GST exemption clarifications: service categories' tax treatment and transitional rate changes clarified including education, health, transport, and leasing.
Clarifies GST treatment for varied services: ice cream parlours supply attracts 18% with ITC from October 6, 2021 (past 5% payments treated as discharged); educational entrance/eligibility/migration fees are exempt as services by educational institutions; storage of ginned/baled cotton was exempt as raw vegetable fibre prior to July 18, 2022; transit cargo services to and from Nepal/Bhutan (including empty container return) are exempt; renting of vehicles with driver is rental service (heading 9966) not road transport exemption; PLC paid up front for long term land lease is part of upfront premium and exempt; IVF qualifies as exempt health care; sale of land is non taxable.

Standardized industry classification implementation extended for credit rating agencies to accommodate CRA representations and ensure compliance.
Extension of the applicability date for implementation of a standardized industry classification by registered credit rating agencies is granted following representations from CRAs; the circular invokes SEBI's regulatory powers under applicable Act and Regulations to protect investors and regulate the securities market, and is directed to all CRAs and recognised stock exchanges with departmental contact details for queries.

Net settlement of cash and F&O upon expiry enables merged settlement, reducing delivery obligations and post expiry margin needs.
Net Settlement requires that cash market settlement obligations and physical settlement obligations of expiring stock derivatives be settled on a net basis, producing a single net obligation where eligible. Netting is available only when trading and clearing for cash and F&O are through the same TM CM combination; institutional investors and transactions cleared through different clearing members or clearing corporations are excluded. Statutory levies such as Securities Transaction Tax and stamp duty remain computed and reported segment wise. Clearing corporations retain segment wise default waterfalls and compute default losses pro rata by segment.

Equity ETF eligibility for Margin Trading Facility expands collateral, margin and funding rules under regulatory amendment
Units of Equity Exchange Traded Funds classified as Group I securities are permitted as eligible securities and as collateral under the Margin Trading Facility. Initial margin formulas are specified with higher multipliers for non F&O Group I stocks and Equity ETFs; margins may be posted as cash, cash equivalents, Group I equity shares or Group I Equity ETF units subject to SEBI haircuts. Brokers must segregate collateral and funded positions, adopt board approved diversification policies, follow prescribed disclosure formats for daily reporting, and use only specified funding sources for MTF.

Listing timelines for privately placed securities shortened to standardize pre listing steps and accelerate ISIN activation and trading.
Standardizes timelines for private placement issuance and listing of specified debt securities, requiring issuers to obtain in principle approval before providing placement materials or opening the issue. Prescribed stepwise actions cover bidding/issue, ISIN allocation, settlement and listing, with listing and ISIN activation required within three working days of issue closure. Depositories activate ISINs only after exchange listing approval and must use temporary frozen ISINs for re issuances until listing is confirmed. Issuers face penal interest for delays; exchanges and depositories must update systems and communicate requirements.

Extension of PSIA recognition validity to a later date under Foreign Trade Policy provisions notification.
The public notice administratively extends the recognition validity of Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies listed in the A&ANF appendix by moving their original three year expiry from an early December date to a later date at the end of December, invoking powers under the Foreign Trade Policy and a relaxation of the Handbook of Procedures; the extension preserves existing recognition status for the intervening period without altering substantive recognition criteria.

Transitional credit verification: officers must verify TRAN filings and issue reasoned orders to allow or reject credit.
Jurisdictional tax officers shall verify TRAN-1/TRAN-2 filed or revised in the court-ordered window by accessing the back office portal or the applicant's self-certified copy, commence verification promptly, follow principles of natural justice, and where claims involve both Central and State components refer the relevant portions to the counterpart officer. The counterpart officer must submit a signed verification report in the prescribed format, ordinarily within ten days, after which the jurisdictional officer will issue a reasoned order specifying admissible credit to be uploaded to the common portal and credited to the electronic credit ledger within the court-directed verification timeline.

