Inter-office service taxation: clarifies ITC distribution options and valuation where offices are distinct persons.
Head office and branch offices that are treated as distinct persons may either distribute input tax credit (ITC) through the Input Service Distributor (ISD) mechanism (requiring ISD registration) or the head office may issue tax invoices to branches so branches can claim ITC; ISD distribution or invoicing is permitted only if services are attributable to or actually provided to the recipient. Where the recipient branch is eligible for full ITC, the invoice value shall be deemed the open market value, and salary costs need not be mandatorily included in taxable value where full ITC is unavailable.

E-invoicing applicability: suppliers above threshold must issue e-invoices to TDS-registered government entities.
Supplies by a registered person whose turnover exceeds the e-invoicing threshold to Government Departments, agencies, local authorities or PSUs that are registered solely for tax deduction at source must be invoiced using the e-invoicing mechanism because those entities are treated as registered persons under GST law; the supplier is therefore required to issue e-invoices under the relevant e-invoice rule.

Refund of accumulated input tax credit restricted to ITC reflected in GSTR 2B; circular clarifies undertaking, turnover and export refund rules
Refund of accumulated Input Tax Credit under section 54(3) is restricted to ITC reflected in FORM GSTR 2B for the relevant tax period or earlier periods on which credit is available; this applies to refund claims for periods from January 2022 onwards. The undertaking in FORM RFD 01 is amended to remove references to section 42 and GSTR 2/GSTR 3, relating the undertaking solely to compliance with clause (c) of sub section (2) of section 16. Export related refunds and calculation of adjusted total turnover are clarified, and procedural amendments to Annexure A and portal categories are provided.

Taxability of shareholding: mere holding of subsidiary shares is not a taxable supply under GST.
Securities, including shares, are neither goods nor services and mere purchase, sale or holding of shares does not constitute a supply. A transaction is taxable as a service only if it meets the statutory definition of supply; classification entries describing holding company activities do not convert passive shareholding into a taxable supply. Therefore, mere holding of subsidiary shares by a parent company is not a supply of services and is not subject to GST.

Warranty replacements and repairs: no additional GST where covered in original supply; GST applies to any additional consideration.
Where a manufacturer's original supply includes the expected cost of warranty replacements and repairs, replacements or repairs provided during the warranty without separate consideration attract no further GST and do not require reversal of input tax credit. If additional consideration is charged, GST applies to that consideration. Distributor actions are taxable only when they constitute a supply invoiced to the manufacturer; manufacturer-provided parts to distributors for warranty replacement without consideration do not attract GST or ITC reversal. Repair services charged by a distributor to the manufacturer are taxable and the manufacturer may claim ITC. Extended warranty at sale is part of the composite supply; post-sale extended warranty is a separate taxable contract.

TCS liability where multiple e commerce operators are involved: the ECO releasing payment must collect and remit TCS.
Where multiple ECOs are involved and the supplier side ECO is not the supplier, the supplier side ECO who ultimately releases payment to the supplier must collect and remit TCS and perform Section 52 compliances. If the supplier side ECO is itself the supplier, the buyer side ECO collecting payment must collect and remit TCS and comply with Section 52 when making payment to that supplier/ECO.

Input Tax Credit reconciliation: capped availment based on GSTR 2A discrepancies for specified periods, subject to verification and conditions.
The Circular directs reconciliation of Input Tax Credit claimed in FORM GSTR-3B with FORM GSTR-2A for 01.04.2019-31.12.2021, applying Circular No.183/15/2022-GST to early months and enforcing the caps provided by rule 36(4) for sub-periods; availment remained subject to the payment condition in clause (c) of sub-section (2) of Section 16, cumulative adjustment provisos for certain month clusters must be considered, and from 01.01.2022 ITC is allowable only to the extent communicated in FORM GSTR-2B.

Interest on wrongly availed IGST credit depends on the combined ITC balance across IGST, CGST and SGST heads.
The total ITC balance in the electronic credit ledger-aggregating IGST, CGST and SGST-must be used to determine whether wrongly availed IGST credit was utilized; no interest is chargeable if the combined ITC balance never fell below the wrongly availed amount between availment and reversal, but when the combined balance falls below that amount the shortfall measures utilization and attracts interest. Compensation cess credit is excluded from the aggregation and cannot be used for this purpose.

Searchable ad-hoc norms database enables Advance Authorisation applications on a no-norm repeat basis without committee ratification.
A searchable database of Ad-hoc Norms under Para 4.07 of the Handbook of Procedure permits applicants to identify pre-fixed norms by item description and ITC(HS) codes and, where a norm matches item description, specified wastages and HBP validity, to apply for an Advance Authorisation on a No-Norm Repeat basis without Norms Committee ratification, subject to other FTP/HBP provisions and the norm's validity.

