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.

Referral to policy wing required where audit reveals competing GST interpretations to promote uniformity and reduce litigation.
When an audit discovers issues with competing statutory interpretations that have generated a prevalent trade practice and may result in proposed non-payment or short payment of tax, the zonal Principal Chief Commissioner must refer a self-contained note to the Board's policy wing (GST Policy/TRU) before concluding the investigation, making the reference as early as feasible and prior to the earliest due date for issuing a show cause notice, to promote uniformity and reduce litigation; this procedure applies to ongoing audits.

Fake GST registrations drive: coordinated data driven verification enabling suspension, ITC blocking and inter jurisdictional recovery.
Second special All-India drive directs GSTN and DGARM to identify high risk GSTINs for time bound verification by jurisdictional officers; on finding non existent taxpayers, officers shall initiate suspension/cancellation of registration under section 29, block input tax credit under Rule 86A, identify and pursue recipients for recovery, share inter jurisdictional cases via the GSTN Initiate Enquiry module through appointed nodal officers, and submit weekly action reports and GSTIN wise feedback in prescribed annexure formats.

GST classification clarifications confirm applicable rates on specified goods and regularise past-period issues subject to conditions.
Clarification under section 168(1) classifies dual-energy solar cookers under heading 8516 and confirms the applicable rate; treats all sprinklers, including fire water sprinklers, as falling within the sprinkler entry and applicable rate with past-period regularisation; amends the tariff entry to explicitly include parts of poultry-keeping machinery with the applicable rate and past-period regularisation; narrows the scope of "pre-packaged and labelled" to exclude agricultural farm produce in packages over twenty-five kilogram or litre so such supply will not attract the specified levy, with past-period regularisation; and regularises past supplies of pulses and cereals made to or by government-engaged agencies under approved programmes subject to a Deputy Secretary certificate and reversal or disallowance of input tax credit.

GST exemption scope clarified for railways, SPVs, RERA, digital payment incentives, reinsurance and certain accommodation services.
GST applicability clarified across several service categories: Ministry of Railways supplies to the public and inter division supplies are exempted with past liabilities regularised; SPV supplies permitting use of SPV infrastructure and reciprocal maintenance services are exempted with past period regularisation; statutory collections by RERA are covered by the governmental authority exemption; incentive shares under the RuPay/UPI scheme distributed as decided by NPCI are treated as subsidy and not taxable; reinsurance (including retrocession) of specified exempt and government funded schemes is regularised for past periods; specified accommodation services meeting value and duration criteria are exempted with retrospective regularisation.

CSD refund entitlement: electronic filing with FORM RFD-10A, invoice validation and partial tax refund cap enforced.
CSDs must file refund claims electronically in FORM GST RFD-10A on the common portal, applying quarterly (with an option to club quarters/FYs). Refunds are admissible only for inward supplies received from registered suppliers who have furnished GSTR-1 and filed GSTR-3B; invoices must show supplier GSTIN and CSD GSTIN and be accompanied by an undertaking and declaration. The proper officer will validate invoices against GSTR-2B/GSTR-1/GSTR-3B, exclude already-refunded invoices, ensure a partial tax refund cap, verify ITC reversals, and issue orders in FORM GST RFD-06 with a speaking order.

IGST refund mechanism for post-export price increases: exporters file FORM GST RFD-01; jurisdictional GST officers process claims.
Refunds of additional IGST paid due to upward post-export price revisions are claimable by exporters via FORM GST RFD-01 filed electronically; jurisdictional GST officers will process such claims under rule 89 using GSTN-provided shipping bill and IGST data. Claims require specified documentary proof-shipping bills, original and revised invoices or debit notes, contract evidence, proof of additional IGST and interest payment, foreign exchange remittance (FIRC) and a practising accountant's certificate-and the officer must verify reporting in FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B before issuing a speaking sanction and payment order.

Valuation of corporate guarantee services: GST based on higher of actual consideration or annual percentage of amount guaranteed, with charge mechanics clarified.
The provision of corporate guarantees between related persons to banks or financial institutions is taxable and, for guarantees issued or renewed on or after 26 October 2023, valuation is governed by Rule 28(2). The value equals the higher of actual consideration and one per cent per annum of the amount guaranteed (pro rata for periods under a year and multiplied by years for multi year guarantees). Tax is payable on issuance and on each renewal; domestic intra group guarantees are forward charged with invoicing, foreign issued guarantees to Indian recipients attract reverse charge, and recipients may claim input tax credit subject to conditions.

