IGST refund denials: exporters must align drawback claims with applicable rates to promptly secure refund consideration.
Denial of IGST refunds is linked to exporters claiming incorrect drawback rates or where higher and lower rates are identical; claims will be examined and disposed of per the legal provisions in Circular No. 37/2018 governing Drawback Claims, and field formations are directed to notify stakeholders to ensure compliance with applicable drawback rates.

Input Tax Credit mismatch: assessing authorities to examine annexure discrepancies and make assessments under DVAT Act.
Audit identified irregular and excess Input Tax Credit claims, including credits from unregistered or composition scheme suppliers, inflated purchases, and purchase sale mismatches. Assessing Authorities must examine Annexure 2A 2B mismatches for FY 2014 15, 2015 16 and onwards, use DVAT portal mismatch reports, and proceed to make assessments of tax, interest and penalty under the DVAT Act and Rules following due process while observing the statutory limitation period. Zonal Incharges must monitor and report progress.

Eligible Foreign Entities permitted to hedge Indian commodity exposure under a regulated registration and compliance framework.
Permits participation of Eligible Foreign Entities (EFEs) in Indian commodity derivatives markets for hedging actual exposure to Indian physical commodity markets, subject to eligibility (resident outside India with demonstrable import/export exposure, regulator MoU requirements, and minimum net worth), registration through designated Authorized Stock Brokers (ASBs), strict KYC/AML and documentation (auditor-certified import/export turnover, invoices, board resolution), hedge limits tied to certified physical exposure, prohibition on speculative/arbitrage activity, margining and additional risk measures by Exchanges/Clearing Corporations, ongoing monitoring with periodic auditor certifications, and anonymous public disclosure of allocated hedge limits by Exchanges.

IGST refund denial where exporters claimed higher drawback preserves drawback election and prevents subsequent refund claims.
Exporters who elected composite/all-industry drawback rates by declaring suffixes and making DBK002/DBK003 declarations on the shipping bill thereby relinquished any claim to IGST refund or ITC for the exported product; the shipping bill is treated as the operative drawback claim and, once higher drawback was claimed, IGST refund cannot subsequently be allowed.

Compulsory product registration: importers must register notified electronic goods with BIS before import or present MeitY exemption.
Importers must ensure notified electronic and IT goods conform to Indian Standards and are registered with BIS before import or have MeitY exemption; registration follows product testing at BIS-recognized labs and permits use of the BIS Standard Mark on product and packaging (stickers prohibited). Repaired, refurbished and second-hand notified items require registration or prior MeitY permission and may be detained if unregistered. Customs officers must verify BIS certificate coverage, proper Standard Mark display, upload of BIS certificates to e-sanchit, and refuse clearance of non-complying goods, referring issues to MeitY.

Agent representation determines GST treatment: invoice issuance by agent makes principal-agent goods supply treated as supply.
The Commissioner clarifies that Schedule I treats movements of goods between principal and agent as supply only where the intermediary acts in a representative capacity; the practical, objective test is whether the agent issues the invoice for further supply in his own name (indicating authority to transfer title). If the agent invoices in his own name for onward supply, the entry applies and may trigger registration obligations; if invoices are issued in the principal's name, the entry does not apply.

IGST refund entitlement denied where exporter claimed higher drawback and declared relinquishment; claim cannot be reopened.
Exporters who, between 1.7.2017 and 30.9.2017, claimed composite drawback by using drawback serials suffixed A or C and making the required shipping bill declarations (including DBK002/DBK003 or prior manual declarations) thereby relinquished any IGST/ITC refund claim; where such declarations were made, IGST refund cannot subsequently be allowed and the issue will not be reopened.

Customs duty on cruise consumption: vessels must declare and pay duty for consumed stores, with limited exceptions for mere passage.
Cruise vessels must pay Customs duty on liquor and other stores consumed aboard, based on self-assessment and vessel declarations. Domestic passengers on domestic sectors cannot buy duty-free goods on board; any such purchases will attract duty payable at the next port. International passengers retain baggage allowance under the Baggage Rule, 2016. The definition of Indian Customs waters is extended to the Exclusive Economic Zone, but dutiability arises only when a vessel calls at a port or transits territorial waters or stays in Indian waters; mere passage without calling does not attract duty.

Compulsory registration requirement: importers must verify BIS registration and valid IMEI/ESN/MEID before clearance.
Imported notified electronics must bear the Standard Mark and a unique BIS registration matching product, brand, model, manufacturer and manufacturing location verifiable on www.crsbis.in; GSM handsets without valid IMEI or with all-zero IMEI and CDMA phones without valid ESN/MEID or with all-zero ESN/MEID are prohibited, and Customs and trade participants must increase vigilance to ensure compliance with the CRO and mobile import policy.

Electronic sealing requirement: mandatory RFID sealing for goods moved under warehousing bond extended; stakeholders must comply and report issues.
Electronic sealing is mandated for movement of goods under customs warehousing bond, requiring RFID sealing for consignments deposited in or removed from Customs bonded warehouses; the mandatory implementation date has been extended by Board circular and stakeholders are instructed to comply strictly and report any difficulties in implementation to the issuing office.

