Filing deadline extension for GST collection statements permitted where portal registration issues prevented timely submission.
To address inability of certain operators to obtain portal registration and furnish monthly electronic statements of outward supplies and amounts collected, the State Government issued a Removal of Difficulties Order amending the Explanation to the provision that prescribes the statement, substituting the earlier deadline with a later date to extend the filing timeline for affected operators.

Composition scheme eligibility: exempt interest or discount on loans and deposits excluded from aggregate turnover calculations.
The value of exempt services by way of extending deposits, loans or advances, insofar as the consideration is represented by interest or discount, shall not be taken into account for determining eligibility for the composition scheme and shall be excluded when computing aggregate turnover for composition eligibility.

Realization of export proceeds in INR permitted, enabling acceptance of LUT for goods and services where RBI allows.
The IGST amendment allowing realization of export proceeds in Indian Rupees where permitted by the RBI is implemented: acceptance of Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for supplies of goods or services to countries outside India and to SEZ developers/units is permitted irrespective of payment currency, subject to RBI guidelines. Job work provisions are aligned with amended time limits and principal responsibilities; principals must invoice and declare supplies when prescribed time lapses, with interest payable. Detention payment timelines extended to fourteen days and recovery must be effected via FORM GST DRC-03/DRC-07, discontinuing GSTR-3B reversals.

Extension of time for FORM GST TRAN-1 granted for registrants unable to file due to portal technical difficulties.
Extension of time for submission of the declaration in Form GST TRAN-1 is granted until 31st March 2019 for registered persons who could not file by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal and whose cases were recommended by the Council; the order is issued under the statutory powers in the Andhra Pradesh GST rules and Act and supersedes the earlier order except as to past actions or omissions.

Extension of time for FORM GST TRAN-1 submissions granted for registrants affected by portal technical difficulties; filing window extended.
Extension of the time limit is granted for submission of the declaration in FORM GST TRAN-1 under rule 117(1A) read with section 168 of the West Bengal GST Act for the class of registered persons who could not file by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal and whose cases were recommended by the Council; the Commissioner supersedes the earlier order insofar as it relates to this extension.

GST transition credit filing relief extends FORM GST TRAN-1 deadline for eligible registered persons affected by common portal technical difficulties.
Extension of time for filing FORM GST TRAN-1 is granted under rule 117(1A) read with section 168 for a limited class of registered persons. The benefit applies only where FORM GST TRAN-1 could not be submitted by the due date because of technical difficulties on the common portal and the cases have been recommended by the Council. For such eligible persons, the time for submission stands extended up to 31 March 2019.

Tax audit case disposal accelerated with directions to submit quality reports to assessing authorities without delay.
Expedite completion of pending tax audit cases selected for assessment year 2016-17 and ensure submission of quality audit reports within the prescribed time. The directive reiterates that the cases had already been distributed among tax audit officers for timely and quality disposal, but a substantial number of matters remained pending. Officers are instructed to accelerate audit work in the selected cases and forward quality reports to the assessing authorities without delay.

R-5A generation and timely disposal of assessment cases were mandated for pending 2015-16 matters before limitation.
Direction issued for expeditious disposal of assessment cases relating to assessment year 2015-16 under the Uttar Pradesh SGST framework. Cases had earlier been distributed among assessing authorities at the same location, and instructions were already in place to generate R-5A for cases where it had not been generated and to balance transfer of such cases among officers of the same rank at the local level. The headquarters-level transfer exercise for these cases was stated to be complete, and no further transfer from headquarters was to be made. Subordinate assessing authorities were instructed to ensure generation of R-5A in all pending 2015-16 cases, issuance of notices and other required steps, and disposal of all such matters before the limitation date of 31-03-2019.

GST liability on business correspondent services: banking company treated as service provider and responsible for tax on customer fees.
Banking companies are the service providers where BF/BC act on their behalf and must pay GST on the entire value of service charges or fees charged to customers; BF/BC receive commission and cannot directly charge customers. Exemption for BF/BC services regarding accounts in a rural area branch applies only if the services fall under Heading 9971 and relate to a branch classified as rural per RBI guidelines, and the bank's classification should be accepted.

GST exemption for educational institution services: institutional self-supply of food and beverages is exempt, outsourced catering is taxable.
Supply of food and beverages by an educational institution to its students, faculty and staff is exempt from GST under the exemption notification where made by the institution itself; supplies of food and beverages by third parties to the institution under contract are taxable at the rate prescribed for such services. Amendments to the explanatory text and service heading were made to clarify this distinction.

