GST classification rules: cloud kitchens 5% restaurant service; ice cream parlors and alcohol job work taxed at standard rates.
Clarifies GST treatment for specified services: cloud/central kitchens are restaurant service at 5% without ITC; ice cream parlors selling manufactured ice cream are supplies of goods at 18%; government funded coaching under the Disabilities Scholarships scheme is exempt; NSIL satellite launches to non residents are export of service and zero rated; overloading charges at toll plazas receive toll treatment; "giving on hire" includes renting to STUs and local authorities for exemption; grant of mining rights classified under service code 997337 and taxable at 18% for 1.7.2017-31.12.2018; amusement park admissions and distinctions with casinos/sporting events clarified; job work for alcoholic liquor attracts 18%, not 5%.

GST classification clarifications confirm distinct tax treatment for fresh versus processed produce and reclassify several commodity entries.
Circular clarifies GST classification and applicable rates for specific goods: fresh fruits and nuts remain exempt while frozen or intentionally dried variants are taxable; tamarind seeds are classifiable as seeds under heading 1209 with concessional treatment only when not for sowing; copra is excluded from coconut exemption and attracts the concessional rate; pure henna and mehndi paste are covered under tariff item 1404 and specified entries; brewers' spent grains and similar residues fall under heading 2303; all goods under heading 3006 and heading 3822 attract the rates provided in their respective entries. Administrative clarifications include acceptance of original DGH Essentiality Certificates for inter state stock transfers and separate taxation where UPS and external batteries are invoiced individually.

Export quota for syringes limited; online applications required in specified monthly windows, eligibility documentation needed, licences valid one month.
Export of Syringes with or without Needles is subject to fixed month-wise quotas and must be applied for online through DGFT's ECOM system within specified monthly windows. Applications will be examined under the Handbook of Procedures (para 2.72). Licences granted are valid for one month and are not eligible for revalidation. Eligibility requires documentary proof of manufacture, a purchase order/invoice, and an undertaking on company letterhead confirming domestic commitments are fulfilled; all documents must be self-attested and submitted with the online application, with incomplete or late submissions excluded.

Exit option enhancements require expedited notices, Letter of Offer filing, escrow, tender timetable, and enhanced price for dissenting unit holders.
Amendments prescribe that where an open offer triggers Regulation 22(6A) or 22(8), the relevant date is the public announcement date; establish a two notice regime with strict timelines for Manager notifications, unit holder voting, intimation of dissenting unit holders, dispatch of a Letter of Offer by the Lead Manager, creation of an escrow prior to the tendering period, a seven day post intimation start and five day tender period, payment within three working days of tender close, and reporting obligations; and require the exit option price to be enhanced at ten per cent per annum for the period between the first and second notice.

Exit option price enhancement and prescribed timeline apply where an open offer triggers an acquisition affecting dissenting unit holders.
Amendments specify that where an acquisition or sponsor change under Regulation 22(5C) or 22(7) is triggered by an open offer, the relevant date is the public announcement date and a detailed timeline applies: first notice with the public announcement, immediate exchange intimation by the investment manager, a second notice seeking unit holder approval with confirmation to provide an exit option, convening and concluding voting within prescribed cut-offs, issuance of a Letter of Offer and creation of an escrow prior to tendering, a defined tendering window, payment to accepted dissenting unit holders shortly after tender closure, and reporting obligations. The exit option price is enhanced by an annualised ten percent for the period between first and second notices.

Quarterly financial disclosure requirement mandates revised reporting formats and prompt disclosure of reasons for delayed financial results.
Issuers of listed non convertible securities must file quarterly financial results in revised formats reflecting Schedule III profit and loss items and security details for secured debt; half yearly statements of assets and liabilities and cash flows (indirect method) are required with current and corresponding period columns, and entities must disclose reasons for any delayed or non submission of results to stock exchanges within one working day.

Intimation of arrest reporting: arrests must be notified in prescribed format to investigation authorities and compiled monthly by email.
Every arrest must be intimated promptly to the investigation member and zonal authority in the prescribed format; zonal offices must send a monthly zone-wise report of arrested persons to central investigation headquarters for compilation and onward transmission to the Board, and all reports must be submitted only by electronic mail, discontinuing hard-copy submissions.

Discontinuation of pooling: mutual fund transactions must use direct investor pay in/pay out and direct unit crediting.
Pooling of funds and units by stock brokers/clearing members for mutual fund transactions is discontinued; pay in/pay out must be received from and made to investor accounts directly by the clearing corporation, and units must be credited/debited directly to/from investors' demat or folio accounts. Stock brokers/clearing members must not accept or handle investor funds or units in proprietary or pool accounts nor accept mandates or payments in their own name, while AMCs remain responsible for PMLA compliance and may use clearing corporations to validate investor source bank accounts.

Prohibition on fund pooling: mutual fund platforms must ensure direct investor-to-scheme payments and direct unit transfers.
Transactions in mutual fund units through platforms other than stock exchanges require service agreements with AMCs and prohibit any intermediate pooling of investor funds or units; subscriptions and redemptions must be credited directly between investors' bank accounts and mutual fund scheme accounts, or routed through authorized payment aggregators/recognized clearing corporations, with units credited/transferred directly in demat and non-demat modes and system-generated, secured information sharing among stakeholders while limiting payment data to aggregators.

