Refund application eligibility after NIL claim clarified for re-filing under GST procedures and portal conditions.
Eligibility to file a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01 is clarified where a registered person has already filed a NIL refund claim for the same period and category. A fresh refund claim may be made only for the same period, subject to the prescribed conditions and documentation requirements. A registered person may re-apply through the "Any Other" category if a NIL refund application had earlier been filed, with the procedure for scrutiny, admissible refund calculation, and ledger debit before issue of the refund and payment orders.

Intermediary status in ITeS services clarified under GST, with guidance on principal-to-principal supply and export treatment.
Clarification is issued on the GST treatment of supply of Information Technology Enabled Services (ITeS), focusing on whether the supplier acts as an intermediary or supplies services on its own account. Intermediary services require at least three parties, involve arranging or facilitating a supply between two persons, and are identified through features such as documentary authorization, identifiable commission, and separation from the main supply. The circular illustrates the distinction through call centre, order procurement, insurance claims processing, and technical support examples, and states that a non-intermediary ITeS supplier may qualify for export of services if the statutory conditions are satisfied.

Concessional GST for persons with physical disabilities follows revised guidelines on eligibility, vehicle limits, certification, and adapted registration.
Revised draft guidelines prescribe concessional GST for cars for persons with orthopaedic physical disability exceeding 40%, limited to specified passenger vehicles not exceeding 4 metres in length. The process requires supporting medical and income documents, self-certification regarding prior concession use, issuance of a certificate valid for three months, dealer invoice marking, registration as an "Adapted Vehicle", and reporting of purchase and registration details within 30 days.

Retrospective effect of explanation under section 11(3): inserted clarification applies from the entry's inception, not a later date.
The circular clarifies that an explanation inserted into a prior notification under the statutory power to insert post issuance explanations operates from the inception of the original entry if inserted within the permitted temporal window. The specific inserted explanation excludes Government and Local Authority activities from the term 'business' for the concessional entry and thus has retrospective effect as if part of the original notification, despite any later stated operative date in the inserting notification.

Place of supply: testing on client provided prototype is ancillary so supply location is recipient's location.
Where testing of software on prototype hardware supplied by the recipient is ancillary to a principal composite supply of software or chip design, the entire activity is to be treated as one supply and the place of supply is the location of the service recipient under the IGST place of supply rule; provisions regarding goods made physically available by the recipient do not independently change the place of supply for the ancillary component.

GST exemption: DG Shipping approved maritime training courses qualify as educational services exempt from GST when notification conditions are met.
DG Shipping approved Maritime Training Institutes and their approved courses qualify as educational institutions for the purpose of GST exemption where the training is part of a curriculum leading to a qualification recognised by law; the exemption is subject to the conditions specified at Sl. No. 66 of the exemption notification in G.O.Ms.No.588, Revenue (CT II), Dated 12.12.2017 and extends to corresponding IGST, UTGST and CGST exemptions.

GST on donor name displays: acknowledgement without commercial advertising is not a taxable supply when no quid pro quo exists.
GST on donor nameplate displays is not leviable where the placement is a gratuitous acknowledgement by a charitable organization, lacks any business promotion of the donor, and there is no quid pro quo; inscriptions limited to expressions of gratitude or memorials therefore do not constitute a taxable supply of service.

GST treatment of airport levies: airport operators liable for GST; airlines may exclude levy amounts if acting as pure agents.
PSF and UDF charged by airport operators are consideration for services to passengers and attract GST. Airlines collecting these levies act as agents; if they satisfy Rule 33's pure agent conditions and separately indicate the actual amounts and GST in invoices, those amounts are excluded from the airline's value of supply. The airport licensee remains liable to pay GST on PSF and UDF, airlines cannot claim ITC on such amounts, passengers may claim ITC on the basis of the pure agent invoice, and collection charges paid to airlines are taxable in the airlines' hands.

GST classification: specified goods clarified to attract distinct rates and exemptions across food, equipment, imports and parts.
Clarification sets GST treatment: dried leguminous vegetables subjected only to moisture-removing heat remain under HS 0713 (5% if branded/packed; otherwise exempt); almond milk classifies under 2202 99 90 at 18%; mechanical sprayers of all types fall under entry No. 195B and attract 12%; imported naval stores are GST-exempt; imports taken on lease for use after import qualify for IGST exemption subject to Condition No. 102 and aligned notification wording; parts for solar water heaters under chapters 84/85/94 attract 5%; parts solely/principally for medical devices under headings 9018/9019/9021/9022 attract 12% per Chapter Note 2(b).

