Online registration requirement: eligible units must use ACES GST portal for filing and processing budgetary support claims.
Mandatory online registration on the ACES GST portal is required to obtain a unique ID for filing, processing, sanction and payment of quarterly budgetary support claims for eligible units in Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and the North East including Sikkim; jurisdictional Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners of Central Tax shall approve online registrations based on earlier manual approvals without further verification, and claims from the quarter ending September 2018 onwards must be filed and processed online while PFMS integration for electronic disbursement is being implemented.

Special registration procedure for GST applicants with only provisional IDs requires nodal officers to coordinate completion of registrations.
A special registration procedure implements Notification No. 31/2018-Central Tax to enable taxpayers who received only a Provisional Identification Number after not filing complete FORM GST REG-26 to complete registration. Jurisdictional Deputy and Assistant Commissioners are nominated as nodal officers to coordinate implementation; difficulties are to be reported to the Commissioner and trade associations asked to publicize the notice.

Special registration procedure requires taxpayers with provisional IDs to submit specified details to the nodal officer for regularization.
Taxpayers who obtained only a Provisional Identification Number by failing to complete FORM GST REG-26 must furnish the particulars specified in the Notification's table to the jurisdictional Nodal Officer to regularize registration; the Delhi South Commissionerate has designated a Nodal Officer to receive such registration/migration grievances and the Trade Notice supplies the officer's contact details for lodging those submissions.

Recovery of Government Dues: Deputy/Assistant Commissioner designated as Authorized Officer to enforce attachment rules for recovery actions.
The Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of the Headquarters Tax Recovery Cell, Kolkata South CGST & CX Commissionerate, is designated as the Authorized Officer to make recovery of Government dues pursuant to the statutory recovery and attachment framework and the Customs Attachment of Property of Defaulters for Recovery of Government Dues Rules, 1995, consistent with referenced CBIC circulars.

Pre-deposit requirement adjusted to include prior pre-deposit, not additional; applies to service tax appeals by directive.
The prior Tribunal circular is rescinded following a judicial order that requires the pre-deposit for a second appeal to include amounts already paid as pre-deposit for the first appeal, so that the second-appeal deposit is not cumulative over the earlier pre-deposit. The court also held that the statutory pre-deposit mechanism applies to service tax appeals, and parties and officers are directed to comply with the deposit mechanism and the rescission of the earlier circular.

Assistance to government counsel in GST writs: ensure departmental briefing and a designated officer to monitor hearings.
Directs field formations to strengthen support for Government counsel defending GST-related writ petitions and PILs by ensuring timely, accurate briefing, continuous case monitoring, and steps to prevent adverse orders; mandates a designated officer (at least Deputy Commissioner level) to track cases, briefing, next hearing dates and follow-up, with regular oversight by the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner/Director General.

Recovery cells for tax arrears enforce attachment and sale under customs rules to expedite recovery and improve compliance.
The circular mandates constituting a Recovery Cell in each Commissionerate, headed by an Authorised Officer, to pursue recoveries requiring attachment and sale of defaulter property. A Dy./Assistant Commissioner must prepare a prescribed certificate of amount due and forward it for direction; the Authorised Officer shall serve a seven-day notice and, if unpaid, effect attachment and sale per the prescribed procedure. Zonal oversight, manpower augmentation, and reporting of recovery in Monthly Performance Reports are required.

Place of Removal principle clarified: manufacturer premises determine excise point of removal; FOR sales and exports excepted.
Determination of place of removal is generally tied to the manufacturer's premises or premises referable to the manufacturer (including depots and consignment agent premises), with each such premises constituting a separate place of removal for pricing/normal value. FOR destination contracts where ownership and risk remain with the seller until delivery form an exception. CENVAT credit for GTA services is restricted to transport up to the place of removal; transport beyond that to buyer premises is not admissible for the relevant period.

Pre-deposit requirement: appellants must make an additional deposit before filing appeals to CESTAT to ensure compliance.
Appellants preferring appeals to the CESTAT against a Commissionerer's (Appeals) order must deposit separately 10% of the duty or penalty confirmed or imposed, over and above the amount already deposited before the Commissioner (Appeals), as the quantum of pre-deposit required to institute the appeal.

UIN on invoices: mandatory recording; failure may invite action but conditional one-time waiver permitted with attested invoice copies.
Because the system-generated FORM GSTR-11 lacks invoice-level details, UIN agencies must submit a manual invoice-wise statement with FORM RFD-10; officers should avoid requesting original invoices. Recording the UIN on invoices is mandatory under rule 46 and non-compliance may attract action. A one-time waiver is allowed for past quarters where UINs were omitted provided attested invoice copies are submitted to jurisdictional officers, and refunds must meet the conditions of applicable GST rate and related notifications.

