Audit of GST taxpayers: inspectors and above authorised to conduct statutory audits under Section 65 when allocated by the office.
Officers of the rank of Inspector of Central Tax and above posted in or holding charge of any Audit Group or Circle of the Kolkata Audit I Commissionerate are authorised to conduct audits of registered persons as and when allocated by the office under the statutory audit framework of Section 65 and the definition of audit in clause (13) of Section 2 of the CGST Act, 2017.

Post-sales discounts under GST: characterisation determines whether they reduce supplier value or constitute taxable separate supplies.
Post-sales discounts under clause (b) of section 15(3) CGST are to be characterised by their commercial nature: discounts without further dealer obligations relate to the original supply and may be excluded from the supplier's value of supply; discounts that require the dealer to perform promotional activities are separate supplies of services on which the dealer must charge GST and the supplier may claim ITC; discounts paid to induce dealers to lower customer prices must be added to the dealer's consideration for valuation. Where discounts cannot be excluded, suppliers may issue financial/commercial credit notes but cannot reduce original tax liability, and dealers need not reverse ITC if they pay the reduced value after adjusting such credit notes in line with applicable provisos.

Refund processing: accept electronically transferred claims despite incorrect portal mapping and notify portal to correct assignment.
Where a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01A is electronically transferred by the common portal to a tax authority that is not the taxpayer's administrative assignee and the portal lacks a re assignment facility, the receiving tax authority should proceed to process the refund claim. After processing, that authority must inform the common portal of the incorrect mapping and request an update so subsequent applications are routed to the correct jurisdiction.

Place of supply rules clarified: port cargo-handling follows contractual determination; temporary import repairs follow export-linked supply rule.
Place of supply for port cargo-handling and ancillary services is determined by contract and not as services related to immovable property; place of supply for services on goods temporarily imported for repair or processing and re-exported without being put to use (e.g., cutting and polishing unpolished diamonds) is determined under the provision for services in respect of temporarily imported goods for repair or processing, not by the general rule locating services where performed.

GST on penal interest: seller charged late interest is taxable; financier charged interest may be exempt under interest rules.
Where a seller embeds credit in the sale of taxable goods and charges penal interest for delayed instalments, that penal interest is includible in the value of the taxable supply and taxable. Conversely, penal interest charged by an independent financer on a loan qualifies as interest under the relevant notification and is exempt from GST; the taxable value of the goods in that case excludes the financier's penal interest. Penal interest does not fall under Schedule II entry 5(e), while non interest service fees charged by a financer are taxable.

GST applicability on penal interest clarified: penal interest on notified supplies excluded from GST, principal supply value unchanged.
Where additional or penal interest is charged in relation to a transaction whose underlying supply is covered by Sl. No. 27 of Notification No. 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate), that penal interest is not subject to GST because it is not covered by the notification; the value of the principal supply for levy of GST remains as stated in the illustrative scenario.

Furnishing of bank account details now mandatory for new GST registrants, non-compliance constitutes a rule violation and triggers procedures.
The amendment requires newly registered persons (except those under rules 12 or 16) to furnish bank account details on the common portal within a prescribed period after registration or before the first return due date, makes failure a ground for action, excludes Kerala Flood Cess from value for valuation purposes, permits Government notification to mandate QR codes on invoices and bills, introduces electronic cash ledger transfers (FORM GST PMT-09), replaces "payment advice" with "payment order" for refunds, and creates a refund procedure for retail outlets in international departure areas under rule 95A.

Composition taxable person declaration required under GST rules; failure to display prescribed wording may invite enforcement action and penalties.
Bills of supply issued by composition taxable persons must state "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON, NOT ELIGIBLE TO COLLECT TAX ON SUPPLIES" in bold capital letters, and every principal or additional place of business must display "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON" in bold capital letters; non compliance may invite action under GST law including penalties, fines or prosecution.

Opting for composition levy: deadline extended to file FORM GST CMP-02 and furnish FORM GST ITC-03.
Corrigendum extends the deadline for a registered person opting for the composition levy to file intimation in FORM GST CMP-02 (selecting "Any other supplier eligible for composition levy" at Sl. No. 5(iii)) to 31st July, 2019, and retains the requirement to furnish FORM GST ITC-03 in accordance with sub-rule (3) of rule 3.

Tax refund for duty paid airport retail outlets enables reimbursement of taxes on inward goods sold tax free to departing international tourists.
Retail outlets beyond immigration counters at international airports may claim invoice based refund of Central, Integrated, State/UT taxes and Compensation cess paid on inward indigenous goods sold tax free to outgoing international tourists paying in foreign exchange. Eligibility requires GST registration and prescribed location; refunds are claimed monthly or quarterly using FORM GST RFD 10B with electronic records (Annexure A), passport and boarding pass verification, passenger declaration (Annexure B), undertakings and relevant GSTR returns. Proper officers validate filings, may issue one deficiency memo, and sanction refunds per tax head, with recovery and interest where refunds are ineligible.

