GST exemption for upfront instalment payments on long-term lease plots extended under the applicable tax circular.
Exemption from GST applies to upfront amounts paid in instalments for plots given on long-term lease. The circular clarifies that such instalment-based upfront payments are covered by the exemption under the relevant GST notification. The same position is stated to apply under the Uttar Pradesh SGST Act and Rules, with officers to be informed and compliance ensured accordingly.

GST applicability on seed certification tags is extended under Uttar Pradesh SGST, with officers directed to ensure compliance.
GST applicability on seed certification tags is clarified by adopting the Central circular on the subject. The circular's position regarding taxation of seed certification tags is stated to be equally applicable under the Uttar Pradesh SGST Act and Rules. Officers are directed to apprise subordinate officials and ensure compliance in accordance with the stated position.

Cancellation of registration appeals clarified under GST procedure, with central guidance made applicable for compliance under state rules.
Clarification is issued on the filing of applications for appeal against cancellation of registration in terms of the Central Grievance Redressal Order and the corresponding central circular. The clarification contained in the central circular applies equally under the Uttar Pradesh SGST Act and Rules. Field officers are directed to take note of the circular and ensure compliance accordingly.

Input tax credit utilization: integrated tax must be exhausted first, then central or state credits may be applied.
The circular clarifies that input tax credit of integrated tax must be completely exhausted before any central tax or state/union territory tax credit is utilized, while permitting the integrated credit to be applied towards central and state liabilities in any order and proportion; until the common portal implements this rule, taxpayers may continue to use the portal's existing utilization functionality.

Income tax TDS deduction must exclude GST component and follow CBDT circular procedure for full compliance.
Income tax TDS deductions by drawing and disbursing officers must exclude the GST component and follow the procedure laid down in CBDT Circular No. 23/2017 dated 19.07.2017. The circular is forwarded to concerned officers with directions to make deductions strictly in accordance with that procedure and to ensure full compliance.

Real estate GST FAQs circulated for guidance to officers and trade organisations across the department.
The Commercial Tax Department, Uttar Pradesh, circulated a set of 41 GST FAQs relating to the real estate sector issued by the GST Council Secretariat. The letter requested that the material be communicated to subordinate officers and trade organisations. The communication is informational in nature and disseminates real estate-related FAQ guidance to field officers and stakeholders.

Intelligence wing restructuring centralises data, technical retrieval, surveys and investigations for intelligence based GST inspections and enforcement.
Restructures the GST Intelligence wing to centralise intelligence led enforcement under the Commissioner, with a Central Intelligence wing (Investigation, Data, Technical and Survey cells and a Coordination unit) preparing investigation files for Commissioner approval; and nine divisional Intelligence Divisions led by Joint Commissioners replicating investigation, inspection, review, adjudication, legal, demand collection and roving squad functions to conduct intelligence based inspections and enforcement.

Affordable housing GST eligibility clarified for Mumbai Metropolitan Region projects under amended rate notifications.
Lower GST rate of 1% applies to construction services of affordable residential apartments where the project commences on or after 1 April 2019 or is ongoing without the promoter exercising the prescribed option; eligibility requires carpet area not exceeding 60 square metres in metropolitan cities (90 square metres elsewhere) and the gross amount charged within the Notification's ceiling. "Mumbai Metropolitan Region" for applying the metropolitan threshold comprises the areas listed in Schedule I of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority Act, 1974, as amended.

GST exemption on upfront lease premium applies when the amount is determined upfront, even if paid in instalments.
GST exemption on the upfront amount payable for long term leases of industrial or financial infrastructure plots is admissible provided the amount is determined upfront, irrespective of whether that upfront amount is paid in one or more instalments; the exemption covers amounts labeled in any manner and applies where the leases are for thirty years or more and granted by State industrial development bodies or entities with majority public ownership.

GST exemption for seed testing and certification treats tags supplied by agencies as exempt; outsourced tags taxable.
Supply of seed certification tags by State Seed Certification Agencies is an element of the integrated, multistage composite supply of seed testing and certification, exempt under Notification No. 12/2017 - State Tax (Rate) Sr. No. 47. When tags are procured from external departments or manufacturers, that supply to the agencies is a taxable supply of goods and must be classified according to the tags' predominant material.

Revocation of GST registration: applications allowed subject to outstanding returns being filed before or within the prescribed period after revocation.
Clarifies procedural conditions for revocation of GST registration cancelled for failure to furnish returns: where cancellation is from the cancellation order date, all returns due up to that date must be filed before applying for revocation; where revocation is ordered, returns for the period between the cancellation order date and the revocation date must be furnished within a prescribed period after revocation; and where cancellation is retrospective and portal restrictions prevent filing, an application may be accepted provided returns for the period from the effective cancellation date to revocation are filed within the prescribed post revocation period.

