Manual Refund Filing for inverted duty, deemed exports and cash ledger balances requires specified forms, statements and undertakings.
Manual filing and processing of refund claims for inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances is required until the portal module is available. Claims must be submitted in FORM GST RFD-01A with specified statements (Statement 1, 1A, 5B) and documentary undertakings; monthly filing is standard unless quarterly filing is elected. Provisional sanctions may be granted subject to a manual undertaking to repay with interest if ineligibility is later discovered. Jurisdictional officers, nodal liaison via e-mail, re-credit procedures, and seven-working-day inter-authority communication are prescribed.

Maintenance of books of accounts may be centralized at principal place of business; ITC remains available subject to statutory conditions.
The circular clarifies that warehouses storing tea, coffee, rubber and similar goods must be declared as additional places of business by principals and auctioneers, who are ordinarily required to maintain books of accounts at each such place; where difficulties exist, those books may instead be maintained at the principal place of business provided the jurisdictional proper officer is informed in writing. It further confirms that principals or auctioneers may avail input tax credit subject to the provisions of the Act and rules, and that the guidance applies to goods supplied only through auction where the auctioneer claims ITC on pre-auction supplies.

Supply by artist: artworks exhibited at galleries are taxed only on actual sale; interstate movements attract integrated tax.
Artworks moved by an artist may be transported on a delivery challan (and e-way bill where applicable) with the tax invoice issued at the time of actual supply; movements between States are treated as inter-state supply attracting integrated tax. Provision of artworks to galleries for exhibition without consideration from the gallery is not a supply - GST arises only when a buyer selects and purchases the displayed artwork.

Reverse charge liability for IFSC SEZ units: procure specified input services without integrated tax by furnishing Letter of Undertaking.
Units in IFSC SEZ receiving input services chargeable on reverse charge are deemed suppliers and liable for integrated tax, but may procure such services without payment of integrated tax by furnishing a Letter of Undertaking in lieu of a bond, subject to the procedural conditions and exceptions applicable to such undertakings; the clarification applies mutatis mutandis to IFSC SEZ units and aligns reverse-charge treatment with zero-rated import of services for authorized operations.

First Appellate Authority under Right to Information Act appointed for CGST South; appeals from CPIO orders to be filed with authority.
Mr. R. L. Meena, Additional Commissioner, CGST South, Delhi, is appointed as First Appellate Authority under section 5(1) and 5(2) of the Right to Information Act. Appeals from orders of the CPIOs within this Commissionerate shall lie with the Appellate Authority, and pending applications/appeals in the territorial jurisdiction will be dealt with by designated CPIOs or the appellate authority as appropriate.

e-Way Bill system: inter-State mandatory Feb 1; intra-State implementation by states before June 1; provisional refund relaxations.
The Council approved rollout of a nationwide e-Way Bill System: trial inter-State operation by 16 January and compulsory inter-State operation from 1 February, with States free to implement intra-State e-Way Bills on any date before 1 June, 2018. States with existing systems may continue until migration. The Council also authorised provisional and final refunds without electronic matching for specified categories (zero-rated supplies, inverted duty, IGST on zero-rated supplies, deemed exports) subject to an undertaking to repay if legal conditions for input tax credit are not met.

Office relocation of GST range offices updates official premises; trade associations must inform members and take necessary action.
Shifting of office premises for Range IV and Range V (Kathua) is announced: both Range offices have moved from College Road, Shiv Nagar to Avalon House, Ward No 16, Upper Shiv Nagar, near OBC Bank on the National Highway, Kathua; Trade and Industry Associations are requested to inform their members and take necessary action.

Enrolling authority for GST Practitioners: jurisdictional Assistant/Deputy Commissioner may approve or reject applications per FORM GST PCT-I.
The Assistant Commissioner/Deputy Commissioner having jurisdiction over the address declared in FORM GST PCT-I is the officer authorized to approve or reject enrolment applications for Goods and Services Tax Practitioners; applicants may choose Centre or State as the enrolling authority and must specify that choice in Item 1 of Part B of FORM GST PCT-I.

GST taxpayer jurisdiction reallocated; lists published online and sent to trade bodies for member notification.
Allocation of taxpayers between the Central and Puducherry State tax administrations was completed under GST Council guidance and administrative orders to ensure a single interface; lists of taxpayers (by turnover brackets) under the Central Commissionerate for Puducherry are published on the Commissionerate website and circulated by e mail to trade bodies, which are requested to notify their members.