Pre-deposit payment stay on recovery: electronic ledger payment and undertaking pause recovery until tribunal is operational.
If the Appellate Tribunal is not operational, taxpayers can secure a stay of recovery by paying an amount equal to the pre-deposit via Services Ledgers Payment towards demand, which maps the payment in Electronic Liability Register Part II against the selected order, and by filing an undertaking to appeal before the Tribunal when it is constituted. Payments inadvertently made through FORM GST DRC-03 can be adjusted towards the pre-deposit upon filing FORM GST DRC-03A (subject to exclusions where FORM GST DRC-05 has been issued); absence of payment, undertaking, or timely DRC-03A filing permits recovery under the CGST Act.

Proper officer designation shifted to Superintendent of Central Tax, reallocating registration and composition levy functions and requiring trade notices.
Functions relating to registration and composition levy under specified provisions of the CGST Act and associated CGST Rules are reassigned to the Superintendent of Central Tax, replacing prior assignment to Assistant or Deputy Commissioners/Directors; recipients must issue trade notices and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Time of supply for spectrum services: GST arises on due or actual installment payments under reverse charge.
GST on spectrum allocation by government is payable by the telecom operator under reverse charge. Where deferred instalment payments create a continuous supply, the time of supply is the earlier of payment (entered in recipient's books or debited) or the date immediately following sixty days from issue of an invoice; Frequency Assignment Letters are bid-acceptance documents and invoices must be issued on or before ascertainable instalment due dates. GST is payable on upfront sums when paid or due, and on instalments when due or paid, whichever is earlier.

Time of supply for HAM road services: invoice date or payment receipt determines tax liability for construction and O&M.
For HAM contracts treated as a single continuous supply covering construction and O&M, the time of supply is the earlier of invoice date or receipt of payment where invoices are issued on or before the contract-specified due date or event-completion date. If invoices are not issued by that date, the time of supply is the earlier of the date of provision of the service (which may be the contract due date) or receipt of payment. Interest included in installments/annuities is includible in the taxable value.

Place of supply for custodial services: treat as non-account holder supplies, apply default recipient location rule under GST.
Custodial services by banks to FPIs-consisting of safekeeping and maintenance of securities accounts-are not services provided to an account holder for the supplier-location rule. By analogy to prior Service Tax guidance, custodial, depository and trust services are excluded from the account-holder category and therefore the place of supply must be determined under the default place-of-supply rule, i.e., by reference to the recipient's location where ascertainable and otherwise the supplier, within the IGST framework.

Input tax credit on ducts and manholes in optical fiber networks allowed as plant and machinery, ITC not barred.
Ducts and manholes used in optical fiber cable networks serve as necessary conduits and network nodes for transmission of telecommunication signals and, under the Explanation to Section 17, fall within the definition of plant and machinery. They are not specifically excluded as land, building, other civil structures, telecommunication towers or certain pipelines. Consequently, input tax credit on such ducts and manholes is not barred by the immovable-property exclusions in sub-section (5) of Section 17 and is available to taxable persons providing telecommunication services.

Related party loan interest exemption affirmed; processing fees for loan facilitation attract GST as taxable consideration when charged.
Loans or advances between related persons are supply under Schedule I, but services of extending loans are exempt insofar as consideration is only interest or discount; processing/administrative/service fees charged in addition to interest constitute taxable consideration for facilitation/processing services and attract GST, whereas absence of such fees between related parties does not give rise to a deemed taxable processing service or obligation to apply open market valuation.

Input tax credit entitlement for insurers affirmed where insurer bears approved repair liability despite reimbursement to the insured.
Where an insurer reimburses an insured for approved motor vehicle repair costs, the insurer is the liable party for the approved repair cost and therefore constitutes the recipient of the repair service to that extent; input tax credit on such repair services is available to the insurer. If two invoices are issued-one to the insurer for the approved cost and one to the insured for the excess-credit may be taken on the invoice to the insurer subject to reimbursement mechanics. If a single invoice is issued to the insurer but only the approved cost is reimbursed, credit is available only to the extent of the reimbursed approved cost. Credit is not available where the invoice is not in the insurer's name.