GST rate classification for imitation zari clarified: metallised film-based yarn taxed at reduced rate; no refunds for film.
Imitation zari thread or yarn made from metallised polyester film or plastic film is classified under the imitation zari Schedule I entry and attracts the reduced GST rate recommended by the GST Council; no refunds are permitted for metallised polyester/plastic film on account of rate inversion.

GST applicability on services clarified: composite supply rules, pure agent treatment, job work for malt, and authority exemptions.
Clarification: "same line of business" for concessional passenger transport and renting with operator includes passenger transport and renting with operator but excludes leasing without operator; electricity bundled with renting or maintenance is a composite supply taxed as the principal supply unless supplied and billed by a supplier acting as a pure agent; job work converting barley into malt is job work in relation to food products and attracts the concessional rate for food-related job work; DMFTs set up by States qualify as Governmental Authorities for GST exemption; horticulture services to CPWD with goods value not exceeding 25% are exempt under specified state provisions.

Place of supply - default recipient location rule governs cross border transport, advertising display, and colocation hosting services.
Clarification prescribes that the default recipient location rule determines the place of supply for cross border transportation services (including mail and courier) where supplier or recipient is outside India: recipient location if available, otherwise supplier location. For advertising, sale or grant of rights to use hoarding space is treated as immovable property related with place of supply at the physical location; pure display services are governed by the default recipient location rule. Co location services are classified as hosting and IT infrastructure provisioning and follow the default recipient location rule, except where only physical space with basic infrastructure is supplied, in which case renting of immovable property rules apply.

Unclaimed amounts transfer to Investor Protection and Education Fund: procedure requires InvITs to escrow, disclose and process unitholder claims.
The framework requires Investment Managers to transfer distribution amounts unpaid or unclaimed fifteen days after declaration into an escrow-styled Unpaid Distribution Account within seven working days, designate a Nodal Officer, publish searchable details on the InvIT website, and maintain claim policies and records. Amounts unclaimed for seven years must be transferred, with accrued interest, to the Investor Protection and Education Fund (IPEF) within thirty days; defaults attract prescribed penalties. Unitholders must claim from the InvIT, which may pay and then seek reimbursement from IPEF using prescribed forms; the Board will verify refund applications and may require further information.

Unclaimed distributions procedure: REITs must escrow unpaid amounts and enable structured claims and refunds to protect investors.
REIT Managers must transfer distributions remaining unpaid or unclaimed after the short payment window into an escrow-style Unpaid Distribution Account, designate a Nodal Officer, publish searchable details and a claim policy on the REIT website, process verified claims by electronic payment within prescribed timelines, and preserve records. Amounts unclaimed for the statutory extended period must be transferred, with accrued interest, to the Investor Protection and Education Fund, with specified information submitted to the Board; late transfers attract fixed and continuing penalties. Managers may seek reimbursement from the Fund via prescribed refund applications and must indemnify the Board against future disputes, while the Board verifies and processes refunds.

Unclaimed amounts transfer framework requires listed non-convertible security issuers to escrow unclaimed payments and provide investor claim mechanisms.
Listed entities must transfer unclaimed interest, dividend and redemption amounts to an Escrow Account within seven days after a thirty-day claim period, pay penal interest to investors for delayed transfer, designate and disclose a Nodal Officer, provide a searchable website facility and a published claim policy, and preserve records. For non-company issuers, amounts unclaimed for seven years must be transferred to the IPEF with prescribed filing, disclosure and refund procedures; listed entities may seek reimbursement from IPEF after processing investor claims and must indemnify the Board against future disputes.

Fully Accessible Route expands to include sovereign green bonds, enabling non resident investment under FAR conditions.
All Sovereign Green Bonds issued by the Government in fiscal year 2023 24 are designated as specified securities under the Fully Accessible Route, making them eligible for non resident investment on the same unrestricted basis as other FAR securities. The Directions are issued under the Reserve Bank's statutory powers, without prejudice to permissions under other laws, and are applicable with immediate effect.

GST classification clarified: composite supply, pure agent, job work rates, DMFT governmental exemption, and CPWD horticulture relief.
Clarifies that reduced-rate passenger transport and renting with operator (SAC 9964/9966) qualify as the same line of business but leasing without operator (SAC 9973) does not; electricity bundled with renting or maintenance is a composite supply taxed at the principal supply rate while electricity supplied as a pure agent and billed at actuals is excluded from value; job work converting barley into malt is job work in relation to food products and attracts 5% GST; DMFTs set up by States are Governmental Authorities and eligible for exemptions; horticulture services to CPWD with goods value 25% are exempt under Sr. No. 3/3A.

GST classification of imitation zari yarn clarified; metallised polyester film supplies attract reduced tax rate and no refunds.
Imitation zari thread or yarn produced from metallised polyester film or plastic film, when converted to metallised yarn and combined with textile yarns, is covered by the tariff description for metallised yarn and is to be treated as imitation zari thread or yarn attracting the concessional GST rate. The GST Council also directed that no refunds be allowed on polyester (metallised)/plastic film due to inversion of tax rate, and implemented the change by amending the relevant notification.

