Brand Rate duty drawback: specified cesses included in calculation while stowage excise is excluded from rebate.
Education cess, Secondary and Higher Education cess, Social Welfare Surcharge, and Clean Energy/Environment cess (where collected as additional Customs duty) are required to be included in the Brand Rate calculation for duty drawback under the Drawback Rules, 2017; Stowage Excise duty under the Coal Mines Act, 1974 is excluded because refund/drawback provisions of Customs/Central Excise do not apply to it. Field formations must apply this clarification in fixing Brand Rates and circulate it to trade bodies, treating the directions as a standing order.

Duty drawback: foreign bank charges not to reduce FOB where documented, subject to overall allowed commission limit.
Duty drawback may be allowed on FOB value without deducting documented foreign bank charges; such foreign bank charges are permissible within the overall allowance for agency commission and, together with agency commission, must not exceed that overall limit, otherwise the excess must be deducted from FOB. Field formations should regularise short realisation claims based on documentary evidence such as export invoices and bank confirmations.

Extension of filing deadlines for annual return and financial statements without additional fees for eligible companies.
Companies with financial statements for the year ended 31.03.2019 may file e-forms AOC-4, AOC (CFS), AOC-4 XBRL up to 30.11.2019 and e-form MGT-7 up to 31.12.2019 without levy of additional fee, pursuant to administrative approval communicated by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Scheme eligibility clarifications: pending audits with quantified dues qualify for settlement under the legacy dispute resolution framework.
Clarifications on the Sabka Vishwas Scheme state that Final Audit Reports not resulting in a Show Cause Notice are treated as pending audits and qualify as quantified tax dues for the Scheme; voluntary disclosure declarations may be accepted without verification subject to safeguards against false declaration; admitted liabilities in returns filed by the cut off (including paid liabilities where relief for interest is sought) are eligible; a single declaration may cover multiple returns though relief is applied per return; third parties in possession of defaulter assets may declare and settle dues; appeals filed after the cut off are not covered unless withdrawn with an undertaking.

Master Circular for Depositories: consolidates SEBI depository rules, KYC, BSDA, DIS, cybersecurity and AI/ML reporting obligations.
Compilation of SEBI circulars to depositories up to March 31, 2019 creating a single Master Circular that preserves the primacy of underlying circulars. It prescribes KYC/PAN as primary identifier with Aadhaar e KYC options; simplifies account opening (SARAL AOF), sets rules for HUFs, minors and third party correspondence; standardizes DIS processing and transmission timelines; establishes BSDA terms and CAS generation; mandates NDU recording; and requires comprehensive cyber security, AI/ML reporting, capacity planning and committee governance for depositories and DPs.

Regulatory consolidation: master circular compiles SEBI circulars for stock exchanges and clearing corporations, clarifying precedence and scope.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars and communications up to March 31, 2019 for recognized Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations, incorporating Market Regulation Department guidance and relevant provisions from other SEBI departments. It comes into force on issue, updates references to repealed or amended statutes, and provides a single reference across trading, settlement, risk management, derivatives and related operational chapters. Where inconsistency exists, the original applicable circular prevails; the document also supersedes the prior master circular and is published on the regulator's website.

Single letter of approval for specified jewellery chapters enables unified authorization while preserving manufacturing, trading and import controls.
Single Letter of Approval may be issued to Gems & Jewellery units for eligible plain and/or studded jewellery under Chapter 71, while units must continue to follow extant instructions on manufacturing, trading and inter unit transfers. Units must indicate projected values of indigenous and imported capital goods in applications and may import or procure machinery within approved plant and machinery value. Manufacture and export of plain/studded jewellery is permitted only within prescribed gold carat limits and specified findings/components containing gold are governed by an existing DGFT notification.

Extension of filing deadlines for IEPF forms grants temporary relaxation of additional fees to facilitate compliance.
Companies are permitted a temporary waiver of additional fee on filing form IEPF-1A until 31.12.2019 and on filing form IEPF-2 (Statement of unclaimed and unpaid amounts) until 30.11.2019; after those dates the additional fee shall be payable. The circular was issued by the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority with approval of the competent authority to relax fee obligations and extend filing dates in response to stakeholder requests.

GST applicability on liquor licence fee recovery clarified through a central circular forwarded for departmental compliance.
Clarification is issued on the applicability of GST to the recovery of liquor licence fee from vendors by the Government. The communication forwards the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs circular dated 11.10.2019 on the subject and directs that it be brought to the notice of subordinate officers for compliance.

