Export of services clarified: ITeS suppliers not arranging facilitation may qualify as export, subject to statutory conditions.
The circular clarifies that a supplier of ITeS who supplies backend services on his own account is not an intermediary, whereas a supplier whose role is limited to arranging or facilitating pre delivery, delivery or post delivery support is an intermediary. Where a supplier performs both types of services, intermediary status depends on which service is the principal supply. Non intermediary ITeS suppliers may claim export of services benefits if statutory conditions regarding location, place of supply, convertible foreign exchange receipt, and distinct establishments are met.

Exemption from late filing charges for Bills of Entry due to electronic filing failures; waivers subject to evidence and discretion.
Exemption granted for late presentation charges where electronic portal failures prevented timely filing of Bills of Entry; affected consignments within the specified entry and filing date ranges will receive waivers handled by the respective Deputy/Assistant Commissioners. For filings delayed after the specified period due to continued portal acknowledgement failures, Customs will consider waiver requests on merits upon submission of evidence of attempted filing such as job numbers, screenshots, or portal messages.

Refund filing eligibility extended: refund claims limited to integrated tax/cess reported in GSTR-3B for extended period.
The corrigendum extends the tax periods for which registered persons may file refund applications in FORM GST RFD-01A on the common portal to cover periods commencing from 01.07.2017 up to 30.06.2019, provided the refund of integrated tax/cess claimed does not exceed the aggregate integrated tax/cess shown in columns 3.1(a), 3.1(b) and 3.1(c) of FORM GSTR-3B for the corresponding tax period.

GST liability on interest, penalty and late fee clarified through a revised corrigendum for departmental compliance.
A revised corrigendum is issued in respect of CBIC Circular No. 102/21/2019-GST, which clarified the GST liability on interest, penalty and late fee. The earlier corrigendum contained errors, and CBIC has now issued a further corrigendum dated 15.07.2019 to correct those defects. The enclosed corrigendum is circulated for information and compliance, with a direction that subordinate officers be apprised and the revised position followed accordingly.

Penal interest exemption under notification clarified: GST remains non-applicable where penal interest is covered by the notification.
Corrigendum to para 5 (Case 2) of Circular No. 74/2019-TNGST clarifies that the additional/penal interest charged between Y and M/s ABC Ltd. is covered under Sl. No. 27 of Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and the corresponding Tamil Nadu notification, and therefore the penal interest would not be subject to GST; the value of supply of the mobile by X to Y remains Rs. 40,000 for GST levy purposes.

Goods sent abroad for exhibition not a supply; tax and invoice duties arise if sold or not returned.
Sending or taking goods out of India for exhibition or consignment is not a supply and therefore not a zero-rated supply; such goods must be accompanied by a delivery challan, no bond or LUT is required at removal, and tax invoices are to be issued when quantities are sold abroad or on expiry of the six months period for quantities neither sold nor brought back. Refund claims for zero-rated supplies can be made only after the tax invoice is issued and eligibility conditions are satisfied.

Export of services: Clarifies when ITeS suppliers and intermediaries qualify for export treatment under GST.
Clarifies when ITeS suppliers are treated as intermediaries under the IGST definition and when they may claim export of services benefits. Suppliers who provide ITeS services on their own account are not intermediaries; those who merely arrange or facilitate a client's supply (logistics, clearances, delivery and support) are intermediaries. Mixed cases depend on facts and the principal supply. Non-intermediary suppliers meeting export conditions-supplier in India, recipient and place of supply outside India, payment in convertible foreign exchange, and not merely distinct establishments-may avail export benefits.

Non-supply status of goods sent abroad for exhibition affects invoicing and refund eligibility under GST.
Goods sent or taken out of India for exhibition or consignment do not constitute a supply under section 7 of the CGST Act in the absence of consideration and therefore are not zero rated supply under section 16 of the IGST Act. Such movements should be accompanied by a delivery challan and recorded per the Annexure; bond/LUT is not required at removal. Supply is effected on sale abroad or deemed on expiry of six months if goods are neither sold nor returned, and tax invoices and refund claims follow accordingly under sections 12, 31 and 54 read with the relevant rules.

Intermediary status affects export of services classification and eligibility for export benefits under GST law.
Clarification explains that a supplier of ITeS services who supplies services on his own account is not an intermediary under the IGST Act, while a supplier whose role is merely to arrange or facilitate the supply of goods or services for a foreign client will be an intermediary; where both activities occur classification depends on facts and which service is the principal supply. A non intermediary supplier may qualify as export of services if supplier and recipient locations, place of supply, convertible foreign exchange payment and independent establishment criteria are satisfied.

