GST exemption on upfront amount for long term lease applies even when paid in instalments, if determined upfront.
The GST exemption under Entry No.41 of Notification No.12/2017 applies to upfront amounts (premium, salami, cost, price, development charges or by any other name) for long term leases of industrial or financial infrastructure plots provided by government or majority government-owned entities; the exemption is admissible provided the amount is determined upfront, irrespective of whether it is paid in one or more instalments.

GST exemption for seed testing and certification - tags supplied by agencies are exempt; tags from external suppliers are taxable.
Supply of seed certification tags forms part of the integrated composite supply of seed testing and certification provided by State seed certification agencies and is exempt from GST under the entry for testing/certification services required by law. If tags are procured from external departments or manufacturers, those transactions are supplies of goods subject to GST, and classification (paper or textile chapters) depends on the tags' predominant material.

Revocation of cancelled GST registration: one-time opportunity to apply subject to furnishing pending returns and subsequent filings.
Applications for revocation of cancellation of registration under section 29(2) are permitted only after all returns due up to the date of cancellation are furnished and amounts paid; where cancellation is retrospective and the portal prevents post cancellation filing, an application may nonetheless be filed provided all returns for the period from the effective date of cancellation to the revocation order are filed within thirty days of the revocation order.

Utilization of input tax credit requires Integrated tax credit to be exhausted first, then apportioned towards other tax liabilities.
Amendments require that the input tax credit of Integrated tax be exhausted completely before any input tax credit of Central tax or State/Union territory tax may be utilized; thereafter Integrated tax credit may be apportioned in any order and proportion towards Central and State/Union territory liabilities. The Board clarifies that the common portal will continue pre-amendment functionality until updated, advises issuance of trade notices, and invites reporting of implementation difficulties.

Composition levy option allows eligible small taxpayers to elect reduced central tax treatment by specified intimation and statements.
Eligible registered persons may opt for the composition levy by filing the prescribed intimation and furnishing the required statement; new applicants may indicate the option on registration. The option is effective from the beginning of the financial year or from the date of registration and, when chosen for any place of business, applies to all places of business under the same Permanent Account Number. Chapter II of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules applies mutatis mutandis except where modified by these clarifications.

Registration deficiency: Failure to seek revocation of a cancelled GST registration can justify rejection of a fresh application.
Proper officers must compare FORM GST REG-01 details with prior registrations on the common portal to detect concealment. If a prior registration on the same PAN was cancelled under the conditions in clauses (b) and (c) of sub section (2) of section 29 and the applicant has not applied for revocation while those conditions persist, that failure is a "deficiency" under rule 9(2) and may justify rejection of the fresh registration under rule 9 read with rule 9(4). Absent convincing justification, the application may be rejected.

Transfer of input tax credit after proprietor's death requires filing ITC 02 and shifts registration and liability to the successor.
Unutilized input tax credit of a deceased sole proprietor may be transferred to the person who continues the business by filing FORM GST ITC-02 on the common portal in respect of the registration to be cancelled; FORM GST ITC-02 must be filed before applying for cancellation and, upon acceptance, the specified credit is credited to the transferee's electronic credit ledger. The transferee must obtain registration from the date of transfer, indicate "death of the proprietor" in registration/cancellation forms, and will be jointly and severally liable for any tax, interest or penalty due from the transferor.

Transfer of input tax credit to transferee after death of sole proprietor, subject to prescribed form filing and joint liability.
Unutilized input tax credit in the electronic credit ledger of a deceased sole proprietor may be transferred to a transferee who continues the business. The transferee must obtain registration citing death of proprietor and file the prescribed electronic form requesting transfer of credit before applying for cancellation; on acceptance the specified credit is credited to the transferee's electronic credit ledger. Transferor and transferee are jointly and severally liable for any tax, interest or penalty due from the transferor, and the person continuing the business after death is liable for outstanding obligations.

Registration verification: fresh GST applications may be rejected where prior cancellation persists and revocation was not sought.
Proper officers must scrutinise new registration applications on the same PAN when an earlier registration exists or was cancelled, compare portal records and FORM GST REG-01 particulars, and treat failure to seek revocation of cancellation while statutory conditions continue as a deficiency, permitting rejection of the fresh application under rule 9(2) read with rule 9(4) of the CGST Rules.

Refund of accumulated ITC: portal workaround permits filing under 'any other' category pending officer adjustment and debit.
Provides a one time procedural remedy for taxpayers who reversed ITC in returns but face portal validation blocking full refund for accumulation due to inverted tax structure: file the affected period claim under "any other" in FORM GST RFD 01A with required supporting statements; the proper officer will calculate the admissible refund under the refund rules, request electronic credit ledger debit via FORM GST DRC 03, and upon receipt of debit proof issue the refund order and payment advice.

