Audit de-selection of registered persons follows revised criteria, non-existence findings, and insignificant turnover under state GST administration.
Registered persons selected for audit under section 65 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for the period from 1 April 2021 to 31 March 2022, or part thereof, were de-selected by a subsequent order. The order notes that one taxpayer had been counted twice, some persons had already been de-selected earlier, and 109 taxpayers met the revised selection criteria. The remaining 634 registered persons named in the annexed list were de-selected from audit with immediate effect, on grounds including non-existence, low or insignificant turnover, late filing, cancellation, CIRP, suspension, and non-fulfilment of the new selection criteria.

Biometric Aadhaar authentication for GST registration requires applicants to attend designated centres for identity and original-document verification.
GST registration applicants within notified jurisdictional circles must attend designated Facilitation Centres for biometric-based Aadhaar authentication, photographing of the applicant, and verification of original documents uploaded with the registration application. The notified centres serve applicants in the specified circles across Himachal Pradesh under rule 8(4A) of the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. The notification operationalises in-person identity authentication and original-document verification from 28 January 2025.

Input tax credit on ex-works supplies is available when goods are handed to the transporter at the supplier's premises.
Input tax credit under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 16 is not limited to physical receipt at the recipient's business premises. In an Ex-Works contract, where goods are handed over by the supplier to the transporter at the supplier's place of business and property passes at that stage, the recipient is treated as having "received" the goods then, for purposes of ITC, subject to the other conditions of sections 16 and 17 and the requirement that the goods be used or intended for use in business.

Extension fee for duty drawback applications must be paid per application, not per shipping bill.
Exporters seeking an extension of time to file applications for fixation of brand rates of duty drawback must pay an application fee for each extension request; the fee is payable per application and not per shipping bill, and this clarification is to be treated as a standing order for officers under the Drawback Rules.

Average Export Obligation relief: re-fix Annual EO for EPCG authorisations after qualifying sectoral export declines.
Relief under para 5.17(a) HBP (FTP, 2023) permits reducing the Annual Average Export Obligation for EPCG authorisations proportionate to sectoral/product-group export declines in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23. Regional Authorities must re-fix Annual Average EO for 2023-24, endorse reductions in the licence file and amendment sheet, and ensure that prior policy circulars are considered before issuing demand notices or EODC; this stipulation must be included in the EODC check-sheet.

Invalid FCRA registration prohibits receipt or utilisation of foreign contribution; transactions in such accounts attract penal action.
Receipt or utilisation of foreign contribution by an NGO or association without valid FCRA registration, including where registration has expired, ceased, or been cancelled, is prohibited and liable to penal action; entities must verify registration status via the FCRA online portal and refrain from transactions in FCRA or utilisation accounts where the certificate is not valid.

Diamond Imprest Authorisation imposes import/export restrictions, value addition and bond requirements to operationalize the scheme.
The Public Notice inserts a Diamond Imprest Authorisation (DIA) scheme in Handbook of Procedures, 2023: DIA applications must be filed online; imports/exports confined to Mumbai Airport with pre import conditions; exports must be physical natural cut and polished diamonds not exceeding one quarter carat; a minimum 10% value addition in freely convertible currency is required; deemed exports are excluded. DIA holders must execute a bond equal to export obligation and a performance bank guarantee equivalent to duty foregone prior to Customs clearance. Export discharge, validity periods, single authorisation per IEC, prohibitions on extensions/revalidation, and online procedures for fulfilment and regularisation of bonafide default are prescribed.

Principal Purpose Test restricts treaty benefits where obtaining benefit was a principal purpose, subject to object and purpose exception.
The guidance explains that the Principal Purpose Test permits denial of treaty benefits where, on an objective assessment of all relevant facts, obtaining the benefit was one of the principal purposes of an arrangement, unless it is established that granting the benefit accords with the object and purpose of the relevant treaty provision; it instructs that the PPT is to be applied prospectively, specifies interaction rules for bilateral incorporations and MLI incorporation timing, and excludes certain treaty-specific grandfathering provisions from the PPT while endorsing a context-specific, fact-based assessment with reference to BEPS Action 6 and the UN Model Commentary as supplementary guidance.

Digitalization of customs duty payment requires Type S Bill of Entry filing with agent IEC and NFEI declaration, duty after assessment.
Filing of a Type S Bill of Entry for ship's stores, vessel and aircraft consumables requires the Shipping Agent/Charterer to use their own IEC and declare all items as No Foreign Exchange Involved; IGM/Bill of Lading upload to E-Sanchit is exempted but the importer's declaration must be uploaded. Duty on such stores is payable only after filing and assessment of the Type S Bill of Entry, and the Public Notice operates as a Standing Order for officers.

Information Ratio disclosure required for equity mutual funds to report risk adjusted performance and provide standardized explanations.
Mutual funds must disclose the Information Ratio (IR) as a measure of Risk Adjusted Return for equity oriented schemes on AMC websites daily, with AMFI providing comparable, downloadable, machine readable aggregation. IR is defined as (Portfolio Rate of Returns less Benchmark Rate of Returns) divided by the standard deviation of excess return, using the scheme's Tier 1 benchmark and daily arithmetic returns and volatility. AMCs and AMFI must provide standardized explanatory hyperlinks and investor education materials, with disclosures implemented via a prescribed spreadsheet template.

