Maintenance of books of accounts: principal and auctioneer may keep additional-place records at principal place, subject to notice, ITC conditions.
Clarifies that although books of accounts are required at each additional place of business, the principal and auctioneer may maintain books relating to additional places at their principal place of business, must disclose warehouses as additional places, and must intimate the jurisdictional proper officer in writing; ITC eligibility remains subject to other statutory requirements.

Supply on approval: tax invoice due at actual sale; gallery exhibitions are not taxable supplies until purchase.
Where artworks are moved for sale on approval, the artist may transport pieces within or outside the State on a delivery challan (and e way bill where applicable) and issue the tax invoice only at the time of actual supply when a buyer selects the artwork; transfers to galleries without consideration are not supplies until the artwork is sold, and inter State transfers attract integrated tax.

IGST exemption on inter-state movement: rigs, tools and goods on wheels treated neither supply nor service; repairs remain taxable.
Inter state movement of rigs, tools and spares and motorised conveyances is to be regarded as neither as a supply of goods nor supply of service when moved between distinct persons and not for further supply of the same goods, and therefore IGST is not leviable; repairs and maintenance of such goods remain taxable under the applicable CGST/SGST/IGST.

GST exemption for terracotta idols confirmed as nil rate under the clay idols entry, clarifying classification and applicability.
Terracotta, being clay based, is treated as a clay idol and therefore eligible for the Nil GST rate under the State Tax rate notification applicable to idols of clay; the circular directs tax officers to apply this classification and to report any implementation difficulties, and it specifies an effective date for the guidance.

GST on job work: milling of paddy into rice taxable, applied to processing charges at reduced rate, not whole value.
Milling of paddy into rice is not an intermediate production process related to cultivation, does not qualify as exempt agricultural produce job work under S. No 55 of Notification 12/2017, and thus constitutes a taxable supply of service. When performed as job work, milling is taxable under the reduced GST rate applicable to job work on food products, with tax leviable on the processing charges only and not on the entire value of the rice.

Refund of unutilized input tax credit: manufacturer-exporters of fabric eligible for ITC refund on inputs subject to statutory conditions.
For exporters of fabrics, subject to the statutory conditions and procedural safeguards, a manufacturer-exporter is eligible for refund of unutilized input tax credit on inputs used in manufacture and export of such fabrics, while refunds remain restricted by the proviso to zero rated supplies and by notification-specified goods; input tax credit on capital goods is excluded from refund.

GST on processed agricultural products: warehousing and handling of processed items are taxable under GST.
Processed products such as black/green/white tea, processed coffee, dehusked or split pulses, jaggery, processed spices, processed dry fruits and processed cashew nuts fall outside the definition of agricultural produce for GST exemption; therefore loading, unloading, packing, storage and warehousing of those processed products are not exempt. Supplies between distinct persons in the course of business attract GST even without consideration and GST credit on aircraft engines, parts and accessories is available for inter state stock transfers between distinct persons. Government-paid insurance premiums under specified schemes and government-provided general insurance to individuals are exempt from GST.

Unstitched fabric classification confirmed; cutting into pieces does not change tariff treatment and retains the specified GST rate.
Cutting fabrics from bundles into pieces and packing them does not change their character as fabric; such pieces remain classifiable under the Customs Tariff textile headings and continue to attract the specified GST rate applicable to fabrics, and unutilised input tax credit on these fabrics is not refundable. The circular is effective from the stated implementation date and any implementation difficulties should be reported to the issuing office.

GST on retained SKO applies only to the quantity used for LAB; returned SKO taxable only if supplied to others.
GST on superior kerosene oil (SKO) supplied for extraction of n Paraffin for Linear Alkyl Benzene (LAB) is payable by the refinery only on the net quantity of SKO retained by the LAB manufacturer for manufacture; SKO returned to the refinery in that transaction is not taxed unless the refinery later supplies it to another person.

E-way bill compliance: minor data errors trigger fixed penalty rather than detention when supporting documents accompany the consignment.
The circular clarifies that absence of required documents or invalid e-way bills constitute contraventions attracting detention and seizure under section 129, but where consignments are accompanied by invoices and only suffer limited data errors in e-way bill details (such as minor name, PIN, locality, document number, vehicle number, or HSN digit mistakes) seizure proceedings need not be initiated; instead a fixed penalty is to be imposed for each such consignment and weekly records of non-invoked seizure proceedings must be maintained.

Taxability of printing contracts: classification hinges on whether the principal supply is service (printing) or goods.
Transactions for printing items where the recipient supplies content are composite supplies assessed by the nature of the principal supply. If the printer provides physical inputs and only prints recipient-supplied content, the printing is the principal supply and is a supply of service. If the physical goods classify as goods and belong to the printer, printing is ancillary and the supply is of goods under the relevant goods headings.

