GST classification for railway supplies: Chapter 86 goods taxed at concessional rate with no ITC refund; others taxed at general rates.
Only goods classified under Chapter 86 supplied to the railways attract the concessional GST treatment with no refund of unutilised input tax credit; goods falling in any other chapter, when supplied to the railways, attract the general applicable GST rates as specified in the central tax rate notifications.

GST on retained feedstock: refinery liable on net quantity retained; returned volumes taxable when resupplied elsewhere.
Where LPG and Polybutylene feedstock are supplied by a refinery through dedicated pipelines and manufacturers retain only part of the supply for manufacture of specified products, GST is payable by the refinery on the net quantity retained by the manufacturer; the refinery must account for GST on the returned quantity when it later supplies that quantity to any other person. This clarification is limited to GST law.

Electronic sealing requirement for container self sealing: mandatory for specified exporters, voluntary where readers exist.
Implementation of electronic sealing for container self sealing moves from voluntary adoption to phased mandatory use where Customs reader infrastructure is available. Entitled exporters with RFID e seals may opt in immediately; earlier mandatory compliance applies to exporters previously permitted self sealing, accredited economic operators, and those using supervised stuffing at specified locations. Exporters using officer supervision may continue until e sealing becomes mandatory at their port or ICD. Trade bodies are asked to inform members and consult the full circulars for operational details.

Manual GST refund filing for inverted duty, deemed exports and cash ledger balances permitted with procedural safeguards.
Manual processing of refund claims is authorised for inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances while the portal refund module is unavailable. Claims must be filed in FORM GST RFD-01A (monthly, or quarterly for registrants filing GSTR-1 quarterly), only after furnishing the corresponding GSTR-1 details and filing GSTR-3B for the preceding period. Provisional refunds may be sanctioned on submission of a manual undertaking to repay any incorrectly sanctioned amount with interest. Specific statements of RFD-01A apply and refund orders must be communicated to the counterpart authority within seven working days.

GST treatment of catering services: exempt if provided by eligible educational institutions; third-party supplies taxable if input credit not taken.
If catering services are provided by an educational institution that meets the notification definition for educational establishments, such catering is exempt from GST. If the supply of food or drink in a mess or canteen is provided to the educational institution by a third party, that supply is treated as a taxable service to the institution at the reduced rate, provided the institution has not taken input tax credit on goods and services used in supplying the service.

25th GST Council decisions: provisional IGST settlement, invoice level return transition review, e Way Bill rollout and law amendment directives.
The Council approved provisional settlement of Rs. 35,000 crore from accumulated IGST to be split equally between Centre and States (States' share distributed pro rata on 2015 16 collections); ratified listed notifications, circulars and orders; directed staged transition toward an invoice upload/acceptance return model with the Nilekani proposal to be examined by the Group of Ministers; kept composition threshold at Rs. 1.5 crore in law; notified national e Way Bill portal rollout with a February 2018 trial and informal waiver of intra State penalties for that month; authorised Section 172 removal of difficulty orders limiting transitional credit and excluded unspecified cesses from transition.

Manual processing of zero-rated supply refunds: prescribed forms, ARN debit proof, provisional and final sanction procedures.
Manual filing and processing of refund claims for zero-rated supplies is required until the portal refund module is available: exporters' shipping bills serve as refund applications for exported goods once export reports and valid returns are filed; other zero-rated refunds and claims for unutilised input tax credit must be filed using the prescribed refund form with a printout and supporting documents submitted to the jurisdictional proper officer, and amounts claimed for unutilised credit must be debited from the electronic credit ledger with proof of debit included in the manual submission.

Pass validity rules: H category passes valid for five years, G category passes tied to custom broker licence validity.
G category passes will be issued or renewed with validity coextensive with the custom broker licence from the date of issue, while H category passes will be issued or renewed with a fixed five year validity from the date of issue; both are subject to submission of prescribed documents, employee verification from concerned ports, and applicable CBLR 2013 provisions and administrative guidelines.

GST on college hostel mess services taxable without input tax credit regardless of who operates the service under notified rules.
Supply of food or drink by a mess or canteen, whether provided by the educational institution itself, students, or outsourced to a third party, is taxable under the notified concessional treatment for mess/canteen supplies and applies without entitlement to input tax credit; implementation difficulties may be brought to the notice of the Board.

GST on betting and accommodation: gross transaction value taxed for casino entry, bets and actual accommodation charges.
Declared tariff determines the applicable tax slab but GST is payable on the actual amount charged for accommodation; declared tariff is the highest published rate and the tariff for the season or at time of supply applies. Casino entry and gambling (including horse racing) are taxed on the gross transaction value, with GST leviable on admission fees and on the total bet value. Legal services to business entities attract GST under reverse charge, with the recipient liable to pay.

