Place of supply for data hosting services to overseas cloud providers follows the recipient location default rule under GST.
Data hosting services supplied from India to overseas cloud computing service providers are clarified not to be intermediary services, services in relation to goods made available by the recipient, or services directly in relation to immovable property. The supply is treated as a principal-to-principal data hosting service, with the place of supply governed by the default rule in section 13(2) of the IGST Act, namely the location of the recipient. Where the recipient is outside India, the place of supply is outside India, subject to the other conditions for export of services.

Input tax credit on demo vehicles clarified for authorised dealers using them to promote further supply of similar motor vehicles.
Input tax credit on demo vehicles used by authorised dealers as showroom demonstrators is not blocked where the vehicles are used for further supply of similar motor vehicles, including promotion of sales through trial runs and product demonstrations. The restriction does not apply where the vehicles are used for unrelated purposes or where the dealer only provides marketing or facilitation services without making the supply on its own account. Capitalisation of demo vehicles in the books does not, by itself, affect credit entitlement if the vehicles are used in the course or furtherance of business, though depreciation on the tax component and later sale of capitalised vehicles remain subject to the Act.

Advertising services to foreign clients are not intermediary services when the agency acts on its own account and supplies on principal-to-principal basis.
Where an Indian advertising agency undertakes the entire advertising assignment for a foreign client on a principal-to-principal basis, it is not an intermediary and the foreign client remains the recipient of the service. The target audience in India, or an Indian representative of the foreign client, does not become the recipient where the contract, invoice, and payment are all between the agency and the foreign client. Such services are not performance-based services requiring physical presence and their place of supply follows the default rule as the recipient's location outside India, subject to export conditions. If the agency merely facilitates media space or broadcast between the foreign client and the media owner, it acts as an intermediary and the place of supply is the supplier's location.

Audit deselection under WBGST Act covers six registered persons where audit was considered unnecessary for the relevant periods.
Deselection of six registered persons from audit under section 65 of the WBGST Act, 2017 for the specified periods is recorded on the ground that audit was not required. The annexed list states reasons such as no business activity, insignificant turnover, nil taxable turnover, failure to produce audited balance sheets, and no apparent discrepancy in the records. The order takes immediate effect.

IGST refund regularization allowed where IGST and cess are later paid with interest and the Bill of Entry reassessed.
Where inputs were initially imported under customs exemption without payment of IGST and compensation cess but the importer subsequently pays IGST and compensation cess with interest and secures reassessment of the Bill of Entry by jurisdictional customs authorities, the IGST refunded on exports will not be regarded as contravening the refund bar; the Explanation clarifies that benefit of the exemption is not deemed availed if IGST and cess are paid and only basic customs duty exemption remains.

Place of supply determined by recipient location: data hosting to overseas cloud providers treated as export of services.
Place of supply for data hosting services by Indian providers to overseas cloud computing providers is the recipient's location under the default IGST rule; such suppliers are not intermediaries, their services are not in relation to goods made available by the recipient, nor directly in relation to immovable property, and therefore the supply can qualify as an export of services subject to other export conditions.

Input tax credit on demo vehicles permitted when used to promote further supply, with limits for agent arrangements and depreciation.
Demo vehicles used by authorised dealers to provide trial runs and demonstrate features promote sales and therefore qualify as being used for making further supply of such motor vehicles; accordingly, input tax credit on such demo vehicles is not blocked. Where demo vehicles are used for other purposes or where the dealer only provides marketing/agent services and does not make the supply on its own account, ITC is not available. If demo vehicles are capitalized they are treated as capital goods and ITC is permitted subject to the statutory depreciation limitation on the tax component and to adjustment on subsequent sale.

Place of supply of advertising services: principal-to-principal supplies to foreign clients qualify as exports, agent services treated differently.
Where an Indian advertising company contracts and pays media owners in its own name, supplies a comprehensive advertising service to a foreign client and invoices the foreign client in foreign exchange, the agency acts on its own account (not as an intermediary) and the place of supply is the location of the recipient (the foreign client) outside India, making the service export of services subject to export conditions. Conversely, where the agency merely facilitates a direct contract between foreign client and media owner, it is an intermediary and the place of supply of its facilitation services is the supplier's location in India.