Advance assessment of courier shipping bills enables pre-arrival evaluation on ECCS to reduce export dwell time.
Provision for Advance Assessment of Courier Shipping Bills has been implemented in the Express Cargo Clearance System so that CSBs marked for assessment are available to assessing officers before physical arrival of export consignments; field formations are to issue public notices and report operational difficulties.

Amnesty for export obligation default: eligible Advance Authorization and EPCG holders may opt for one time settlement under specified notices.
Amnesty scheme for one time settlement of defaults in export obligations is available to Advance Authorization and EPCG licence holders listed in Annexure A whose export obligation period has expired and who have not submitted the Export Obligation Discharge Certificate/Redemption Certificate; holders should refer to the cited Public Notices for conditions and may contact the Assistant Commissioner, EPSMMC, NS II, JNCH for assistance.

GSTIN amendment in bill of entry permitted once per PAN, with same-day amendment restrictions and OOC requirement.
Customs officers may amend the GSTIN in a Bill of Entry once provided the PAN remains unchanged; the system blocks multiple GSTIN amendments and disallows GSTIN amendment on the same day as any other amendment, requiring OOC to push amended data to the GSTN when sequencing restrictions apply.

Centralized Video Conference Facility enables exporters to register for DGFT HQ sessions to resolve unresolved trade matters and suggest improvements.
Introduction of a Centralized Video Conference Facility at DGFT headquarters provides a scheduled VC channel for exporters and trade representatives to raise matters unresolved by regional authorities and to offer suggestions on DGFT systems; access requires registration on the DGFT portal with priority to logged-in registrants, entry from a waiting lobby as time permits, and potential scaling of slots based on demand while existing RA VC services continue.

Taxability of guarantees: related party guarantees treated as supply of service; Rule 28 valuation and exceptions clarified.
Providing personal bank guarantees by directors is a supply of service between related persons and is valued under Rule 28; where RBI rules preclude payment, the open market value may be zero and thus no taxable value arises, except where remuneration is actually paid. Corporate guarantees between related persons, including holding company to subsidiary, are also a supply of service and their taxable value is determined under Rule 28 as amended by the newly inserted sub rule (2), which does not apply to personal guarantees.

Place of supply rules: transportation, advertising and colocation governed by default recipient location principles where service components prevail.
Following the amendment omitting the special rule, place of supply for transportation of goods where supplier or recipient is outside India is determined by section 13(2): recipient's location if available, otherwise supplier's location. For advertising: sale or grant of rights in hoarding space is a service related to immovable property with place of supply at the property location; pure display services are advertising services with place of supply under section 12(2). Co-location services that include hosting and IT infrastructure components are treated as IT provisioning services with place of supply at the recipient's location, but pure space-rentals with basic infrastructure are renting of immovable property.

Payment in INR via Special Rupee Vostro Accounts qualifies as export of services under IGST Act, subject to RBI conditions.
Payments received in Indian rupees from balances in designated Special Rupee Vostro Accounts opened by AD banks, as permitted by RBI A.P. (DIR Series) Circular No.10 and reflected in FTP 2023, shall be treated as fulfilling the payment condition in sub clause (iv) of the IGST Act definition of export of services, subject to compliance with RBI and FTP conditions and any other statutory permissions.

GST rate on imitation zari clarified: metallised plastic-film yarn attracts reduced tax while no refunds allowed for film inversion
Imitation zari thread or yarn made from metallised polyester film or plastic film falls within HS 5605 and is covered by the Schedule I entry attracting the reduced GST rate; no refund is permitted for polyester or plastic film on account of inversion of tax rates, and corresponding amendments to the State Tax (Rate) notification are being made. The Circular is clarificatory and implementation issues should be reported to the Commissioner.

Import declarations now require chemical category and CAS/IUPAC details; confidentiality self-undertaking allowed for missing supplier data.
Import declarations for specified tariff chapters require an item-level Chemical Category (Bulk and Basic; Formulations and Mixtures; Proprietary/R&D/Others) and corresponding CAS number and IUPAC name obligations: Bulk items require CAS and IUPAC; Formulations and Proprietary items require CAS and IUPAC of at least one main/active ingredient. Missing supplier information due to confidentiality may be addressed by a prescribed self-undertaking in the Bill of Entry. These additional qualifiers are mandatory for bills of entry filed on or after 15.10.2023 and are captured in EDI/Single Window data elements as masked fields; officers may add or amend qualifiers during assessment.

Registration cancellation revocation deadlines may be extended by designated Joint Commissioners for applications filed beyond the prescribed period.
Joint Commissioners of State Tax in Taxpayer Services Districts are authorised under the first proviso to rule 23(1) of the Kerala Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, to extend the time limit for filing an application for revocation of cancellation of registration.

Place of supply rules clarified for transportation, advertising and co location services determining taxable location.
Clarification: place of supply for transportation of goods (excluding mail/courier) where supplier or recipient is outside India will follow the general provision applicable when one party is outside India; mail and courier follow the default recipient location rule or supplier location if recipient location is not available. Advertising: sale or grant of rights to use hoarding (immovable) is located where the hoarding is; mere display services by a vendor are advertising services and follow the default recipient location rule. Co location: treated as hosting/IT infrastructure services and located at recipient's location unless agreement is purely physical space rent, in which case immovable property location applies.