Import for repair and re-export under ERSO: streamlined customs clearance via advance bills, continuity re-export bonds, and first-check exams.
The ERSO pilot permits import of defective electronic items for repair and subsequent re-export with procedural facilitation: filing advance Bills of Entry with accurate descriptions, uploading legible documents in e-Sanchit, and executing a continuity/re-export bond without bank guarantee debited automatically on ICEGATE. Faceless Assessment continues, but all repair/re-export consignments require immediate first-check examination coordinated by the designated Nodal Officer and ERSO Customs team. Examination areas, designated storage, empaneled Chartered Engineer certification, movement under Section 49 to Public Bonded Warehouse, and a named Nodal team are prescribed to expedite clearance.

CSD refund processing follows a revised electronic filing regime with quarterly claims, invoice validation, and capped tax refund eligibility.
Processing of refund applications filed by the Canteen Stores Department is to be done electronically on the common portal in FORM GST RFD-10A under the revised procedure introduced after insertion of rule 95B. The CSD may file quarterly refund claims, with clubbing of multiple quarters and financial years, subject to the two-year limitation from the last day of the quarter in which the inward supply was received. Refund is limited to fifty per cent of the applicable tax on eligible inward supplies and requires supporting invoices, an undertaking, and a declaration against double claim.

Refund of additional IGST on export price revision must follow prescribed GST portal filing, documentation, and officer verification.
Refund of additional Integrated Tax paid on account of upward revision in the price of export goods subsequent to export is to be claimed electronically in FORM GST RFD-01 and processed by the jurisdictional GST officer under rule 89 of the GST Rules. Until a separate refund category is available, the claim may be filed under "Any other" with the prescribed remark, together with statements 9A and 9B and supporting documents showing the revised price, payment of additional IGST and interest, and receipt of additional foreign exchange remittance.

Corporate guarantee valuation under GST clarified: tax applies on guaranteed amount, with annual computation and ITC treatment explained.
Clarification is issued on the taxability and valuation of corporate guarantee services between related persons under GST. The circular explains that the service was taxable even before Rule 28(2), that valuation is based on the amount guaranteed rather than the loan actually disbursed, and that input tax credit remains available subject to the Act and Rules. It also addresses co-guarantors, takeover of loans, forward charge and reverse charge treatment, annual valuation, deemed invoice value where full input tax credit is available, and non-applicability to export of such services.

Pre-deposit adjustment and recovery stay govern confirmed GST demands pending appeal to the tribunal.
Guidelines are issued for recovery of outstanding dues where the first appellate authority has confirmed a demand, but appeal to the Appellate Tribunal cannot yet be filed because the Tribunal is not operational. Taxpayers may make the prescribed pre-deposit through the electronic liability register and furnish an undertaking to file appeal within the statutory time once the Tribunal becomes available. On compliance, recovery of the remaining confirmed demand stays pending appeal; otherwise, recovery may proceed according to law.

Investor Education and Protection Fund filings: forms consolidated and required transfers now payable online via MCA21 Pay Miscellaneous Fee.
Form IEPF 3 is merged with IEPF 4 and IEPF 7 with IEPF 1 in MCA Version 3, with revised forms enabled as Straight Through Process to ease compliance. Amounts required to be transferred under the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority Rules must be paid online through MCA21 using the "Pay Miscellaneous Fee" service selecting "Investor Education and Protection Fund", superseding the earlier circular and requiring stakeholders to update their filing and payment procedures.

Export General Manifest compliance requires correction of EGM errors and pending filings to prevent delays in post-export incentives.
EGM filing requires the person in charge of a conveyance carrying export goods to deliver the manifest to the proper officer before departure from the Customs station. Incorrect or pending EGM filing may delay post-export benefits and incentives. Exporters and Customs Brokers must review identified Shipping Bills, coordinate with the concerned airlines to rectify EGM errors or complete pending EGM filing, and may raise implementation-related difficulties with Customs export officers.

GST applicability clarified for composite supplies, pure agent treatment, job work maltification, leasing exclusion and governmental exemptions.
Clarifies that concessional input credit and 5% transport rate apply only to passenger transport and renting with operator, excluding leasing without operator; bundled electricity with renting/maintenance is a composite supply taxed at the principal supply rate unless supplied by a pure agent on actual basis; job work converting barley to malt is job work in relation to food products and attracts the food job work rate; DMFTs are Governmental Authorities eligible for exemptions; horticulture services to CPWD with goods value 25% are exempt under the cited state notification.

GST rate on imitation zari thread clarified: metallised polyester/plastic-film yarn included under reduced treatment; no inversion refunds.
Imitation zari thread or yarn made from metallised polyester film or plastic film that meets the HS description of yarn combined with or covered by metal is covered by the imitation zari entry in Schedule I and attracts the reduced GST rate; amendments to the State notification implement this, and no refund is permitted for polyester (metallised)/plastic film on account of tax inversion.

Taxability of guarantees: personal guarantees may be taxable zero where no consideration; corporate guarantees valued per prescribed rule.
Personal guarantees by directors are supply between related persons even without consideration; due to regulatory prohibition on paying consideration to such guarantors, their open market value may be treated as zero and thus taxable value zero unless remuneration is in fact paid. Corporate guarantees between related companies, including holding-subsidiary guarantees, are supply and their taxable value is to be determined by the prescribed valuation rule; a newly inserted sub-rule governs valuation of such corporate guarantees and applies irrespective of input tax credit availability. The valuation sub-rule does not apply to personal guarantees.