Refund of unutilised input tax credit: amended calculation applies prospectively and certain goods face prospective refund restriction.
Amendment to the refund computation for unutilised input tax credit due to inverted duty structure revises the formula in sub rule (5) of rule 89; the amended formula applies prospectively to refund applications filed on or after July 5, 2022, while applications filed earlier follow the pre amendment formula. A separate notification bars refunds for specified goods where credit accumulation arises from higher input rates than output rates; that refund restriction is also prospective and applies only to applications filed on or after July 18, 2022.

One time filing window for TRAN 1/TRAN 2: portal filings allowed with annexure and verification, forms frozen on submit.
The circular permits aggrieved registered persons to file or revise Form GST TRAN-1 and TRAN-2 on the GST portal from October 1, 2022 to November 30, 2022 as a one-time opportunity. Applicants may edit forms until they click "submit", must upload Annexure A (and TRANS 3 where applicable), cannot claim certain C/F/H/I Forms issued after December 27, 2017 in TRAN 1 table 5(b)/5(c), must consolidate TRAN 2 claims into one form, and submit a self certified copy with supporting documents to the jurisdictional officer within seven days for verification and adjudication; accepted credit will be posted to the electronic credit ledger.

GST classification clarifications set rates for electric vehicles, mango products, treated sewage water, nicotine gum, fly ash goods and pulse residues.
Electrically operated vehicles are taxable at 5% even without a fitted battery. Minor-polished Napa and comparable building stones qualify for 5%, while fresh mangoes are exempt, sliced and dried mangoes attract 5%, and mango pulp and other dried forms attract 12%. Treated sewage water is exempt, and Nicotine Polacrilex gum attracts 18%. The 90% fly ash-content condition applies only to fly ash aggregate. Pulse-milling by-products used as cattle-feed ingredients are taxable at 5%, with past treatment regularised on an as-is basis.

Credit risk based single issuer limit introduced for mutual fund schemes, imposing rating-tiered exposure caps with limited relaxations.
A credit risk based single issuer limit mandates that mutual fund schemes' investments in debt and money market instruments be capped according to issuer credit rating tiers, with a limited board approved extension allowed subject to the overall regulatory ceiling; long term ratings govern money market exposures with conservative mapping where absent, government money market instruments treated as government securities, new schemes covered from issuance and existing schemes grandfathered until underlying maturities.

Local jurisdiction of Joint Commissioners is allocated by specified tax circles, with pending proceedings continuing under revised territorial assignments.
Joint Commissioners of State Tax are designated as proper officers for specified local jurisdictions, subject to previously fixed pecuniary jurisdiction. The allocation covers identified circles in Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur and enforcement divisions. Matters involving revision, advance rulings, appeals against advance rulings and appellate authority are excluded from these territorial assignments. Completed proceedings are ratified only regarding local jurisdiction, while pending proceedings must continue under the revised allocation from their existing stage.

Proper-officer territorial jurisdiction under SGST is allocated among designated officers, with pending matters continuing under revised assignments.
Assistant Commissioners, Additional Assistant Commissioners and State Tax Officers are designated as Proper Officers for specified local jurisdictions, subject to the prescribed financial jurisdiction. Territorial responsibility is allocated by circle, ward, municipal area, industrial area, tehsil, district and rural area. The designations cover Raipur, Bilaspur, Durg and associated circles. Proceedings completed before issuance are ratified only in relation to local jurisdiction, while pending proceedings must continue and be completed under the allocated jurisdiction from their existing stage.