Division of Taxpayer Base allocates migrated taxpayers between central and UT tax offices under annexure-based lists.
Division of Taxpayer Base allocates taxpayers who migrated to GST between the Central Tax Office and UT Tax Office for Daman, Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli by distinguishing cohorts on a turnover threshold and listing assessees in referenced annexures; trade associations are requested to inform members for implementation by the Central GST Commissionerate, Daman.

GST facilitation for small businesses enables free on-site tax payment and return filing by appointment.
A dedicated GST Facilitation Centre in the Trichy Commissionerate provides free on site tax payment and return filing for GST registered small businesses whose annual aggregate turnover is below the small business threshold. Use requires a prior appointment requested by email quoting GSTIN and Aadhaar or other identity proof; the Assistant Commissioner (GST Policy) verifies the registration, allots appointments and can arrange officer assistance for technical guidance. The Centre is equipped with computers and internet access and aims to reduce taxpayer compliance costs.

GST return filing calendar, edit facility for GSTR-3B corrections, monthly/quarterly filing options and reduced late fees.
All registered persons must file FORM GSTR-3B monthly; FORM GSTR-1 filing periodicity depends on self-assessed aggregate turnover ( Rs.1.5 crore may file quarterly, otherwise monthly), with an election for monthly filing binding for the financial year. Late fees for October onwards are reduced to Rs.20/day for nil-liability returns and Rs.50/day otherwise. An edit facility permits amendment of FORM GSTR-3B before offsetting; thereafter corrections must be made in subsequent returns, amended in FORM GSTR-1 where applicable, or reclaimed by refund. System reconciliation with GSTR-1/GSTR-2 will be operationalised later.

Reset of primary authorized signatory contact details allows officers to update email and mobile after documented verification.
Jurisdictional officers may reset the email and mobile of the Primary Authorized Signatory by opening the taxpayer's Active Registration, selecting "Update AS" and editing contact details; the taxpayer must provide a scanned supporting document (PDF/JPEG) for upload to maintain an audit trail, and changes are effective only after successful updation at the GSTN end.

Manual refund processing for inverted duty, deemed exports and electronic cash ledger balances continues pending portal availability.
Refunds for inverted duty credit, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances must be filed and processed manually in FORM GST RFD-01A until the portal module is available; claimants must submit specified statements (including Statement 1/1A for inverted duty and Statement 5B for deemed exports), required documentary evidence and undertakings, ensure prior return filings as preconditions, and comply with procedures for debiting/crediting ledgers, communication between Central and State nodal officers, and prohibitions on previously claimed drawback.

Maintenance of books of accounts: principals and auctioneers may keep records at principal place with written intimation, subject to ITC.
Clarifies that warehouses storing auction goods must be declared as additional place(s) of business, and that while records should ordinarily be maintained at each additional place, principals and auctioneers facing difficulties may maintain the books relating to those additional places at their principal place of business after intimating the jurisdictional proper officer in writing. Eligibility to claim input tax credit is preserved subject to the Act and rules, and the clarification applies to goods supplied only through auction where the auctioneer claims ITC on supplies from the principal.

Supply by artists: artworks sent to galleries are not a taxable supply until a buyer selects and GST applies on sale.
Artworks moved on an approval basis may be transported on a delivery challan with an e-way bill where applicable, and invoice issued at actual supply; inter-State movements attract IGST. Goods sent by artists to galleries for exhibition without consideration from the gallery are not supplies; GST is payable only when a buyer selects and purchases the displayed artwork, at which time a tax invoice must be issued.

GST outreach clarifies e-sealing, IGST refund, self-sealing and re-warehousing procedures and invites industry attendance encouraged.
A joint GST outreach will explain operational compliance under GST, concentrating on E Sealing, IGST refund procedures, Self Sealing, issuance of re warehousing certificates and bonds; the session aims to clarify procedural steps, documentation and stakeholder responsibilities. Industry representatives and taxpayers are invited to attend, and Trade & Industry Associations are requested to inform their members and encourage participation.

Extension of time for stock intimation under composition levy option: deadline extended for filing FORM GST CMP-03.
The time limit for furnishing details of stock held on the day before the date from which the option for composition levy is exercised in FORM GST CMP-03 is extended, superseding the earlier administrative order, and a new deadline of 31st January, 2018 is prescribed for submission of those stock details.

Manual filing for advance rulings requires online fee payment and submission of prescribed printed forms to the jurisdictional authority.
Manual procedures permit quadruplicate filing of applications for an Advance Ruling and of appeals in prescribed forms where the portal is unavailable. Applicants must pay the requisite fee online using a generated temporary user ID, print the challan and file the printed application or appeal manually with the jurisdictional Authority for Advance Ruling or the State Appellate Authority. Specified signatory rules apply and all accompanying documents and annexures must be self attested; additional sheets may be used if form space is insufficient.