Electronic sealing requirement extended; RFID mandatory for movement of goods under warehousing bond, trade instructed to comply.
Electronic sealing for cargo movement under Customs warehousing bonds is mandated with RFID-based seals required for deposit into and removal of goods from Customs bonded warehouses; the notice encloses the Board's extension circular and directs stakeholders to comply and report any implementation difficulties to the issuing office.

Designation of Additional and Deputy/Assistant Commissioners as CPIOs and First Appellate Authorities; appeals to the First Appellate Authority under RTI.
Additional and Deputy/Assistant Commissioners of Customs, Airport & Administration Commissionerate, Kolkata are designated as Central Public Information Officers (CPIOs) and First Appellate Authorities under the Right to Information Act, 2005, with specified charges and jurisdictional assignments set out in an annexed table; persons aggrieved by a CPIO decision may appeal to the First Appellate Authority within the Commissioner's jurisdiction.

Tax audit software-based dealer selection and ITC verification drive assessment-year compliance under Uttar Pradesh VAT procedures.
Selection of dealers for tax audit for assessment year 2016-17 is to be made through software on the basis of prescribed risk parameters under the Uttar Pradesh Value Added Tax Act, 2008 and the VAT Rules. Tax audit proceedings are to be undertaken by the Joint Commissioner and related officers through the online MIS and Tax Audit module, with certain categories excluded from audit processing. Verification of input tax credit and other checks are to be conducted by the Tax Audit Officer himself, while the Zonal Additional Commissioner must ensure compliance and review reports, monthly statements, and assessment orders in accordance with the Tax Audit Manual.

Pre-inspection certificate requirement for metallic scrap: exemption for safe-country consignments via designated ports, subject to safety checks.
Import consignments of metallic waste and scrap generally require a pre-inspection certificate (PSIC) from the country of origin. Exemption applies for consignments from specified safe countries/regions when cleared through six designated ports, provided they carry supplier certification of no radioactive materials or explosives and are subject to radiation and explosive checks; transshipments via those countries are excluded and imports through other ports remain PSIC bound.

GST Council meeting: MSME committee referrals, digital payment cashback pilot, return timelines and Fitment/Law committee mandates.
The GST Council on 4 August 2018 amended the 28th meeting minutes, retained the original second proviso to Section 16(2), limited one annual switch between monthly and quarterly returns in the new return system, authorised a Group of Ministers on MSME with the Fitment, Law and IT Committees to examine MSME issues and report within two months, approved a pilot cashback incentive for B2C digital payments via specified instruments with automated refunding and state/centre pooling, and extended the existing GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B filing regime until March 2019 while deferring GSTR 2 and GSTR 3.

Discontinuation of Sub-Broker registration: existing sub brokers must migrate to Authorized Person or Trading Member by deadline.
SEBI discontinues the category of Sub-Broker as a SEBI-registered intermediary, stops fresh registrations, and requires registered Sub-Brokers to migrate to act as an Authorized Person or become a Trading Member by the prescribed deadline; failure to migrate will be treated as deemed surrender and registration will be withdrawn. Exchanges must facilitate migration/registration, amend bye-laws, refund renewal fees paid beyond the specified year on recommendation, publicise the changes, monitor compliance and report implementation to SEBI.

Prior approval requirement clarified: approval must precede departmental recognition of SEZ name or shareholding changes.
Clarification states that prior approval for shareholding or name changes of SEZ developers and units means approval must be obtained before the SEZ entity or unit is recognised under the new name or arrangement in departmental records, and does not mean approval must be taken before initiating corporate filings or tribunal proceedings; Zonal Development Commissioners should examine and act on cases of misinterpretation.

Specification of Proper Officers under GST empowers specified commissioners to call for and examine adjudication records.
The order amends Schedule A to specify that the power to call for and examine the record of any proceeding in which an adjudicating authority has passed an order is vested in the Additional Commissioner, Joint Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner, clarifying allocation of that administrative function under the Gujarat GST framework.

Search and seizure monitoring through SMS module requires step-by-step entries, verification, and timely case profiling under GST procedures.
A departmental SIB Management System (SMS) link is introduced for phased online monitoring of search and seizure proceedings under Section 67 of the Uttar Pradesh GST Act, 2017 and subsequent actions under the Act. The module requires step-by-step entries for case profile, search warrant, search details, provisional release, seizure-related proceedings, investigation report, determination of tax and penalty, appeal status, and recovery. It also prescribes blank entries where information is unavailable, verification of submitted entries, upload of investigation reports, and month-wise timelines for completing pending search-case data entries.

Ambulance service exemption under GST: patient transport to government exempt when pure service or limited goods component applies.
Ambulance transport of patients is exempt under GST as healthcare/ambulance services under the carried-forward exemption entry. Private providers supplying ambulance transport to government entities under functions entrusted to Panchayats or Municipalities are exempt when the supply is a pure service; if a composite supply, the exemption applies only where the goods component does not exceed the prescribed threshold for composite supplies provided to government.