Transitional credit verification requires jurisdictional scrutiny, counterpart coordination, natural justice, and prevention of duplicate input tax credit claims.
Transitional credit claimed through TRAN-1 or TRAN-2 must be verified by the jurisdictional tax officer using portal data, the applicant's self-certified copy, supporting records, and applicable law. Mixed State and central tax claims require counterpart verification and coordinated reports. Credit may be disallowed only through a reasoned process involving notice, personal hearing, and observance of principles of natural justice. Verification includes prior claims, adjudication or appeals, VAT carry-forward balances, capital-goods credit, stock-based credit, invoice and eligibility conditions, and prevention of duplicate credit through GSTR-3B. Allowed credit is reflected in the electronic credit ledger; excess earlier credit is recoverable with applicable interest and penalty.

Refund of unutilised input tax credit: amended calculation and goods-based restriction apply prospectively to future claims.
Amendment to the formula for refund of unutilised input tax credit on account of inverted duty structure is prospective and applies to refund applications filed on or after the amendment's effective date, with earlier applications processed under the prior formula. The separate restriction denying refunds for certain specified goods is also prospective and applies only to refund applications filed on or after the restriction's effective date, not to applications filed before that date.

Prior approval for change in control: intermediaries must apply online with fit and proper declarations before effecting control change.
Intermediaries specified by SEBI must obtain prior approval for any change in control by filing an online application through the SEBI Intermediary Portal with prescribed disclosures and a stamped declaration from the intermediary and proposed acquirer confirming compliance with fit and proper person criteria, non change of the incumbent board until approval, commitment to honour past liabilities and resolve investor complaints; certain intermediaries must also submit exchange/clearing/depository approvals and, where change arises from a tribunal sanctioned scheme, an in principle approval process and subsequent submission of the tribunal order and approved scheme are required for final approval.

Export compliance for mobile phones requires complete declarations, manufacturer NOC, IMEI lists, and restrictions on activated devices.
Export of mobile phones requires fully completed statutory shipping bill declarations and electronic upload of invoice, purchase order, packing list, genuine IMEI list and a manufacturer/authorized dealer NOC. Used, activated or modified phones are not eligible for export benefits without MOEF clearance and a supporting NOC. Claiming any export incentive mandates uploading all supporting documents and establishing Country of Origin for Drawback/RODTEP claims.

Health certificate requirement for imported milk, pork and fish: integrated certificates accepted; implementation timeline extended.
Imports of milk and milk products, pork and pork products, and fish and fish products must be accompanied by a Health Certificate from the exporting country's Competent Authority in the prescribed format, containing shipment and product details, transport/storage conditions, and attestations on establishment approval, hygiene/HACCP implementation, compliance with Indian food product standards, microbiological criteria, residue and additive limits, authorised official signature and limited validity; an integrated sanitary/veterinary certificate is acceptable if it includes all required information.

Withholding of IGST refunds: system generated refund claims transmitted for risk verified exporters require jurisdictional verification before sanction.
Withholding of IGST refunds is effected where data analysis deems verification of exporter credentials including ITC essential; DGARM places all India alerts on ICES, transmits affected Shipping Bill data to GSTN via ICEGATE which generates system FORM GST RFD 01 claims deemed filed on transmission. Jurisdictional proper officers must process these auto acknowledged refund claims per rule 89 and section 54 timelines, verify genuineness and ITC correctness (including physical verification or supplier investigation if needed), issue detailed speaking orders with Form GST RFD 06 sanctions, and provide feedback on alert continuation or removal to DGARM.

Integration of AQCS-ICS enables online message exchange with ICEGATE for electronic NoC transmission and risk-based selectivity.
Integration of AQCS-ICS into ICEGATE migrates AQCS NoC processing from ICES to online message exchange, enabling electronic transmission of NoCs and real-time trader visibility. Customs will require upload of Veterinary Health Certificates (853AQ1), Laboratory Reports/COA (001AQ1), eSanchit IRNs for Sanitary Import Permits (911DF1) and an item-level AQ002 declaration for specified CTIs; risk-based selectivity will be introduced in stages, post-filing documents may be submitted via ICEGATE or AQCS-ICS portal until full integration, and Customs will accept electronically received Release Orders. Annexures list CTIs and leather-product exclusions.