GST rate clarification: specified goods classification and past period regularisation enable defined tax treatment and compliance conditions.
Solar cookers using solar and grid electricity are classifiable under heading 8516 and attract 12% GST. All types of sprinklers, including fire water sprinklers, attract 12% GST, and issues for past periods are regularized on an as is where is basis. Parts of poultry keeping machinery are classifiable under tariff item 84369100 and attract 12% GST, with the rate schedule amended to expressly include such parts and past doubts regularized on an as is where is basis. The definition of pre packaged and labelled excludes agricultural produce in packages over 25 kg or 25 l, excluding them from the 5% levy.

GST exemptions and regularisation clarified for railway services, RERA collections, digital incentives, reinsurance, retrocession, and accommodation services.
Clarifications were issued on the GST treatment of specified services, including exemptions, regularisation of past periods on an 'as is where is' basis, and the scope of existing exemption entries for railways, real estate regulation, digital payment incentives, insurance reinsurance, retrocession, and accommodation services. GST exemption was clarified for certain services provided by Ministry of Railways to the general public and for inter-zonal services within Indian Railways, and related past periods were regularized. The circular also clarifies that statutory collections made by RERA are exempt, that further sharing of the notified digital payment incentive is a non-taxable subsidy, and that reinsurance includes retrocession services.

Appellate authority appointment for Temp ID appeal cases and enforcement-generated demands under the goods and services tax framework.
Appointment of an appellate authority is partially modified so that Sri Pradipta Kumar Gangopadhyay, Additional Commissioner of Revenue, shall hear appeals in specified Temp ID and enforcement-generated demand cases under the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The order applies immediately, while matters with three prior adjournments or matters already finally heard under earlier authorization are to be disposed of in the same capacity.

GST classification clarifications: specified goods and supplies regularized with certification and input tax credit conditions.
Solar cookers operating on dual energy are classifiable under heading 8516 and attract the 12% GST rate. All sprinklers, including fire water sprinklers, attract 12% GST, and past doubts are regularized on an as is where is basis. Parts of poultry-keeping machinery are classifiable under tariff item 84369100 and attract 12% GST; the schedule entry was amended to include parts and past issues are regularized. Pre-packaged agricultural produce in packages over 25 kilogram or 25 litre is excluded from the expression pre-packaged and labelled, so it will not attract the 5% levy. Supplies of pulses and cereals to or by government-engaged agencies for approved schemes from 01.07.2017 to 17.07.2022 are regularized subject to a Deputy Secretary certificate and reversal of Input Tax Credit if availed.

GST exemptions and regularisation clarified for rail services, SPV infrastructure use, RERA fees, digital payment incentives, reinsurance and accommodation.
Clarifies GST Council recommendations: Ministry of Railways public services and inter zonal supplies exempted and past liability regularized on an 'as is where is' basis; SPV supplies permitting use of infrastructure exempted and past transactions regularized; RERA statutory collections covered by governmental authority exemption; acquiring bank incentive sharing, where distributed as decided by the payment operator in consultation with participating banks, treated as a subsidy and not taxable; reinsurance (including retrocession) and certain accommodation supplies are exempt or regularized for specified past periods.

Refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department: electronic GST refund filing and portal validation ensure eligibility and invoice matching.
CSDs notified under section 55 may claim a refund of fifty per cent of state tax on inward supplies received for subsequent supply, by filing FORM GST RFD-10A electronically. Claims must be supported by supplier-declared invoices (GSTR-1) and supplier filing of GSTR-3B, include specified undertakings and declarations, and be filed within two years of the quarter end in which the supply was received. Proper officers will validate GSTINs, returns, and invoice matches on the portal, permit only validated invoices, cap refunds at fifty per cent of respective taxes, require ITC reversal where applicable, and issue orders in FORM GST RFD-06 with speaking reasons.

