Reconstitution of Regional Advisory Committee establishes advisory forum for procedural GST issues with quarterly meetings.
The Zonal Regional Advisory Committee (RAC) for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry is reconstituted under the Principal Chief Commissioner for 01.07.2017-31.12.2018 with named representatives from trade, industry and professional bodies. The RAC's role is advisory, limited to resolving general procedural difficulties and excluding policy issues, individual cases and matters before judicial fora. Meetings will be quarterly, generally at the Principal Chief Commissioner's office, with communications primarily by e mail and the Principal Chief Commissioner's decision final on RAC matters.

IGST export refund requires PFMS validated bank accounts; Shipping Bill treated as refund application when EGM and GSTR 3 are filed.
Validation of exporters' bank accounts in PFMS is mandatory for disbursal of IGST export refunds; the Shipping Bill is treated as the IGST Export Refund Application and the refund is deemed filed when the EGM is filed and a valid Form GSTR 3 return is furnished. Exporters with closed or unvalidated PFMS accounts risk non credit of refunds and are instructed to update and avoid changing bank account details during the current financial year; Annexure A lists unvalidated accounts.

Works contract assessments require time bound scrutiny and statutory document submission to prevent time bar and protect revenue.
The circular mandates time bound scrutiny and completion of Works Contracts assessments under the KVAT Act, requiring assessing authorities to obtain and file specified statutory forms and financial statements (including Forms 13/13A, 20E/20F/20H, audited accounts, returns, agreements and proof of TDS), to verify compounding eligibility, exemptions, CST/imports, contract values, unaccounted transactions, and IPT claims using KVATIS and supporting records, and to prioritise cases within limitation periods while ensuring supervisory oversight, reporting and peer review uploads.

Drawback rules change: limitation to customs and select excise duties restricts eligible duty drawback for exports.
Notification of the Drawback Rules 2017 and revised All Industry Rates takes effect, limiting drawback to customs duties on inputs and remnant excise on specified petroleum for captive power; integrated tax, compensation cess and service-tax related references are excluded. Composite rates are discontinued and replaced by general AIRs with caps, using specified tariff-item suffixes and alternative suffixes for certain garment exports. Provisional drawback payments align with applicable AIR components. Brand-rate fixation procedures continue but prior brand rates do not apply post-commencement and nil-rate items require alternative rule applications.

Extension of time for Form GST TRAN-1 filing - deadline extended to permit transitional declarations within the revised timeframe.
The Commissioner of State Tax, exercising powers under rule 117 and on the Council's recommendation, extended the deadline for submitting the transitional declaration in Form GST TRAN-1 to 31st October, 2017, thereby permitting filings under the transitional mechanism within the revised timeframe.

Rupee denominated bonds excluded from FPI corporate bond limit; reporting via ECB norms, with other ECB policy unchanged.
Issuance of Rupee denominated bonds overseas is excluded from the cap on investments by foreign portfolio investors in corporate bonds, removing those issuances from the FPI corporate bond limit. The additional email reporting requirement for RDB transactions is dispensed with, but RDBs continue to be reported under existing External Commercial Borrowing norms; all other ECB policy remains unchanged.

Masala bond reclassification: reassigns masala bond issuances to ECB framework and restores corporate bond capacity for FPIs.
Masala bonds are reclassified from the FPI corporate bond limit to the ECB framework and will be monitored accordingly. The amount freed by this shift will be restored to the FPI corporate bond ceiling through phased quarterly allocations, and a portion of each quarterly allocation is reserved exclusively for long term FPIs to invest in infrastructure as defined under the Master Direction on ECBs. All other FPI debt investment conditions remain unchanged.

Extension of time-limit for Form GST TRAN-1 under transitional provisions allowing additional time to submit declarations.
The Commissioner of State Tax, exercising powers under the Puducherry GST rules and on the Council's recommendation, has extended the period for submitting the declaration in Form GST TRAN-1 to provide additional time for taxpayers to file transitional declarations and migrate input tax credits to the GST regime.

Extension of time for FORM GST TRAN-1 filing announced, setting a revised administrative deadline for transitional declarations.
The Commissioner of State Tax, Puducherry, under rule 120A read with the Act and on the Council's recommendation, extended the period for submitting the transitional declaration in FORM GST TRAN-1 until 31st October, 2017, providing an administrative deadline extension to facilitate compliance with transitional GST filing requirements.

Extension of filing period for Form GST TRAN-1: deadline extended under rule 120A to end of October.
The Commissioner of State Tax, exercising powers under rule 120A of the Puducherry Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 read with section 168 of the Puducherry Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, on the recommendations of the Council, extends the period for submitting the declaration in Form GST TRAN-1 till 31st October, 2017.