Timeline for ESG rating review: BRSR-triggered reviews permitted to conclude within a longer specified period after publication.
ERPs must review ESG ratings upon material developments affecting an entity's ESG profile and generally complete such reviews immediately, and within ten days of the event; however, where the material development is publication of the BRSR, the review must be completed not later than forty-five days from publication.

Voucher GST treatment: transactions are not supplies, agency commissions and related support services remain taxable, while breakage is not.
Clarifies that voucher transactions are neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services, whether the voucher is treated as RBI-recognized money or as an actionable claim. Pure trading of vouchers on a principal-to-principal basis is not liable to GST, while commission-based agency distribution and separate support or promotional services supplied to the voucher issuer are taxable. Amounts attributable to unredeemed vouchers or breakage are not taxable because non-redemption does not involve any underlying supply or consideration.

Place of supply for online services to unregistered recipients hinges on the recipient's State name on the tax invoice.
Clarification on the place of supply and invoicing requirements for online services supplied to unregistered recipients under the GST framework. The supplier must record the recipient's State name on the tax invoice in cases involving online money gaming, supplies made by or through an electronic commerce operator, and online information and database access or retrieval services, irrespective of value. The recorded State name is deemed to be the address on record of the recipient, so the place of supply is treated as the recipient's location under section 12(2)(b)(i) of the IGST Act rather than the supplier's location.

Input tax credit in Ex-Works contracts is available when goods are handed over at the supplier's premises on the recipient's direction.
Availability of input tax credit under section 16(2)(b) in an Ex-Works contract is not confined to physical receipt at the recipient's business premises. Where the supplier hands over goods to a transporter or other person on the recipient's direction at the supplier's place of business, and property in the goods passes at that stage, the recipient is deemed to have received the goods for ITC purposes. The clarification remains subject to the business-use requirement and the restrictions under section 17.

Input tax credit for electronic commerce operators supplying notified services may not need proportionate reversal under the Assam GST framework.
Input tax credit availed by an electronic commerce operator for supplies covered by section 9(5) of the Assam GST Act is not required to be reversed proportionately under section 17(1) or section 17(2) merely because such notified services are supplied through the platform. The operator may retain and use the credit for its own supply of platform facilitation services, but the tax liability on section 9(5) supplies must be paid only through the electronic cash ledger and not by utilising that credit.

Waiver of interest or penalty under section 128A clarified for GST demands, payment conditions, forms, and appeal procedure.
Clarification is issued on the waiver of interest or penalty or both under section 128A of the Assam GST Act, 2017, for section 73 demands relating to FY 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. The circular explains the filing of waiver applications, withdrawal of pending appeals or writ petitions, modes and timing of tax payment, adjustment of amounts already paid through FORM GST DRC-03, and the effect of retrospective section 16 relief on the amount payable. It also clarifies processing, forms, deemed approval, appeal consequences, and the scope of coverage for IGST, compensation cess, transitional credit, and excluded items such as late fee and redemption fine.

Input tax credit rectification under Assam GST extends retrospective credit relief and limits refunds for already paid tax or reversed credit.
Retrospective insertion of section 16(5) and section 16(6) in the Assam GST Act extends the time limit for availment of input tax credit in specified cases and applies to pending, appellate, revisional, and unappealed demand proceedings based on section 16(4). A special rectification procedure under section 148 is available for confirmed demands relating only to wrongful denial of input tax credit now eligible under the amended provisions, subject to electronic filing within six months from 8 October 2024 and decision by the original officer. No refund is admissible of tax already paid or input tax credit already reversed, except for appeal pre-deposit amounts where the appeal succeeds.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations extension permits transitional electronic filing in prescribed format and mandates outreach to traders.
The Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations implementation has been extended as an interim measure at certain ports to address filing issues; electronic filing must continue in the prescribed SCMTR format. Chief Commissioners, with the Directorate General of Systems, are to conduct regular outreach for stakeholders, ensure wide publicity through Trade Notices or Public Notices, and report difficulties to the Board to facilitate smooth EXIM operations and stakeholder compliance.

Scrutiny of reduced-demand GST orders requires designated audit wings to verify legality, protect revenue, and report findings regularly.
Specified Business Audit Wings are assigned to scrutinize refund, rectification, and other orders under the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 where demand has been reduced from the corresponding show-cause notice for the relevant financial years. The assigned offices must verify the legality and correctness of such orders to safeguard revenue interests and submit findings and reports to the Additional Commissioner (GST), Headquarters, Jaipur at intervals as directed.

Input tax credit retrospectively restored; taxpayers may seek rectification of tax orders to reclaim eligible credit rights.
Retrospective insertion of sub-section (5) and sub-section (6) in section 16 restores taxpayers' entitlement to input tax credit for specified past financial years and for periods where registration was cancelled and later revoked, subject to the temporal conditions of those provisions. A related amendment disallows refunds of tax paid or input tax credit reversed that would not have been so paid or reversed had the amendment always been in force. A special rectification procedure under section 148 has been notified for affected taxpayers; electronic filing steps, required annexure details, officer responsibilities, timelines, and appellate rights on rectified orders are prescribed.