Extension of time for GST TRAN-I submissions granted to registered persons affected by common portal technical difficulties.
An administrative extension permits a specified class of registered persons to submit the declaration in FORM GST TRAN I where they could not file by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal; the extension applies only to cases recommended by the Council and is issued under sub rule (1A) of rule 117 read with the Act, by the Chief Commissioner.

E-way bill requirement: declaring transporter's godown as recipient's additional place concludes movement for e-way validity.
E-way bill must accompany goods stored in a transporter's godown. If the recipient declares the transporter's godown as an additional place of business (with transporter concurrence), transportation is deemed concluded when goods reach that godown and e-way bill validity need not be extended; subsequent movement from that godown to other recipient premises requires a fresh valid e-way bill. Transporters and recipients must maintain statutory accounts and records, and books relating to stored goods may be kept at the recipient's principal place of business.

Refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department: invoice-based quarterly claims processed with specified forms and documentation requirements.
CSD is entitled to fifty percent refund of State, Central and Integrated tax on inward supplies for subsequent supply to Unit Run Canteens or authorised customers; refunds are invoice-based and to be claimed quarterly via FORM GST RFD-10A with an undertaking of receipt, declaration of no prior claim, copies of GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A, attested invoices not in GSTR-2A and bank details. The proper officer shall acknowledge or issue a single deficiency memo within fifteen days, validate GSTIN and returns on the portal, and sanction or reject refunds per tax head in FORM GST RFD-06 with payment advice in FORM GST RFD-05, coordinating between tax authorities for payment.

Refund procedure clarified: reliance on GSTR-2A and specified ledger debit order governs electronic credit refund processing.
Claimants must submit a printout of FORM GSTR-2A and a statement of invoices in Annexure-A with FORM GST RFD-01A; the proper officer may rely on GSTR-2A as evidence and shall not demand invoices whose details appear therein, though hard copies may be called for where GSTR-2A is incomplete. Refund computation for unutilized ITC is the least of the formulaic cap, ledger balance at period end, and ledger balance at filing, and debits must be effected in the order: integrated tax, then central and state/UT tax equally.

Recovery of wrongly availed input tax credit: reverse via GSTR 3B and pay applicable interest and penalty.
Where the Electronic Liability Register functionality is not available, taxpayers must reverse wrongly availed input tax credit and inadmissible transitional credit via Table 4(B)(2) of FORM GSTR 3B and discharge applicable interest and penalty through column 9 of Table 6.1 of FORM GSTR 3B; this process is prescribed as the alternative recording mechanism and is effective from 04.09.2018.

Principal-agent supply under GST: invoice issuance by agent determines whether goods movement is treated as deemed supply.
Schedule I treats transfers between principal and agent as deemed supply when the agent supplies or receives goods on behalf of the principal; the operative test is whether the agent issues the invoice for further supply in his own name and thereby has authority to transfer or receive title. If the invoice is issued in the agent's name or the agent takes possession and transfers title, the transaction falls within Schedule I; if the invoice is issued in the principal's name, it does not.

Input tax credit lapsing: accumulated ITC on fabrics lapses for pre amendment inputs; refunds allowed prospectively.
The amendment makes refunds of accumulated ITC on specified fabrics available only for supplies received on or after 1 August 2018, and provides that accumulated refundable ITC on inputs for the period up to 31 July 2018 shall lapse to the extent unutilised after payment of GST for July 2018. Lapse applies solely to ITC on inputs arising from inverted duty structure; ITC on input services and capital goods, and ITC attributable to zero rated supplies, are not affected. The amount to lapse is to be computed using Rule 89(5) and self declared in GSTR 3B for August 2018.

GST exemption for vocational training: designated-trade courses and related admission/exam services are exempt, others are taxable.
Private ITIs offering approved vocational educational courses in designated trades qualify as educational institutions and their vocational training fees are exempt from GST; training and related entrance/admission/examination services for non-designated trades at private ITIs are taxable. Services by Government ITIs to individual trainees are exempt as government-to-individual services, covering both training and examinations.

GST exemption for ambulance services: patient transportation qualifies for exemption, with special rules for government contracts.
Ambulance transportation of patients is exempt from GST as health care/patient transport services carried forward from service tax exemptions; such services relate to public health and health and sanitation functions of Municipalities and Panchayats and thus fall within government related exemptions. Ambulance services provided by private providers to State Governments under NHM are exempt if they are pure services, or if composite supplies include goods not exceeding twenty five percent of value.

Interception of conveyances: procedure clarified to limit detention to consignments with GST violations and accept hard-copy notices.
The Circular modifies interception procedure by replacing "three working days" with "three days" and revising FORM GST MOV-05 release wording; confirms that a single physical verification prevents further re-verification of the same conveyance across States unless new information of evasion appears; allows hard-copy notices/orders to serve as proof between tax authorities when portal FORMS are unavailable; and restricts detention/confiscation to only those goods or conveyances where a GST breach is established, with consignments supported by valid e-way bills to be released.

Inter State supply classification for services to SEZs affirmed, with zero rating and refund subject to authorised operations endorsement.
Services such as short term accommodation, conferencing and banqueting supplied to SEZ developers or units are to be treated as inter State supplies. Supplies to SEZ developers or units are zero rated only where received for authorised operations, with refund of unutilized input tax credit available to suppliers upon endorsement by the specified officer of the Zone. Fabric processors providing job work services are eligible for refund of unutilized ITC under inverted duty provisions because their output is a service, notwithstanding notifications covering the raw fabrics.