Liquidity Enhancement Scheme exemption applies to all IFSC products, clarifying prior guidance and enabling uniform implementation.
The circular confirms that the exemption previously granted to stock exchanges in the IFSC to introduce the Liquidity Enhancement Scheme without complying with certain earlier circular requirements applies to all products traded in the IFSC, permitting uniform application of LES across product lines and was issued under SEBI's powers to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Integration of broking activities allows single entity trading across equity and commodity derivatives subject to registration and due diligence.
Amendments permit a stock broker to operate in equity and commodity derivatives under a single entity. SEBI will grant a one time registration certificate; exchanges/clearing corporations grant subsequent permissions after due diligence. SEBI approval is required only when integration changes control. Client accounts may be transferred between brokers with express client consent and existing documentation preserved. Certain FMC restrictions are repealed or relaxed for activity within the same broking entity, and exchanges and depositories must amend bylaws, implement systems and carry out cross exchange due diligence.

Customs Broker applications open: eligibility, required qualifications, documents and exam process for licensing explained.
Applications are invited for the Customs Broker written examination under Regulation 6, CBLR 2013; written and subsequent oral exams are required to obtain a licence. Applicants must meet Regulation 5 eligibility: Indian citizenship, sound mind, no insolvency or convictions, no penalisation under relevant Acts, and financial viability evidenced by assets or bank solvency of not less than five lakh rupees. Prescribed educational/professional qualifications or specified experience (including G Card holders or retired Group A officers) and the documents listed in Annexure III must accompany Form A; incomplete or incorrect filings may be rejected or later cancelled.

Electronic container sealing requirements require vendors to certify international standards compliance and link seal IDs to exporter records for customs
Vendors of RFID tamper proof one time bolt container seals must submit self attested manufacturer certifications evidencing ISO 17712:2013 compliance to the Director (Customs), CBEC before sales; provide vendor manufacturer link documentation and update CBEC on any manufacturer change. Approved vendors will be listed on the Board's website. Vendors must implement web applications with prescribed data elements, transmit specified feeds to customs, capture Tag Identification (TID) numbers, and link each TID to the exporter's IEC so port/ICD readers and software can validate seal identity.

Extension of filing deadline for FORM GST TRAN-1 under CGST Act provisions, allowing later submission by taxpayers.
The Government, invoking rule 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules read with section 168 of the CGST Act, extended the period for submitting the declaration in FORM GST TRAN-1, thereby modifying the statutory filing deadline for the transitional declaration to permit later submission by taxpayers.

Drawback claim queries: pending claims processed at zero drawback rate unless exporters submit documentary replies by deadline.
Exporters must retrieve EDI-raised queries from the service centre, submit documentary replies and BRCs within the prescribed deadline; failure to submit replies will result in processing of claims at a zero drawback rate, while exporters with genuine reasons may file a supplementary claim on production of documentary evidence within six months of the notice.

FORM GST TRAN-1 filing deadline was extended for transitional tax declarations under the Chhattisgarh goods and services tax framework.
FORM GST TRAN-1 filing period under rule 117 of the Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 was extended until 31 October 2017. The extension was issued under rule 117 read with section 168 of the Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, pursuant to the Council's recommendations.

Public shareholding thresholds for transferee entities under schemes of arrangement adjusted, with conditional relaxation and a one year compliance timeline.
The transferee must have at least twenty five percent of post scheme paid up share capital held by public shareholders of the transferor; if not, relaxation is permitted only where specified cumulative conditions are met: a valuation test, a minimum value of post scheme public shareholding, at least ten percent post scheme public shareholding from transferor shareholders, and a scheme undertaking to raise public shareholding to twenty five percent within one year of listing.

Extension of filing period for FORM GST TRAN 1 permits late submissions until a specified extended deadline under governing rules.
The Commissioner of State Tax, invoking rule 117 of the Uttarakhand GST Rules read with section 168 of the Act, orders an extension of the period for submitting declarations in FORM GST TRAN-1, permitting late submissions to the newly specified deadline as an administrative measure to facilitate taxpayer compliance.

Catch-all export control requires SCOMET licence where an item risks WMD, missile or military use; export regulated.
Exporters notified by authority, or who know or have reason to believe that an item not on the SCOMET list could be used in or diverted to WMD, missile systems, or military use, must apply for a SCOMET licence; such exports may be denied or permitted under the SCOMET licensing procedure (Paragraph 2.73). "Military use" is defined to include incorporation into, or use, development, or production of, items in SCOMET Categories 5D or 6.