Composition taxable person labelling requirement: failure to display prescribed wording on bills and signboards may invite enforcement action.
Composition taxable persons must print "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON, NOT ELIGIBLE TO COLLECT TAX ON SUPPLIES" in bold capital letters on every bill of supply and display "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON" in bold capital letters on a notice or signboard at their principal and additional places of business; failure to comply may prompt the proper officer to initiate action under GST law and attract penalty, fine or prosecution.

Post-sales discounts under GST: conditional incentives treated as payment for dealer services, unconditional discounts adjust supply value.
Post-sales discounts are governed by the valuation provisions and may be excluded from the supplier's value of supply only if granted without further obligation by the dealer and the conditions for adjustment are met. If the discount requires the dealer to undertake promotional activities, it is consideration for a separate supply of services by the dealer, on which the dealer must charge GST and the supplier can claim input tax credit. Payments by a supplier to enable a dealer to offer reduced customer prices form part of the dealer's value of supply. Where a supplier issues financial/commercial credit notes because exclusion is not permitted, the supplier cannot reduce original tax liability; the dealer need not reverse ITC provided the dealer pays the reduced value after adjusting credit notes and the original tax charged.

Refund application processing when portal mapping is incorrect: process with receiving tax authority and request portal mapping correction.
Where a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01A has been electronically transferred by the common portal to a tax authority other than the taxpayer's administrative assignee and portal reassignment is unavailable, the tax authority that received the application may process the refund claim without delay. After processing, that authority should notify the common portal of the incorrect administrative mapping and request an update so subsequent applications route to the correct jurisdictional tax authority.

Place of supply rules: ancillary port cargo handling services determined by contract; temporary imports for processing follow export-location rule.
Services connected to cargo handling at ports are ancillary and their place of supply is determined under Section 12(2) or Section 13(2) of the IGST Act according to contractual terms, not under the immovable property rule in Section 12(3). Services on goods temporarily imported for processing and exported without being put to use, such as cutting and polishing of unpolished diamonds, are subject to the temporary-import exception and their place of supply is determined under Section 13(2) of the IGST Act.

GST on penal interest: seller charged penal interest is includible in supply value, lender interest may be exempt.
Additional or penal interest on delayed EMI payments is taxable when charged by the seller because it must be included in the value of the supply of goods; penal interest charged by a separate lender on a loan qualifies as exempt interest under the exemption for extending loans or advances, provided it meets the statutory definition of "interest". Penal interest meeting that definition is not a separate taxable service under the provision covering tolerance or abstention, while service fees or other non interest charges by a financier are taxable.

Composition taxable person labelling requirement: mandatory invoice and signboard declarations, non-compliance may attract GST enforcement.
Composition taxable persons must print "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON, NOT ELIGIBLE TO COLLECT TAX ON SUPPLIES" on every bill of supply and display "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON" in bold capital letters on prominent notices or signboards at the principal and all additional places of business, under Rule 5 governing the composition levy. Non-compliance may result in action under GST law, including penalty, fine or prosecution, and departmental officers and trade associations are directed to circulate this advisory to relevant taxpayers and staff.

Annual return filing compliance seminar postponed; fresh date to be notified and associations asked to inform members.
Seminar concerning annual return filing compliance under GST for 2017-18 has been postponed; a fresh date will be intimated in due course. Trade, commerce and industry associations are requested to bring the postponement to the notice of their members.

GST Council approves committee referrals, extended filing deadlines, and a voluntary B2B e invoicing pilot from January 2020.
The GST Council recorded the CAG's proposals on audit format and digital audit and referred data sharing and access matters to the Law Committee; approved deemed ratification of Central notifications (12 March-11 June 2019); authorised a set of proposed CGST/IGST amendments (including Aadhaar linkage for registrations, administrative extension powers, ledger transfers, CAAAR creation and prospective interest change), subject to legal vetting; approved a pilot for voluntary B2B e invoicing from January 2020; extended filing deadlines to 31 August 2019; deferred Rule 138E e way bill blocking to 21 August 2019; extended NAA tenure by two years and approved NAA SOPs; referred lottery rate questions and place of supply concerns to the Attorney General; and tasked Fitment and Officers' Committees with sectoral issues.

Composition taxable person status must be displayed and bills must state inability to collect tax, non-compliance invites enforcement.
Composition taxable persons must print "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON, NOT ELIGIBLE TO COLLECT TAX ON SUPPLIES" on every bill of supply and display "COMPOSITION TAXABLE PERSON" in bold on prominent notices or signboards at principal and additional places of business; failure to comply may invite enforcement action and penalties under the GST law.

ACES GST integration enables migrated Central Excise and Service Tax taxpayers to access the integrated portal and complete login and registration procedures.
The notice implements ACES GST integration on https://cbic-gst.gov.in and prescribes that existing Central Excise and Service Tax taxpayers log in via the "ACES (CE&ST)" link using legacy ACES credentials, change their password on first access, and thereafter use their user id and new password to perform e filing and other transactions. New applicants must register using PAN and contact details, complete OTP verification to obtain a Temporary Reference Number (TRN), file the appropriate form (including Al Form or Non Assessee Form), receive an ARN on submission, and await officer approval and issuance of a Registration Certificate before accessing full portal functions.