Refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department: electronic GST refund filing and portal validation ensure eligibility and invoice matching.
CSDs notified under section 55 may claim a refund of fifty per cent of state tax on inward supplies received for subsequent supply, by filing FORM GST RFD-10A electronically. Claims must be supported by supplier-declared invoices (GSTR-1) and supplier filing of GSTR-3B, include specified undertakings and declarations, and be filed within two years of the quarter end in which the supply was received. Proper officers will validate GSTINs, returns, and invoice matches on the portal, permit only validated invoices, cap refunds at fifty per cent of respective taxes, require ITC reversal where applicable, and issue orders in FORM GST RFD-06 with speaking reasons.

Refund of additional IGST for upward export price revisions; claim via FORM GST RFD-01 with prescribed documents and verification.
Refund mechanism for additional Integrated Tax (IGST) paid after upward revision of export prices: exporters may file FORM GST RFD-01 electronically (use "Any other" with prescribed remarks until a separate portal category is available). Jurisdictional GST officers will process claims under rule 89 using GSTN-provided shipping bill and IGST data. Claims require documentary proof (shipping bill, invoices, debit notes, contract, proof of IGST and interest payment, FIRC, accountant's certificate, Statements 9A/9B) and verification of reporting in FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B; sanction and payment orders will be issued in FORM GST RFD-06 and FORM GST RFD-05.

Valuation of corporate guarantees: GST assessed on prescribed annualised percentage or actual consideration per tenure.
Supply of corporate guarantees between related persons was taxable prior to Rule 28(2); Rule 28(2) prescribes valuation from 26 October 2023. Valuation for guarantees to banking or financial institutions is the higher of actual consideration and one per cent of the amount guaranteed per annum, multiplied by the guarantee tenure (pro rata for periods under one year). Multiple co guarantors pay on aggregate actual consideration if higher, otherwise proportionately on one per cent of their guaranteed amounts. Domestic guarantors invoice under forward charge; foreign guarantors trigger reverse charge on the Indian recipient. Rule 28(2) excludes recipients located outside India.

Pre-deposit requirement: deposit via electronic ledger plus undertaking halts recovery until appellate tribunal is operational.
Taxpayers who intend to appeal but cannot file before the non-operational Appellate Tribunal may deposit an amount equal to the prescribed pre-deposit via the Electronic Liability Register (Part II) on the portal and provide an undertaking to the proper officer to file the appeal when the Tribunal becomes operational; upon such deposit and undertaking the balance confirmed demand will be stayed. Payments inadvertently made through FORM GST DRC-03 can be adjusted as pre-deposit on filing FORM GST DRC-03A once portal functionality is available, and until then taxpayers should intimate the proper officer to avoid recovery.

Maintenance margin: securities funded through client cash collateral may be recognised as MTF maintenance margin with prescribed margin and eligibility.
Funded stocks received from the Clearing Corporation against client cash collateral may be considered as maintenance margin for MTF to the extent of the cash collateral, provided such stocks are separately identifiable, not comingled, pledged in favor of the trading member, and are Group 1 securities. The applicable margin for such funded stocks is VaR plus five times the Extreme Loss Margin, and trading members must report MTF exposures by 6:00 PM on T+1.

Electronic refund processing for CSD claims requires quarterly portal filing, invoice validation, and strict eligibility checks under GST refund rules.
Electronic refund processing has been prescribed for CSD claims under section 55 of the APGST Act, requiring filing in FORM GST RFD-10A on the common portal, quarterly filing with optional clubbing of multiple quarters and financial years, and eligibility based on registered inward supplies supported by tax invoices, supplier disclosures in FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B, and an undertaking and declaration from the CSD. The proper officer must verify invoice matching, GSTIN details, return filing status, ITC reversal, and the refund cap of fifty per cent before issuing FORM GST RFD-06; earlier manual applications continue under the prior circular.

Corporate guarantee valuation under GST clarified for related-party guarantees, covering taxable supply, credit, and charge mechanism.
Clarification is issued on the taxability and valuation of corporate guarantee services between related persons under the APGST framework. The service remains taxable; Rule 28(2) governs valuation only, with pre- and post-26 October 2023 guarantees valued under the applicable version of Rule 28. The value is linked to the amount guaranteed, not actual loan disbursal, and full input tax credit may be available subject to the Act and Rules. Domestic guarantees are under forward charge, overseas guarantees to India under reverse charge, and the rule does not apply to export of such services.

GST recovery and pre-deposit adjustment clarified for first appeal cases until the Tribunal becomes operational.
Recovery of confirmed GST demand after disposal of the first appeal is clarified for cases where the Appellate Tribunal is not yet operational. A taxpayer may pay the amount equal to the prescribed pre-deposit through the electronic liability register, and that payment is to be adjusted towards the pre-deposit required for the eventual appeal before the Tribunal. On furnishing the required undertaking, recovery of the remaining confirmed demand remains stayed. Amounts inadvertently paid through FORM GST DRC-03 may also be adjusted through FORM GST DRC-03A, subject to the stated conditions.

Scan-selected container monitoring SOP tightens reporting, CCTV surveillance, delay alerts and clearance tracking across customs operations.
A standard operating procedure prescribes communication and movement of records for scan-selected containers. CFSs, terminal operators and docks officers must share scanning information, maintain arrival details, report delays and suspicious activity, and submit daily, weekly, monthly and fortnightly reports. Scan-hold containers are to remain under CCTV surveillance, with weight discrepancies and prolonged non-clearance escalated for further action and disposal under prevailing rules.

