Condonation of delay in LLP filings: one-time waiver of additional fees with specified filing window and conditions
A one-time condonation under section 67 (read with section 460 Companies Act) permits relaxation of additional fees for delayed filing of Form-3, Form-4 and Form-11 to enable master-data updates. Form-3/Form-4 will be STP-processed except for business-activity changes; pre-filled editable master-data is provided and filers remain liable for correctness. Fee relief covers Form-3/Form-4 events from 01.01.2021 and Form-11 for financial year 2021-22 onwards; prior events/years can be filed on payment of 2x additional fee for small LLPs and 4x for other LLPs. Relief is time-limited and protects LLPs availing the scheme from action for delayed filing.

GST classification of Rab: pre-packaged labelled sales taxable; other sales treated as exempt under the trade circular.
Rab is classified for GST by mode of sale: from 1 March 2023 Rab sold in pre-packaged and labelled form attracts a specified GST rate, while Rab sold in other than pre-packaged and labelled form is Nil-rated. The circular regularises past-period treatment on an "as is" basis to address divergent interpretations and directs reporting of implementation difficulties to the Commissioner, State Tax, West Bengal.

Subsidy classification: incentives to acquiring banks for RuPay/BHIM-UPI transactions are not taxable under GST.
Accommodation services provided by military and similar messes to personnel who are not business entities are exempt under Sl. No. 6 of Notification No. 1136-F.T. dated 28.06.2017 if supplied by Central/State/UT/local authority. Incentives paid by MeitY to acquiring banks for RuPay and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions are subsidies directly linked to service price and do not form part of taxable value under section 2(31) and section 15 of the WBGST Act, 2017, and thus are not taxable.

GST classification updates: clarified rates and HS codes for Rab, pulse by products, beverages, snacks, SUVs, and IGST imports.
Rab is classifiable under Tariff heading 1702 and attracts GST at eighteen percent. By-products of pulse/dal milling such as Chilka, Khanda and Churi/Chuni are fully exempt from GST irrespective of end use from 1 January 2023, with transactions from 3 August 2022 regularized on an as is basis. Carbonated fruit beverages containing carbon dioxide are covered by a specific HS classification and attract the highest GST slab plus compensation cess. Extruded snack pellets are classifiable as extruded savoury products attracting GST at eighteen percent. SUVs meet compensation cess only if all specified technical criteria are satisfied. Importers of goods listed for specified purposes may claim a lower IGST rate where eligible under another notification.

GST classification clarifications: reclassifies electric vehicles, stones, mango products, treated water and nicotine gum, adjusting applicable rates.
Electrically operated vehicles are classifiable under HSN 8703 and attract the concessional GST rate even if batteries are not fitted at supply; Napa and similarly minor polished building stones qualify under the concessional entry; mango forms are treated distinctly with fresh mangoes exempt, sliced dried concessional and other processed forms including pulp taxable; treated sewage water is exempt under heading 2201; Nicotine Polacrilex gum for cessation is classifiable under nicotine oral products; the 90% fly ash condition applies only to aggregates not bricks; by-products of pulse milling fall under heading 2302 and attract the concessional rate.

Disposal section established to centralize and expedite lawful disposal of seized and confiscated goods under prescribed procedures.
A dedicated Disposal Section is established in the ICD to centralize and complete all lawful disposal of seized and confiscated goods, including public auctions, in strict conformity with applicable law, the Disposal Manual and Board instructions; the section is staffed and headed at the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner level and placed under the overall supervision of the Joint/Additional Commissioner, with contact details published for trade coordination.

Export prohibition of non-basmati white rice: qualifying consignments meeting any transitional condition may be exported within the permitted window.
Export of Non-basmati white rice (HS 1006 30 90) was changed from Free to Prohibited by Notification No. 20/2023. Though Para 1.05 transitional relief was not applied, exports were allowed for consignments meeting any one of three independent conditions: loading commenced before the notification; shipping bill filed and vessel berthed/anchored with rotation allocation prior to the notification (subject to port confirmation); or consignments handed to Customs/custodian and registered with verifiable timestamp prior to the notification. Such exports were permitted only within a specified export window.

Taxability of shareholding: mere holding of subsidiary shares is not a supply under GST unless a taxable supply exists.
Securities, including shares, are neither goods nor services under GST, and mere purchase, sale or holding of shares does not constitute a supply. The SAC classification for holding companies does not automatically create a taxable service; GST applies only if an activity meets the statutory definition of supply. Therefore, a holding company merely holding equity in a subsidiary is not, by itself, providing a supply of services liable to GST.

TCS liability: supplier side or buyer side e-commerce operator must collect TCS depending on who releases payment.
Where multiple ECOs operate in a single supply, the ECO that finally releases payment to the supplier must collect applicable TCS and complete statutory TCS compliance; if the supplier itself is an ECO, the buyer-side ECO collecting payment must collect TCS and fulfil TCS compliance obligations.

Input-tax credit limitation: provisional excess credits allowed within supplier-reported thresholds; excess credits disallowed without supplier payment evidence.
Clarifies treatment of discrepancies between ITC availed in taxpayers' returns and ITC reflected in supplier-reported returns for April 2019-December 2021: provisional additional ITC was permitted for periods when the rules allowed limited excess credit, but such availment remained subject to the statutory requirement that tax on the supply be paid by the supplier; verification guidelines from the earlier circular apply to the respective subperiods with the relevant provisional caps, while post-amendment ITC is allowed only if reported by suppliers and communicated through the return communication mechanism.

