GST treatment of liquor licence fees clarified: state grants are not treated as a supply, limited to state-issued liquor licences.
GST liability on fees for State grants of alcoholic liquor licences was initially taxable under the reverse charge mechanism; the GST Council and subsequent legislative and administrative measures exempted transitional-period fees and directed treating State grants of alcoholic liquor licences as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of service, with the clarification that this treatment applies only to State-issued alcoholic liquor licences and not to other licence fees.

Retrospective effect of explanation under statute affirmed; explanation treated as part of original notification from inception.
Clarification that an explanation inserted by Notification (17/2018) is effective from the inception of the concessional-rate entry at Sl. No. 3(vi) of Notification (11/2017); the statutory power to insert an explanation within one year makes it operative as if part of the original notification from its inception, and a later stated commencement date in the amending notification does not alter that retrospective operation.

Lending of securities taxable; lender paid IGST earlier; borrower liable under reverse charge (IGST) from Oct 1, 2019.
The temporary lending of securities does not constitute disposal of securities, but the lending fee charged by the lender is consideration for a taxable service and attracts GST at 18%. Intermediaries' facilitation services are separately taxable. For 01.07.2017-30.09.2019 GST was payable by lenders under forward charge (IGST), with credit for CGST/SGST/UTGST already paid; from 01.10.2019 the borrower is liable to pay GST under the reverse charge mechanism (IGST).

Place of supply: ancillary prototype testing treated as recipient-location supply under IGST place-of-supply rules.
When testing on recipient-provided prototype hardware is ancillary to the principal design/software supply in a composite contract, the place of supply is the location of the service recipient under the IGST place-of-supply rule for services supplied to non-taxable territory recipients; the provision regarding goods made physically available does not apply separately to ancillary testing.

GST exemption for maritime training confirmed for DG Shipping approved courses when part of a recognised qualification curriculum.
Services provided by Maritime Training Institutes to their students, faculty and staff qualify for exemption under the Notification for educational institutions where education is provided as part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by law; MTIs and their courses approved by the Director General of Shipping under the Merchant Shipping Act and the STCW Rules meet this definition and are exempt from GST subject to the conditions at Sl. No. 66 of Notification (12/2017).

GST on donor nameplates: acknowledgements without commercial advertising are not taxable when donation is philanthropic and no quid pro quo.
Display of a donor's name or placement of nameplates by charitable organisations does not attract GST where the acknowledgement is a mere expression of gratitude and not intended as advertising, there is no obligation to supply any service in return, and the payment retains the character of a gift made for philanthropic purposes without commercial gain.

Airport levies as taxable consideration: airlines collecting PSF/UDF may exclude amounts if acting as pure agents under GST rules.
PSF and UDF charged by airport operators constitute consideration for services to passengers and are subject to GST; airlines that collect these charges act as agents and may exclude them from their supply value only if they meet Rule 33 pure agent conditions, must separately indicate such charges and not take ITC on GST thereon, while airport operators remain liable to pay GST on PSF and UDF and may claim ITC for GST on collection charges paid to airlines.

Classification of oil and gas support services: explanatory notes determine applicable GST headings and taxable scope.
Clarifies that operational support activities for petroleum and gas extraction are governed by the Explanatory Notes to service codes 998621 and 998622 under Heading 9986, while technical, professional and consulting exploration services inserted under Heading 9983 (effective 1 October 2019) are governed by the Explanatory Notes to service codes 998341 and 998343; services outside those entries must be classified and taxed in their respective headings.

GST classification clarifies rates for dried legumes, almond milk, mechanical sprayers, naval imports, leased imports, solar and medical parts.
Dried leguminous vegetables subject only to mild heat treatment remain classifiable as dried legumes and, if branded and packed in unit containers, attract the concessional GST while unpacked forms are exempt; almond milk is not a fruit juice and is classifiable under the residual beverage entry at the standard tariff; mechanical sprayers of all types fall under the specific Schedule entry and attract the concessional rate. Imported naval ship stores are exempt from GST; goods imported under lease for use after import qualify for IGST exemption subject to bond conditions; parts for solar water heaters and parts solely for medical devices are eligible for concessional classification and rates.

GST exemption on liquor licence fees: State grant of liquor licences treated as not a taxable supply, limited in scope.
Services by State Governments granting alcoholic liquor licences against licence or application fees were initially taxable and subject to reverse charge; the GST Council recommended and the State implemented a dispensation treating such grant as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of service, limited to State grant of liquor licences and not applicable to other licences or privileges for a fee.

Effective date of explanation: clarification that the inserted explanation applies from the original entry's commencement date.
The explanation inserted under the statutory power to clarify notifications is effective from the inception of the original concessional-entry, so the exclusion of Government and Local Authority activities from the term "business" applies from the original entry's commencement date. A deeming clause adopting a later issuance date does not affect the retrospective operation provided by the insertion mechanism. The circular is clarificatory in nature and implementation issues may be reported to the Commissioner.

