Metropolitan city definition aligned to municipal act clarifies GST territorial scope for tax administration purposes.
The Commissioner prescribes that the term metropolitan city of Kolkata used in the relevant GST notification shall have the same meaning as assigned in clause (9) of section 2 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation Act, thereby clarifying the territorial extent for GST administration and compliance within the metropolitan area.

Fee payment compliance requires insolvency professionals and entities to file annual Form E/G electronically, including nil returns.
Insolvency professionals and insolvency professional entities must pay an annual fee to the Board at the prescribed rate on professional fees or turnover for the preceding financial year and submit the corresponding annual statement (Form E for IPs; Form G for IPEs) electronically by the annual deadline; submission is required even if no fees or turnover were earned, and payment and filing are conditions of registration or recognition under the Regulations.

Composition scheme option for small taxpayers may be exercised via specified GST forms with PAN-wide applicability.
Eligible registered persons may opt for the concessional composition rate by filing FORM GST CMP-02 selecting the "Any other supplier eligible for composition levy" category and furnishing FORM GST ITC-03; existing registrants had to file by 30 April, 2019. New applicants may indicate the option in FORM GST REG-01 at registration. The option applies to all places of business under the same PAN and is effective from the start of the financial year or from the date of registration. Chapter II of the Rajasthan GST Rules, 2017 applies mutatis mutandis, subject to these procedural provisions.

Composition levy option for eligible suppliers clarified; procedure and effectivity for all business locations under same PAN specified.
Clarification on opting to pay state tax under notification No. 377 F.T. [02/2019] requires eligible registered persons to file FORM GST CMP-02 (selecting "Any other supplier eligible for composition levy") and furnish FORM GST ITC-03; new registrants may indicate the option in FORM GST REG-01. The option applies to all places of business under the same PAN and is effective from the financial year start or from the registration date. West Bengal GST Rules, 2017 Chapter II apply mutatis mutandis except as modified by the circular.

One-time DPT return filing required for receipts not treated as deposits; additional fee deferred until after portal deployment.
Companies other than government companies must file a one-time DPT return reporting outstanding receipts or loans not treated as deposits from 1 April 2014 to the date of notification publication within ninety days; deposit data must cover up to 31 March 2019. The additional fee under registration and fees rules will be levied only after thirty days from deployment of the DPT form on the MCA21 portal to avoid stakeholder inconvenience.

End Use Certificate requirements tightened for SCOMET exports: new proformas mandate technical detail, end use and non diversion certifications.
Amendment requires new standardized End Use Certificates (Appendix 2S(i), 2S(ii), 2S(iii)) for exports under the SCOMET Control List, substituting prior forms with immediate effect. Each appendix prescribes applicability by SCOMET category, fields for entity and item details, technical identifiers, explicit declarations of specific end use, non diversion and non retransfer without Government consent, mandatory authorised signatory contact information, and supplemental requirements for technology/software and Category 1 chemicals to enable post shipment verification and compliance with Chemical Weapons Convention obligations.

System audit framework for mutual funds requires annual independent IT system audits and exception reporting to regulator.
Requires annual systems audits for Mutual Funds/AMCs by independent CISA/CISM qualified or equivalent auditors covering integration of front/back office systems, NAV and fund accounting, financial reporting, unit holder administration, funds flow, regulatory compliance and access rights. Exception reports per Annexure 2 must be reviewed by the Technology Committee and AMC & Trustee Boards and communicated to SEBI within six months of each financial year; audit reports must be available for inspection.

Technology committee requirement for asset managers to review cyber resiliency and system audit frameworks strengthens operational oversight.
Mutual funds, AMCs, trustees, registrars and industry bodies must constitute a Technology Committee of technology-proficient experts, including at least one independent external expert experienced in the Mutual Fund/BFSI sector, to review the cyber security and cyber resilience framework of Mutual Funds/AMCs and to examine system audit aspects of AMCs, in accordance with the referenced regulatory guidance, thereby strengthening technology governance and operational risk oversight.

Exporters must submit self sealing permission applications and email shipment intimations in excel for export containers under self sealing procedure.
Exporters must apply for one time Self Sealing Permission using Annexure A with specified supporting documents and must intimate each instance of self sealing using Annexure B. The intimation must include permission reference, export date, approved premises address, goods description and quantity, ICD/port, destination, container and seal numbers if available, and whether an export incentive is claimed; intimations are to be sent in Excel format to the designated email address.

GST jurisdictional allocation of Uttar Pradesh taxpayers classified between Central and State authorities by turnover threshold.
Taxpayers registered in Uttar Pradesh are allocated between the Central Government and the Government of Uttar Pradesh for GST administration on the basis of turnover, in separate jurisdictional lists for taxpayers above and up to Rs. 1.50 crore. The order records annexures identifying taxpayers assigned to Central jurisdiction and State jurisdiction, and states that the lists may be viewed on the departmental GST portal under the taxpayer jurisdiction tab.

