Authority for Advance Ruling constituted in Tamil Nadu under GST Act; state AAR deemed to apply for CGST and stakeholders notified.
Constitution of the Authority for Advance Ruling in Tamil Nadu under the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is communicated, naming the appointed members and their official designations. It further states that, under Section 96 of the CGST Act, the State Authority for Advance Ruling shall be deemed the Authority for Advance Ruling for CGST purposes, and directs Commissioners and trade bodies to circulate the notice to officers, assessees and members.

Delivery of import manifest: Entry inwards to be granted on pilot boarding report enabling earlier unloading of imported cargo.
Entry Inwards will be granted upon vessel reporting at the pilot station or pilot boarding as recorded by Port Control/VTS, based on automatic notification to the Customs Boarding Office and simultaneous intimation by shipping lines/agents; the Boarding Officer shall thereafter complete boarding formalities and address any discrepancies despite Entry Inwards having been granted.

Issuance of SMTPs: boarding section approval and manual SMTP procedures ensure rail-bound cargo movement without full vessel discharge.
Boarding Section is authorised to approve IGM numbers in ICES to enable automatic transmission of SMTPs and SMTPs shall be issued without awaiting full vessel discharge. If system failures prevent online SMTP generation or Entry Inward entry, the Boarding Officer must email CONCOR, the terminal operator and DC/AC (CMFC) with Entry Inward date and time and request manual SMTP, send an SMS to CONCOR, and ensure immediate on spot attendance to manual SMTP requests. Delays may be reported to DC/AC (CMFC). The Boarding Office must send a daily report to DC/AC (PG) with vessel, terminal, berthing, Entry Inward and communication details.

GST Council approved rate rationalisation, anti profiteering rule changes, appeal rules, refund procedures, and IT/return filing extensions.
The GST Council approved/rationalised multiple GST measures: noted revenue trends and IGST settlement issues; deemed ratified central notifications; amended Anti Profiteering Rules to centralise certain termination approvals; authorised Fitment Committee rate rationalisations shifting many 28% items to 18% and specific item exemptions/reductions (including khandsari sugar, fly ash aggregates, bamboo/cane furniture); cut job work rate for handicrafts to 5% with full ITC; approved appellate Rule 109A, manual filing provision for refunds/advance rulings, centralized UIN for diplomatic missions, re crediting of reversed late fees to tax heads, clarifications on processed agricultural products and IP transfer rates; extended return/FORM deadlines and directed IT/portal improvements and further committee examinations.

RFID e-sealing requirement: phased mandatory adoption for eligible exporters, noncompliance subject to standard risk-management treatment.
Prescribes implementation of RFID e sealing for full container loads sealed at approved premises under the self sealing procedure: eligible exporter classes include authorised self sealers, supervised sealers, AEOs, and other exporters upon permission. Intact RFID seals suffice to treat containers as officer sealed; tampered seals require examination and reversion to traditional sealing for further movement. Vendors must supply rugged handheld or fixed readers (with handheld support), provide applications exposing prescribed non editable data elements including seal read location, and transmit initial IEC buyer details to risk management.

Due date extension for GSTR filings alters generation windows for GSTR 2A and GSTR 1A and recipient action periods.
Due date extensions for FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-2 for July 2017 extend the generation windows for FORM GSTR-2A and FORM GSTR-1A. FORM GSTR-2A is available from 11 October 2017 as a read-only electronic record of supplier invoices for recipients, who must verify and act on those details before furnishing FORM GSTR-2 by 30 November 2017. Modifications by recipients in FORM GSTR-2 are communicated to suppliers via FORM GSTR-1A, which for July 2017 will be made available from 1 December to 6 December 2017 for supplier action.

Health certificate requirement for exported buffalo meat: only online certificates with QR code accepted, authenticity must be verified.
Only health certificates issued on-line through the Meat.Net system by designated State Veterinary Authorities, bearing a QR Code that provides processing-plant details, are to be accepted for export clearance of buffalo meat and offals; officers must verify the QR Code for authenticity and ensure consignments originate from APEDA-registered meat processing plants.

Exporters must adopt RFID e-seals for container self-sealing under phased mandatory dates with vendor reader and data requirements.
RFID e-sealing creates a self-sealing procedure for full container loads sealed at approved premises; intact RFID e-sealed containers at port/ICD are treated as equivalent to office-supervised sealed containers and not routinely examined unless tampering or intelligence warrants; tampered seals trigger examination and reversion to traditional customs sealing. Adoption is phased: prior self-sealers and AEOs mandatory from 8 Nov 2017, supervised-stuffing exporters by 20 Nov 2017, and new self-sealers upon permission. Vendors must supply rugged readers (fixed and handheld support), provide searchable e-seal data and immutable uploads, transmit initial IEC purchaser details, and expand reader coverage per department direction.

IGST refund on exports requires matching GSTR 1, shipping bill and EGM details to enable refund sanctioning.
Obtaining IGST refund on export requires matching GSTR 1, shipping bill and EGM details and valid bank details; July defects included wrong shipping bill numbers in GSTR 1, invoice and IGST amount mismatches, EGM non filing or mismatches, and invalid bank accounts-remedies are amending GSTR 1 in the subsequent return, filing or supplementing EGM online, correcting EDI/PFMS bank data. For August exports, exporters must file Table 6A in GSTR 1 and may verify shipping bill data on ICEGATE to enable sanctioning of refunds.

