GST refund scrutiny for mentha oil exporters targets bogus input tax credit and supply-chain verification.
Scrutiny of GST refunds sanctioned to exporters of mentha oil and its products is directed under the refund mechanism for unutilized input tax credit claimed by exporters. The circular is based on reported instances of invoices issued without actual supply of goods and bogus ITC being passed on to exporters. Refunds sanctioned for 2017-18 to 2020-21 are to be examined through scrutiny of the inward supply chain, with officer responsibility, timelines, cross-verification, and monthly reporting prescribed for monitoring compliance.

Suspension of export incentive scrip issuance temporarily halts applications and processing in the relevant IT module.
Issuance of benefits and scrips under export incentive schemes is temporarily suspended owing to changes in the allocation procedure; no fresh online applications will be accepted in the IT module and all pending applications for issuance of scrips will remain on hold until trade is informed of reopening.

Advance intimation timelines reduced to ten days for all commodity derivatives contract modifications, standardising notice across categories.
SEBI has revised the advance intimation requirement for contract specification modifications in commodity derivatives so that Category A, Category B and Category C changes each require a 10-day advance intimation; other provisions of the prior circular continue unchanged and the change is effective from the date of this circular under SEBI's regulatory powers.

GST limitation extension applies to appeals and related quasi-judicial remedies, not taxpayer compliances or original adjudication proceedings.
Limitation extension under the Gujarat GST regime is restricted to judicial and quasi-judicial proceedings involving appeals, reviews, revisions, rectification and similar statutory proceedings against quasi-judicial orders. Taxpayer compliances, original adjudication and other actions remain subject to statutory or notified timelines. Authorities may continue pending quasi-judicial hearings and disposal of refund, registration revocation and demand matters. Scrutiny, summons, search, enquiry, investigation, arrest, show-cause notices, reply periods and order passing are outside the extension.

Certificate of Origin declarations undergo duplicate-use validation in bills of entry where trade agreements limit certificates to one import.
Certificate of Origin declarations in Bills of Entry for preferential-rate duty claims are subject to system validation where a trade agreement restricts a certificate to one import or importing operation. The same CoO number cannot be used in more than one Bill of Entry, but may be used for multiple items within the same Bill of Entry. Officers must verify the declared CoO number against the submitted certificate copy.

Certificate of origin declarations must use unique numbers across bills of entry while allowing multiple items within one filing.
Preferential duty claims under trade agreements require additional Certificate of Origin declarations in Bills of Entry. For agreements where a Certificate of Origin is valid for only one import or importing operation, its number cannot be used in more than one Bill of Entry. The same Certificate of Origin number may, however, cover multiple items in a single Bill of Entry. Assessing and examining officers must verify that the number declared in the Bill of Entry matches the submitted Certificate of Origin copy.

Faceless assessment reform: increased facilitation, uniform officer hours and query limits to accelerate customs clearances.
The Board directs enhancements to faceless assessment to speed customs clearance by increasing facilitation levels for risk-managed consignments, mandating uniform FAG working hours and prompt first decisions, limiting queries per Bill of Entry, enabling targeted reorganisation and specialization of FAGs, shifting Direct Port Delivery to a Bill of Entry-based principle for fully facilitated advance BEs, introducing RMS-generated uniform examination orders, and operationalising an Anonymized Escalation Mechanism on ICEGATE for delayed Bills of Entry.

Same line of business criteria govern delisting of listed subsidiaries via scheme of arrangement, requiring certification and listing tenure.
SEBI requires objective criteria for a listed holding company and listed subsidiary to qualify as being in the same line of business: same NIC three digit principal activity; at least fifty percent of each company's revenue and net tangible assets attributable to the same line of business per the latest audited annual results; post name change revenue continuity on a restated consolidated basis; and mutual self certification. All such criteria must be certified by the statutory auditor and a SEBI registered merchant banker, and the entities must satisfy prescribed listing tenure conditions.

Dynamic QR Code requirement clarified: B2C invoices must follow prescribed UPI, agent collection, order ID and part payment rules.
Clarification requires Dynamic QR Codes on B2C invoices issued to persons with a UIN, permits an agent's UPI in the QR when payment is collected by an authorised party, and disallows separate bank account/IFSC details because UPI is account linked. Invoices to recipients outside India (with place of supply in India and payment in foreign currency through authorised channels) may omit dynamic QR. For retail counter sales where invoice numbers are generated after payment, a unique order ID linked to the invoice may be encoded. Dynamic QR must show only the remaining payable amount where part payment exists, with full payment details recorded on the invoice.