Classification of printing of pictures as photographic processing services, resulting in application of the higher GST rate under relevant notification.
The service of printing of pictures is classified under 998386 Photographic and video-graphic processing services, since the explanatory notes include colour printing of images from film or digital media and related processing within 998386 while the notes for 998912 explicitly exclude such printing; the applicable GST rate follows from the classification under the revenue notification.

Immunity from taxation: services by ADB and IFC are exempt from GST under their constitutive Acts.
Immunity from taxation in the ADB Act and the IFC Act exempts ADB and IFC - including their assets, properties, income and operations - from taxation and from any obligation to collect, withhold or pay taxes, which precludes applying GST to services provided directly by ADB and IFC. The exemption is limited to services supplied by ADB and IFC themselves and does not extend to entities appointed by or working on their behalf.

GST exemption for educational services: long duration degree programmes at institutes of national importance qualify, short term executive courses do not.
IIMs are treated as educational institutions under the GST notifications by virtue of the IIM Act; services to students in long duration programmes (one year or more) that confer legally recognised qualifications and are awarded on the Board of Governors' recommendation are exempt from GST, while short duration executive programmes (less than one year) that issue participation certificates and do not confer such qualifications are not exempt.

Manual appeal filing procedure requires Form APL-01 with provisional and final acknowledgements for appeals filed manually.
Appeals must be filed manually in Form APL-01, attested and signed by the appellant, with the reader to the Appellate Authority entering each APL-01 in a register, assigning a specific number and issuing a provisional acknowledgement that cites that number. Within seven days the reader shall issue a final acknowledgment in Form APL-02 recording the appeal number, the provisional acknowledgement number and prescribed particulars. The reader must maintain a register of appeals, and all procedures under Section 107 and Rules 108, 109 and 109A must be complied with. The manual procedure is effective from 01.01.2019.

GST refund disbursement: Treasury urged to expedite sanctioned refunds; Finance Department confirms payments on green channel.
Claims for SGST refunds faced reported abnormal delays at the Treasury in disbursing statutorily sanctioned amounts, prompting a request for instructions to expedite payments. The Finance Department replied that there are no current issues in claiming GST refunds and that payments are placed under a green channel to ensure prompt disbursement.

GST liability on banking services via business facilitators: banks are the service provider and must account for GST accordingly.
Under RBI guidelines banks engage BFs/BCs but remain responsible for customer-facing services; consequently, the banking company is the service provider and must pay GST on the entire service charge or fee charged to customers. Exemption under Heading 9971 for services relating to accounts in a rural branch requires that BF/BC services be in the individual capacity, fall under Heading 9971, and relate to a branch classified as rural per RBI guidelines, with the bank's classification accepted for exemption purposes.

Educational institution exemption clarified: institutional supply of food and beverages is exempt, third party catering is taxable.
Supply of food and beverages by an educational institution to its students, faculty and staff is exempt from GST under Notification No. 12/2017-(Rate), Sl. No. 66, when provided by the institution itself; similar supplies made by a third party under contract are taxable under Notification No. 11/2017-(Rate), Sl. No. 7(i). The notifications are to be read together, exemption entries prevailing where the description clearly covers the supply. Amendments were made to remove references that caused doubt and heading 9963 was added to Sl. No. 66.

Classification of printing of pictures as photographic processing services, attracting GST at the applicable photographic-services rate.
The circular clarifies that printing of pictures is classified under 998386 Photographic and Videographic Processing Services, since explanatory notes include colour printing of images from film or digital media in 998386 and exclude it from 998912; therefore printing of pictures attracts the GST rate applicable to photographic processing services and implementation queries may be raised with the Commissioner.

Immunity from taxation: services supplied by ADB and IFC are exempt from GST, limited to the institutions themselves.
Services supplied by the Asian Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation are immune from taxation and hence exempt from GST under their respective Acts; this immunity includes exemption from any obligation to collect or pay taxes and prevents domestic tax provisions from applying to services provided by the institutions themselves. The exemption is limited to services provided directly by ADB and IFC and does not extend to entities appointed by or acting on their behalf. The clarification is stated to be applicabl from 1 January 2019.

Educational institution status of IIMs exempts long-duration degree programmes from GST while short executive courses remain taxable.
IIMs, deemed educational institutions from 31 January 2018, are exempt from GST for services to students in all long duration programmes of one year or more that confer degrees/diplomas recommended by their Boards of Governors; short duration executive programmes under one year awarding participation certificates not recognised by law are taxable at the standard GST rate. Transitional rules apply for the period 1 July 2017-31 December 2018, with specific earlier exemptions limited to three named programmes.