HSN and SAC classification: awareness programme to guide industry on correct GST rate application and compliance.
The Commissionerate stresses that correct GST levy requires classification of goods under HSN and services under SAC, as classification determines the applicable tax rate. To improve understanding and compliance, an awareness programme will be conducted at the Commissionerate's conference hall, and representatives of industry, trade, businesses and the public are invited. Industry and Trade Associations are asked to circulate this notice to their members to ensure wider dissemination and participation.

Assignment of taxpayer base clarifies administrating authority under GST and preserves legacy central excise and service tax jurisdiction.
Assignment of taxpayer base between the Central Government and Government of Karnataka allocates registered taxpayers to either Central or State administrating authorities for GST; taxpayers may verify their administrating authority online. Legacy central excise and service tax issues will continue to be managed by the originally notified Central Excise and Service Tax Commissionerates, with successor GST Central Tax officers handling legacy matters even where a taxpayer has been assigned to a State administrating authority.

Electronic sealing for containers becomes mandatory for specified exporters and for full container loads where infrastructure exists.
CBEC Circular No.44/2017 extends timelines and prescribes that RFID electronic sealing may be voluntarily adopted where readers exist, and becomes mandatory for exporters permitted self-sealing under earlier regimes, for Authorized Economic Operators, and for exporters availing supervised stuffing at specified ports/ICDs; e-sealing for full container loads is mandated at ports/ICDs from the later effective date, while supervised stuffing continues under GST commissionerates.

Mandatory GeM registration required for vendors and service providers to participate in government procurement through the e marketplace.
Suppliers, vendors and service providers must register on the Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal to enable participation in government procurement, following authorization in the General Financial Rules that makes procurement through GeM mandatory; vendors should register on the GeM website to supply goods and services to the Commissionerate and report any difficulties.

E sealing requirement: mandatory for specified exporters and full container loads where readers are operational.
Entitled exporters with RFID e seals may voluntarily adopt e sealing where readers exist without departmental supervision until the transition to mandatory use; e sealing will become compulsory for exporters permitted prior self sealing, accredited exporters, and those using supervised stuffing at specified ports/ICDs, and will be mandatory for full container loads across ports/ICDs from the date indicated by the Board.

IGST exemption on inter state movement: no IGST where movement isn't for further supply; repairs remain taxable.
Inter state movement of rigs, tools and spares and other goods on wheels is to be treated neither as a supply of goods nor a supply of service for IGST purposes where the movement is not for further supply of the same goods; the treatment in circular 1/1/2017 IGST applies mutatis mutandis. Applicable CGST/SGST/IGST remains leviable on repairs and maintenance of such goods.

GST nil rate on terracotta idols affirmed; terracotta treated as clay so idols eligible for nil-rated supply.
The circular states that terracotta idols are eligible for a nil rate of GST because terracotta is a clay-based material and thus falls within the clay-idol nil-rated entry; it also notes that repairs and maintenance to such goods may be taxable and requests that implementation difficulties be reported to the Board.

Government e Marketplace registration required for suppliers to enable mandatory government procurement through the GeM portal.
Vendors, service providers and government suppliers must register on the Government e Marketplace (GeM) portal to enable supply of common-use goods and services, as government purchases are mandated to be made through GeM following the insertion of Rule No. 149 in the General Financial Rules, 2017; suppliers should report any difficulties encountered in registration or use to the Commissionerate.

Classification of cut fabric pieces treated as fabric under GST; cutting and packing does not alter tax treatment.
Cut pieces of fabric sold in unstitched form retain their character as fabric and remain classifiable under the textile headings; mere cutting and packing into different lengths does not change their legal character or tax classification. Such pieces should receive the GST treatment applicable to fabric, including the non-refundability of unutilized input tax credit, and implementation issues should be reported to the local GST Commissionerate.

IGST refund on exports: procedural corrections and reconciliations required to enable sanctioning of refunds after online filings.
Refunds of IGST on exports require reconciled export declarations and GST returns; the circular identifies mismatches in shipping bill references, invoice/IGST entries, and missing or incorrect EGMs and mandates filing corrective amendments in GSTR 1, online EGM/supplementary EGM submission, reconciliation via ICEGATE, and PFMS validation of bank accounts to enable refund processing.

Custom milling of paddy not exempt: job-work processing taxable at reduced GST rate on processing charges.
Milling of paddy into rice is not an intermediate production process in relation to cultivation and so is not eligible for exemption under S. No. 55 of Notification 12/2017. Milling alters paddy's essential characteristics and is usually done by rice millers. Milling performed as job work is taxable as a service and, under the reduced rate for food products, is liable to GST at 5% on the processing charges only.