GSTR-3B only before offsetting liabilities, and provides staged operational remedies (edit facility, cash challan FORM GST PMT-06, subsequent adjustments or refunds, and reversal/payment with interest) for common filing errors.

Minimum Import Price requirement imposed on pepper imports, mandating CIF-based compliance and updated import policy adherence.
Imports of pepper under EXIM Code groups 0904 11 and 0904 12.00 are subject to a CIF-based Minimum Import Price (MIP) per kilogram as mandated by the amending Notification; consignments below that CIF threshold do not meet the revised free import policy condition. The Public Notice directs application of the amendment as a standing order and provides an administrative contact for difficulties.

Minimum Export Price requirement for onion exports now mandates Letter of Credit and MEP compliance until notified otherwise.
Export of all varieties of onions is permitted only against a Letter of Credit and subject to a Minimum Export Price (MEP); this requirement must be applied at export clearance and treated as a standing order for officers and staff until the notification is superseded.

Passbook scheme for testing charges reduces dwell time and streamlines prepayment and clearance processes for traders.
Notification to importers, exporters and other stakeholders describes a Passbook Scheme enabling registered clients to prepay testing charges with the testing agency; advance balances are adjusted against monthly test fees to reduce payment-related delays in obtaining test reports and to lower dwell time and transaction costs. Stakeholders are advised to use the facility and to report any difficulties to the Appraising Main (Import) office via the provided contact details.

Division of Taxpayer Base allocates migrated taxpayers between central and UT tax offices under annexure-based lists.
Division of Taxpayer Base allocates taxpayers who migrated to GST between the Central Tax Office and UT Tax Office for Daman, Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli by distinguishing cohorts on a turnover threshold and listing assessees in referenced annexures; trade associations are requested to inform members for implementation by the Central GST Commissionerate, Daman.