Withdrawal of trade circular: ab initio nullification after retrospective omission of rule governing airport retail GST refunds.
The Commissioner withdraws Trade Circular No. 27/2019 ab initio because the underlying rule in the West Bengal GST Rules concerning refunds to airport departure area retail outlets supplied to outgoing international tourists against foreign exchange was omitted retrospectively with effect from the operative date, thereby removing the regulatory basis for the circular's guidance.

Refund of unutilised ITC: procedural filing and REA-based evidence required for exporters of electricity to claim entitlement.
Procedure for refund of unutilised Input Tax Credit (ITC) for exported electricity requires filing FORM GST RFD-01 under "Any Other" with Statement 3B and REA monthly statement, uploading export invoices, tariff agreements and refund calculation in Statement 3A. The relevant date is the last date of the month as per monthly REA. Refund amount follows rule 89(4) formula: zero-rated export turnover (REA scheduled energy x contracted tariff, using the lower of REA and invoice quantities) multiplied by Net ITC divided by Adjusted Total Turnover, excluding domestic electricity turnover.

Re credit of electronic credit ledger enabled after deposit of erroneous refund, effected by officer via FORM GST PMT 03A.
Re credit is available where a taxpayer deposits an erroneously sanctioned refund with applicable interest and penalty by debiting the electronic cash ledger through FORM GST DRC 03; the taxpayer must state the reason in the payment text box and, until portal automation exists, submit a written request in Annexure A to the jurisdictional proper officer. The proper officer, after verifying full payment via FORM GST DRC 03 and applicable interest under section 50 and any penalty, shall re credit an equivalent amount to the electronic credit ledger by order in FORM GST PMT 03A, preferably within 30 days from request receipt or payment date.

FPI participation in commodity derivatives enabled via FPI route, subject to risk management and position limit controls.
Permits SEBI-registered Foreign Portfolio Investors to participate in ETCDs via the FPI route for cash-settled non-agricultural commodity contracts and indices, subject to applicable risk management measures, SEBI and custodian regulations, client-level position limit norms for FPIs trading as clients, a capped share of client-level limits for FPIs that are individuals, family offices or corporates, and additional safeguards that stock exchanges or clearing corporations may prescribe.

Deferment of appeals under section 158AB allows postponing appeals on identical questions of law until a favourable decision is obtained.
Deferment of departmental appeals under section 158AB permits deferring appeals on grounds raising identical questions of law until a final favourable decision is received; where multiple grounds exist, if the cumulative tax effect of identical-question and residual grounds exceeds the monetary threshold, appeals on residual grounds must be filed immediately while identical-question grounds may be deferred and filed after the favourable decision.

Deadline extension for EPCG annual returns extends filing period, allowing exporters additional time to submit mandatory returns.
Amendment extends the filing deadline for annual returns under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme in para 5.15 of the Handbook of Procedures (2015-20), replacing the earlier cut-off with a revised last date and taking immediate effect.

Extension of Handbook of Procedures validity extends FTP 2015-20 compliance timelines to 31 March 2023.
Extension of the Handbook of Procedures (HBP) 2015-20 by substituting earlier expiry references in para 1.01, para 3.20(a) and para 4.12(vi) with an extended expiry date, thereby extending the handbook's operative validity and preserving the related compliance timelines under FTP 2015-20.

Export prohibition on broken rice: tolerance under Rice Grading and Marketing Rules may permit clearance of mixed consignments.
Export of broken rice is classified as prohibited by DGFT Notification, but where exporters face clearance difficulties for consignments of other rice categories containing broken rice, tolerance for such broken rice may be allowed in accordance with The Rice Grading and Marketing Rules, 1939 to facilitate exports and customs clearance.

Preferential issue rules for REITs updated: listing duration and strict conditions for sponsor allotment of unsubscribed units.
The circular amends REIT preferential-issue rules: units of the same class proposed to be allotted must be listed for at least six months prior to the notice calling the unitholders' meeting; institutional investors who are sponsors, managers, related parties, or associates are barred from allotment, except that sponsors may be allotted the unsubscribed portion of an institutional placement only where most of the issue is otherwise subscribed, the issue's object is acquisition of assets from that sponsor, allotted units to the sponsor are subject to the prescribed lock-in, and unitholder approval is secured.

Listing requirement for units requires prior continuous listing; sponsor allotment restricted, allowed for unsubscribed portion with conditions.
Units proposed for allotment must have been listed on a stock exchange for at least six months prior to issuance of the meeting notice. No allotment shall be made, directly or indirectly, to any institutional investor who is a sponsor, investment manager, or related person/party/associate of the sponsor or investment manager. Provided that the sponsor may be allotted the unsubscribed portion in an institutional placement only if specified conditions are satisfied: substantial subscription of the issue, acquisition of assets from the sponsor, lock in of units allotted to sponsor, and unitholder approval for such allotment.

