Prevention of Unauthorised Trading: implementation deferred with exchanges required to notify brokers, amend bye laws and report compliance.
SEBI postpones the effective date of its guidelines on prevention of unauthorised trading to April 01, 2018 and disallows further extensions. Stock exchanges must notify brokers, publish the circular, amend relevant bye laws, rules and regulations in coordination to ensure uniform implementation, and report implementation status in Monthly Development Reports to SEBI. The measure is issued under SEBI's powers to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Advance ruling applications: manual filing allowed with mandatory online fee payment and prescribed form and signing rules.
Manual filing of Advance Ruling applications and appeals is permitted where portal forms are unavailable under rule 107A; advance ruling applications must be filed in quadruplicate in FORM GST ARA-01, state the question sought, and be accompanied by an online fee paid via a temporary portal user ID and printed challan. Appeals use FORM GST ARA-02 (applicants) or FORM GST ARA-03 (officers, no fee) in quadruplicate; signatures and authorised signatories are specified by taxpayer category, all documents must be self-attested, and filings go to the jurisdictional State Authority or State Appellate Authority.

Inverted duty structure refunds must be filed manually and processed with undertakings until the portal module is available.
Manual processing is required for refunds arising from inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances until the portal refund module is available. Claims must be filed in FORM GST RFD-01A (with Statements 1/1A for inverted duty and Statement 5B for deemed exports), accompanied by prescribed documentary evidence and undertakings; refunds may be provisionally sanctioned subject to repayment undertakings. Central and State authorities shall nominate nodal officers to coordinate sanction and payment and rejected amounts shall be re-credited to the electronic credit ledger until portal functionality is restored.

Maintenance of books of accounts may be centralised at the principal place with intimation, ITC allowed subject to conditions.
Warehouses storing goods for auction must be declared as additional places of business; principals, auctioneers and buyers storing goods there must disclose them. Although section 35(1) requires maintenance of books at each place, books relating to additional places may be maintained at the principal place of business if difficulties arise, provided the principal or auctioneer notifies the jurisdictional proper officer in writing. Input tax credit remains subject to other statutory conditions. The clarification applies where auctioneers claim input tax credit for supplies from the principal before auction and goods are supplied only through auction.

GST treatment of artists' supply clarified: invoice on actual sale; inter state transfers taxed under integrated tax; gallery consignments not supply.
Artists may transport artworks for exhibition or on approval on a delivery challan (and e way bill where applicable) and issue the tax invoice at the time of actual supply. Movements from one State to another are inter State supplies attracting integrated tax. Consignments to galleries where no consideration passes from the gallery are not supplies; GST is payable only when the buyer selects and purchases the artwork.

Manual processing of refund claims for zero-rated supplies ensures offline filing, verification and disbursement until portal functionality resumes.
Manual processing of refund claims for zero-rated supplies is required until the common portal refund module is available: exporters may claim refund of IGST paid by shipping bill deemed as application, while suppliers claiming refund of unutilized input tax credit or refunds for supplies to SEZs must submit FORM GST RFD-01A (printout) with supporting documents to the jurisdictional proper officer and, where ITC refunds are claimed, provide the portal-generated proof of debit (ARN). The circular prescribes manual issuance and recording of acknowledgements, deficiency memos, provisional and final orders using prescribed forms and statutory timelines.

IGST refund: exporters eligible under Rule 96 may seek Helpdesk assistance to resolve system-related refund processing errors.
Exporters who paid IGST on exports are eligible for refund once EGMs are filed correctly; many claims are pending due to integration and PFMS errors. The Commissionerate introduced EDI modules to produce shipping bill/IEC status reports, upload pending statuses to its website, and generate successful scrolls. A Helpdesk at Customs House is established to assist trade in resolving errors preventing sanction of IGST refunds and lists the venue, officers, and technical support for reporting difficulties.

Sale of seized gold authorised at additional authorised banking and public sector centres under existing disposal conditions.
Guidelines authorize the sale of seized/confiscated gold at additional authorised centres including all centres of State Bank of India, approved Public Sector Banks, and specified government trading entities that hold internal authorisation, subject to continued compliance with the procedural conditions set out in the Ministry's earlier letter and the Board's circular; Custom Houses are directed to urgently implement these disposal arrangements.

Deemed export treatment for DTA supplies to EOUs enables refund claims by supplier or recipient under GST.
Supplies from DTA suppliers to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units are treated as deemed exports, with refund of tax payable claimable by either supplier or recipient. The recipient must give prior intimation in Form A to the supplier and jurisdictional GST officers; the supplier issues a tax invoice which the recipient endorses and furnishes to the supplier and both jurisdictional officers. The endorsed invoice is proof of deemed export supply. Recipients must keep digital records per Form B with an audit trail and provide a monthly digital copy to the jurisdictional GST officer by the 10th.

Electronic filing requirement for unaccompanied baggage exports: shipping bills must be submitted in EDI with prescribed procedural checks.
All exports of unaccompanied baggage from ICD TKD must be filed electronically in the Customs EDI system; manual shipping bills are discontinued except with prior Commissioner approval. Passengers must use the designated IEC code and the baggage export scheme code. Assessing and examining officers will apply the same checks as for other goods. Passengers may self submit or engage a CHA, provide prescribed documents, have the superintendent verify and sign the Baggage Declaration, and use the EDI Service Centre to enter details and obtain checklists. Sampling physical examination applies, with full examination if discrepancies are found or on RMS instruction.