Settlement Commission: non-adversarial mechanism requiring full and true disclosure for expedited resolution of tax disputes.
The Central Government has constituted the Customs and Central Excise Settlement Commission to settle cases under Chapter V of the Central Excise Act and Chapter XIVA of the Customs Act, with applicability to Service Tax. The Commission provides a non-adversarial settlement mechanism focused on conciliation to avoid protracted litigation. Any assessee may apply in the prescribed manner making Full & True disclosure of undisclosed duty or tax liabilities, how they arose, particulars of goods or services involved, and the additional amount admitted as payable.

Proportionate release of securities for provisional mega power projects allowed per proportional mega power certificate, subject to departmental implementation.
Authorisation for proportional release of Fixed Deposit Receipts or Bank Guarantees held as security for provisional mega power projects where a Mega Power Certificate (Proportional) has been issued by the Joint Secretary, Ministry of Power; jurisdictional Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners of Central Excise are directed to release such securities in proportion to the certificate and field formations must take action to implement this directive.

Road and infrastructure cess on petrol and diesel introduced, with notifications modifying excise duty and temporary exemptions.
A Road and Infrastructure Cess on petrol and diesel was imposed in Budget 2018-19 and made immediately effective by provisional collection. Central Excise notifications rescind prior exemptions, reduce certain basic excise rates, incorporate the new cess into the appropriate duty for ethanol blended petrol and bio diesel, and provide temporary exemptions pending enactment. Amendments clarify that exemptions do not apply to goods manufactured on or before 01.02.2018 and cleared on or after 02.02.2018; targeted 50% relief for specified North East refinery clearances and exemptions for ethanol blends and bio diesel are addressed.

Control of Documents under Service Quality Manual designates process owners and enforces time bound service standards for SEVOTTAM implementation.
Designation of officers implements Control of Documents under the Service Quality Manual to operationalise SEVOTTAM in the Central Excise & Service Tax Commissionerate, Patna and its divisions. Named Process Owners are assigned responsibility for document control and for specific time bound services including acknowledgement of communications, decisions on declarations and assessments, refund disposal, registration, release of seized documents not relied upon in show cause notices, and export consignment clearance. Citizens must submit communications at a Centralized Receipt Section to obtain dated acknowledgement.

Finality of High Court orders requires field formations to apply accepted precedents in pending excise and CENVAT cases.
The Department has accepted sixty-three High Court and CESTAT orders that have attained finality (no SLPs filed) and directs field formations to apply these accepted precedents to identical pending excise and CENVAT cases. The Circular is in two parts: Part I lists orders deciding points of law (e.g., invalidation of mandatory penalty rules, entitlement to CENVAT credit despite procedural irregularity, rebate filing rectification, re-insurance as input service), and Part II lists orders decided on facts or monetary limits (e.g., failures to prove clandestine removal, unreliable evidence, pre-deposit adjustments). Field units are urged to decide identical cases expeditiously.

Road and Infrastructure Cess imposed on petrol and diesel; notifications grant temporary exemptions and adjust excise duty incidence on blends and refineries.
Imposition of a Road and Infrastructure Cess on petrol and high speed diesel has immediate provisional effect; accompanying Central Excise notifications rescind earlier exemptions, adjust basic excise duty rates, provide specified exemptions for ethanol-blended petrol and biodiesel, and preserve limited concessions for certain refineries while amending exemption applicability by reference to manufacture and clearance dates.

Customs duty changes and provisional levy: immediate tariff and procedural amendments take effect, altering import duties and processes
Immediate tariff and levy adjustments have been prescribed under notifications to implement Finance Bill, 2018 proposals, many effective from 1/2 February 2018 by declaration under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931. The measures amend Basic Customs Duty chapter wise (increasing, reducing or exempting specified headings), introduce a Social Welfare Surcharge while abolishing Education Cess and SHE cess, impose a Road and Infrastructure Cess on petrol/diesel with offsetting excise adjustments, and propose extensive Customs Act amendments to modernise procedures (Advance Rulings, Customs Automated System, audit, controlled delivery, inward/outward processing, electronic cash ledger, and exchange of information).

Budgetary support under GST for erstwhile area based exempt units enables refundable credit after verification and PFMS disbursal.
The scheme provides refundable budgetary support to units formerly covered by area based excise exemptions in specified hill and northeastern states; eligible units must be GST registered, file quarterly returns with tax paid, register under the scheme and submit supporting documents. Claims are computed from cash ledger debits for central and integrated tax, reduced for inputs from composition dealers, and adjusted where multiple units operate under one GSTIN using certified allocation data. Registration yields a unique ID and vendor validation; sanctioned amounts are paid via PFMS after verification and inspection, with provisional sanction possible if inspection cannot be completed.

Attendance directive for Group A officers requires presence at Customs Day investiture ceremony to ensure official participation.
A departmental circular issues an attendance directive requiring all Group A officers posted in the Board to attend the Customs Day and Investiture Ceremony, communicated as an internal administrative instruction from the Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise & Customs and issued with Board approval.