Deselection from Audit under section 65: removal of selected registered persons from GST audit for specified periods.
The Commissioner, State Tax deselected nine registered persons from audit under section 65 of the West Bengal GST Act for the specified assessment periods, effective from 1 July 2023. The administrative order cites reasons for each deselection in an annexure-including investigations by other authorities, insolvency proceedings, non existence, premises sealed, cancellation of registration, and seizure of books-thereby removing those persons from the section 65 audit process for the periods stated.

Extension of compliance deadline specified upto 30th September 2023 replacing prior three month phrase in corrigendum.
Corrigendum amends Order No. 02/WBGST/PRO/2023 by substituting the phrase describing a further three month extension with an explicit timeline, specifying the extension is upto the 30th day of September, 2023, thereby clarifying the operative deadline in the opening paragraph.

Extension of audit completion period under section 65 grants additional time where audits stalled by system glitches.
The Commissioner extended, under the proviso to sub-section (4) of section 65 of the West Bengal GST Act, the time for completion of audits for the period Apr 2018-Mar 2019 which commenced within 31 May 2023; having found delays caused by GSTN system glitches, the Commissioner granted a further three-month extension from the statutory due date, excluding cases already separately extended, effective immediately.

GST registration through registered rent deed requirement tightened to curb fake invoices and fraudulent input tax credit.
GST registration in Assam is to be granted only when the applicant furnishes a valid rent agreement or lease deed duly registered with the Sub-Registrar or other competent authority. This requirement is intended to prevent registration based on forged or unreliable documents, including unregistered rental agreements, and to curb fake invoices, fraudulent input tax credit, and loss of government revenue. Registering authorities are directed to follow this requirement strictly and refuse registration where the supporting rental or lease document is not duly registered.

Real Estate Investment Trusts: SEBI consolidates REIT circulars into master circular mandating compliance, filings, disclosures.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars for Real Estate Investment Trusts into a single instrument effective from issuance, superseding listed circulars while preserving prior actions and pending applications by deeming them to have been done under corresponding provisions. It mandates online filings via SEBI's intermediary portal, requires periodic and continuous reports and disclosures (including detailed public-issue, financial disclosure, audit and NDCF frameworks), prescribes governance, issuance and listing procedures, and sets out transitional, compliance and reporting obligations for REITs, intermediaries and stock exchanges.

Master Circular consolidates SEBI guidance for Infrastructure Investment Trusts, mandating online filings and consolidated compliance obligations.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars for InvITs up to July 6, 2023, takes immediate effect, supersedes listed circulars while preserving prior actions and pending applications, requires mandatory use of SEBI's online filing portal, and imposes consolidated compliance, reporting and disclosure obligations covering public offers, preferential and rights issues, financial and audit standards, continuous disclosures including NDCF statements, debt issuance rules, encumbrance and exit mechanisms, governance and specified reporting formats; issued under SEBI Act and InvIT Regulations and published on SEBI's website.

Export examination clusters streamline cargo processing by assigning designated CFSs and warehouses for faster handling.
Three separate export clusters were notified for Customs examination and processing of export cargo at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House to speed up cargo handling. The notice assigns specified CFSs and warehouses to Cluster X1, Cluster X2 and Cluster X3, grouped by location around Uran, Nhava Sheva, Dronagiri, Panvel, Taloja and adjoining areas. The notice operates as a standing order for officers and staff, and implementation issues are to be reported through the specified contact details.

Election expenditure vigilance: enhanced CBIC preventive measures to detect and curb illicit cash, freebies and smuggled goods.
The SOP directs CBIC formations to intensify preventive vigilance during elections by designating Pr. ADG/ADG, DRI as State point persons and nodal officers, establishing Central Control Rooms and Flying Squads, collating and submitting daily reports to the ECI and CBIC investigation wings, mapping and monitoring warehouses and bonded premises, scrutinising e-way bills and stocks under Section 67 of the CGST Act, and increasing border and airport vigilance for illicit cash, contraband and goods used as voter inducements.

Clause designation in section 206C corrected to clause (a)/(b), amending circular references to the withholding provisions.
Corrigendum replaces references in Circular No. 10 so that the words "clause (i) of sub section (1G) of section 206C" in paragraph 4(i) and paragraph 5 shall be read as "clause (a) of sub section (1G) of section 206C", and the words "clause (ii) of sub section (1G) of section 206C" in paragraph 4(i) shall be read as "clause (b) of sub section (1G) of section 206C".

Institutional placement pricing now based on two-week average closing prices, with limited discount subject to unitholder approval.
The circular requires institutional placement pricing to be at least the average of the weekly high and low of closing prices of the same class of units during the two weeks preceding the relevant date, allows a limited discount subject to unitholder approval through the prescribed resolution, and defines the relevant date as the date of the board meeting when the board decides to open the issue; the amendment is effective immediately under the regulator's statutory and REIT regulatory powers.