IGST refund procedures: exporters must reconcile GSTR 1, shipping bills and EGM details to enable prompt refund disbursal.
The notice identifies data mismatches blocking IGST refunds under Rule 96-incorrect shipping bill numbers in GSTR 1, invoice/IGST amount discrepancies, missing or non matching EGMs, and invalid bank account details-and prescribes remedies: amend GSTR 1 via Table 9A for July corrections, ensure invoice and IGST figures match shipping bills, file or supplement Gateway EGM online, and validate bank accounts in EDI/PFMS so eligible refunds can be processed. Exporters must also file Table 6A in GSTR 1 for August zero rated supplies to enable refunds.

EGM filing requirement prioritises IGST refund processing; shipping lines and airlines must file EGMs electronically.
Pending IGST refund claims are held where EGMs were not filed electronically or contained errors; shipping lines and airlines must file or amend supplementary EGMs electronically for all export-completed shipping bills, and exporters for ICD shipping bills must ensure Train Summary/Truck Report/Local EGM are filed in EDI without error and provide details to the Deputy Commissioner for coordinated clearance.

IGST refunds on exports require accurate shipping bill, matching GSTR 1/EGM entries and validated bank details for disbursal.
Refunds of IGST on exported goods under Rule 96 depend on reconciled customs and GST filings and validated beneficiary accounts. Identified barriers for July exports include incorrect shipping bill numbers in GSTR 1, invoice/IGST mismatches between GSTR 1 and shipping bills, missing or improperly filed EGMs, and bank accounts rejected by PFMS. Remedies require amending GSTR 1 (Table 9A for July amendments), filing Table 6A for August zero rated supplies, ensuring Gateway/supplementary EGM are filed online by shipping lines, and correcting bank details in the EDI system to obtain PFMS validation.

Composition scheme eligibility clarified: exempt services including interest/discount on loans excluded from disqualification and turnover.
Clarifies that supplies of goods or services under Schedule II(b) combined with exempt services, including services by way of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is interest or discount, do not disqualify a person from the composition scheme provided other conditions are satisfied; and that the value of such exempt services is excluded from aggregate turnover when determining composition eligibility.

Higher forum appeal certification requires Zonal Chief Commissioner justification before further special leave or curative appeals are filed.
Where the Commissioner considers further appeal appropriate despite two earlier losses, he must submit a complete written justification to the Zonal Chief Commissioner, who must verify the case's strength and provide a signed certificate explaining why the Department still has a strong case (reasons limited to twenty sentences). Only after this certification may proposals for Special Leave Petitions or Curative Appeals be sent to the Board or filed in a higher forum.

Certificate of Origin authorization: MIDC Industries Association enlisted to issue non-preferential certificates under the foreign trade policy.
M/s. MIDC Industries Association is authorised under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential) and is added to Appendix 2E (Serial No. 29, Maharashtra) of the Appendices & Aayat Niryat Forms, updating the official list of agencies entitled to issue such certificates.

Revalidation of Authorisations allowed without fee for specified Customs transmission or processing delays, subject to documentation and timelines.
Revalidation of Authorisation/Duty Credit Scrip for non SCOMET items is allowed without fee for the period of delay or six months, whichever is less, where delays resulted from failure to transmit to the Customs server within fifteen working days, Customs server rejection with error code, or non decision on waiver of Bond/EODC despite timely complete application. Revalidation is from the date of endorsement; applicants must submit DGFT and Customs server screenshots to the RA within one month of final acceptance, and RAs must verify before revalidation.

Simplified Hedging Facility enables streamlined foreign exchange hedging with designated banks, simplified documentation, and central reporting requirements.
The Simplified Hedging Facility permits resident and non resident entities (excluding individuals) to hedge exchange rate risk using permitted OTC and exchange traded currency derivatives under a streamlined regime. Each user appoints a Designated Bank to assess needs, set and monitor limits up to the facility cap (with discretionary extension), and report users and limits to a Trade Repository. OTC booking rules, rebooking, treatment of gains and losses, prohibition on concurrent hedging of the same exposures, annual certification by a senior finance officer, and TR based monitoring form the core operational and compliance mechanics.

Meghalaya GST composition scheme clarified: exempt services and interest excluded from aggregate turnover for eligibility.
Clarifies that a supplier of goods/services in paragraph 6(b) who also supplies exempt services, including extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is interest or discount, is not ineligible for the composition scheme if other conditions are met, and that the value of such exempt services shall be excluded from aggregate turnover when determining eligibility for the composition scheme.

Deemed export supplies to EOUs require prior Form A intimation, endorsed tax invoice proof and monthly Form B digital records.
Supplies to EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units are treated as deemed exports with refund of tax claimable by supplier or recipient. The recipient must give prior Form A intimation (pre-approved by the Development Commissioner) to the supplier and relevant GST officers; the supplier issues a tax invoice which the recipient endorses and circulates to the supplier and jurisdictional officers-the endorsed invoice being proof of deemed export. Recipient units must maintain digital Form B records with audit trail and submit monthly transaction copies to the jurisdictional GST officer by the 10th.

IGST refund on export under CGST rules: guidance issued for exporters and brokers; report operational difficulties to authorities.
Refund of IGST paid on export of goods under Rule 96 of the CGST Rules, 2017 is the operative subject; exporters, importers, customs brokers and trade stakeholders are directed to follow the Board's Circular referenced in the notice for processing such refunds and to report any operational difficulties in claiming IGST refunds to customs authorities for resolution.