Input tax credit utilization: Integrated tax credit must be exhausted first, then may be apportioned to central and state liabilities.
Clarifies that input tax credit attributable to Integrated tax must be completely exhausted before Central or State/Union Territory input tax credit can be used; after Integrated liabilities are met, the Integrated tax credit may be apportioned in any order and proportion towards Central and State/Union Territory liabilities. Illustrations demonstrate permissible apportionments. Until the common portal is updated to reflect this allocation rule, taxpayers may continue using the portal's existing functionality. The circular is clarificatory and implementation difficulties may be reported to the Commissioner of State Tax.

Option to pay composition tax clarified; filing CMP 02 or indicating in REG 01 required, applicability extends across PAN.
Registered persons opting for the concessional composition rate under Notification No. 02/2019 must intimate the option by filing FORM GST CMP-02 and furnish FORM GST ITC-03; applicants may indicate the option in FORM GST REG-01 at registration. The option applies across all places of business under the same PAN and is effective from the start of the financial year or from the date of registration for new registrations. Chapter II of the Maharashtra GST Rules applies mutatis mutandis except as clarified. The Circular is clarificatory and implementation difficulties may be reported.

Transfer of input tax credit after a sole proprietor's death - transferee may claim unutilized ITC by prescribed GST procedure.
Where a sole proprietor dies and the business is continued by a transferee or successor, unutilized input tax credit in the transferor's electronic credit ledger may be transferred to the transferee by the transferee filing FORM GST ITC-02 in respect of the registration to be cancelled; FORM GST ITC-02 must be filed before filing the cancellation application, and upon acceptance the specified credit will be credited to the transferee's electronic ledger. The transferee/successor must register effective from the date of transfer and, together with the transferor, is jointly and severally liable for tax, interest or penalty due from the transferor.

Registration verification: fresh GST applications may be rejected when prior cancellation and unresolved statutory violations persist.
Officers must treat failure to seek revocation of an earlier cancelled registration and the persistence of the cancellation grounds as a material deficiency in any fresh registration application; they should compare application data with prior registrations on the same PAN using the common portal and may reject applications that conceal earlier registrations or fail to justify continued statutory violations.

Refund of accumulated ITC: portal filing workaround requires debit via electronic credit ledger before refund order issuance.
Where taxpayers reversed ITC required to lapse under the notification through returns, they may, as a one-time measure, claim refund of accumulated ITC for that same period under the portal category "any other" with required documents; the proper officer will calculate admissible refund, request the taxpayer to debit the electronic credit ledger, and only after receiving proof of debit issue the refund order and payment advice. Late reversals attract interest, and similar debit-then-refund steps apply to merchant exporter claims and corrected resubmissions after deficiency memos.

Inter State Supply IGST payable on trading of Priority Sector Lending Certificates, with credit where CGST/SGST already paid.
Trading of Priority Sector Lending Certificates (PSLC) on the RBI e-Kuber portal is a supply of goods in the course of inter State trade, and therefore attracts Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST). This applies to both the earlier forward charge period and the subsequent reverse charge period. Banks that have already paid CGST/SGST or CGST/UTGST for such transactions are not required to pay IGST additionally. The Circular is clarificatory in nature.

GST treatment of sales promotion schemes: defining supply, valuation and ITC consequences for free goods and discounts.
Clarifies GST taxability, valuation and Input Tax Credit (ITC) treatment of sales promotion schemes: free goods without consideration are not a supply except as per Schedule I (and attract ITC denial for inputs used unless treated as supply); 'buy one get one' is treated as multiple supplies priced together with tax determined by composite/mixed supply rules and ITC allowable; pre-established invoice discounts can reduce taxable value if statutory conditions are met, while post-supply commercial credit notes do not reduce taxable value unless conditions are satisfied.

Inter-State supply for warehoused goods: taxpayers who paid central and state tax are deemed compliant if amounts match integrated tax
Supply of goods deposited in customs bonded warehouses is an inter-State supply; due to lack of portal functionality for July 2017-March 2018, some suppliers reported and paid central tax and state tax instead of integrated tax. As a one-time exception, such suppliers will be deemed to have complied with tax payment obligations provided the combined central and state tax paid equals the integrated tax otherwise payable on those supplies.

Place of supply obligation: include State in invoice for inter-state supplies under GST, non-compliance invites penalties.
All registered persons making supplies in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall specify the place of supply along with the name of the State in the tax invoice as required by rule 46(n). The place of supply for goods and services should be determined with reference to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Contravention of the invoicing requirement may attract penal action under the Maharashtra Goods and Services Tax Act.