GST classification of irrigation system parts: components solely for sprinklers or drip systems follow the system's tariff heading.
Laterals and parts designed solely or principally for use with sprinklers or drip irrigation systems and classifiable under the HSN chapter for those systems fall within the entry for sprinklers and drip systems and attract the GST rate applicable to that heading even if supplied separately; parts of general use classifiable outside that chapter attract the rate of their own tariff heading.

Government guarantee services exempt from GST when supplied to state undertakings and public sector undertakings.
Guarantees issued by Central or State Governments for loans taken by their undertakings or public sector undertakings are specifically exempt from GST under Entry No. 34A of Notification No. 38/1/2017-Fin(R&C)(12/2017-Rate), and the GST Council has recommended reiteration of this exemption; the Goa Commissioner of Commercial Taxes has issued a circular reaffirming this position and inviting reports of implementation difficulties.

GST exemption for PDS milling applies when goods value is up to 25%; otherwise 5% job work rate applies.
Composite supply of milling of wheat into flour or paddy into rice to State Governments for PDS is exempt under Entry 3A if the value of goods in the composite supply does not exceed 25% of the total value; if the goods value exceeds this threshold, the supply is taxable at 5% as a job work service when provided to a registered person, including those registered only for tax deduction purposes.

Concessional GST eligibility for government construction clarified; ropeway projects classified under standard works contract rate applicable.
A ropeway constructed on a turnkey basis for a Government Entity is not "meant predominantly for use other than for commerce, industry, business or profession" and therefore does not qualify for the concessional entry for composite works contracts; such works contract services fall under the residual entry and attract the standard works contract GST rate.

GST exemption on board conducted examinations affirmed; input services for exams also exempt while accreditation fees are taxable.
GST exemption applies to services supplied by Central or State educational boards by way of conduct of examinations, including entrance examinations and any fee charged for such conduct. Input services relating to admission or conduct of examinations supplied to those boards-such as online testing, result publication, printing of admit cards, notifications and question papers-are also exempt. Services of accreditation or registration provided by those boards to institutions or professionals fall outside the examination exemption and are taxable under GST.

GST exemption for road access limited to operation services; does not cover annuity payments for road construction.
Exemption for annuity payments applies only to services of access to a road or bridge classified as operation/supporting transport services; annuity or deferred payments made for road construction are classified as general construction services and are not exempt under the annuity exemption provision, so GST applies to such deferred construction consideration.

GST exemption on catering to educational institutions ensures school and anganwadi meals remain tax-exempt regardless of funding source.
Catering services to educational institutions, including mid-day meal schemes and serving of food to pre-schools and schools, are exempt from GST. Anganwadis qualify as educational institutions by providing pre-school education and are covered. This exemption applies irrespective of funding source, whether government sponsorship or corporate donations.

Designation correction in GST order revises the table entry from Senior Joint Commissioner to Joint Commissioner.
The State tax administration issued a corrigendum correcting the designation in the table against serial No. 7 of the earlier order. The words "Senior Joint Commissioner" were substituted with "Joint Commissioner". The correction is confined to that table entry and does not state any further substantive change.

No Objection Certificate timing reduced to two months; merchant banker must confirm ASBA unblocking and complaints resolution.
SEBI reduced the post-listing period for applying for a No Objection Certificate to two months, subject to all issue-related complaints being resolved, and requires the merchant banker to certify that all SCSBs involved in ASBA have unblocked ASBA accounts; applications lacking this confirmation will be treated as incomplete.

Consolidation of regulatory circulars: master circular compiles SEBI directives for stock exchanges and clearing corporations; individual circulars prevail.
SEBI's Master Circular compiles applicable circulars and communications for recognized stock exchanges and clearing corporations, updates references to repealed statutes, organises guidance across trading, technology, settlement, risk management, derivatives and administration, and centralises access to existing regulatory guidance. In case of inconsistency, the underlying circular prevails, and the Master Circular supersedes the prior compilation while remaining a consolidation and reference document available on the regulator's website.

Financial disincentives enforce MIIs and senior executives to promptly rectify technical glitches, with payments directed to investor protection funds.
SEBI mandates an SOP defining Technical Glitch as malfunction in MII hardware, software or services causing stoppage or variance in operations, requiring prompt reporting to SEBI, a preliminary report within 24 hours and a comprehensive Root Cause Analysis with corrective actions within 21 days. SEBI's Technical Advisory Committee may review RCAs and require further action. Failure to submit adequate RCA or to remediate within TAC/SEBI timelines triggers graduated Financial Disincentives, including per-day penalties, slab-wise payments, and percentage-based penalties on MIIs and on the MD and CTO, payable to investor protection or settlement guarantee funds.