Annual return filing under GST: reminder of deadline and a seminar to explain compliance procedures and resolve queries.
Annual return filing under Form GSTR-9 is the compliance obligation highlighted, with an imminent filing deadline and an organised seminar to explain procedural steps and clarify queries. Central Tax and Central Excise officers, with NACIN Cochin, will provide guidance on proper completion of the annual return; Trade, Commerce and Industry organisations are requested to inform their members for necessary action.

Auto-registration on ICEGATE enables beneficiaries to receive PGA issued LPCOs by email and removes DSC for information access.
Auto-registration on ICEGATE allows IEC holders to register using GST email IDs to receive PGA uploaded LPCOs, IRNs, declaration PDFs and consignment status by email without a Digital Signature for information only access. DSC remains required for filing Customs declarations or manifests. Registered beneficiary logins permit electronic responses to Customs enquiries, including post clearance audit queries, reducing need for physical submissions, and PGAs will upload LPCOs directly to eSANCHIT, after which beneficiaries cannot upload them themselves.

Assessment order defects due to system error to be addressed under reassessment provisions and rule-based rectification procedures.
Assessment orders for 2014-15 contained inconsistent demand figures and blank tax periods due to a system bug; the defect has been removed and Assessing Authorities are directed to address affected cases under Section 74(B) of the DVAT Act read with Rule 36(B) of the DVAT Rules, 2005 using statutory rectification/reassessment procedures.

Auto-registration of IEC holders on ICEGATE enables PGA uploads to eSANCHIT and IRN communication via registered email.
ICEGATE now offers simplified auto-registration for IEC holders using GST-provided email ids, eliminating the Digital Signature Certificate requirement for information-only logins; PGAs will upload LPCOs to eSANCHIT and IRNs will be sent to beneficiaries via the ICEGATE-registered email. Digital signatures remain necessary for filing declarations through ICEGATE. Registered users will receive consignment status notifications, PDF declarations by email, direct access to consignment enquiries, and an online response facility for Customs queries to reduce physical submissions.

Clearance of pending drawback claims requires brand rate sanction or attested application by 24.06.2019 or claims processed at zero rate.
Exporters/CHAs must submit either the sanctioned brand rate fixation letters or, if not fixed, the application to jurisdictional Central Excise/Customs plus a self declaration (both attested by the jurisdictional DC/AC) by 24.06.2019; absent compliance, pending drawback claims will be processed at zero rate, but exporters may thereafter file a supplementary claim under Rule 16 of the Customs and Central Excise Drawback Rules, 2017.

Simplified ICEGATE registration via GST email ids allows IEC holders information-only access and email delivery of LPCO IRNs.
ICEGATE now auto-registers IEC holders for eSANCHIT using GST-provided email IDs, removing the digital signature requirement for information-only access; PGAs will upload LPCOs and IRNs will be emailed to registered beneficiaries, while digital signatures remain necessary for filing any customs declarations.

Paperless LPCO uploads by PGAs now mandatory; beneficiaries barred from uploading prior LPCOs after the cut-off date.
PGAs must upload digitally signed LPCOs on the eSANCHIT platform for ICES locations; IRNs for those LPCOs will be communicated to beneficiaries via ICEGATE-registered email. Beneficiaries are barred from uploading previously issued LPCOs on eSANCHIT from 01.07.2019; PGAs are required to upload LPCOs issued in the 15 days before that cut-off and may upload earlier LPCOs to enable beneficiary use.

Provision of facilities by SEZ units permitted subject to developer and statutory NOCs; no entitlement to exemptions.
Units in SEZs may create exclusive on-premises facilities under the proviso to Rule 11(5) provided they obtain a NOC from the Developer and all required statutory approvals and clearances; UACs may decide requests. Units creating or operating such facilities will not be eligible for any exemptions, drawbacks, concessions or other benefits under the SEZ Act in respect of those facilities, and Development Commissioners/UACs are to consider requests only if these conditions are satisfied.

Refund sanctioning authority is allocated by claim value, with ward-level filing, referral, and designated appellate review.
Refund sanctioning powers under section 54 of the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are allocated by claim value. Claims up to Rs. 10 lakhs are sanctioned by the Assistant Commissioner or GSTO of the concerned ward, while higher-value claims are assigned to zonal senior officers, with separate allocation for Zone-08. Refund applications must be filed in the concerned ward and placed before the competent sanctioning authority. Designated appellate authorities hear section 107 appeals, while previously filed appeals remain with the existing appellate authority.

MEIS benefit withdrawal for fresh onions - export incentive removed immediately under the Foreign Trade Policy.
MEIS benefit for exports of Onions Fresh or Chilled under ITC (HS) code 07031010 is withdrawn with immediate effect; the Director General of Foreign Trade, under the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-2020), makes the applicable MEIS rate nil for exports made on or after the date of publication of the Public Notice.

