Donor name display: acknowledgment by charitable organisations as non-commercial recognition is not subject to GST when philanthropic.
Display of donor names or name plates by charitable institutions as expressions of gratitude and public recognition, without reference to any business activity and lacking a quid pro quo, do not constitute a supply of service for consideration and are not subject to GST, provided the payment is a genuine donation and the purpose is philanthropic rather than advertising.

GST on airport levies: airlines may collect charges, but airport operators remain liable if pure agent conditions are met.
PSF and UDF charged by airport operators are consideration for services to passengers and are subject to GST. Airlines that collect these charges act as agents; if they meet the conditions of a pure agent under Rule 33 and separately indicate the amounts, the PSF/UDF and GST thereon are excluded from the airline's taxable value and the airline need not pay GST on those sums. Airport operators remain liable to pay GST on PSF/UDF collected, while collection charges paid to airlines for collection services attract GST and are eligible for input tax credit by the airport operator.

Service classification for oil and gas: consulting and technical exploration under professional services, support operations under extraction services.
Clarification directs that professional, technical and business services relating to exploration, mining or drilling of petroleum crude or natural gas are to be classified under heading 9983 as governed by explanatory notes to service codes 998341 and 998343, while physical support services to oil, gas and other mining activities are to be governed by explanatory notes to service codes 998621 and 998622 under heading 9986; services outside those explanatory notes must be classified in their appropriate headings and taxed accordingly.

GST classification and rates clarified: specific goods including processed legumes, almond milk, sprayers, navy imports, leased imports, solar and medical parts.
Dried leguminous vegetables subjected only to mild heat treatment remain classifiable under HS 0713 (branded packed units attract concessional GST; others exempt); almond milk is classifiable under the residual tariff of tariff item 2202 and attracts the higher applicable rate; mechanical sprayers of all types fall under the specific mechanical sprayer entry and attract the concessional rate; imported stores for Indian Naval ships are exempt from GST; goods imported under lease supplying specified services are IGST exempt subject to bond and conditions; parts for solar water heaters under chapters 84, 85 or 94 attract concessional treatment; parts solely or principally for medical devices classify with the devices under Chapter Note 2(b).

Secondary or post-sales discounts under GST face circular withdrawal after concerns over implementation and uniformity across field formations.
Withdrawal of Circular No. 60/2019-GST concerns earlier clarifications on the treatment of secondary or post-sales discounts under GST. In response to representations expressing apprehensions about its implications, the Commissioner of State tax exercised power under section 168 of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 to withdraw the circular ab initio and to ensure uniform implementation across field formations. The circular was deemed to have been issued from 1 October 2019.

Refund procedure after favourable appeal: fresh FORM GST RFD-01 claim allowed without re-debiting electronic credits, with order details.
Where a refund rejected by FORM GST RFD-06 is later allowed in appeal or any other forum, the claimant must file a fresh FORM GST RFD-01 under the category "Refund on account of assessment/provisional assessment/appeal/any other order"; the claimant need not re-debit amounts already debited in the electronic credit ledger, must supply order type, number, date and issuing authority, and upload the appellate order, original RFD-06 and related documents. The proper officer will sanction the allowed refund, issue FORM GST RFD-06 and RFD-05, and re-credit any remaining debited amounts following the guidelines of Circular No.24/2018-GST.

Refund re filing eligibility: registered persons may reapply after NIL refund only if specified conditions are met.
A registered person who filed a NIL refund in FORM GST RFD-01A/RFD-01 for a given period and category may reapply for refund for that same period and category only if (a) a NIL refund was filed for that period and category and (b) no refund claims under the same category have been filed for any subsequent period. Condition (b) applies only to refunds of unutilized input tax credit for exports without payment, supplies to SEZ without payment, and accumulation due to inverted tax structure. Refiling may be done under "Any Other" with all supporting documents; the proper officer will calculate admissibility and, if payable, request ledger debit via FORM GST DRC-03 before issuing RFD-06 and RFD-05.

Airport retail outlets can claim refunds of taxes paid on indigenous goods sold tax-free to departing international tourists.
Retail outlets beyond airport immigration may claim refund of State, Central, Integrated, Union territory taxes and Compensation cess paid on inward supplies of indigenous goods sold tax-free to departing international tourists; refunds are invoice-based, not input tax credit, require GST registration and specified electronic records with audit trail, passenger proofs (passport, boarding pass, declaration), and filing of refund applications with prescribed undertakings and return copies, with procedural timelines for acknowledgement, scrutiny, sanction, inter-authority coordination for payment, and recovery where refunds were incorrectly made.

GST clarification withdrawal requires State tax officers to follow the subsequent central instruction for uniform legal implementation.
The State tax administration withdraws its earlier circular corresponding to the withdrawn central GST clarification to ensure uniform implementation of GST law. State tax officers are directed, under the power to issue instructions for uniform implementation of the Tripura State GST Act, to follow the subsequently issued central clarification on the withdrawal.

