Refund for unregistered buyers: temporary GST registration and portal claim process for tax borne on cancelled construction or insurance contracts.
Enables unregistered recipients who bore GST on advance or full payments for long-term supplies-e.g., construction contracts or long-term insurance-whose agreements are cancelled after the credit-note period has expired, to obtain temporary portal registration via PAN with Aadhaar authentication and bank details, and file refund claims in FORM GST RFD-01 (category ''Refund for unregistered person'') with Statement 8, supplier's certificate and supporting documents; refunds cannot exceed tax declared on relevant invoices, separate claims are required per supplier and State, the supplier's cancellation letter is the relevant date where services were not received, and the proper officer will process claims and issue FORM GST RFD-06.

Recovery of government dues: Commissioner must notify reduced GST demands after insolvency proceedings, enabling adjusted recovery to continue.
Where a confirmed demand for recovery exists against a corporate debtor and insolvency proceedings have reduced the amount of statutory government dues, the jurisdictional Commissioner shall issue an intimation in FORM GST DRC-25 to the taxable person and the appropriate recovery authority, and recovery proceedings may be continued only in relation to the reduced amount, pursuant to Section 84 and Rule 161 of the CGST framework.

No Claim Bonus treated as permissible discount under GST, reducing taxable premium when reflected in the invoice.
No Claim Bonus (NCB) is not consideration furnished by the insured and does not amount to a supply by the insured to the insurer; when NCB is pre disclosed in policy documents and specifically recorded in the invoice, it qualifies as a discount excluded from the value of supply under the discount deduction provision, and GST is chargeable on the premium after the invoice stated NCB deduction. The exemption from mandatory e invoicing under the notification applies to the entity as a whole and covers all supplies made by that entity.

Limitation for GST re determination: redetermine tax only within prescribed limitation following appellate direction and compute interest and penalty accordingly.
Orders under directions deeming a section 74 notice to be a section 73 notice must be issued within two years from communication of the appellate direction. Re determination of tax, interest and penalty must follow section 73 read with section 73(10): only amounts for which a show cause notice could validly have been issued within the section 73 time window (including cases of erroneous refund) can be recovered; notices issued beyond that window are barred by limitation and proceedings must be dropped. For multi year notices, re determination applies only to years within the permissible time window.

Place of supply foreign destination: IGST applies and Indian recipients may claim input tax credit subject to CGST credit conditions.
If goods are transported from India to a destination outside India, the place of supply for transportation services is the foreign destination; the supply is an inter State supply attractable to IGST, and the Indian recipient may claim input tax credit of the IGST charged subject to the CGST Act's eligibility, apportionment and blocked credit provisions; suppliers must report such supplies in GSTR 1 using the foreign country option.

Input Tax Credit verification: require auditor or supplier certification before allowing ITC where GSTR 3B exceeds GSTR 2A.
Procedure requires the proper officer to obtain invoices for ITC claimed in FORM GSTR 3B but not reflected in FORM GSTR 2A and verify Section 16 conditions: possession of tax invoice or debit note, receipt of goods or services, and payment of consideration including tax to supplier; check for reversals under Sections 17/18 and time limit compliance under section 16(4). To verify supplier payment of tax, require a CA/CMA certificate with UDIN for larger discrepancies and a supplier certificate for smaller discrepancies; relaxations for certain late claims in FY 2017 18 are restricted by proviso.

GST Council approves rate and rule changes, e commerce and registration reforms, data sharing and procedural clarifications; select items deferred.
The GST Council on 17 December 2022 ratified notifications and approved Fitment Committee rate/classification changes for specified goods and services, accepted Law Committee recommendations to amend CGST/IGST rules and forms (notably Aadhaar biometric pilot, registration verifications, GSTR 1/3B reconciliation mechanism, decriminalisation thresholds with exception for fake invoices, refund and interest computation rules, and e commerce procedural measures), approved limited relaxations on penal interest for initial bank remittance delays, endorsed masked GST data sharing with government departments, and deferred select contentious items for further examination.

Withholding of IGST refunds: system generated refund claims transmitted for risk verified exporters require jurisdictional verification before sanction.
Withholding of IGST refunds is effected where data analysis deems verification of exporter credentials including ITC essential; DGARM places all India alerts on ICES, transmits affected Shipping Bill data to GSTN via ICEGATE which generates system FORM GST RFD 01 claims deemed filed on transmission. Jurisdictional proper officers must process these auto acknowledged refund claims per rule 89 and section 54 timelines, verify genuineness and ITC correctness (including physical verification or supplier investigation if needed), issue detailed speaking orders with Form GST RFD 06 sanctions, and provide feedback on alert continuation or removal to DGARM.

Transitional credit verification: filing window reopened; claims subject to tax officer verification and ledger posting after due process.
Guidelines require jurisdictional tax officers to verify TRAN-1/TRAN-2 claims filed or revised during the court-ordered window, follow principles of natural justice, seek counterpart verification where claims span administrative jurisdictions, apply prescribed documentary and substantive checks for each TRAN table, and pass reasoned orders within the prescribed timeline to allow admissible transitional credit to be reflected in the Electronic Credit Ledger; inadmissible or excess credits may be recovered with interest and penalty.

Refund of unutilised input tax credit: amended formula and specified goods restriction apply prospectively to later-filed applications.
An amendment to the refund calculation formula for unutilised input tax credit due to inverted duty structure applies prospectively to applications filed on or after its effective date, with pre amendment applications governed by the earlier formula; a separate notification barring refunds for specified goods likewise applies prospectively to applications filed on or after its effective date and does not affect earlier filings.