Securities lending taxable; lending fee attracts GST and liability moves to borrower under reverse charge from Oct 1, 2019.
Lending of securities under the Securities Lending Scheme does not dispose of securities and therefore is not a transaction in securities, but the lending fee charged by the lender is consideration for a taxable service and has been taxable under GST since 01.07.2017. Intermediaries' facilitation services are separately taxable. The service is taxable at 18%. For 01.07.2017-30.09.2019 GST is payable by the lender under forward charge (IGST); from 01.10.2019 the borrower is liable under reverse charge (IGST).

Place of Supply: location of recipient where software and chip design services include ancillary testing on prototype hardware.
Where software and integrated circuit design services form a composite supply with chip design/software development as the principal supply and testing on recipient provided prototype hardware as an ancillary activity, the place of supply is the location of the service recipient; testing on prototype hardware does not convert the ancillary activity into a separate supply and separate place of supply rules for ancillary supplies do not apply.

GST exemption for maritime training applies to DG Shipping approved courses that meet the notification's conditions.
Services by Maritime Training Institutes conducting Director General of Shipping approved courses qualify as services provided by educational institutions and are exempt from GST under Sl. No. 66 of Notification No. 12, subject to meeting the conditions specified in that notification, because the Merchant Shipping Act and related rules recognise certificates of competency and authorize approval of courses, programmes and institutes.

Donor name display: acknowledgment by charitable organisations as non-commercial recognition is not subject to GST when philanthropic.
Display of donor names or name plates by charitable institutions as expressions of gratitude and public recognition, without reference to any business activity and lacking a quid pro quo, do not constitute a supply of service for consideration and are not subject to GST, provided the payment is a genuine donation and the purpose is philanthropic rather than advertising.

GST on airport levies: airlines may collect charges, but airport operators remain liable if pure agent conditions are met.
PSF and UDF charged by airport operators are consideration for services to passengers and are subject to GST. Airlines that collect these charges act as agents; if they meet the conditions of a pure agent under Rule 33 and separately indicate the amounts, the PSF/UDF and GST thereon are excluded from the airline's taxable value and the airline need not pay GST on those sums. Airport operators remain liable to pay GST on PSF/UDF collected, while collection charges paid to airlines for collection services attract GST and are eligible for input tax credit by the airport operator.

Service classification for oil and gas: consulting and technical exploration under professional services, support operations under extraction services.
Clarification directs that professional, technical and business services relating to exploration, mining or drilling of petroleum crude or natural gas are to be classified under heading 9983 as governed by explanatory notes to service codes 998341 and 998343, while physical support services to oil, gas and other mining activities are to be governed by explanatory notes to service codes 998621 and 998622 under heading 9986; services outside those explanatory notes must be classified in their appropriate headings and taxed accordingly.

GST classification and rates clarified: specific goods including processed legumes, almond milk, sprayers, navy imports, leased imports, solar and medical parts.
Dried leguminous vegetables subjected only to mild heat treatment remain classifiable under HS 0713 (branded packed units attract concessional GST; others exempt); almond milk is classifiable under the residual tariff of tariff item 2202 and attracts the higher applicable rate; mechanical sprayers of all types fall under the specific mechanical sprayer entry and attract the concessional rate; imported stores for Indian Naval ships are exempt from GST; goods imported under lease supplying specified services are IGST exempt subject to bond and conditions; parts for solar water heaters under chapters 84, 85 or 94 attract concessional treatment; parts solely or principally for medical devices classify with the devices under Chapter Note 2(b).

Secondary or post-sales discounts under GST face circular withdrawal after concerns over implementation and uniformity across field formations.
Withdrawal of Circular No. 60/2019-GST concerns earlier clarifications on the treatment of secondary or post-sales discounts under GST. In response to representations expressing apprehensions about its implications, the Commissioner of State tax exercised power under section 168 of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 to withdraw the circular ab initio and to ensure uniform implementation across field formations. The circular was deemed to have been issued from 1 October 2019.

Refund procedure after favourable appeal: fresh FORM GST RFD-01 claim allowed without re-debiting electronic credits, with order details.
Where a refund rejected by FORM GST RFD-06 is later allowed in appeal or any other forum, the claimant must file a fresh FORM GST RFD-01 under the category "Refund on account of assessment/provisional assessment/appeal/any other order"; the claimant need not re-debit amounts already debited in the electronic credit ledger, must supply order type, number, date and issuing authority, and upload the appellate order, original RFD-06 and related documents. The proper officer will sanction the allowed refund, issue FORM GST RFD-06 and RFD-05, and re-credit any remaining debited amounts following the guidelines of Circular No.24/2018-GST.