AEO programme digitization enables online filing and processing of AEO T1 applications and extends review intervals.
Establishes an online platform (aeoindia.gov.in) for filing and digital processing of AEO-T1 applications per Circular 51/2018-Cus, directs immediate use of the web-based application by applicants and Customs officials, and provides the AEO Cell email for reporting difficulties; it also extends the interval for reviews and onsite PCA of AEO-T1 certified entities from two years to three years.

Manual processing of GST refund claims for inverted duty, deemed exports and electronic cash ledger balances now permitted with undertakings.
Manual processing of refund claims for inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances is permitted until the common portal refund module is available. Claims must be filed in FORM GST RFD-01A per tax period (or quarterly where outward supplies are filed quarterly) after filing corresponding outward returns and a valid GSTR-3B for the preceding period. Provisional sanctions may be granted subject to a manual undertaking to repay refunded amounts with interest if statutory compliance for input tax credit is not met. Specified statements and documentary undertakings accompany inverted-duty and deemed export refunds, and nodal officer coordination between Central and State tax authorities is required for sanction and payment.

Composition scheme eligibility clarified: exempt interest or discount services excluded from aggregate turnover and do not bar suppliers.
Suppliers who provide goods/services under paragraph 6(b) of Schedule II and also supply exempt services, including interest or discount on deposits, loans or advances, shall not be ineligible for the composition scheme if they meet other conditions; and the value of such exempt services shall be excluded from aggregate turnover when determining composition eligibility.

SGST refund disbursal procedures require nodal officers, treasury transmission, and communication between state and central authorities.
Disbursal of SGST refunds follows a prescribed administrative workflow: state authorities disburse SGST while central authorities disburse central tax components; district Deputy Commissioners act as nodal officers to record central sanction orders in SGST - REFUND REGISTER-1, present originals and Payment Advice to the treasury within five working days, intimate heads of account, secure fund allocation in BIMS, and ensure transfer to the taxpayer's bank account. State-sanctioned refunds require prescribed approvals, DDO submission to treasury, forwarding of documents to central jurisdiction for central components, and maintenance of SGST - REFUND REGISTER-2, with monthly case-wise reporting by Deputy Commissioners.

Zero-rated supply refund claims require manual FORM RFD-01A filing, portal computation, and submission to the jurisdictional officer.
Refunds for zero-rated supplies, inverted duty credit, deemed exports and electronic ledger balances shall be claimed by filing FORM GST RFD-01A on the GST portal and submitting the printed ARN receipt and prescribed annexures to the jurisdictional proper officer; Table 3A must be populated using figures from FORM GSTR-3B and the rule 89(4) formula, the portal will auto-calculate eligible refund across tax heads, required statements and documentary evidence must be attached, acknowledgements or deficiency memos are to be issued within 15 days, and admissible refunds will be disbursed to the registered or amended bank account while wrongly claimed amounts are recoverable with interest and possible prosecution.

Third party information adjustments require taxpayer electronic response or automatic adjustment under section 143(1)(a)(vi), via e filing dashboard, promptly.
Section 143(1)(a)(vi) permits adjustment of returned income where third party information (Form 26AS, Form 16A, Form 16) appears omitted. An initial awareness email/SMS will seek an electronic response via the e filing dashboard; failure to respond or unsatisfactory response will lead to a formal intimation and, if still unanswered within the statutory period, automatic adjustment. Responses must be: filing a revised return if fully agreed; filing a revised return plus a reconciliation statement if partially agreed; or filing a reconciliation statement if disputed. CPC ITR will then process returns under section 143(1) read with the specified provision and CBDT instructions.

Indian Customs EDI (ICES 1.5) launched at APM Terminals ICD Pune enabling mandatory electronic import/export processing.
Launch of ICES 1.5 at M/s APM Terminals ICD Pune establishes electronic processing for imports/exports: the ICD is notified for cargo handling, APM Terminals is appointed Custodian and CCSP and must display/collect prescribed charges. Mandatory EDI filing via ICES/ICEGATE with registrations (IE Code, brokers, shipping lines, DGFT licenses), digital signatures, prescribed code usages, and centralized Bond Management are required. Automated workflows cover self assessment on B/E generation, appraisal, RMS facilitation, examinations, duty payment (including e payment), license/TRA debits and bond linkage for conditional exemptions and provisional assessments.

Finished leather classification and CLRI testing determine export licensing and duty applicability; appeal available within thirty days.
The reply confirms prior provision of item-wise shipping bill numbers and states that items listed under the DGFT public notice constitute finished leather exportable without licence; new types require CLRI testing and certification. To prevent misclassification, consignments are sampled with CLRI, tested, and LEO issued only after NOC from CLRI or a leather expert, which negates applicability of the claimed duty. An administrative appeal may be filed within 30 days.

Manual filing for advance ruling applications permitted; online fee deposit and prescribed signature and filing procedures required.
Manual filing is permitted where portal forms are unavailable: advance ruling applications must be filed in quadruplicate in FORM GST ARA-01, state the question, be accompanied by an online fee paid using a temporary portal ID generated via OTP and filed with the printed challan. Appeals use FORM GST ARA-02 (applicants) or FORM GST ARA-03 (officer appeals; no fee), follow the same signature and attestation rules, and must be filed at the jurisdictional State Authority or State Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling.

Refund of unutilized input tax credit: manufacturers exporting fabrics eligible for refunds excluding capital goods credit.
Section 54(3) allows refund of unutilized input tax credit for zero rated supplies or where input tax exceeds output tax, but a notification under the proviso restricts refunds for certain specified goods. That restriction does not apply to zero rated supplies, so, subject to section 54(10), manufacturers exporting the specified fabrics may claim refund of unutilized input tax credit on inputs used in manufacture, excluding input tax credit on capital goods.