Institutional placement pricing set at recent average closing prices, allowing a limited discount with unitholder approval.
Institutional placement price shall be the average of the weekly high and low of the closing prices of the same class of units on the stock exchange during the two weeks preceding the relevant date; the InvIT may offer a limited discount on that price subject to unitholder approval. "Relevant date" for institutional placement is the date of the meeting when the manager's board decides to open the issue.

Import policy change for cigarette lighters: prohibition with limited free imports where CIF value meets a specified threshold.
Import policy for pocket lighters (gas fuelled, refillable and non refillable) under Chapter 96 is revised from "Free" to Prohibited, subject to a conditional allowance where the CIF valuation meets a specified per unit threshold; Customs officers are directed to implement the change and issue notices or standing orders accordingly.

Authorised officers designation under FSS Act and Import Regulation updates PoE assignments; customs instructed to sensitize officers.
Notification updates designation of Authorised Officers under Section 25 read with Section 47(5) of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Regulation 13(1) of the FSS (Import) Regulation, 2017 for import control of food at Points of Entry, identifying 161 PoEs and specifying which are to be manned by Customs officers as authorised officers and which by FSSAI officials, with an annexed list and direction to sensitize officers and modify the earlier instruction accordingly.

Nominee director appointment: issuers must designate a non executive or independent director as trustee nominee when nomination events occur.
SEBI mandates that issuers unable to amend their principal charter to appoint trustee-nominated directors must give an undertaking to debenture trustees that, if events under Regulation 15(1)(e) arise, a non-executive or independent director or member of the governing body will be designated as the nominee director in consultation with the debenture trustee(s). Debenture trustees must ensure and monitor compliance; the circular is effective immediately and will be incorporated into relevant operational circulars.

HS code correlation required: align Certificate of Origin tariff with Bill of Entry tariff to secure CEPA customs preference.
For Customs clearance under India Japan CEPA, the HS code shown in the Certificate of Origin (HS 2007) must be correlated with the HS code recorded in the Bill of Entry (HS 2022) at the time of clearance; Customs formations and National Assessment Centres are to implement this procedure to enable application of the CEPA tariff preference.

Export quota allocation for broken rice extended application period; mis declaration or non export risks blacklisting and FT(D&R) Act action.
Procedure for allocation of export quotas of broken rice on humanitarian and food security grounds is amended to extend the licence application deadline for certain recipient countries; mis declaration or failure to export allotted quota within the specified time will lead to blacklisting for two financial years and action under the FT (D&R) Act.

Credit rating agency regulation: comprehensive operational, disclosure and governance requirements to standardize ratings and ensure transparency.
The Master Circular consolidates procedural and operational requirements for CRAs including online registration, prior approval for change in control, transfer and surrender mechanics, and obligations during suspension or cancellation. It standardizes rating scales (including an EL scale), mandates detailed operations manuals, rating criteria, committee governance, and recordkeeping. Surveillance obligations include monthly No Default Statements and event based reviews; standardized press releases must disclose analytical approach, liquidity and rating sensitivities. Enhanced transparency requires PD benchmarks, periodic default and transition disclosures, machine readable reporting, half yearly internal audits with specified scope, and rules on conflict management, outsourcing and firewalls.

Mandatory qualifiers in import/export declarations deadline extended after industry and department requests; testing revealed data mismatches.
The Commissionerate extends the compliance timeline for the mandatory declaration of additional qualifiers in import and export declarations, deferring the previously prescribed effective date in view of trade representations, a departmental request for delay, and testing-detected mismatches in qualifier information for export products; stakeholders are directed to report implementation difficulties to the Additional Commissioner (Technical) via email.

Self Customs Pass for Importer/Exporter enables electronic application for customs passes under CBLMS, with user guidance online.
Launch of a Self Customs Pass for Importer/Exporter functionality in the CBLMS portal permits electronic application for customs passes where the importer/exporter transacts on their own account or an employee transacts generally on behalf of a person or firm, in conformity with regulation 3(b) of CBLR 2018; a user manual explaining the process flow will be made available under the CBLMS "Knowledge Centre" tab.

Quota allocation for broken rice: sea shipment minimum reduced, application window extended; importer details optional, landing certificate timeline clarified.
Allocation procedure for export of broken rice on humanitarian and food security grounds is amended: minimum sea shipment allocation threshold reduced from 8000 MT to 2000 MT; online applications up to 03/07/2023 will be considered; Landing Certificate must be submitted within 90 days of completion of export of allocated quota; importer details in the online licence application are now optional.