Effective date clarification for GST notification forwarded for compliance and subordinate officer guidance.
Clarification is issued regarding the effective date of Notification No. K.Ni.-2-842/Eleven-9(47)/17-U.P Act.-1-2017-Order(09)-2017 dated 30 June 2017. The communication notes that Circular No. 120/39/2019-GST dated 11 October 2019 was issued to explain the effective date of that notification and is forwarded to subordinate officers for information and compliance.

Taxation of securities lending supply clarified through GST guidance for compliance under the Securities Lending Scheme.
Clarification is issued on the taxation of supply of securities under the Securities Lending Scheme, 1997. The communication forwards the CBIC circular dated 11.10.2019, which provides guidance on the GST treatment of such supply, and directs that it be brought to the notice of subordinate officers with compliance ensured accordingly.

Place of supply clarification for ESDM and design software services is circulated for field compliance.
Clarification was issued on the determination of place of supply for cases relating to the Electronic Semi-Conductor Industry (ESDM), driver and design manufacturing, and design/software services. The communication forwards the CBIC circular dated 11.10.2019 to field officers for information and compliance, and directs that the clarification be brought to the notice of subordinate officers and implemented accordingly.

Tax exemption for maritime courses by approved training institutes clarified and circulated for compliance.
Clarification is issued on exemption from tax for maritime courses conducted by Maritime Training Institutes of India approved by the Directorate General of Shipping. The communication records that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has issued a circular explaining the tax exemption position for such courses and forwards that clarification for information and compliance by subordinate officers.

GST applicability on donor name plate display services in charitable organisations clarified through departmental circulation of central guidance.
GST applicability on services involving the display of donor name plates in charitable organizations receiving donations or gifts from individual donors was clarified by CBIC through Circular No. 116/35/2019-GST dated 11.10.2019. The Uttar Pradesh Commercial Tax communication forwards that circular to departmental officers and directs that subordinate officers be informed and compliance ensured. The instrument is administrative in nature and circulates the central clarification on the GST treatment of such display-related services in charitable premises.

GST clarification on airport levies is circulated for departmental compliance and supervisory implementation.
Clarification regarding GST on airport levies was communicated by forwarding the CBIC circular on the subject to field officers in Uttar Pradesh. The communication directed that the circular be brought to the notice of subordinate officers and that compliance be ensured accordingly. It served as an administrative transmission of the central GST clarification for departmental implementation and supervisory adherence.

Support services in exploration and drilling clarified under GST, with central circular circulated for compliance.
Clarification is issued on the scope of support services connected with exploration, mining or drilling activities relating to petroleum crude, natural gas, or both. The Uttar Pradesh Commercial Tax authorities forward the central GST circular on the subject and request subordinate officers to be informed of the clarification and ensure compliance accordingly. The communication is an administrative GST instruction issued with the approval of the Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Uttar Pradesh.

Withdrawal of GST registration circular clarified through a departmental communication directing subordinate officers to ensure compliance.
Withdrawal of Circular No. 105/24/2019-GST dated 28.06.2019 regarding registration is communicated through a departmental letter issued under the approval of the Commissioner, Commercial Tax, Uttar Pradesh. The communication notes that the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had issued Circular No. 113/32/2019-GST dated 01.10.2019 clarifying the withdrawal of the earlier circular on registration.

Refund procedure in FORM GST RFD-01 after a favourable appellate order is clarified through departmental circulation.
Procedure for claiming refund in FORM GST RFD-01 after a favourable order in appeal or any other forum is clarified by forwarding the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs circular dated 01.10.2019. The communication directs subordinate officers to be informed of the procedure and to ensure compliance with the circular.

Refund application eligibility after NIL claim clarified for re-filing under GST procedures and portal conditions.
Eligibility to file a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01 is clarified where a registered person has already filed a NIL refund claim for the same period and category. A fresh refund claim may be made only for the same period, subject to the prescribed conditions and documentation requirements. A registered person may re-apply through the "Any Other" category if a NIL refund application had earlier been filed, with the procedure for scrutiny, admissible refund calculation, and ledger debit before issue of the refund and payment orders.

Intermediary status in ITeS services clarified under GST, with guidance on principal-to-principal supply and export treatment.
Clarification is issued on the GST treatment of supply of Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS), focusing on whether the supplier acts as an intermediary or supplies services on its own account. Intermediary services require at least three parties, involve arranging or facilitating a supply between two persons, and are identified through features such as documentary authorization, identifiable commission, and separation from the main supply. The circular illustrates the distinction through call centre, order procurement, insurance claims processing, and technical support examples, and states that a non-intermediary ITeS supplier may qualify for export of services if the statutory conditions are satisfied.