Disclosure of complaints requirement increases market transparency by mandating monthly public reporting and complaint-resolution data.
SEBI mandates all Recognized Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations with Commodity Derivatives segments to publicly disclose, by the seventh of the succeeding month, standardized monthly data on complaints received (by source), carried forward complaints, resolutions, pending complaints with ageing categories, and average resolution time, effective January 1, 2022, requiring amendments to bye laws and reporting implementation status via the Monthly Development Report.

Tariff rate quota allocation for sugar to EU allows quota-based exports subject to certification and reporting requirements.
Allocation of 5841 metric tonnes of raw and refined sugar to the EU under the Tariff Rate Quota for 2021-22 is notified. Exports under this TRQ are Free subject to the conditions of the governing notification; Certificate of Origin for preferential export shall be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai. The quota will be operated by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority and exporters must comply with the prescribed reporting and certification requirements.

Show cause notice procedure: inspection reports must be forwarded to the jurisdictional proper officer for adjudication under GST Acts.
Inspecting officers must prepare detailed inspection reports quantifying discrepancies and submit them for approval; approved reports and collected documents are to be forwarded to the jurisdictional proper officer, who shall issue the show cause notice under Sections 73/74 and afford hearing under Section 75 before passing adjudication orders. Transmission should be system based, registers maintained, and adjudication monitored by Deputy and Joint Commissioners.

Mandatory electronic filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin extended; paper-based submissions temporarily permitted pending agency onboarding.
The mandatory move to electronic filing for Non-Preferential Certificates of Origin is extended to 31st October 2021, allowing issuing agencies to continue paper-based submission until that date. The Common Digital Platform now supports Non-Preferential CoO applications, and all Appendix 2E agencies must complete on-boarding by the deadline or face possible de-notification; technical queries may be directed to ddg2egov-dgft[at]gov[dot]in.

Rights issue relaxation extended; issuers must obtain independent IT vulnerability tests for optional non cash application mechanisms.
The circular extends a prior procedural relaxation for Rights Issues while preserving the requirement that issuers and Lead Managers comply with the specified ancillary procedural obligation; it additionally requires issuer companies to obtain and submit to the stock exchange an independent IT auditor's Vulnerability Test report for any optional non cash application mechanism administered by the registrar, with issuers, Lead Managers, Registrars and intermediaries remaining responsible for implementing and complying with the relevant regulatory requirements.

Revocation of GST Registration: Special drive to expedite processing of pending applications and provide grievance redressal contacts.
Ahmedabad CGST Zone has initiated a focused administrative drive to expedite disposal of pending FORM REG-21 applications for revocation of cancelled GST registrations; jurisdictional Commissionerates must process pending applications on merits, communicate any deficiencies and a specific completion timeline to applicants, and follow the SOP and applicable law. Applicants may approach their CGST Division during the drive for status and deficiency information, and may escalate to designated Commissionerate-wise nodal officers and the Zonal Nodal Officer if grievances are not redressed.

Export of services: supplies by separate incorporated Indian companies to foreign group entities may qualify as exports if conditions met.
Condition (v) of section 2(6) IGST excludes supplies between establishments of the same legal person under Explanation 1 to section 8; branches, agencies and representational offices are establishments under Explanation 2 and therefore supplies by an Indian establishment of a foreign company to its foreign establishments do not qualify as export. Conversely, an Indian-incorporated subsidiary or related company is a distinct person from the foreign company, so services supplied by the Indian-incorporated company to the foreign company's establishments abroad may qualify as export of services if the other statutory conditions are met.

Input tax credit eligibility delinked from invoice to debit note date; e invoice QR and export duty refund rules clarified.
Section 16(4) (w.e.f. 01.01.2021) delinks debit note date from underlying invoice date for ITC eligibility, making the debit note's issuance date determinative and applying the amended rule to ITC availment on or after 01.01.2021. Where e invoices are issued, electronic production of the QR code with the IRN suffices instead of carrying a physical invoice during goods movement. The restriction on refund of accumulated ITC under section 54(3) applies only to goods actually subject to export duty; goods with NIL or exempt export duty are not covered by that limitation.

Intermediary services: facilitation between parties is an ancillary supply distinct from the principal supply, affecting GST characterisation.
Clarification explains that an intermediary under the IGST Act arranges or facilitates a main supply of goods, services or securities between two or more persons but does not include a person who supplies the main supply on his own account. It requires at least three parties, distinguishes the ancillary intermediary supply from the principal main supply, excludes subcontractors who provide the main supply, and limits invocation of the place of supply rule to cases where supplier or recipient is outside India.

Compliance audit timelines extended for investment advisers, permitting additional time to complete annual audits and submit adverse findings.
Timelines for Investment Advisers' annual compliance obligations under the IA Regulations are extended by three months for the financial year ending March 31, 2021: annual compliance audits to be completed by December 31, 2021; submission of adverse findings, if any, by January 31, 2022; and auditor's certificate on client level segregation to be obtained by December 31, 2021; other requirements remain unchanged.

Electronic platform for public notices centralises auction listings of liquidation assets and requires timely uploads upon publication.
Designates the Board's website as the electronic platform for hosting public notices of auctions of liquidation assets under the Liquidation Process Regulations and requires liquidators to upload every auction notice to that platform on the day of its publication in newspapers, in addition to other prescribed modes of publication; the direction is issued under section 196 of the Code for purposes of clause (5) of paragraph 1 of Schedule I of the Regulations.