GST treatment of sales promotion schemes clarified: uniform rules on taxability, valuation and input tax credit for promotional offers.
Clarification addresses GST tax treatment of sales promotion schemes under Circular No. 92/11/2019, identifying free samples and gifts, buy one get one offers, discounts (including "buy more, save more"), and secondary discounts, and directing uniform application of rules on taxability, valuation and availability of Input Tax Credit for these schemes; field formations and trade are instructed to follow the circular's detailed guidance.

Registration exemption for exclusive goods suppliers: higher threshold allows eligible taxpayers to cancel GST registration before notified cutoff.
Persons exclusively supplying goods whose aggregate turnover does not exceed the prescribed threshold are exempt from GST registration, subject to conditions: exclusive supply of goods, absence from compulsory registration categories, non-involvement in excluded supply categories, and the interplay with voluntary registration; eligible taxpayers may apply for cancellation of registration by the prescribed cutoff and must not have issued any tax invoice in the subsequent fiscal period to claim the exemption.

Real estate GST: 1% affordable, 5% other, option for ongoing projects to retain old rates or adopt pro rata transition.
The Council implemented the 33rd Meeting decisions for Real Estate: effective GST at 1% (affordable) and 5% (other than affordable) without ITC; definitions from RERA; 80% procurement from registered suppliers or tax on shortfall under RCM (cement at higher RCM); creation of related 18%/18% entries for unregistered supplies to promoters; RCM and timing shifts for TDR/FSI/long term lease; amendments to ITC apportionment rules; transitional pro rata ITC formula for ongoing projects; one time option for ongoing projects to remain under old rates; and notifications effective 1 April 2019 subject to legal vetting.

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.

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.

Inter State supply of Priority Sector Lending Certificates requires IGST on e Kuber trading; prior CGST/SGST payments exempt additional IGST.
PSLC transfers between banks on the RBI e Kuber platform are to be treated as a supply of goods in the course of inter State trade or commerce and therefore attract Integrated GST (IGST). This IGST characterization applies irrespective of earlier differing charge mechanisms; however, a bank that has already paid Central GST and State GST (or Central GST and Union Territory GST) for the supply is not required to pay IGST for that transaction.

Tax collected at source (TCS) exclusion: TCS treated as interim levy and not includible in taxable value for GST.
Corrigendum clarifies that Tax Collected at Source (TCS) under the Income Tax Act is an interim levy not having the character of a tax and therefore would not be includible in the taxable value of supply for GST, notwithstanding the general principle in Section 15(2) that the value of supply includes taxes or charges levied under other laws if charged separately. Trade notices are requested and implementation difficulties should be reported to the Board.

Sales promotion schemes under GST: clarifies taxability, valuation rules and input tax credit treatment for samples, offers and discounts.
Free samples and gifts supplied without consideration are not treated as supply and do not attract GST unless covered by Schedule I; input tax credit is disallowed for inputs, input services and capital goods used for such free distributions unless the activity falls within Schedule I. Buy-one-get-one offers are treated as supplying multiple goods for one price, with taxability determined by whether the transaction is a composite or mixed supply and input tax credit available. Invoice-disclosed and pre-established volume discounts that meet valuation conditions are excluded from taxable value and permit input tax credit claims. Secondary post-supply discounts do not qualify for exclusion from value and credit notes may be issued commercially.

Real estate GST: 5% non affordable and 1% affordable rates without ITC effective 1 April 2019.
The Council approved an effective GST regime for under construction residential properties: 5% without ITC for non affordable and 1% without ITC for affordable housing, effective 1 April 2019; adopted area and value based eligibility for Affordable Housing (carpet area ceilings of 60 sqm in specified metros and 90 sqm in non metros with a Rs. 45 lakh value cap), allowed up to 15% commercial area treated separately, mandated 80% procurement from registered suppliers with RCM on shortfalls, set pro rata ITC transition rules, and tasked the Fitment and Law Committees to draft detailed notifications and transitional provisions.

Inter State supply characterization: one time deeming of central and state tax paid as discharge of IGST for warehoused goods.
Supplies of goods from customs bonded warehouses are inter State supplies; owing to a portal deficiency taxpayers reported and paid central tax and State tax instead of IGST. As a one time exception, where the sum of central tax and State tax paid during the affected period equals the IGST due, such payment will be deemed compliance with IGST payment obligations. The Board instructs field formations to publicise the Circular and report implementation difficulties.