Tax Deduction at Source under GST: DDOs must deduct, deposit via GSTN using CPIN and report in GSTR 7.
Government deductors must withhold TDS under Section 51, deposit deducted amounts to the Government via GSTN by generating a CPIN (payable by NEFT/RTGS or OTC), obtain CIN on payment which credits the electronic cash ledger, register as DDOs on the portal with GSTIN, maintain a register per Annexure A, and file monthly FORM GSTR 7 and issue FORM GSTR 7A. Two process flows are provided: Option I (bill wise CPIN per payment) and Option II (bunching deductions in a Suspense Head and periodic consolidated CPIN payment).

Recovery as land revenue: delegation allows commissioners to recover GST dues and sanction upset price, auction, or imprisonment.
Delegation authorizes specified Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners and Additional Commissioners to recover GST dues as arrears of land revenue upon receipt of a proper officer's certificate, and to sanction upset price, auction and civil imprisonment under the Land Revenue Code in assigned sequences, subject to territorial jurisdictional limits.

RFID one time locks mandated for bonded warehouse movements, with electronic trip reports and ISO compliant vendor and reader requirements.
Importers, exporters, owners and licencees must use RFID anti tamper one time locks (RFID OTL) instead of mechanical one time locks for movement of goods into, out of, and between bonded warehouses; vendors listed on the CBIC portal must supply ISO compliant RFID OTLs, capture TID and warehouse linkage at sale, and provide readers/data upload capability. The circular prescribes specific data elements to be captured for each movement scenario, requires licencees to procure readers, establishes that scanned RFID "trip reports" serve as arrival acknowledgements, mandates examination on tamper detection, and allows discretionary exemptions by the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner.

e-SANCHIT document upload: PGAs will furnish LPCOs electronically and beneficiaries must register on ICEGATE for access.
e-SANCHIT under SWIFT will centralise electronic submission of regulatory documents and transition upload responsibility to Participating Government Agencies, which will upload Licences, Permits, Certificates and Other Authorizations and generate a unique IRN. Beneficiaries will be notified via their ICEGATE-registered email and a viewing facility will be provided. Following a pilot with three PGAs and subsequent rollout, beneficiaries will not be permitted to upload PGA-issued documents themselves and are directed to register on ICEGATE per the published procedure.

Customs duty on cruise ship consumption: duty payable based on vessel self assessment; domestic passengers cannot buy duty free onboard.
Cruise vessels must pay customs duty on consumption of stores including alcohol based on the vessel's self assessment and declaration; Customs may recover appropriate duty. No routine Customs escort will accompany domestic legs, though the Chief Commissioner may deploy officers when necessary. Domestic passengers on domestic sectors cannot buy duty free goods onboard and will pay duty on such purchases at the next port. International passengers retain baggage allowances under the Baggage Rules, 2016. Calling at an Indian port, transit through territorial waters, or staying at port renders the vessel liable for duty; mere passage without calling does not.

Classification of e-seals as base-metal seals directs customs to assess them under the seals tariff item.
RFID e-seals are functionally seals with an electronic add-on that evidences tampering; accordingly they are to be classified under Heading 8309 as seals and other packing accessories of base metal, and customs assessments must follow that tariff treatment.

Extension of filing due date for income-tax returns and audit reports; interest under Section 234A remains payable.
The Board, under Section 119 of the Income-tax Act, further extends the due date for filing return of income and audit reports for the relevant assessment year for assessees covered by the return-filing explanation, and specifies that assessees filing within the extended period shall remain liable for interest under Section 234A as provided in the earlier order.

Unverified transit declaration forms require assessment, penalty, and strict reporting where TDF-2 was not uploaded.
Unverified transit declaration forms (TDF-1) without the corresponding TDF-2 upload are treated as indicating that the goods were brought into Uttar Pradesh for sale. For financial year 2015-16, such cases are to be assessed under the second proviso to section 26 by applying the presumption under section 52, with tax under section 28(9) and penalty under section 54(1). The circular designates Assistant Commissioners (In-charge), Mobile Squad units as assessing authorities, authorises zonal transfer of pending cases, and prescribes monthly and quarterly reporting formats and deadlines.

Customs Broker Licence examination scheduled; applicants must meet eligibility, pass written and oral exams, and submit complete applications on time.
Examination for grant of a Customs Broker Licence under Regulation 6 will be conducted by the Commissionerate. Applicants must meet Regulation 5 eligibility criteria-citizenship, sound mind, non-insolvency, Aadhar and PAN, no specified penalties or criminal convictions, requisite educational/professional qualifications or equivalent customs experience, and financial viability evidenced by bank certification or acceptable asset proof. The Commissioner may verify eligibility; written and oral examinations both must be passed, with a capped number of attempts. Applications in prescribed Form A with required documents and attested photo must be complete and timely or will be rejected.

Refund on inverted duty structure: formula requires net ITC-based computation and defines adjusted turnover criteria.
The amendment prescribes a formula for refund on account of inverted duty structure computing maximum refund as a function of turnover of inverted-rated supplies, Net ITC and Adjusted Total Turnover, defines Net ITC as input tax credit availed in the relevant period excluding certain claims, and retains the existing meaning of Adjusted Total Turnover; it also establishes a detailed Consumer Welfare Fund regime with a Standing Committee to administer credits, grants, investments, audits, and compliance measures.