Taxability of guarantees: personal guarantees may have zero taxable value; corporate guarantees are valued under related-party rules.
Personal guarantees by directors for company borrowings constitute a supply of service between related persons and are valued at open market value; where regulatory mandates bar any consideration the open market value may be zero and taxable value nil, except where remuneration is in fact paid. Corporate guarantees by related companies or by a holding company for a subsidiary are treated as supplies between related persons and must be valued under the amended related-party valuation provision, which applies regardless of input tax credit availability; that amended provision does not apply to personal guarantees.

Composition fee for value-add shortfall reduced, lowering penalty obligation for exporters under authorisation when value addition is below minimum.
Amendment revises Para 4.49(b) of the Handbook of Procedures, 2023: where the Export Obligation is fulfilled in quantity but Value Addition falls below the minimum prescribed, the Authorisation holder must deposit a reduced composition amount calculated as a percentage of the FOB value shortfall, payable in Indian Rupees online via the DGFT website; the change lowers the composition fee to streamline compliance.

IEPF filings transition relief: additional filing fees and specified e verifications waived, with one time relaxation for rule seven compliance.
The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has waived additional filing fees for specified IEPF e forms (IEPF 1, IEPF 1A, IEPF 2, IEPF 4) and for e verification of claims in e form IEPF 5 during the MCA21 V2 to V3 transition, and granted a one time relaxation for e verification under the third proviso to sub rule (3) of rule 7 of the IEPFA Rules to enable stakeholders to regularise filings without the additional fee.

Fraud Risk Management in banks: mandatory EWS, red flagging, natural justice procedures, and RBI/CFR reporting timelines.
These Directions require banks to adopt a Board approved Fraud Risk Management Policy, establish EWS and Red Flagging frameworks integrated with core systems and analytics, investigate red flagged accounts via internal or external audit, adhere to principles of natural justice (SCN, 21 days, reasoned order), report red flagged accounts meeting CRILC threshold to RBI within seven days and all frauds to RBI via FMRs within 14 days, use the Central Fraud Registry for risk management, complete classification within 180 days, and ensure staff accountability and prescribed reporting to LEAs and other authorities.

GST classification clarifications confirm applicable rates on specified goods and regularise past-period issues subject to conditions.
Clarification under section 168(1) classifies dual-energy solar cookers under heading 8516 and confirms the applicable rate; treats all sprinklers, including fire water sprinklers, as falling within the sprinkler entry and applicable rate with past-period regularisation; amends the tariff entry to explicitly include parts of poultry-keeping machinery with the applicable rate and past-period regularisation; narrows the scope of "pre-packaged and labelled" to exclude agricultural farm produce in packages over twenty-five kilogram or litre so such supply will not attract the specified levy, with past-period regularisation; and regularises past supplies of pulses and cereals made to or by government-engaged agencies under approved programmes subject to a Deputy Secretary certificate and reversal or disallowance of input tax credit.

GST exemption scope clarified for railways, SPVs, RERA, digital payment incentives, reinsurance and certain accommodation services.
GST applicability clarified across several service categories: Ministry of Railways supplies to the public and inter division supplies are exempted with past liabilities regularised; SPV supplies permitting use of SPV infrastructure and reciprocal maintenance services are exempted with past period regularisation; statutory collections by RERA are covered by the governmental authority exemption; incentive shares under the RuPay/UPI scheme distributed as decided by NPCI are treated as subsidy and not taxable; reinsurance (including retrocession) of specified exempt and government funded schemes is regularised for past periods; specified accommodation services meeting value and duration criteria are exempted with retrospective regularisation.

Continuous supply of spectrum usage attracts reverse-charge GST when upfront payment or each deferred instalment becomes due or is paid.
Spectrum allocation involving an instalment option is a continuous supply of services, with GST payable by the telecom operator under reverse charge. The Frequency Assignment Letter is a bid-acceptance and allocation instrument, not an invoice-equivalent document for applying the sixty-day reverse-charge rule. GST on upfront payment is payable when payment is made or becomes due, whichever is earlier; for deferred payments, GST is payable when each instalment is due or paid, whichever is earlier. This treatment also applies to similar government allocations of natural-resource usage rights.

Continuous supply of services under hybrid annuity road contracts determines tax timing and includes interest in taxable value.
Hybrid Annuity Model road construction and operation-and-maintenance obligations constitute a single continuous supply of services and cannot be split merely because payments are staggered. If an invoice is issued by the contractual specified date or event-completion date, tax liability arises on the earlier of invoice issuance or payment receipt. If not, liability arises on the earlier of the contractual payment due date, treated as the service-provision date, or payment receipt. Interest included in annuity or instalment payments is includible in taxable value.

Custodial services to foreign portfolio investors follow the default place-of-supply rule, not deposit account holder treatment.
Place of supply for custodial services supplied by banks or financial institutions to Foreign Portfolio Investors is determined under the default rule in section 13(2) of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Such services are not supplied to an account holder for section 13(8)(a), which concerns holders of interest-bearing deposit accounts. Custodial functions, including safekeeping securities, maintaining securities accounts and records, collecting benefits, and communicating issuer actions, are distinct from ordinary banking services to deposit account holders. The recipient's location applies where ascertainable; otherwise, the supplier's location applies.

Input tax credit on optical fiber network ducts and manholes remains available as plant and machinery for telecommunication services.
Input tax credit on ducts and manholes forming part of an optical fiber cable network used to provide telecommunication services is not restricted under the blocked-credit provisions concerning works contract services or construction of immovable property. These components are integral to transmitting telecommunication signals and fall within plant and machinery because they are used for making outward supplies. They are not excluded as land, buildings, civil structures, telecommunication towers or pipelines laid outside factory premises.