GST rate clarification withdrawn; related circulars incorporated into notification, with implementation difficulties to be reported to authorities.
The circular and order providing GST clarifications on catering services in educational institutes and on food and drink supplied by Indian Railways have been incorporated into the amended rate notification and are withdrawn with effect from the notification's effective date; implementation should follow the amended notification and any difficulties reported to the tax authority.

Migration window for GST registration facilitates completion of pending migrations and prescribes stepwise SOP for taxpayers to obtain new GSTIN.
Taxpayers who filed Part A of FORM GST REG-26 but not Part B may seek migration by submitting Annexure A details to their jurisdictional head, who forwards them to GSTN. GSTN will notify taxpayers to file a NEW REGISTRATION (REG-01); after approval and issuance of a new GSTIN and access code, taxpayers must not activate it but must send new GSTIN, access token, ARN and old Provisional ID to [email protected]. GSTN will map the new and old GSTINs and then instruct the taxpayer to perform first-time login using the old Provisional ID and access code.

Priority assessment and examination for AEO and DPD clients via online module with specified timelines and escalation.
Grants priority assessment and priority examination to eligible AEO and DPD importers/exporters via an online DPD JNCH module; users submit IEC, Bill/Shipping Bill details, assessment group and DPD/CFS information which triggers an SMS to the responsible Assistant/Deputy Commissioner. Assessments must be completed within two hours and examinations within six hours of SMS receipt during 10:00-17:00 on working days. AC/DCs must issue directions, maintain records, and escalate failures to ADC/JC and then Commissioner; the facility is limited to entitled clients.

Unique DPD code requirement mandates terminal-wide registration and shared code use to enable seamless DPD facility access.
JNPCT shall allot a canonical Unique DPD Code for DPD importers which all other terminals (GTI, NSICT, NSIGT, BMCT) must accept and use for extending DPD facilities and opening PD accounts. JNPCT and other terminals must share existing and new DPD codes and prevent duplication when allotting codes. DPD importers registered at only one terminal must register with all terminals and complete requirements online; difficulties may be raised with the Additional Commissioner in charge of the DPD Cell via the designated email.

Interception of conveyances: clarifies detention, release and confiscation limited to consignments with GST violations and permits hard-copy notices as proof.
Amendments clarify that the circular's "three working days" is replaced by "three days" and FORM GST MOV-05 must state the date and time of release. Physical verification carried out once during transit precludes further checks elsewhere unless new information of tax evasion emerges. Hard-copy notices/orders in the specified forms may be relied on as proof of initiation when portal forms are unavailable. Detention or confiscation is permissible only for goods or conveyances in respect of which a GST Act or rules violation is established; enforcement may be confined to specific consignments lacking valid documentation.

Empowerment under Section 130: Deputy Assistant Commissioners may exercise specified powers with required territorial authorisation.
Officers not below the cadre of Deputy Assistant Commissioner of State Tax are authorized to exercise the powers conferred by Section 130 of the APGST Act; to act outside their territorial jurisdiction they must obtain specific orders from the jurisdictional Joint Commissioner of State Tax, and CGST office enforcement officers must obtain orders from the Commissioner or Additional Commissioner of State Tax concerned; these instructions are effective immediately.

Services jurisdiction expanded: SEPC authorised to cover an added "Others" category and issue RCMC under trade policy.
The Public Notice inserts a list of service sectors into Appendix 2T of the Foreign Trade Policy, designating SEPC as the Export Promotion Council for those sectors, including an added "Others" Category. The notice provides that the added "Others" Category permits SEPC to issue Registration Cum Membership Certificates (RCMC) for services within its jurisdiction, effective immediately under the Policy's enabling provisions.

Import of second hand capital goods permitted under SHIS after withdrawal of prior restriction guidance
Import eligibility under the Status Holders Incentive Scrip (SHIS) scheme is clarified to permit import of second hand capital goods because the FTP/HBP do not specifically bar such imports; an earlier restrictive clarification limiting SHIS to new capital goods has been withdrawn and stakeholders are invited to report any operational difficulties.

GST on extra neutral alcohol: suppliers must register and charge GST on ENA supplied for liquor manufacture.
GST applies to supplies of Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) used in the manufacture of alcoholic liquor for human consumption because ENA is not fit for direct human consumption; suppliers of ENA must register under GST and levy GST on such supplies, which are classified as taxable under Schedule III and subject to the standard rate specified in the GST notifications.

Sea Cargo Manifest Regulations: commencement deferred and shipping stakeholders must adjust compliance and implementation timelines.
The Public Notice communicates that the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 were initially notified to commence on 1 August 2018 but the Board has issued an amendment deferring the commencement; the Regulations shall now come into force on 1 November 2018, and steamer agents, importers, customs brokers and consolidators are notified to adjust implementation and compliance timelines in accordance with the Board's amendment.