Refund of unutilised ITC for export of electricity clarified; filing, documentation and calculation procedure prescribed.
Procedure for refund of unutilised Input Tax Credit on export of electricity: file FORM GST RFD-01 under "Any Other" with remark "Export of electricity- without payment of tax (accumulated ITC)", upload Statement 3B (export invoices, energy exported, tariff), the Regional Energy Account statement of scheduled energy from RPC Secretariat, agreements, and Statement-3A calculation. Relevant date is month-end per REA. Export turnover equals scheduled energy (REA) times contracted tariff; use the lower of REA and invoice quantities. Compute refund per Rule 89(4) formula, exclude domestic electricity from adjusted turnover, verify no ITC on domestic supply, and obtain electronic debit proof before issuing refund orders.

Withdrawal of circular on airport retail refund following retrospective omission of the refund rule; state tax commissioner rescinds prior guidance.
The State Tax Commissioner withdraws ab initio the earlier circular that clarified refunds for airport retail supplies because the operative refund rule was omitted retrospectively; the withdrawal is issued under Section 168 of the Uttar Pradesh GST Act and officers are directed to publicize the change by issuing trade notices.

Re-credit in electronic credit ledger after deposit of erroneous refund; officer to re-credit via FORM PMT 03A following verification.
Mechanism for re-crediting electronic credit ledger where taxpayers deposit erroneously sanctioned refunds: upon deposit of the erroneous refund with applicable interest and penalty through FORM GST DRC-03 (debited from electronic cash ledger) and submission of a written request in Annexure-A, the jurisdictional proper officer, after verification, shall re-credit an equivalent amount to the electronic credit ledger by order in FORM GST PMT-03A. Eligible refund categories include IGST refunds obtained in contravention, unutilised ITC on exports without payment, zero-rated supplies to SEZ without payment, and inverted duty structure refunds.

Advance Authorization conditions for wheat flour exports require pre-import wheat sourcing and prohibit domestic procurement and third party exports.
New Standard Input Output Norm (SION) permits export of whole wheat flour (atta) under Advance Authorization only with a pre-import condition for wheat and prohibits domestic procurement; AAs are limited to flour millers or exporters tied to millers, require Customs confirmation of Bills of Entry, mandate EDI port movement, impose a fixed export obligation period from consignment clearance with no extensions, enforce actual user restrictions and ban transfer or third party exports, and prescribe a penalty multiple of the CIF value for shortfall in export obligation.

Modification in Standard Input Output Norms updates permitted input fabric description for waist coats in textile SION.
Modification in Standard Input Output Norms (SION) J-222 changes the import input for the export item "Waist Coat" from "Nylon Fabric with polyester wadding (quilted)" to "Relevant Woven Fabric," keeping the input quantity at 1.16 sq. mtr; the amendment takes effect immediately under the Handbook of Procedures.

Refund of Unutilised Input Tax Credit: amended calculation and specified restrictions apply prospectively to later-filed applications.
Clarifies that the amended formula for refund of unutilised input tax credit under sub rule (5) of rule 89 (Notification No. 14/2022) is prospective and applies only to refund applications filed on or after its effective date, while applications filed earlier remain governed by the previous formula. It further clarifies that the restriction on refunds for specified goods introduced by Notification No. 09/2022 is prospective and applies only to refund applications filed on or after its effective date.

Reporting of OTC trades required in uniform format; compliance mandated for all persons dealing in non-convertible securities.
The circular mandates reporting of OTC trades in listed non-convertible securities by all persons dealing in such securities, irrespective of registration status, in a specified uniform format. The required fields include deal type, security and issuer details, coupon, traded price, trade yield with yield type selected at reporting, trade value in face value terms, trade date and time, settlement details and an end-of-day updated settlement status. Stock Exchanges must monitor compliance and report discrepancies to SEBI.

Green debt security: issuers of municipal debt must follow green-debt provisions and ongoing compliance requirements.
Issuers of municipal debt securities may issue instruments that qualify as green debt security if they meet the definition in Regulation 2(1)(q) of the NCS Regulations. Such issuers must comply with ILMDS Regulations and the additional provisions, initial and continuous disclosure requirements, and compliance obligations for green debt security as specified under the NCS Regulations and related circulars. Stock Exchanges and Depositories must update rules and systems, disseminate the circular, report implementation to SEBI and monitor compliance.

Lifetime validity of customs broker licences confirmed; intimation by customs extends licences without physical endorsement.
Pune Customs confirms that operational customs broker licences meeting prescribed conditions shall have lifetime validity unless revoked; formal intimation sent to the licensee's office or email on record will suffice to extend licence validity without any physical visit or endorsement. Photo identity cards/Customs Passes issued to personnel of a customs broker shall be co-terminus with the customs broker licence validity.

Customs broker registration requirement: Brokers must join one local association; Pune brokers advised to enroll locally.
Customs brokers operating where a registered Customs Brokers' Association exists must enroll as members of that Association in each jurisdiction of operation and may not be enrolled in more than one Association in the same jurisdiction at any given time. Accordingly, all customs brokers under the Pune Customs Commissionerate are advised to enroll with the Pune Customs Brokers Association at the specified office address.

