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.

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.