Enforcement jurisdiction controls consequential actions, while jurisdictional tax authority must issue recurring show cause notices and handle refunds.
All consequential actions arising from an enforcement action lie with the authority that initiated the enforcement, while refunds must be granted by the jurisdictional tax authority administering the taxpayer. Recurring SCNs do not require fresh investigation and should therefore be issued by the jurisdictional authority that maintains the taxpayer's records and assessments rather than by the initiating investigating authority.

GST system reforms group of ministers reconstituted with revised membership and unchanged terms of reference.
Partial modification of the earlier office memorandum on GST system reforms reconstitutes the Group of Ministers by specifying its revised membership and designating Shri Devendra Fadnavis as Convenor. The memorandum lists the members from several States and confirms that the other terms of reference remain unchanged.

Transitional credit filing reopened-one time portal window allows aggrieved taxpayers to file or revise TRAN 1/TRAN 2 claims.
The circular reopens the GSTN common portal to allow aggrieved registered taxpayers a one time opportunity to file or revise claims for transitional credit using FORM GST TRAN 1 and FORM GST TRAN 2, subject to electronic verification and upload of a prescribed Annexure A declaration (and TRANS 3 where applicable). Claims will be verified by jurisdictional officers, who will adjudicate on merits after granting hearing and, if allowed, reflect the transitional credit in the Electronic Credit Ledger. Once submitted and filed on the portal the form is frozen and no further revisions under this dispensation are permitted.

Prosecution under the CGST Act requires strong evidence, mens rea, and careful sanction before criminal proceedings are launched.
Prosecution under the CGST Act is to be launched only where offences under section 132 are supported by adequate evidence meeting the criminal standard of proof. Prosecution should not rest merely on confirmation of demand in adjudication and should not be initiated in technical disputes or cases based only on interpretative differences. In company cases, proceedings should be confined to persons responsible for day-to-day conduct or those who actively participated in, or connived at, the evasion.

Summons under CGST Act require prior approval, judicious use, and restraint against routine calls to senior officials.
Guidelines on issuance of summons under Section 70 of the CGST Act require judicious use of the power and discourage routine summons where requisition of information or online statutory records may suffice. Summons by Superintendents need prior written approval from a Deputy or Assistant Commissioner, with reasons recorded, and file records must note appearance, non-appearance and statements. Senior management should not ordinarily be summoned first, repeated summons without proper service should be avoided, and complaints for non-attendance may follow after reasonable opportunity and due service.

Arrest under GST law must rest on credible reasons, investigation necessity, and clear evidence of tax evasion intent.
Guidelines for arrest and bail under the CGST Act require arrest to be founded on clear and credible reasons to believe, and not made routinely or mechanically. Arrest should be justified by the need for proper investigation, the risk of tampering with evidence or witnesses, the possibility of absconding, and evident intent to evade tax, misuse wrongful input tax credit, obtain fraudulent refund, or fail to pay tax collected. Arrest is discouraged in technical disputes or cases involving only a difference of legal interpretation, especially where the person is cooperating with investigation.

GST classification clarifications: electric vehicles, mango products, treated sewage, nicotine gum, fly ash and pulse by products reclassified.
Electrically operated vehicles remain classifiable as electric vehicles attracting concessional GST even without fitted batteries; Napa and similarly minor polished brittle stones qualify as non-mirror polished building stone for concessional treatment; fresh mangoes are exempt while sliced dried mangoes receive concessional treatment and other dried forms including mango pulp attract the standard rate; treated sewage water supplied as water is exempt; nicotine polacrilex gum for tobacco cessation is taxable as nicotine oral products; the 90% fly ash condition applies only to aggregates and not bricks; pulse milling by-products are classifiable as bran/residues and attract the concessional rate, with past periods regularized on an as is basis.

Taxability of contractual penalties: GST applies only when payments constitute consideration for an independent contractual supply, not mere compensation.
GST treatment of payments such as liquidated damages, penalties, compensation or cancellation and late payment charges depends on whether the payment constitutes consideration for an agreement to refrain from an act, to tolerate an act or situation, or to do an act under para 5(e) of Schedule II. Payments that are merely compensatory flows for breach, statutory compensation or fines for violations are not consideration for a supply and are not taxable; payments that represent consideration for ancillary or independent contractual facilities (eg. cancellation fees, late payment acceptance, prepayment or early termination charges) are taxable and assessed as the principal supply where applicable.

GST exemptions and rates clarified for ice cream parlours, educational fees, transit cargo, IVF and vehicle rentals.
Clarifications specify that ice cream sold by parlours is a taxable supply at the standard rate with ITC from the circular date while past lower rate payments are regularised without refund; educational institution fees for entrance, applications, eligibility and migration certificates are exempt; storage of ginned or baled cotton was exempt as raw vegetable fibre until its withdrawal on 18.07.2022; transit cargo related services to and from Nepal and Bhutan, including return of empty containers, are covered by the exemption subject to customs/transit compliance; rentals of vehicles with operator used within mining areas are renting services taxed as such and not exempt transport; IVF services are healthcare and exempt; sale of land remains non taxable though development services are taxable; reverse charge applies where corporates hire vehicles for control over operation.

Authorisation under CGST rule 96 delegates analytics and risk management functions to DGARM nationwide.
Authorisation is granted under clause (c) of sub rule (4) of rule 96 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, delegating the exercise of the functions under that clause to the Principal Director General/Director General of the Directorate General of Analytics and Risk Management (DGARM), CBIC, New Delhi, with effect throughout the territory of India as an administrative order by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.