Transitional credit verification: nodal officer appointed to coordinate State and Central authorities for TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 claims.
The Commissioner appoints Smt. Nabanita Pal, Special Commissioner, as the Nodal Officer to coordinate between State and Central tax authorities for verification of transitional credit claims in TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 filed by registered taxpayers, pursuant to the relevant trade circular and higher court direction; the administrative order takes immediate effect.

Fee revision for insolvency professionals: increased application, annual and regulatory levies now payable to the IBBI under amended regulations.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has amended regulations to revise one time application, periodic renewal and annual fees for Insolvency Professionals and Insolvency Professional Entities, and has introduced specified regulatory fee levies related to approved resolution plans and costs for hiring professionals; the circular prescribes applicable forms, submission modes and bank payment details where online modules are not yet implemented.

Priority distribution model in AIFs barred from fresh commitments pending regulatory review, restricting new investments.
Funds using a priority distribution model-where one investor class receives distribution priority causing another class to bear losses greater than pro rata to their holdings-are temporarily prohibited from accepting fresh commitments or investing in new investee companies pending regulatory review and consultation, under the regulator's Section 11(1) powers to protect investor interests.

GSTN inclusion as Financial Information Provider enables GST returns to be shared under the Account Aggregator framework.
Inclusion of Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) as a Financial Information Provider under the Account Aggregator framework designates GST Returns, specifically Form GSTR 1 and Form GSTR 3B, as recognised financial information to facilitate cash flow-based lending. The Department of Revenue is specified as GSTN's regulator for this purpose, and targeted amendments to the Master Direction add GST returns, the Department of Revenue, and GSTN to the enumerated lists.

Custodianship extension requires bonds, contingency insurance, operational safeguards and custodial liability for loss or pilferage in transit.
Extension of custodianship is granted subject to maintenance and renewal of prescribed bonds and contingency insurance, compliance with Sections 45(2) and 45(3) of the Customs Act and Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, and strict custodial liability for loss, pilferage, theft, fire or damage to goods in custody or during transit, including responsibility for duty and penalties on lost goods and obligation to furnish separate bonds for export duty incentives and secure transport to gateway ports.

Refund restriction for inverted duty structure now applies prospectively; amended refund formula governs later applications.
Clarification: the amended refund calculation formula for unutilised input tax credit due to inverted duty structure applies prospectively to refund applications filed on or after its effective date, while refund applications filed before that date must be processed under the prior formula. Separately, a restriction denying refunds for certain specified goods where credit accumulated on account of higher input tax rates is likewise prospective and applies only to refund applications filed on or after its effective date; earlier filings are unaffected.

Authorization for tax surveys requires prior approval from senior tax authorities and monitoring by commissioners for compliance.
Authorization for survey and search powers must be issued by an income-tax authority not below the rank of Joint Director or Joint Commissioner with prior approval of the Director General/Chief Commissioner for specified directorates, and the Principal Chief Commissioner for other charges; where a TDS charge is headed by the Principal Chief Commissioner, approval shall be granted by that officer. The Principal Commissioner/Commissioner/Principal Director/Director concerned shall monitor that survey action follows statutory provisions and Board guidelines. The order supersedes prior orders and is effective immediately.

Designation of officers under Section 133A clarifies delegated search and inspection powers and territorial allocation.
The Board specifies Principal Director General, Director General, Principal Chief Commissioner and Chief Commissioner as the senior officers whose subordinates may exercise the search and inspection powers under the Income-tax law, confined to territorial areas, persons or classes of persons, incomes or classes of incomes, and cases or classes of cases assigned to them under the Department's allocation framework; the specification excludes charges exercising powers under the separate penalty and faceless penalty mechanism.

Unutilised input tax credit refund rules apply prospectively; amended formula and goods restriction affect applications filed after effective dates.
An amendment to the refund formula for unutilised input tax credit due to inverted duty structure is prospective from July 5, 2022 and applies only to applications filed on or after that date; applications filed before that date will follow the prior formula. A restriction denying such refunds for specified goods under Chapters 15 and 27 is prospective from July 18, 2022 and applies only to applications filed on or after that date, not to earlier-filed claims.

Input tax credit reporting: mandatory disclosure and reversal for ineligible credits to prevent wrongful utilisation and interest liability.
Taxpayers must not edit auto populated totals in Table 4(A) of Form GSTR 3B to remove ineligible credits; permanently blocked credits and reversals under Rules 38, 42, 43 and Section 17(5) are to be declared in Table 4(B)(1), reclaimable or temporary reversals under Rule 37 and Sections 16(2)(b) and 16(2)(c) in Table 4(B)(2), reclaimed amounts in Table 4(D)(1), and time barred or cross State ineligible credits in Table 4(D)(2). Net ITC in Table 4(C) equals (4A - [4B(1) + 4B(2)]) and will credit the electronic credit ledger; expired rectification requires filing Form GST DRC 03 to reverse credits.