Change of address for CGST and Central Excise divisions: services to operate from new LIC Building premises.
Relocation of the offices of the Assistant Commissioner for CGST & Central Excise Divisions A and B to new premises at LIC Building, Sub City Centre, Udaipur, with Division A at Block 4 A, 4th Floor and Division B at Block 4 B, 4th Floor; trade and industry associations and all concerned are requested to inform their members of the change of address and updated office locations.

Mandatory digital upload of supporting export documents required; hard copies prohibited at filing for shipping bills
Mandatory implementation requires exporters and customs brokers to use eSANCHIT for uploading digitally signed supporting documents at the time of filing shipping bills; hard copies of supporting documents are no longer permissible at filing and the change, effected by a superseding Board notification, applies at all EDI locations.

Refund of accumulated input tax credit: file under alternative category, debit via DRC-03 and await officer verification for payment.
Where reversal of ITC required to be lapsed causes portal validation blocking full inverted-tax refunds, taxpayers should file the refund for the same period under the "any other" category in Form GST RFD-01A with all statutory documents; the proper officer will calculate admissible refund under the refund rules, request the taxpayer to debit the amount via Form GST DRC-03, and on receipt of debit proof issue the refund order and payment advice. Untimely reversals may be made via DRC-03 but attract interest until reversal; merchant exporters and corrected resubmissions use the same DRC-03 debit and refund-order procedure.

Registration verification: failure to seek revocation and continued statutory violations can justify rejection of fresh GST registration applications.
Proper officers must scrutinise fresh registration applications for omitted or misleading information and compare application details with earlier registrations and cancellation grounds. Continued existence of the conditions under clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 without revocation of cancellation constitutes a deficiency under rule 9 and may justify rejection under rule 9(2) read with rule 9(4). Officers should use the common portal to match registrations on the PAN and analyse personnel details against cancelled registrations; insufficient justification should lead to rejection.

Utilization of integrated tax credit: integrated credit must be exhausted before using central or state tax credits on liabilities.
Input tax credit of integrated tax must be completely exhausted before central tax or state/union territory tax credits can be utilized; the amended provision allows integrated tax credit to be applied toward integrated, central and state/UT liabilities in any order or proportion subject to mandatory exhaustion of integrated tax credit, and the rules provide illustrative allocation methods while allowing existing portal functionality to remain in use until updated.

Revocation of registration applications require outstanding returns to be filed on portal before revocation is processed.
Applicants seeking revocation of cancellation of registration must, where cancellation is effective from the cancellation order date, furnish all returns due up to that date and pay amounts shown before applying; returns for the period between the cancellation order and the revocation order must be filed within thirty days of the revocation order. If cancellation is retrospective and the portal prevents filing, an application may be filed provided all returns for the period from the effective cancellation date to the revocation order date are furnished within thirty days of the revocation order.

Testing scope update: revenue laboratories now test additional listed items, verify local availability before sending samples outside and notify stakeholders.
Revenue laboratories have expanded capabilities to test additional items listed in Annexure I and Annexure II; field formations must confirm with their jurisdictional laboratories that testing for a particular listed item is unavailable locally before forwarding samples to outside laboratories, and Principal Commissioners/Commissioners must issue public notices while reporting implementation difficulties to the Board.

Customs revenue reporting discontinued; zonal fortnightly reports ceased as data is available in EDW, implement accordingly.
The Board directs discontinuation of fortnightly zonal Customs revenue reports previously required under earlier letters, noting irregular submissions and that most revenue data are accessible in the Electronic Data Warehouse (EDW), and instructs Chief Commissioners to implement the cessation and take appropriate action.

UNSC resolution implementation requires Customs to prevent prohibited DPRK trade and sensitize officers through training and enforcement measures.
Customs is directed to ensure strict implementation of UNSC resolutions prohibiting specified imports and exports related to DPRK, to address instances where Bills of Entry or Shipping Bills incorrectly named DPRK as country of origin or destination, and to conduct sensitization programmes and take necessary legal action to prevent recurrence and ensure compliance.

MSME facilitation centre established to resolve customs, GST, DGFT and export-related issues for MSME units.
An MSME Facilitation Centre has been established at Custom House, Chennai to assist MSME units with IGST refunds, duty drawback, ITC refunds related to exports, licensing and EODC delays. The Centre is headed by a Customs nodal officer (DC/AC) with supporting staff and publishes contact officers for filing representations. It will coordinate with nominated nodal officers from Central GST, State GST and DGFT and accept representations via FIEO, CII or directly. A software for filing applications is being developed to expedite resolution; the Centre began functioning on 30-Aug-2019.