VAT assessment pendency clearance directed through workload transfer, RSA generation, and strict time-bound disposal schedules.
Pending VAT assessment cases for 2016-17 and 2017-18 are to be disposed of expeditiously through RSA generation, reassignment of cases where pendency is high, and completion within the prescribed timelines. Special Investigation Branch cases for both years are also subject to separate disposal deadlines, and transfers of cases must be reported to headquarters within the specified period. The circular emphasises strict compliance and coordinated workload distribution to clear VAT pendency.

Foreign currency accounts access: re insurance and composite insurance brokers may hold non interest accounts for business transactions.
Re insurance and composite insurance brokers registered with the insurance regulator may open and maintain non-interest bearing foreign currency accounts with Category I Authorised Dealer banks in India for transactions in the ordinary course of their business; Authorised Dealers must inform constituents and the Master Direction on Deposits and Accounts will be updated to reflect this change, subject to other legal permissions.

Extension of Pre shipment Inspection Agency recognition-validity for Appendix 2G agencies extended to cover expirations on or before June 30.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, invoking paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, relaxes Para 2.55(d) of the Handbook of Procedure and extends recognition validity of Pre shipment Inspection Agencies listed in Appendix 2G whose three year tenure is complete or whose recognition would expire on or before 30.06.2019, such that their validity is continued up to 30.06.2019.

Risk-based capital requirements require clearing corporations to maintain liquid net worth meeting a computed multi-risk formula and statutory minimum.
The circular prescribes a layered risk based capital framework for recognized clearing corporations: capital for counterparty credit risk (via Core SGF contribution), business risk (CCP specific estimate subject to a floor linked to operating expenses), orderly wind down or recovery (funding a recovery/wind down plan covering a specified minimum time span), and operational and legal risks (a buffer proportionate to the aggregate of other components). CCPs must maintain liquid net assets funded by equity equal to the computed aggregate or a statutory minimum, use audited annual statements for expense calculation, certify quarterly compliance, and promptly notify SEBI if net worth falls below the threshold.

Paperless MEIS/SEIS scrips now transmitted electronically; usable only at EDI ports and verified via DGFT portal.
Physical MEIS/SEIS duty credit scrips for EDI-registered exports are replaced by electronic transmission from DGFT to ICES; Customs will register, assess and debit scrips in ICES on presentation of scrip identifiers, with ownership verified via the DGFT website, and proper officers verifying electronic debits instead of inspecting security-paper copies. Paperless scrips will not receive TRA and thus cannot be used at non-EDI ports; physical scrips and TRA remain for non-EDI ports.

Separate BSDA limit for debt securities exempts small debt holdings from AMC and caps annual charges for modest balances.
Revision of the Basic Services Demat Account (BSDA) charging structure provides separate treatment for debt securities and other holdings: small-value debt holdings are exempt from annual maintenance charges while modest higher holdings incur a capped AMC; a lower exemption threshold and similar cap apply to non-debt holdings. Depositories must amend bye-laws and report implementation by participants.

Tax audit deadline set for selected 2016-17 cases, requiring completion by the specified date.
Tax audit of cases selected for the year 2016-17 was required to be completed by 30.06.2019. The earlier circular did not specify the final date for submission of the tax audit report to the assessing authority, and the present direction supplied that deadline for completion in all respects. The instruction also referred to the GST regime and the need for expeditious completion of pending VAT-regime cases.

Turant Customs reform for Ease of Doing Business to streamline cross border trade; stakeholders to follow phased implementation.
Turant Customs is a next generation, phased reform package instituted to improve India's ranking in the Trading Across Borders category of the Ease of Doing Business index; it is set out in Board's Circular No.09/2019 Customs (copy enclosed) and will be implemented over the coming months to streamline customs processes. Customs Brokers, Exporters, Importers and other stakeholders are directed to note the circular and to report any implementation difficulties to the issuing Commissioner.

Option to pay tax: field formations must follow central clarification to ensure uniform implementation under state GST powers.
The circular directs that clarifications in Department of Revenue, Tax Research Unit Circular No. 97/16/2019-GST dated 05.04.2019 on the option to pay tax under Notification No. 2/2019-CT(R) dated 07.03.2019 shall be followed by all state tax officers. Using powers under section 168 of the State GST Act, the Chief Commissioner mandates uniform application of those clarifications across field formations.

Paperless duty credit scrips: electronic issuance and ICES debiting replace physical production for EDI-registered export scrips.
MEIS/SEIS duty credit scrips issued with an EDI port as port of registration will be issued electronically and transmitted to the Customs ICES system; owners or authorized representatives must present scrip identifiers to the proper officer, ownership will be verified via the online scrip record, and all debits will be made and verified in ICES only. Paperless scrips for EDI ports will not receive a transferable document authorising removal and cannot be used at non-EDI ports, while physical scrips will continue to be issued for non-EDI ports.