Audit of GST taxpayers: inspectors and above authorised to conduct statutory audits under Section 65 when allocated by the office.
Officers of the rank of Inspector of Central Tax and above posted in or holding charge of any Audit Group or Circle of the Kolkata Audit I Commissionerate are authorised to conduct audits of registered persons as and when allocated by the office under the statutory audit framework of Section 65 and the definition of audit in clause (13) of Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017.

eSANCHIT paperless processing requires PGAs to upload LPCOs; beneficiary uploads disabled from 01/08/2019 via ICEGATE registration
eSANCHIT will require Participating Government Agencies to upload digitally signed Licenses, Permits, Certificates and Other Authorisations to ICES via SWIFT/ICEGATE; beneficiary self-uploading of previously issued LPCOs is deactivated from 01/08/2019. Sixteen additional PGAs are onboarded, PGAs must upload LPCOs issued in the 15 days before the cut-off (and may upload earlier LPCOs), and beneficiaries must ensure correct email registration on ICEGATE for IRN communication.

Disclosure of divergence in asset classification requires listed banks to report significant provisioning or NPA divergences to exchanges.
SEBI modifies its July 18, 2017 circular to adopt revised RBI thresholds: listed banks must disclose to stock exchanges divergences in asset classification and provisioning where either additional provisioning assessed by the RBI exceeds a specified proportion of reported profit before provisions and contingencies for the reference period, or additional gross NPAs identified by the RBI exceed a specified proportion of published incremental gross NPAs for the reference period; other disclosure requirements remain unchanged and the modification is effective immediately.

Tariff Rate Quota allocation enables additional sugar exports to USA under free TRQ, subject to notified conditions and reporting.
An additional quantity of raw cane sugar has been allocated for export to the USA under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ), available on a Free (non-levy) basis subject to the notified "Nature of Restrictions" and compliance with reporting obligations to the export promotion authority. Certificates of Origin, where required for preferential treatment, shall be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, and other prescribed export certification requirements for shipments to the USA continue to apply.

Corporate governance compliance reporting: revised report formats and timelines mandated under Listing Regulations for listed entities.
SEBI has revised the format for corporate governance compliance reports and prescribed three templates: Annex I for quarterly filings, Annex II for annual year end reporting, and Annex III to be filed within six months after financial year end (may accompany the next financial year's second quarter report). These formats replace the Annexure to the 2015 circular and must be used to discharge the submission obligation under Regulation 27(2); exchanges are to disseminate the formats and the revision takes effect from the quarter ended September 30, 2019.

Clearance of goods subject to pending litigation requires maintenance of shipment details and notification to exporters and importers.
Clearance of persulphates consignments is to proceed subject to the final outcome of the pending Special Civil Application; details of goods cleared must be maintained and exporters and importers informed of the litigation, and customs officers are directed to follow the High Court order and related tariff unit instructions until the petition is finally resolved.

IGST refund on exports: rectify SB001-SB005 and GSTIN/EGM mismatches and submit required GST reconciliations to claim refund.
Refund of IGST on exports requires Shipping Bills to migrate from IGST temporary scroll to final scroll; exporters must rectify EGM/Stuffing errors (SB002), Invalid Invoice errors (SB005), GSTIN mismatches (SB003) and Shipping Bill detail errors (SB001) listed in annexures. Exporters must submit self certified GSTR 1/Table 6A, GSTR 3B and concordance tables per Circulars 05/2018 and 08/2018; file a Revised Refund Request for differential IGST where applicable. Manual officer processing for SB003, SB005 and supplementary refunds is limited to Shipping Bills filed up to 15.11.2018. HELP DESK and IGST Refund Cell contact details provided.

24x7 Direct Port Delivery by rail to Balmer Lawrie CFS allowed within 48-72 hours; monthly reporting required.
24x7 Direct Port Delivery/Direct Port Entry rail removal to Balmer Lawrie CFS is permitted within 48 hours of landing on request or agreement by eligible importers, subject to Out of Charge being taken within 48 hours (extendable to a maximum of 72 hours) from entry inwards. Balmer Lawrie CFS must submit a monthly performance report in the prescribed proforma (Annexure A). The earlier Public Notice is modified only to this extent.

Exemption from late filing charges for bills of entry where portal failures prevented timely filing, subject to documentation and review.
Late-filing charges for Bills of Entry impacted by e-Sanchit/ICEGATE technical failures are waived for consignments within the specified failure period, with waivers to be processed by the Additional/Joint Commissioner; delayed filings after that period require evidence of attempted submission (job numbers, screenshots, ICEGATE messages) for waiver consideration and the notice is to be treated as a Standing Order.

Sea cargo manifest compliance requires authorised carriers to register on ICEGATE and stakeholders to comply with new regulations
Authorised carriers filing arrival and departure manifests must register through the ICEGATE portal under the amended Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 before the Regulations come into force on 1 August 2019; all importers, exporters, agents, shipping lines and other stakeholders must take cognisance and comply, and may report difficulties in compliance to the issuing office.

Penal interest exemption clarified; interest covered by notification and not subject to GST; supply value unaffected.
The corrigendum to Trade Circular No. 23/2019 replaces the Case 2 text in paragraph 5 to state that additional/penal interest charged on a transaction between Y and M/s ABC Ltd. is covered under Sl. No. 27 of Notification No. 1136-F.T. dated 28.06.2017 and, accordingly, such penal interest would not be subject to GST; the declared value of the mobile supply by X to Y for GST purposes remains Rs. 40,000.