Refund of additional IGST for upward export price revisions; claim via FORM GST RFD-01 with prescribed documents and verification.
Refund mechanism for additional Integrated Tax (IGST) paid after upward revision of export prices: exporters may file FORM GST RFD-01 electronically (use "Any other" with prescribed remarks until a separate portal category is available). Jurisdictional GST officers will process claims under rule 89 using GSTN-provided shipping bill and IGST data. Claims require documentary proof (shipping bill, invoices, debit notes, contract, proof of IGST and interest payment, FIRC, accountant's certificate, Statements 9A/9B) and verification of reporting in FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B; sanction and payment orders will be issued in FORM GST RFD-06 and FORM GST RFD-05.

Valuation of corporate guarantees: GST assessed on prescribed annualised percentage or actual consideration per tenure.
Supply of corporate guarantees between related persons was taxable prior to Rule 28(2); Rule 28(2) prescribes valuation from 26 October 2023. Valuation for guarantees to banking or financial institutions is the higher of actual consideration and one per cent of the amount guaranteed per annum, multiplied by the guarantee tenure (pro rata for periods under one year). Multiple co guarantors pay on aggregate actual consideration if higher, otherwise proportionately on one per cent of their guaranteed amounts. Domestic guarantors invoice under forward charge; foreign guarantors trigger reverse charge on the Indian recipient. Rule 28(2) excludes recipients located outside India.

Pre-deposit requirement: deposit via electronic ledger plus undertaking halts recovery until appellate tribunal is operational.
Taxpayers who intend to appeal but cannot file before the non-operational Appellate Tribunal may deposit an amount equal to the prescribed pre-deposit via the Electronic Liability Register (Part II) on the portal and provide an undertaking to the proper officer to file the appeal when the Tribunal becomes operational; upon such deposit and undertaking the balance confirmed demand will be stayed. Payments inadvertently made through FORM GST DRC-03 can be adjusted as pre-deposit on filing FORM GST DRC-03A once portal functionality is available, and until then taxpayers should intimate the proper officer to avoid recovery.

Electronic refund processing for CSD claims requires quarterly portal filing, invoice validation, and strict eligibility checks under GST refund rules.
Electronic refund processing has been prescribed for CSD claims under section 55 of the APGST Act, requiring filing in FORM GST RFD-10A on the common portal, quarterly filing with optional clubbing of multiple quarters and financial years, and eligibility based on registered inward supplies supported by tax invoices, supplier disclosures in FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B, and an undertaking and declaration from the CSD. The proper officer must verify invoice matching, GSTIN details, return filing status, ITC reversal, and the refund cap of fifty per cent before issuing FORM GST RFD-06; earlier manual applications continue under the prior circular.

Corporate guarantee valuation under GST clarified for related-party guarantees, covering taxable supply, credit, and charge mechanism.
Clarification is issued on the taxability and valuation of corporate guarantee services between related persons under the APGST framework. The service remains taxable; Rule 28(2) governs valuation only, with pre- and post-26 October 2023 guarantees valued under the applicable version of Rule 28. The value is linked to the amount guaranteed, not actual loan disbursal, and full input tax credit may be available subject to the Act and Rules. Domestic guarantees are under forward charge, overseas guarantees to India under reverse charge, and the rule does not apply to export of such services.

GST recovery and pre-deposit adjustment clarified for first appeal cases until the Tribunal becomes operational.
Recovery of confirmed GST demand after disposal of the first appeal is clarified for cases where the Appellate Tribunal is not yet operational. A taxpayer may pay the amount equal to the prescribed pre-deposit through the electronic liability register, and that payment is to be adjusted towards the pre-deposit required for the eventual appeal before the Tribunal. On furnishing the required undertaking, recovery of the remaining confirmed demand remains stayed. Amounts inadvertently paid through FORM GST DRC-03 may also be adjusted through FORM GST DRC-03A, subject to the stated conditions.