E-way bill compliance: mandated enforcement and fortnightly reporting for illegal transport of iron, steel and scrap.
Complaints of iron, steel and scrap vehicles entering Uttar Pradesh without e-way bills require the Additional Commissioner Grade-2 (V.S.) to stop such transport and the Additional Commissioner Grade-1 to review incidents regularly. Headquarters will monitor through fortnightly reports submitted in a prescribed format to the Sachal Dal Section e-mail, detailing zone, period, total vehicles checked, vehicles without e-way bills, vehicles reusing e-way bills, value of seized goods and deposit fines; strict compliance is mandated.

Advance Authorization conditions tightened for wheat flour exports, imposing pre import requirement, restricted sourcing, port and transfer limitations.
Advance Authorizations for wheat flour (Atta) under SION E-136 will be issued only to flour millers or exporters tied to flour millers as supporting manufacturers; exports are allowed subject to the pre import condition of wheat under the notified SION, with domestic sourcing, invalidation letters/ARO facility, and third party exports prohibited. Imports/exports must use EDI enabled ports; imported wheat is for actual user use only with no transfer permitted; a fixed Export Obligation period applies with no extension, and failure to meet export obligation or value addition targets attracts a penalty equal to five times the CIF value of the shortfall plus duty and interest, with Paragraph 4.49 inapplicable.

Temporary suspension of Bills of Entry filing due to system updates; importers must schedule clearances, collect new export levies manually.
Filing of Bills of Entry and Section 48 approvals will be suspended from late on the day of the Budget presentation until ICES Directory and Notification updates are completed; other ICEGATE services will continue. Directory changes are implemented by nominated budget officers under Directorate General of Systems in coordination with Directory Management sites and NIC, and are ordinarily completed within forty eight hours if no substantial new levies are notified. Field formations must monitor prior BEs for duty changes before granting Out of Charge and collect any newly imposed export levies manually until system updates are live.

SGST reimbursement for Rajasthani film exhibitions requires return compliance, reduced ticket pricing, tax deposit, period-wise claims and demand adjustment.
Registered multiplexes and cinema halls seeking reimbursement equivalent to SGST for eligible Rajasthani film exhibitions must file prescribed forms, submit all due returns, and apply separately for each tax period. They must reduce the SGST component from ticket sales, deposit the calculated SGST into the treasury, and provide an affidavit confirming compliance and non-collection of SGST from viewers. Reimbursement is first adjusted against outstanding demands; where none exist, approval, budget allocation and payment proceed through the prescribed officers and forms.

Input tax credit on export transportation services remains available when foreign destination determines place of supply and IGST applies.
Transportation services for goods sent to a destination outside India, where supplier and recipient are both in India, have their place of supply at the foreign destination. The supply is inter-State, and IGST is chargeable because the supplier is in India while the place of supply is outside India. The Indian recipient may avail input tax credit of the IGST, subject to general eligibility conditions, apportionment rules and blocked-credit restrictions. The supplier must report the place of supply in GSTR-1 using code "96-Foreign Country".

Health Certificate requirement for imported food consignments extended; implementation deferred to give trade partners additional time.
Extension of the Health Certificate requirement for specified imported food consignments defers prior implementation; customs formations must align with the postponed operative date for mandatory Health Certificates for Milk and Milk Products, Fish and Fish Products, and Pork and Pork Products, sensitize officers accordingly, and report any difficulties in implementation to the Board.

Export quota hold: specific sugar mills barred from exporting pending further orders under DFPD instruction.
Cancellation of specific swapped export-quota entries in the 8th and 9th reallocations withdraws the export entitlement of the named sugar mills and requires that their export quotas be held; Customs is directed to prevent exports from those mills and to sensitise officers to ensure compliance until further orders.

Suspension of registration for discrepancies in GST returns triggers portal notice and a time-limited opportunity to respond before cancellation proceedings.
Provision for suspension of registration under sub-rule (2A) of rule 21A allows immediate suspension where return comparisons or other analyses show significant discrepancies indicating contravention and a threat to revenue; suspension is accompanied by an electronic intimation/notice (to be delivered via portal dashboard in FORM GST REG-17 until FORM GST REG-31 functionality exists) inviting the registrant to explain within a prescribed reply period, after which the proper officer may revoke suspension by FORM GST REG-20 or cancel registration by FORM GST REG-19 following examination and verification.

Temporary importation exemptions for exhibition aircraft permit duty-free clearance under ATA Carnet or specified notification with conditions.
Foreign aircraft and exhibition goods for Aero India 2023 at Yelahanka are treated as temporary imports subject to Customs Act provisions and may be cleared duty-free under an ATA Carnet or by claiming exemption under Notification No.8/2016, with mandatory filing of prescribed manifests and Bills of Entry manually before the Proper Officer at Yelahanka. Notification No.4/2019 waives bank guarantee/cash deposit for participating aircraft, but bonds and documentary compliance, open examination, value appraisal, transshipment procedures, ATF fuel recording, and re-export/shipping bill formalities remain required for exemption and closure.

Subsidy characterization in GST: government incentives to acquiring banks treated as non taxable subsidy, not taxable consideration.
Accommodation services supplied by government messes to non business recipients are covered by the exemption at Sl. No. 6 of Notification No. 12/2017 State Tax (Rate). Incentives from MeitY to acquiring banks for RuPay Debit Card and low value BHIM UPI transaction promotion are classed as a subsidy linked to service price and not consideration for services, and therefore do not form part of taxable value.

