Audit completion deadline extended for WBGST cases delayed by holiday schedules and document-production requests.
Extension of the period for completion of audit under section 65 of the WBGST Act, 2017 for the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021, where the audit commenced between 1 July 2024 and 30 July 2024. The extension is granted under the proviso to sub-section (4) of section 65 because the audits could not be completed within the normal three-month period from commencement, including delays linked to the Durga Puja holidays and requests for additional time to produce books of account. The period is extended up to 30 October 2024 and takes effect immediately.

EPCG reporting shifted to block period certified submissions, easing compliance and streamlining export obligation evidence.
Reporting under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme is changed from an annual online submission to a report after the first four year block period and continuously until expiry of the export obligation period; reports must include Shipping bill/Invoice/Bill of Export/FIRC details, as applicable, and be certified by a Chartered Accountant, Cost Accountant, or Company Secretary to evidence fulfilment of specific and average export obligations.

GST classification clarifications confirm rates, packaging threshold treatment, and conditional past-period regularisation for specified supplies.
Dual-energy solar cookers, fire water sprinklers, and parts of poultry-keeping machinery attract 12% GST under the stated classifications. Agricultural farm produce in packages exceeding 25 kilogram or 25 litre is excluded from "pre-packaged and labelled" treatment and does not attract 5% GST. Specified past-period issues are regularised on an "as is where is" basis. Regularisation for eligible government-programme supplies of pulses and cereals requires a prescribed certificate and denial or reversal of related input tax credit.

GST exemptions and regularization clarify railway services, insurance reinsurance, digital-payment subsidies, regulatory collections and qualifying long-term accommodation.
GST exemptions apply from 15 July 2024 to specified public-facing and internal railway services, SPV infrastructure-use arrangements with the Ministry of Railways, and qualifying long-term accommodation services. Earlier liability for identified railway, SPV, reinsurance and qualifying accommodation supplies is regularized on an "as is where is" basis. Statutory collections by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority fall within the governmental-authority exemption. Specified digital-payment incentive sharing is treated as non-taxable subsidy, while reinsurance includes retrocession for the relevant exemption.

CSD GST refund processing requires electronic filing, supplier return matching, input tax credit reversal, and quarterly eligibility verification.
CSD refund claims for fifty per cent of applicable taxes on eligible inward supplies must be filed electronically in FORM GST RFD-10A and are processed electronically. Claims are available for goods received for subsequent supply to Unit Run Canteens or authorised customers, subject to invoice-wise validation, supplier return compliance, and reversal of related input tax credit. Applications are ordinarily quarterly, may be clubbed, and must be filed within two years from the last day of the relevant quarter. Refund is capped at fifty per cent of applicable taxes, and previously claimed or unmatched invoices are excluded.

Additional IGST refund for revised export prices requires electronic claims, payment verification, foreign-exchange proof, and prescribed supporting records.
Additional IGST paid following an upward revision in the price of exported goods may be refunded through an electronic FORM GST RFD-01 claim processed by the jurisdictional GST officer. Pending a dedicated portal category, the claim is filed under "Any other" with specified remarks, Statements 9A and 9B, and supporting proof. Eligibility requires verification of export and debit-note reporting, payment of additional IGST and interest, revised value, and additional foreign-exchange remittance. Claims are subject to the statutory minimum threshold and applicable two-year filing period.

Related-party corporate guarantee valuation applies annually on guaranteed amounts, with invoice value accepted where full input tax credit exists.
Corporate guarantees supplied between related persons to banking companies or financial institutions are taxable services, with valuation under Rule 28(2) applying to guarantees issued or renewed on or after 26 October 2023. Value is one per cent per annum of the guaranteed amount or actual consideration, whichever is higher, and is based on the amount guaranteed rather than loan disbursal. Domestic guarantees attract forward charge, while guarantees by overseas related entities to Indian recipients attract reverse charge. Full input tax credit permits invoice value to be deemed the supply value.

GST pre-deposit protection stays recovery of confirmed demand pending Tribunal appeals when payment and undertaking requirements are met.
Recovery of the balance confirmed GST demand is stayed pending operationalisation of the Appellate Tribunal where the taxpayer pays an amount equal to the prescribed pre-deposit through the Electronic Liability Register, Part II, and undertakes to file the Tribunal appeal within the applicable timeline. Amounts inadvertently paid through FORM GST DRC-03 may be adjusted against the demand and pre-deposit through FORM GST DRC-03A, unless proceedings have concluded through FORM GST DRC-05. Failure to make the payment, furnish the undertaking, timely appeal, or submit DRC-03A when available permits recovery.

Valuation framework for AIF portfolios updated to standardise guidelines, valuer eligibility, and reporting timelines.
Valuation of AIF portfolios distinguishes securities governed by mutual fund valuation norms from those requiring industry-endorsed guidelines; eligible industry associations endorsing guidelines must represent at least one-third of registered AIFs and consider AIPAC recommendations, with IPEV Guidelines endorsed. Harmonisation for thinly traded and non-traded securities is required for applicability on or after March 31, 2025. Changes to comply with the standardised approach or within prescribed guidelines are not 'Material Change', but valuations under old and new methodologies must be disclosed. Independent valuers must be Registered Valuer Entities and authorized valuers must hold specified professional qualifications; reporting based on audited investee data is extended to seven months and compliance must be certified.

