GST on Priority Sector Lending Certificates: seller banks liable on forward charge; pre-notification period subject to prescribed rate.
GST on Priority Sector Lending Certificates (PSLCs) for the period 1-7-2017 to 27-05-2018 is taxable and the seller bank must discharge the tax on a forward charge basis; a 12% tax rate applies to trading of PSLCs in that pre-notification period.

E-way bill requirement for goods stored in transporter's godown: declaring it as additional place of business avoids validity extension.
E-way bill requirements apply to goods stored in a transporter's godown while in movement; such storage must be accompanied by a valid e-way bill. If the consignee declares the transporter's godown as its additional place of business (with transporter concurrence), movement is deemed complete on arrival there and e-way bill validity need not be extended. Subsequent movement from that godown to other recipient premises requires a valid e-way bill. Transporters and recipients must maintain prescribed records; recipients may keep accounts of stored goods at their principal place of business.

Refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department requires quarterly invoice-based claims and inter-authority coordination for sanction and payment.
CSD is entitled to an invoice based refund of a specified portion of central, state and integrated tax on inward supplies meant for subsequent supply to unit canteens or authorized customers. Pending online utilities, CSD must file quarterly manual applications in FORM GST RFD-10A with an undertaking, declaration, copies of FORM GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A (and attested invoices as needed) and bank details. Proper officers shall acknowledge or issue one comprehensive deficiency memo within fifteen days, validate returns on the portal, and sanction or reject refunds separately per tax head in FORM GST RFD-06 with payment advice in FORM GST RFD-05. Refund orders must be communicated to the counterpart tax authority within seven days via nominated nodal officers for payment by the respective authority.

Recovery of wrongly availed input tax credit: reverse through GSTR 3B and discharge interest and penalty accordingly.
Recovery of wrongly availed input tax credit and inadmissible transitional credit is to be treated as a state tax liability payable from the electronic credit or cash ledger; where portal functionality for the Electronic Liability Register is unavailable, taxpayers may reverse such credits via Table 4(B)(2) of Form GSTR 3B and pay applicable interest and penalty through column 9 of Table 6.1 of Form GSTR 3B.

Principal-agent invoice test determines GST treatment and registration consequences for agents under Schedule I, compliance required.
Schedule I deems certain transfers between principal and agent to be supplies without consideration where the agent supplies or receives goods on behalf of the principal; the decisive test is whether the agent issues the invoice in his name and thereby transfers title. Services between principal and agent remain taxable only when consideration exists. Agents who invoice in their own name and transfer title fall within Schedule I and may be subject to compulsory registration; agents who procure or merely facilitate without invoicing in their own name do not.

E-way bill non-compliance: minor data errors attract defined penalty, not detention, with mandatory weekly reporting.
Clarifies that where consignments carry invoices or other specified documents but exhibit minor inaccuracies in the e-way bill or document particulars, proceedings under section 129 for detention and seizure need not be initiated. Illustrative tolerable errors include certain name spellings where GSTIN is correct, limited pin code or locality errors, small digit errors in document or vehicle numbers, and limited HSN level errors when the tax rate is correct. In such cases, a fixed statutory penalty should be imposed and weekly records of these consignments must be reported to the controlling officer.

Detention and confiscation clarified: limits on inspections, proof by hard copy notices, and confined seizure to violating consignments.
Modifications clarify that the phrase "three working days" is to be read as "three days," FORM GST MOV-05 release wording is revised to include date and time, and once a conveyance has undergone physical verification in transit in a State or Union territory no further physical verification should occur there unless specific information of tax evasion is received. Hard copies of prescribed notices/orders may serve as proof of initiation when portal forms are unavailable. Detention or confiscation is limited to goods or conveyances for which a violation of the GST Acts or rules is established.

Extension of TRAN-1 filing deadline permits affected registrants who faced portal technical issues additional time to file.
The Commissioner has authorised an extension of the filing period for Form GST TRAN-1 for the class of registered persons who could not submit the declaration by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal; the extension is granted on the Council's recommendation and takes effect from the specified commencement date.

Extension of filing deadline for FORM GST TRAN-1 provides eligible registrants extra time due to portal technical difficulties.
Extension of time is granted for submission of FORM GST TRAN-1 under rule 117(1A) read with section 168, allowing a specified class of registered persons additional time to file where they could not submit by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal, and limited to cases recommended by the Council.

Extension of time for FORM GST TRAN-1 submission granted where portal technical issues prevented filing.
Extension of FORM GST TRAN-1 submission is authorised under rule 117(1A) read with section 168 of the Himachal Pradesh GST Act for registered persons who could not file by the due date owing to technical difficulties on the common portal, where the Council has recommended the case; the Commissioner sets the extended deadline as 31st January, 2019 for those recommended cases.

Extension of time for FORM GST TRAN-1 submissions granted for registrants affected by portal technical difficulties.
The Commissioner, under rule 117(1A) of the Central GST Rules and the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, on the Council's recommendation, extends the period for submitting declarations in FORM GST TRAN-1 until a specified final date for the class of registered persons who could not file by the due date because of technical difficulties on the common portal and whose cases were recommended by the Council.

Input tax credit entitlement for auctioneers clarified: ITC may be claimed for supplies made before or after auction.
Clarification on Input Tax Credit entitlement: where goods such as tea, coffee and rubber are supplied only through auction, an auctioneer may claim ITC in respect of supplies made to him by the principal both before and after the auction; paragraph 4 of the Trade Circular is amended to replace "before the auction" with "before or after the auction."

GSTIN cancellation pendency: special drive ordered to clear backlog and report action taken promptly.
Pending applications for GSTIN cancellation were directed to be cleared through a special drive within 15 days. The communication records concern over the large pendency of cancellation requests and requires officers to expedite disposal, address jurisdiction-related difficulties, and report action taken and achievements to headquarters.

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.