Credit enhancement disclosures require supported and unsupported ratings to be published, with due diligence and enforceability verification.
For ratings that consider any specified support consideration, CRAs must publish both the unsupported rating (excluding explicit support) and the supported rating (including the support) in the press release, provide a detailed explanation of security covenants, conduct independent due diligence and, where warranted, obtain external legal opinion, and verify that the support is unconditional, irrevocable and legally enforceable, that the support provider has adequate financial strength, and that the provider's probability of default remains lower than the issuer's for the life of the ratings.

Customs Brokers registration required: create online CBLMS profiles with portal support and helpdesk assistance for migration.
The Commissioner directs existing customs brokers under regulation 7(2) of CBLR 2018 within the Mangaluru Commissionerate to create individual profiles on the centralized CBLMS portal; login credentials will be sent to mobile numbers registered with ICEGATE, a user manual is on the portal, and a centralized Helpdesk (email and phone) is available to assist with onboarding to the online licensing management system.

Collegium under Explanation to section 158AB established to decide deferment of appeals; sets composition and membership rules.
An order under the Explanation to section 158AB establishes a Collegium to decide deferment of appeals, designates constituting authorities by appeal category (International Tax and Transfer Pricing; Exemption Charge; Central Charges; all other cases), and prescribes a three-member body of PCIT/CIT including the jurisdictional officer plus two nominated officers, with optional co-option and the senior-most member as Chair. The order is effective from its date of issue.

Registration Certificate for import of fresh areca nut from Bhutan requires per certificate quantity limits and limited validity.
Establishes a DGFT procedure requiring Indian importers to obtain a Registration Certificate via the Import Management System before importing Fresh (green) Areca Nut from Bhutan without the Minimum Import Price; sets a per certificate quantity cap, limits validity to six months or until financial year end, permits additional applications after prior quantities are imported, and reserves DGFT discretion to revise allocation modalities.

Extension of KYC filing deadline allows fee-free submission of DIR-3-KYC forms for a limited period.
Extension granted for filing e-form DIR-3-KYC and web-form DIR-3-KYC-WEB without payment of filing fee until 15 October 2022; the Ministry approved a limited fee-free window following a representation seeking an extension beyond 30 September 2022, permitting stakeholders to submit the specified director KYC forms electronically without incurring the filing fee during that period.

Daily Price Limits modification permits staged relaxations with cooling-off and notice when international markets exceed domestic ranges.
Exchanges may relax Daily Price Limits when international prices move beyond the aggregate DPL range versus domestic close: relaxations may be implemented in successive stages (3% increments) with a 15-minute cooling-off period, accompanied by market notice and justification. In exceptional circumstances of extreme international movement, exchanges may directly relax DPL to the required level with notice. All such instances must be reported to the regulator in the monthly development report; breach of a slab is not required. The amendment is effective immediately and prior circular terms otherwise remain.

Correction of deadline in Section 119 order: operative date amended to 30th September 2022 effective immediately.
Corrigendum to an order under Section 119 of the Income Tax Act corrects the date in paragraph 3 of the Board's order of 26 September 2022, substituting "30th September, 2022" for the earlier published "30th September, 2023"; dated 27 September 2022 and signed by the Under Secretary, TPL-IV.

GST classification of electrically operated vehicles clarified: vehicles without fitted batteries qualify for concessional rate under entry.
Electrically operated vehicles are classifiable under HSN 8703 and attract the concessional entry rate even if batteries are not fitted; minor polished Napa stones qualify as non mirror polished calcareous building stone for concessional treatment; fresh mangoes are exempt, sliced dried mangoes concessional, and other processed mango forms including pulp attract the standard processed rate; treated sewage water is exempt as water; nicotine polacrilex gum for cessation is classifiable under nicotine oral products with applicable rate; 90% fly ash condition applies only to aggregates; pulse milling by products used as cattle feed are classifiable under heading 2302 and attract the concessional rate with past periods regularised as is.

Consideration for supply determines GST: compensatory payments are non taxable unless they constitute consideration for a contractual supply.
GST liability depends on whether a payment is consideration for a supply under the declared service of agreeing to refrain from, tolerate, or do an act. That service requires an express or implied agreement and reciprocal consideration; absent such contractual arrangement, compensatory payments arising from breach, statutory cancellations, penalties, cheque dishonour fines or forfeitures are mere flows of money and not taxable. Conversely, contractual charges that constitute ancillary or independently bargained facilities (late payment acceptance, cancellation fees, prepayment penalties) are consideration for supply and taxable alongside the principal supply unless the principal supply is exempt.

GST applicability on services clarified: classification, exemptions and reverse charge obligations updated across multiple service categories.
Clarifies GST treatment across services: ice cream parlours' supplies are taxable at 18% with ITC from October 6, 2021 and prior 5% payments without ITC are regularised; educational institution fees for entrance, eligibility and migration certificates are exempt; storage of ginned/baled cotton was exempt prior to July 18, 2022; transit cargo services to/from Nepal and Bhutan are exempt subject to customs procedures; renting vehicles with operator is rental under Heading 9966 (reverse charge applies to body corporates) while passenger transport services under Heading 9964 differ; IVF services are health care and exempt; sale of developed land remains non taxable.