IGST export refund clarification allows regularization when earlier exempt imported inputs are later taxed with interest.
Clarification is issued on regularization of refund of IGST paid on exports where inputs were initially imported without payment of integrated tax and compensation cess under the specified customs exemption notifications, but later the importer pays those taxes with interest and gets the Bill of Entry reassessed. In such cases, the benefit of the notifications is treated as not having been availed for the purpose of rule 96(10) of the APGST Rules, 2017, and the refund of IGST on exports is not considered to be in contravention of that sub-rule.

Place of supply for data hosting services to overseas cloud providers follows the recipient location default rule under GST.
Data hosting services supplied from India to overseas cloud computing service providers are clarified not to be intermediary services, services in relation to goods made available by the recipient, or services directly in relation to immovable property. The supply is treated as a principal-to-principal data hosting service, with the place of supply governed by the default rule in section 13(2) of the IGST Act, namely the location of the recipient. Where the recipient is outside India, the place of supply is outside India, subject to the other conditions for export of services.

Input tax credit on demo vehicles clarified for authorised dealers using them to promote further supply of similar motor vehicles.
Input tax credit on demo vehicles used by authorised dealers as showroom demonstrators is not blocked where the vehicles are used for further supply of similar motor vehicles, including promotion of sales through trial runs and product demonstrations. The restriction does not apply where the vehicles are used for unrelated purposes or where the dealer only provides marketing or facilitation services without making the supply on its own account. Capitalisation of demo vehicles in the books does not, by itself, affect credit entitlement if the vehicles are used in the course or furtherance of business, though depreciation on the tax component and later sale of capitalised vehicles remain subject to the Act.

Advertising services to foreign clients are not intermediary services when the agency acts on its own account and supplies on principal-to-principal basis.
Where an Indian advertising agency undertakes the entire advertising assignment for a foreign client on a principal-to-principal basis, it is not an intermediary and the foreign client remains the recipient of the service. The target audience in India, or an Indian representative of the foreign client, does not become the recipient where the contract, invoice, and payment are all between the agency and the foreign client. Such services are not performance-based services requiring physical presence and their place of supply follows the default rule as the recipient's location outside India, subject to export conditions. If the agency merely facilitates media space or broadcast between the foreign client and the media owner, it acts as an intermediary and the place of supply is the supplier's location.

Virtual AGMs and EGMs allowed via VC/OAVM or postal ballot; statutory time limits under the Companies Act remain unchanged.
Companies with AGMs due in 2024 or 2025 may hold AGMs by video conference (VC) or other audio visual means (OAVM) on or before 30 September 2025 according to the requirements in paragraphs 3 and 4 of General Circular No. 20/2020; EGMs may likewise be held by VC/OAVM or items transacted by postal ballot under earlier circulars. The circular clarifies that this administrative allowance does not extend statutory timelines under the Companies Act, 2013, and noncompliant companies remain liable to legal action.

Automated exchange rate publication: latest available SBI rates to be published when scheduled feeds fail, with manual fallback.
When scheduled publication dates fall on a holiday or SBI rates are unavailable due to API errors or incomplete messages, the latest rates received from SBI will be published on ICEGATE on the scheduled date and integrated into ICES to be effective from 00:00 hours of the next day; if integration into ICES does not complete by the cut off, automated alerts will notify Nodal officers and the rates will be updated manually via the Admin interface before the next day.

Interest Equalisation Scheme cap imposed on annual net subvention per IEC, with differentiated limits and temporary effective periods.
The Interest Equalisation Scheme has been extended and, with immediate effect, the annual net subvention per IEC is subject to a fixed cap; a lower interim cap is imposed for MSME manufacturers for the current financial year, and a clarified cap applies to Manufacturer Exporters and Merchant Exporters for an earlier interim period.

Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations require ICEGATE registration and advance JSON manifests for automated cargo and transhipment tracking.
SCMTR requires affected maritime and inland cargo stakeholders to register on ICEGATE and apply (master entity plus authorised persons) with supporting documents and, where applicable, national bonds before operating. It replaces IGM/EGM with Sea Arrival and Departure Manifests and mandates advance JSON filings (SAM/SDM, CIM) with detailed cargo, equipment and person data; the system issues CINs/SMTPs to track consolidation and transhipment. Technical guidance, data formats, phased timelines, amendment rules and exemptions for AEOs/customs brokers are provided, and noncompliance may attract penalties.

Audit deselection under WBGST Act covers six registered persons where audit was considered unnecessary for the relevant periods.
Deselection of six registered persons from audit under section 65 of the WBGST Act, 2017 for the specified periods is recorded on the ground that audit was not required. The annexed list states reasons such as no business activity, insignificant turnover, nil taxable turnover, failure to produce audited balance sheets, and no apparent discrepancy in the records. The order takes immediate effect.

Automation in customs import concessions: implementation for EOUs to streamline registration, IIN generation and bond use.
The Board will implement automation under the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty or for Specified End Use) Rules, 2022 in relation to Export Oriented Units to address EOU registration, IIN generation and continuity bond utilisation delays; suitable public notices should be issued for guidance and any implementation difficulties must be reported to the Board.

Monetary limits for appeals revised; filing to be determined on merits to curb unnecessary litigation and ensure certainty.
Revision of monetary thresholds governs departmental appeals in income tax matters, specifying increased monetary limits for initiating appeals and making those limits applicable to cases involving tax deduction and collection at source, while reiterating that decisions to appeal where exceptions apply must be taken on merits without regard to monetary effect.