Authorised banks to import gold and silver updated, revising Appendix 4B import authorisations for the fiscal year.
Amendment updates Appendix 4B of the Handbook of Procedures, 2023 to list banks authorised to import both gold and silver and banks authorised to import only gold for FY 2023-24, effective 01.04.2023 and valid up to 31.03.2024, replacing prior Appendix 4B entries and thereby updating the import authorisation framework for precious metals under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Mandatory e-filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin: agencies must onboard to the platform or face de-notification.
Agencies and chambers notified as CoO issuers must complete onboarding to the DGFT Common Digital e CoO platform by the final deadline specified in this notice or be de notified; manual/paper CoO applications remain temporarily permitted during the transition period, and operational guidance is available on the e CoO landing page and via designated helpdesk channels.

Export quota allocation for wheat and flour to Bhutan extended; non-compliance triggers blacklist and enforcement action.
Trade Notice extends the application deadline for export licences for wheat, wheat flour (atta) and maida/semolina to Bhutan and prescribes that any mis-declaration or failure to export allocated quota within the specified period will result in blacklisting for two financial years and enforcement action under applicable foreign trade enforcement provisions.

Export quota extension for broken rice: application deadline extended for specified countries pending resolution of the judicial petition.
Export quota allocation procedure for broken rice is provisionally amended to extend the last date for submission of licence applications for exports to Senegal, Gambia and Indonesia on humanitarian and food security grounds, in compliance with a judicial order dated 10.08.2023; the extension applies until disposal of the pending petition and does not alter substantive licence conditions.

Inventory valuation must be reported by a nominated Cost Accountant in the prescribed Form 6C under the amended procedure.
Amendment requires an assessee to furnish an inventory valuation report prepared and signed by a Cost Accountant nominated by the supervisory commissioner when the Assessing Officer, with prior approval, considers such valuation necessary; draft Form No. 6C prescribes the format, inventory categories, valuation methods (including application of ICDS II where applicable), product wise quantitative and valuation schedules, reconciliations with Form 3CD/audited accounts, workings for cost of production and net realisable value, and explanations for variances and method changes.

GST rate reclassification updates applicable tax on extruded uncooked snack pellets and related goods, regularising past periods.
The circular implements GST Council recommendations reclassifying certain goods and prescribing applicable GST rates: uncooked extruded snack pellets under CTH 1905 and fish soluble paste under CTH 2309 attract 5% from 27 July 2023, imitation zari yarn under heading 5605 reduced to 5%, raw cotton supply from agriculturists to cooperatives is taxable at 5% on a reverse charge basis, and uniform 5% is clarified for goods under HSN 9021. Specified past periods of interpretational doubt are regularised on an "as is basis" and no refunds will be granted where higher GST was already paid.

Reverse Charge Mechanism: director's personal supplies excluded; cinema food treated as restaurant service when supplied independently.
Services by a director are subject to Reverse Charge Mechanism only when supplied in his capacity as director; personal-capacity supplies such as renting immovable property to the company are excluded. Supply of food or beverages in a cinema hall is taxable as restaurant service when supplied by way of or as part of a service and independent of the exhibition service; bundled cinema ticket and food supplies that form a composite supply attract GST at the rate applicable to the principal supply (exhibition). The Central circular is adopted mutatis mutandis under the Goa GST Act and is clarificatory.

Warranty replacement ITC rule: no GST or ITC reversal when replacements are covered by original supply consideration.
The original supply value includes anticipated warranty replacement and repair costs, so where replacement parts or repair services are provided during warranty without separate consideration, no further GST is chargeable and the manufacturer is not required to reverse input tax credit. If additional consideration is charged, GST applies. Distributor actions: free warranty service to customers attracts no GST; invoicing the manufacturer for parts/services is a taxable supply enabling manufacturer ITC; manufacturer-provided parts to distributor without charge do not attract GST or ITC reversal.

Life insurance exemption limits: premium aggregation rules restrict income-tax exemption for certain non-ULIP policies issued after amendment.
Amendments provide that consideration (including bonus) from non-ULIP life insurance policies issued on or after 01.04.2023 is not exempt under Clause (10D) where the annual premium payable in any previous year during the policy term exceeds the prescribed threshold; for multiple such policies exemption is available only for policies whose aggregate annual premium does not exceed that threshold. Sums received on death are excluded from these provisos. Excess consideration over aggregate unclaimed premiums is taxable under "Income from other sources." Premiums are to be measured exclusive of GST and term insurance policies are exempt from these provisos.

Reverse charge on director services: personal-capacity rentals to the company are not taxable under RCM; director-capacity services attract RCM.
Services supplied by a director to the company in his private or personal capacity, such as renting immovable property, are not taxable under the Reverse Charge Mechanism; only services supplied by the director in his capacity as director are taxable under RCM. Supply of food or beverages in a cinema hall is taxable as restaurant service when supplied by way of or as part of a service and independent of cinema exhibition; if ticket sale and food supply are bundled and form a composite supply, the entire supply attracts GST at the rate of the principal supply (cinema exhibition).