GST circulars clarify inter state supply reporting and invoice compliance; trade urged to follow CBIC guidance.
Clarification and dissemination directives concerning recent GST circulars addressing reporting and compliance for inter state transactions and specific treatment questions. Circular No. 89/08/2019 GST clarifies the reporting of inter State supplies made to unregistered persons in Table 3.2 of FORM GSTR 3B and Table 7B of FORM GSTR 1. Circular No. 90/09/2019 GST explains compliance requirements of invoice issuance under rule 46(n) of the CGST Rules, 2017 for inter State supplies. Commissioners and trade associations are instructed to circulate these clarifications and refer stakeholders to the CBIC website for full details.

Disclosure of significant beneficial ownership: SEBI aligns listed-company reporting with amended Rules, revised format effective June 30, 2019.
Listed entities that are reporting companies under the amended Companies (Significant Beneficial Owners) Rules must align shareholding pattern disclosures with the amended Rules; the revised Annexure format replaces the earlier format and reporting under the circular is required from the quarter ended June 30, 2019, with stock exchanges to notify listed entities and publish the circular.

Paperless Advance Authorization verification now available to all clearance officers and TRAs to non EDI sites disabled for new licenses.
ICES has been updated to provide an all India view of AA/EPCG licence details and conditions transmitted electronically by DGFT and registered at any EDI port, making these details accessible to all officers involved in import and export clearance for licences issued on or after 01.03.2019; issuance of TRAs to non EDI sites is disabled for such licences.

Electronic transmission of customs documents: PDF first-copy Bills of Entry with QR codes issued; register on ICEGATE.
Project iCODE will pilot electronic delivery of the first-copy Bill of Entry in PDF with QR code authentication; digital signatures will be added after stakeholder feedback and system adjustments. Importers, exporters and customs brokers must register on ICEGATE with email and phone details to receive PDFs and notifications. Feedback on data discrepancies or additional fields should be sent to the designated email by the stated deadline; the final digitally signed OOC copy and extension to Shipping Bills will be implemented after the pilot.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations require stakeholders to apply via ICEGATE for entity approval before operating.
Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR), 2018 require Shipping Lines, Shipping Agents and Exporters (IEC holders) to submit applications via ICEGATE. The master applicant must list authorized persons, intended operations and provide supporting documents; exporters using e Seal must apply similarly. Applications are routed to ICES for jurisdictional customs verification and approval through the newly created ENT_APR role, which can approve or raise queries. Stakeholders must register on ICEGATE and may consult the technical guidance note on ICEGATE and the Kandla Customs website; implementation difficulties should be reported to the Principal Commissioner.

Coastal cargo transit through foreign territory permitted under harmonised procedures with specific documentation, marking and sealing requirements.
Harmonised procedure permits transit of coastal goods through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh under Transportation of Goods (Through Foreign Territory) Regulations, 1965 with specific documentation, invoicing and GST identification requirements; consignors need not file Bill of Coastal Goods for such transit. Containers must be marked "For Coastal Carriage through foreign territory" and sealed with tamper proof seals; manifests must include e Way Bill, container and seal numbers and be prepared port pair wise. Tamper or discrepancies invoke opening, reporting and adjudication under procedures applicable to non coastal cargo. EXIM containers may be used for domestic cargo during the permitted temporary import period and domesticated ISO containers may be used for EXIM movements with equivalent customs clearance treatment.

Assignment of authority under CGST to exercise powers under sections 73-76 over specified taxpayers for enforcement action.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, by Order No. 2/2019 dated 12 March 2019 and under section 5(1) of the CGST Act read with the enabling notification, assigns a specified investigation file originating with the Commissioner of Central Tax, Mumbai Central to the Commissioner of Central Tax, Mumbai Central for the purpose of exercise of powers under sections 73, 74, 75 and 76 of the Act in respect of the taxpayers listed by GSTIN.

Foreign Portfolio Investor debt exposure rules updated: single-corporate cap withdrawn and central bank directions now govern compliance.
The circular withdraws the prior single-corporate exposure limit for Foreign Portfolio Investors in corporate bond portfolios and directs that future central bank directions on FPI investment in corporate debt securities shall apply directly; SEBI will not issue separate circulars. Intermediaries must operationalize central bank circulars and custodians must inform FPI clients. Non-compliance with central bank-prescribed investment conditions in corporate debt securities will be subject to action under the SEBI (Foreign Portfolio Investors) Regulations, 2014.

Inter-state supply: IGST applies to trading of Priority Sector Lending Certificates on e-Kuber, except where CGST/SGST already paid.
PSLC trades on the e-Kuber platform are treated as a supply of goods in the course of inter-State trade or commerce, making IGST payable on such supplies for both the forward-charge and reverse-charge periods; banks that have already paid CGST/SGST or CGST/UTGST on such supplies need not pay IGST for amounts already discharged.