GST refund claims after favourable appellate orders must follow the prescribed FORM GST RFD-01 clarification framework for uniform implementation.
GST refund claims following a favourable appellate or other forum order are to be made in FORM GST RFD-01 under the prescribed clarification framework. The State tax administration directs specified officers to follow the central tax clarification on such refund claims, with the objective of ensuring uniform implementation of GST law.

GST refund eligibility after NIL filing is governed by uniform instructions for FORM GST RFD-01 applications.
Eligibility to file a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01 for a period and refund category in which a NIL refund application has already been filed is addressed through a clarification intended to secure uniform implementation of GST refund provisions. State tax field formations are instructed to follow that clarification for consistent administration of refund applications following NIL refund filings.

GST treatment of state liquor licence fees treats State grants as non-supply, limiting exemption to state-issued liquor licences.
Granting of liquor licences by State Governments for licence or application fees was taxable and initially subject to reverse charge; the GST Council recommended exempting transitional demands and the Central Government enacted relief. Later, the Council recommended and the Central Government notified that State grants of alcoholic liquor licences for consideration are to be treated as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of service, a dispensation limited to State-issued liquor licences and not applicable to other fee-based licences.

Explanation under Section 11(3) clarifies retrospective effectiveness from the original entry despite a later effective date statement.
The explanation excluding Government and Local Authority activities from 'business' was inserted under Section 11(3) of the CGST Act within the permitted one year period and therefore has effect from the inception of the original concessional entry; a later statement of an effective date in the implementing notification does not alter that retrospective operation.

Securities lending fees are taxable; lenders paid IGST until 30 Sep 2019, borrowers liable under reverse charge from Oct 1, 2019.
Lending of securities under the Securities Lending Scheme is a taxable supply of services when a lending fee is charged; intermediaries' facilitation services are also taxable. The supply attracts GST at 18%. From 01.07.2017 to 30.09.2019 the lender was liable under forward charge (IGST), and from 01.10.2019 the borrower is liable under the reverse charge mechanism (IGST).

Place of supply: composite software/design services with ancillary hardware testing are located at the service recipient's location.
Where software or integrated circuit design services include testing on prototype hardware provided by the recipient and that testing is ancillary to the principal software/design development, the entire engagement is a composite supply and the place of supply is the location of the service recipient under the IGST framework; separate place-of-supply rules for performance-based supplies do not apply to the ancillary testing component.

GST exemption for DG Shipping approved maritime training courses applies where courses form part of a recognised qualification, subject to notification conditions.
GST exemption for services by educational institutions applies to maritime training institutes and courses approved by the Director General of Shipping when the courses form part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by law. Approval and designation powers under the Merchant Shipping Act and the associated STCW rules establish that DG Shipping approved institutes and courses qualify as education recognised for GST exemption, subject to the conditions set out in the relevant Central tax notification entry for educational institutions.

GST on donor name display: gratuitous acknowledgements that do not amount to advertising are not taxable supplies.
Where a charitable institution receives a donation or gift and acknowledges the donor by displaying the donor's name on its premises solely as an expression of gratitude without promoting the donor's business, there is no supply for consideration because no quid pro quo exists; GST is not leviable when the recipient is a charitable organisation, the payment is a genuine donation, and the purpose is philanthropic and not advertising.

GST on airport levies: airlines may collect PSF/UDF as pure agents while airport operators remain liable to pay GST.
PSF and UDF charged by airport operators are consideration for services to passengers and are taxable under GST; airlines that collect these charges act as agents and, if they satisfy Rule 33's pure agent conditions, must separately indicate the actual PSF/UDF and GST in invoices and exclude those amounts from their taxable value. Airlines may not claim ITC on GST paid on PSF/UDF. Airport operators remain liable to pay GST on PSF and UDF collected, and collection charges paid to airlines are taxable as consideration for airline services.

Service classification for oil and gas: technical consulting belongs to professional services, operational tasks to support services.
Technical and consulting activities-geological and geophysical advice, feasibility and evaluation studies and intellectual information products-fall under the professional, technical and business services heading; operational and on-site activities-derrick erection, well casing, cementing, pumping, plugging, abandoning wells, test drilling for extraction, overburden removal and mine preparation-fall under support services to oil and gas extraction or other mining heading. The scope of the relevant entries is governed by the Scheme of Classification of Services' explanatory notes, and services outside those entries must be classified in their respective headings and taxed accordingly.

Withdrawal of GST clarification on post sales discounts: circular revoked to address apprehensions and ensure uniform implementation.
Numerous representations raised apprehensions about a prior clarification on secondary or post-sales discounts under GST; the Chief Commissioner, invoking delegated administrative powers under the Gujarat GST framework, withdrew Circular No. 105/24/2019-GST ab initio to allay concerns and ensure uniform implementation, with the withdrawal recorded as having a deemed early-October date of issue.