E way bill requirement: rail deliveries and inter state transit demand e way bill production at delivery.
Provision of moulds/dies by an OEM to an unrelated component manufacturer free of cost is not a supply and requires no reversal of input tax credit nor inclusion in the component's transaction value; if contracts envisage use of component owner moulds but OEM supplies them FOC, amortised cost must be included and credit reversed. Separately invoiced goods and labour in car servicing are taxed at respective rates. For auctions, warehouses may be additional places of business, books may be centralized with notification, and input tax credit is available subject to conditions. Rail delivery requires production of an e way bill; transit through another State mandates an e way bill, while certain intra State DTA SEZ movements are exempt under the rules.

Refund eligibility for GST: clarifications on filing returns, export refunds, compensation cess credit and restrictions on supplier benefits.
Input Service Distributors, composition taxpayers and non-resident taxable persons may claim refunds without furnishing FORM GSTR-1 or FORM GSTR-3B; their respective returns (GSTR-6, GSTR-4, GSTR-5) suffice. Exporters who misdeclared zero-rated supplies for specified tax periods may claim integrated tax/cess refund subject to aggregate limits across GSTR-3B columns. Unutilized compensation cess credit on inputs is refundable for zero-rated supplies under bond or LUT even if final product is not cessable, though such cess credit cannot be used to pay integrated tax. Bond or LUT is not required for export of exempt or non-GST goods, and the restriction on using credits where suppliers availed specified notifications applies only to direct procurements from such suppliers.

Customs export procedure expansion: ICDs/CFSs allowed to trans ship sealed container and closed truck consignments via designated land border points.
Customs procedure expanded to allow export of cargo in containers and closed bodied trucks from all ICDs and specified CFSs to transit through designated LCSs under the ECTS framework, including enumerated road border crossings and two rail border points for container export to Bangladesh; Circular No. 52/2017 is modified and CFS designation rests with the Chief Commissioner of Customs, Kolkata.

Transfer of tenancy rights taxable under GST, while grants of residential tenancy for residence remain exempt.
Transfer of tenancy rights for consideration in the form of a tenancy premium is a supply of services liable to GST as a form of lease or tenancy under Schedule II; stamp duty or registration requirements do not exclude such transfers from GST. Grants of tenancy in a residential dwelling for use as residence are exempt under the State notification, but surrender of tenancy rights by an outgoing tenant for a portion of the premium is taxable.

IT grievance redressal mechanism enables relief and fee waivers for taxpayers impeded from filing by portal glitches.
An IT grievance redressal mechanism addresses widespread GST Portal failures by having GSTN and appointed nodal officers collect taxpayer applications with evidence of bona fide attempts. GSTN identifies systemic issues and forwards proposals to the GST Implementation Committee acting as the IT Grievance Redressal Committee, which examines, approves remedial steps, directs implementation, and may recommend waiver of fines or penalties. The mechanism permits completion of transitional credit filings stuck due to digital authentication glitches, requires GSTN communication with affected taxpayers, and prescribes internal timelines for rectification.

Job work treatment of principal's goods: tax-neutral dispatch permitted but deemed supply arises if not returned or supplied timely.
A registered principal may send inputs and capital goods to a job worker without payment of tax and must ensure such goods are returned or supplied within one year for inputs and three years for capital goods; failure to comply results in a deemed supply by the principal from the date the goods were sent. The principal must maintain records, issue challans, declare details in FORM GST ITC-04, and comply with invoicing and e-waybill rules where applicable.

Taxability of cash calls: determine whether contributions are capital or consideration for services to attract GST.
Taxability of services between an unincorporated JV and its members depends on whether cash calls and recoveries constitute consideration for a supply under the WBGST Act. Cash calls that are mere capital contributions for acquisition of JV assets are not supplies, whereas recoveries by an operating member for use of its equipment or services rendered to the JV or other members constitute consideration and are taxable. Determination requires case-specific examination of JV agreements; earlier service-tax guidance applies to GST. Effective from 05.03.2018.

Composite supply classification: principal supply determines GST treatment; electricity transmission exempt while other DISCOM services taxable.
Classification of composite supplies depends on identifying the principal supply; bus body building involves both goods and services and is classified case-by-case. Retreading predominately constitutes a service with rubber ancillary, but supply of retreaded tyres by the supplier using its own old tyres is a supply of goods. Transmission or distribution of electricity by utilities is exempt, while other DISCOM services to consumers are taxable. Government guarantees to businesses for loans, including guarantee commission, are taxable. The circular is effective from the stated commencement date.

Customs Broker examination applications invited for written exam 18 Jan 2019; eligibility and documentation requirements stated.
Applications for the Customs Broker Examination under CBLR, 2018 for Ahmedabad must be submitted in Form A between 15 Oct and 16 Nov 2018; written exam on 18 Jan 2019. Applicants must meet Regulation 5 eligibility (citizenship, sound mind, solvency, no insolvency or criminal conviction, specified qualifications or retired Group A service) and submit Annexure-III documents including bank solvency certificate of Rs.5,00,000; incomplete applications will be rejected and successful written-exam candidates must pass a subsequent oral exam within two years.