State excise and VAT licence requirement: bond to bond liquor purchasers must hold licences and submit proof before warehousing.
The notice mandates that any purchaser engaging in bond to bond purchases of imported liquor must hold valid State excise and VAT licences and submit self attested copies when executing the triple duty bond; sellers/importers must verify buyer licences prior to bond to bond transfers. It prescribes additional documentary conditions for supplies to State liquor corporations, brand registration, and specified requirements for Haryana and Uttarakhand, repeatedly requiring clean past bonding records (no outstanding expired B2B bonds). Exemptions include original importers and holders of special bonded warehouse licences.

SEZ import exemption: specified gold HS code imports excluded from recent notification restrictions under Rule 27(1) of SEZ Rules.
Imports made by SEZ units under the HS codes identified in Notification No.19 are outside the purview of that Notification under Rule 27(1) of the Special Economic Zone Rules 2006; the DGFT policy circular instructs customs, SEZ regulatory authorities and trade stakeholders to implement this clarification.

E waste registration requirement: interim release of imported EEE consignments on EPR portal acknowledgement, extended to 31 August.
Imported consignments of 106 notified EEE items may be released on production of an acknowledgement from the CPCB EPR Portal confirming the producer has applied for registration; this interim release arrangement is extended until 31 August 2023 and applies only to producers who have submitted applications on the EPR Portal.

SOFTEX forms: physical invoice submissions by SEZ units dispensed; electronic verification authorised, with limited physical sampling.
SEZ Division dispenses with submission of physical SOFTEX forms and invoices by SEZ units where filings are made online; DCs may obtain documents electronically for verification and permit sample physical invoices in exceptional cases. RBI revised FETERS reporting from April 1, 2012: AD banks must use the revised purpose codes, report purpose codes for all forex transactions (including small non-export receipts), increase amount fields to 15 digits, and adopt 6 digit port codes, submitting prescribed ASCII files fortnightly with required consistency checks.

Material event disclosure requires prompt stock exchange reporting with prescribed content, timelines, and materiality guidance.
The circular prescribes enhanced disclosure obligations for listed entities under Regulations 30 and 30A by specifying required content for Part A events, precise timelines for initial and follow up disclosures (including prompt post board meeting reporting), criteria and computation guidance for materiality under regulation 30(4), and rules on when an event is deemed to have occurred, while requiring listed entities to update exchanges as material particulars evolve.

Condonation of delay in installation certificate under EPCG Scheme: RAs may accept certificates till year-end on payment of late fee.
Regional Authorities may accept installation certificates under the EPCG Scheme for authorizations issued under FTP 2009-14 and FTP 2015-20 up to 31.12.2023 for regularization on payment of a late fee of Rs. 10,000 per authorization (in addition to composition fee where applicable), provided the certificate was obtained within the prescribed period but not submitted on time, bonafide reasons for delay are given, and the authorization is not under investigation or adjudication.

Skilling and Mentorship Obligation requires status holders to provide industry-led export training and report actions through DGFT portal.
DGFT notifies a model curriculum to implement the Skilling and Mentorship Obligation for Status Holders under Para 1.30(b) FTP 2023: an industry led minimum six week training program with indicative annual mentoring targets, covering international trade fundamentals, regulatory framework, product identification, logistics, trade finance, practical in company exposure and field visits, with DGFT/IIFT resources recommended. DGFT Regional Authorities will facilitate engagement, beneficiary identification and stakeholder liaison, while Status Holders design selection criteria, assessments, feedback, certifications and report actions via an online portal.

ESG rating regulation: unified registration, disclosure and governance rules mandate transparency, auditability and conflict mitigation for providers.
SEBI establishes a unified regulatory framework for ESG Rating Providers requiring SEBI registration via the Intermediary Portal, prior approval for change in control with specified disclosures and timelines, procedures for transfer or surrender of registration ensuring orderly migration of client assignments, mandatory offering and disclosure of specified ESG products on a 0-100 scale, prohibition of hybrid business models, detailed governance and conflict of interest safeguards, yearly independent internal audits with prescribed scope and reporting, and extensive periodic and continuous public disclosures including transition rate studies and methodology transparency.

ESG disclosures via BRSR Core require phased assurance and mandated value chain reporting with specified KPIs and disclosure rules.
Introduction of a framework mandating standardized ESG reporting and assurance through the BRSR Core, a focused subset of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report comprised of key performance indicators across nine ESG attributes. The Core prescribes KPIs and a base methodology for reporting and reasonable assurance, requires phased applicability to top listed entities by market capitalization, and mandates disclosures for the value chain covering partners comprising seventy five percent of purchases or sales by value, with scope and assumptions disclosed.

Taxability of non-resident offshore investment income clarified: special regime applies only to Category I/II AIFs under securities or IFSC regulation.
The circular updates the investment fund definition in the special tax provisions to include funds regulated under IFSC fund management regulations, making the special tax regime applicable only to Category I and Category II Alternative Investment Funds regulated under securities law or IFSC fund-management regulations.

User ID consolidation enables institutes to recommend merging or deactivating legacy portal accounts to permit V3 access.
Institutes of professional members shall verify member credentials and forward recommendations by the President or Vice President to the MCA to enable either merger of duplicate V2 user IDs with a V3 ID or deactivation of old V2 IDs, permitting affected members to create or activate accounts on the MCA21 V3 portal.