IGST refund regularisation permitted when IGST and cess on previously exempted imports are paid and bill of entry reassessed.
If IGST and compensation cess on inputs originally imported under concessional customs notifications without payment are subsequently paid with interest and the Bill of Entry is reassessed by Customs to reflect such payment, then for the purpose of sub rule (10) of rule 96 of the CGST Rules the benefit of those notifications shall be deemed not to have been availed, and the IGST refunded on exports shall not be treated as contravening that sub rule.

Place of supply of data hosting services: recipient-location rule makes overseas recipients' location determine export treatment.
Data hosting providers in India supply comprehensive data-centre services on their own account-owning or managing premises, hardware, software, power, connectivity, security and personnel-and thus are not intermediaries, their services are not in respect of goods "made available" by recipients, nor are they services directly related to immovable property. Consequently, the specific place-of-supply rules for intermediaries, goods made available, and immovable property do not apply; the default recipient-location rule governs, making the place of supply the location of the overseas cloud provider and permitting export-of-services treatment if other export conditions are satisfied.

Input tax credit on demo vehicles allowed when used to promote further supply of similar vehicles; otherwise credit blocked.
Demo vehicles that are motor vehicles for up to thirteen persons used by authorised dealers to provide trial runs and demonstrate features qualify as being used for "further supply of such motor vehicles" under clause (a)(A) of section 17(5) of the CGST Act, and thus are excluded from the blockage of input tax credit. Demo vehicles used for non-promotional purposes or where the dealer merely acts as an agent do not qualify and credit is blocked. Capitalisation does not preclude input tax credit, but section 16(3) disallows credit if depreciation on the tax component has been claimed, and sales of capitalised demo vehicles attract adjustments under section 18(6) read with rule 44(6).

Place of supply rules: advertising services to foreign clients treated as export when recipient is located abroad, subject to conditions.
Where an Indian advertising company provides end-to-end advertising services to a foreign client and separately contracts with media owners, the supplies are principal-to-principal and the company is not an intermediary; the recipient is the foreign client and the place of supply is the recipient's location outside India, so the service may be treated as export subject to export conditions. If the Indian company merely facilitates a direct contract between foreign client and media owner, it is an intermediary and the place of supply for its facilitation services is the supplier's location in India.

GST Council approves rule omissions, place of supply clarifications, ITC and retrospective relief procedures, and selected rate changes.
The Council approved Law Committee and Fitment Committee recommendations: omission of rule 96(10) and rule 89(4A)/(4B) with consequential amendments and IGST refund regularisation where IGST/cess on imported inputs is later paid; clarifications on place of supply for advertising and data hosting services (treated as outside India when recipient is outside India); ITC availability on demo vehicles; implementation procedures for retrospective subsections (5) and (6) of section 16 including a rectification mechanism; insertion of Rule 164 and Forms for Section 128A implementation; selected rate and classification changes and GoM referral for insurance matters.

Payment obligation reporting timeline updated to require issuers of listed commercial paper to notify stock exchanges promptly.
Paragraph 8.4 of Chapter XVII of the NCS Master Circular is amended to require a certificate confirming fulfilment of its payment obligations to be submitted to stock exchanges within one working day of payment becoming due, aligning the timeline with Regulation 57 of the LoDR Regulations applicable to listed non-convertible securities.

Liberalised Remittance Scheme reporting changed: monthly return discontinued and daily transaction-wise uploads now required under LRS.
AD Category I banks shall discontinue submission of the LRS monthly return (Return code: R089) and instead upload transaction wise LRS data daily (CIMS return code: R010) at the close of business of the next working day; a 'NIL' report must be uploaded if no data exists. Earlier circular instructions are withdrawn and the Master Direction on Reporting under FEMA, 1999 will be updated. Directions are issued under Section 10(4) and Section 11(1) of the Act.

Automation implementation in concessional-rate import rules for EOUs adjusted to address registration and bond submission issues.
Implementation of automation in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty or for Specified End Use) Rules, 2022 for Export Oriented Units is postponed to allow resolution of problems with registration, IIN generation and bond submission in the new module. Field formations are to issue Public Notices for guidance and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations: mandatory new manifest format for Mangalore cargo; stakeholders must begin parallel filing.
Implementation of the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations for Mangalore Customs will commence w.e.f. 01.10.2024, with transitional provisions extended to 30.09.2024. The SCMTR mandates advance cargo information, revises manifest formats and filing timelines, and makes filing in the new format mandatory from the effective date. Stakeholders must commence parallel filing immediately; commissionerate officers will assist and report any implementation difficulties to the undersigned.

Implicating customs brokers requires proven abetment and adherence to licensing regulation procedures before co-noticee tagging.
Implicating customs brokers as co-noticees should be avoided in routine interpretative disputes unless investigation establishes and the show cause notice clearly pleads the broker's role in abetment. Action against brokers for professional lapses must proceed under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations, 2018, observing Regulation 16 and Regulation 17 timelines and procedures, and must be linked to offence reports that specifically record the broker's involvement. Existing instructions on suspension of licences continue to apply.

Tariff-rate quota allocation for raw cane sugar to USA: administrative operation by APEDA with Certificate of Origin controls.
Allocation of a tariff-rate quota quantity of raw cane sugar for export to the United States for US fiscal year 2025 is made under Paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023. Exports of sugar (HS Code 17010000) to the USA are treated as Free under Notification No. 3/2015-20 but remain subject to the notified nature of restrictions and reporting obligations. Certificate of Origin will be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai on APEDA recommendation, and APEDA, New Delhi will operate the TRQ as the implementing agency, with other certification requirements to be followed.