GST classification: clarified tariffs, exemptions and cess applicability for Rab, dal by products, beverages, snacks and SUVs.
Clarifies GST classification and tax treatment: Rab is classifiable under tariff heading 1702; Chilka, Khanda and Churi/Chuni are fully exempt from GST effective 1 January 2023 with intervening transactions regularized on an "as is" basis; carbonated fruit beverages fall under HS 2202 99 and attract the higher GST and compensation cess applicable to carbonated beverages; extruded snack pellets are classifiable under tariff item 1905 90 30; compensation cess applies to SUVs meeting all specified technical criteria; importers may claim lower IGST rates where eligible under other notifications.

Identified goods valuation controls: Board may require unique codes and extra declaration checks to address suspected undervaluation.
The Rules create a procedure for the Board to specify classes or subsets of imported goods as identified goods where undervaluation is suspected, based on written references and committee review. A Screening Committee performs preliminary scrutiny and confirms reports; an Evaluation Committee conducts detailed analysis and issues reasoned reports specifying HS Code, Unique Quantity Code, technical particulars, precautionary unit value, additional importer obligations and checks, and an initial validity period. Importers must declare required particulars and fulfill obligations on the Customs Automated System, with prescribed compliance timelines and review mechanisms; specified exceptions apply.

Subsidy exclusion from GST: government incentives to acquiring banks for digital payment transactions are not taxable.
Accommodation services provided by military and similar messes to personnel are treated as services supplied by government and exempt from GST when supplied to non business persons. Incentives paid by the central government to acquiring banks under the digital payments promotion scheme are subsidies directly linked to service price, not consideration for services to the government, and do not form part of the taxable value for GST purposes, hence not taxable.

GST classification clarifies codes and tax rates for Rab, dal by-products, carbonated fruit drinks, snack pellets, SUVs and imports.
Rab is classifiable under Tariff Heading 1702 and distinct from molasses. Dal/pulse milling by-products Chilka, Khanda and Churi/Chuni are exempt from GST from 1 January 2023 and interim matters are regularized on an "as is" basis. Carbonated beverages with fruit drink/juice fall under HS 2202 99 and attract the prescribed GST and Compensation Cess; an exclusion was added to Schedule II. Extruded snack pellets (fryums) fall under 1905 90 30 and attract the applicable GST. SUVs under heading 8703 meeting four specified specifications attract the specified Compensation Cess. Importers of goods in the annex to notification No. 3/2017 may claim a lower IGST rate where eligible under other notifications.

Fully Accessible Route now includes sovereign green bonds, permitting non-resident investment under existing FAR conditions.
All Sovereign Green Bonds issued by the Government in fiscal year 2022-23 are designated as specified securities under the Fully Accessible Route, permitting non-resident investment on the same terms as other FAR-eligible central government securities. The Directions are issued under Section 45W, apply with immediate effect, and are without prejudice to permissions required under other laws.

Paper import monitoring requirement: mandatory PIMS registration for notified paper imports, with narrow sample and non commercial exemptions.
Compulsory registration under the Paper Import Monitoring System (PIMS) applies to imports of notified paper products regardless of transportation mode, import purpose, or incentive scheme, including Advance Authorization, DFIA, IGCR, EOU and SEZ/FTWZ. SEZ/FTWZ/EOU units must register at import; DTA re-registration is not required on clearance if no processing has changed the HS code at 8-digit level. Limited exemptions include certain sample consignments meeting the prescribed FOB threshold and case-by-case non-commercial imports under a common IEC for individuals and government agencies.

Assistance in value declaration: specified obligations and checks ensure importers substantiate declared transaction value for identified goods.
The rules set procedures for identifying classes of imported goods suspected of undervaluation and require that, once specified as identified goods, importers declare prescribed information in the Bill of Entry and, if prompted by the Customs Automated System, fulfil additional obligations and submit to specified checks to demonstrate the truthfulness and accuracy of declared value; continued doubt by the proper officer triggers proceedings under rule 12 of the Customs Valuation Rules, 2007.

Waiver of late fee for delayed Bills of Entry due to electronic portal outage; relief for affected filings.
Waiver of late fee is granted for delayed filing of Bills of Entry caused by the electronic filing portal's non functioning; the relief covers Bills of Entry linked to the affected vessel entry period and belated filings within the specified contiguous dates, and the Public Notice operates as a Standing Order with difficulties to be reported to the Deputy Commissioner of Customs (Appraising Main) for action.

Transitional credit verification: jurisdictional officers must verify TRAN-1/TRAN-2 claims and issue reasoned orders before ledger crediting.
Verification of Transitional Credit filed/revised through TRAN-1/TRAN-2 must be performed by the jurisdictional central or state tax officer who shall commence verification upon availability of the form or receipt of a self-certified copy, coordinate with counterpart officers where both central and state components exist, follow principles of natural justice, obtain supporting records, consider counterpart verification reports and applicant submissions, and pass a reasoned order quantifying allowed credit and upload it to the common portal for crediting to the electronic credit ledger.

Refund of unutilised input tax credit clarification: amended formula and specified goods restriction apply prospectively to future filings.
The amendment to sub rule (5) of rule 89 modifying the refund formula for unutilised input tax credit applies prospectively to refund applications filed on or after the amendment's effective date; earlier pending applications are to be processed under the prior formula. Separately, the notification restricting refunds for certain goods under specified chapters applies prospectively to refund applications filed on or after its effective date and does not impact applications filed before that date.