Kerala Flood Cess: intra state business supplies to registered taxpayers exempt, and nil return option noted.
The Kerala Flood Cess is imposed on intra state taxable supplies in addition to GST, but supplies to recipients who provide a GST registration number are exempt. TDS registration qualifies as GST registration, so supplies to government departments or local authorities holding GST registration are exempt. Only taxable persons with cess liable supplies must file the Kerala Flood Cess Return in Form KFC-A and pay the cess; taxpayers without cess liable supplies in a financial year need not file, though once liable in a period they must file for subsequent periods and may submit a 'nil return'.

Cancellation of registration for return defaulters: retrospective notices and final-return obligations to protect revenue.
Cancellation of registration is to be applied retrospectively for taxpayers who migrated without filing, new registrants who never filed, and defaulters meeting statutory thresholds; notices in the prescribed form are to be issued from the GST back-end system, served by email and registered post, and allow a short online show cause reply. If pending returns and dues including tax, interest and late fee are furnished, proceedings shall be dropped; otherwise registration shall be cancelled retrospectively and a cancellation order issued. A cancelled person must file a final return and discharge tax or reverse credits; failure to file permits assessment to the best of judgment.

Cancellation/Deregistration of GSTIN: officers must identify inactive or fraudulently obtained registrations and initiate suo motu cancellation.
Proper Officers must identify and cancel GSTINs that are inactive, fraudulent, or noncompliant under section 29(1)/(2), Rule 21/21A/22 by using portal MIS, historical records and e way bill data; conduct field verification (including via the GST Field Visit app); issue FORM GST REG-17 and allow REG-18 replies (seven working days), then cancel if warranted; require FORM GSTR-10 within three months and pursue assessment (ASMT-13/14/15) and recovery under section 79 if liabilities remain; prioritise suo motu cancellations for prolonged non-filers and follow prescribed reporting templates to apex office.

Verification of transitional credit claims: clarified criteria for accepting revised MVAT returns, CST evidence, and interest liability.
Verification of transitional credit claims in TRAN-1 must follow rules linking allowance to MVAT original and revised returns: corrected returns that convert an erroneously claimed refund into carry forward may permit the TRAN-1 claim; where revised returns increase carry forward beyond the original, allowance is limited to the original amount with assessment adjustments later; where revised amounts are lower, the revised amount governs; duplicate refund and TRAN 1 claims are prohibited. Interest is payable on excess credit availed in TRAN-1 from filing until reversal or payment, and on inadmissible credit in revised TRAN-1 from the date of revision filing.

GST exemption for state liquor licence fees confirmed as neither supply, excluding other licences from this special dispensation.
The GST Council and Central Government implemented a recommendation excluding licence and application fees for State granted alcoholic liquor licences from GST by treating the grant as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of service; this special dispensation is limited to State liquor licences, does not apply to other fee based licences or privileges, and addresses earlier pre GST/early GST demands while directing reporting of implementation difficulties to the Commissioner.

Effective date of explanation: exclusion of government activities from 'business' applies from original inception date.
The explanation inserted under section 11(3) of the WBGST Act excludes Government and Local Authority activities from 'business' in entry Sl. No. 3(vi) of notification No. 1135-F.T., and, by virtue of section 11(3), operates from the inception date of that entry (21.09.2017). The later notification date (27.07.2018) does not affect the retrospective operation of the explanation; the Trade Circular is deemed effective from 11.10.2019.

Securities lending is taxable: lending fees and intermediary facilitation attract GST; borrower liable under reverse charge.
The temporary lending of securities under the Securities Lending Scheme does not amount to disposal of securities, but the lending activity (lender charging a lending fee) and intermediary facilitation are taxable services. Lending is classifiable under heading 997119 at 18% GST. For 01.07.2017-30.09.2019 GST was payable by the lender under forward charge (IGST) subject to not duplicating earlier intra-state taxes; from 01.10.2019 tax liability shifts to the borrower under reverse charge (IGST).

Place of supply: composite software and chip-design with ancillary testing is located at the service recipient's location under IGST rules.
Where software and chip-design is the principal element and testing on sample prototype hardware or test-kits provided by the recipient is ancillary, the engagement is a composite supply and the place of supply of the software/design is the location of the service recipient under Section 13(2) of the IGST Act; the provision on goods made physically available by the recipient does not apply separately to the ancillary testing in such cases.

GST exemption for recognised maritime training courses confirmed when courses form part of a statutory certification curriculum.
GST exemption applies to maritime training courses approved by the Director General of Shipping when the education is provided as part of a curriculum for obtaining a qualification recognised by law; Maritime Training Institutes whose courses and assessment programmes are approved under the Merchant Shipping statutory framework qualify as educational institutions under GST law, subject to meeting the notification's specified conditions.

GST on donor acknowledgement displays: no levy where recognition is non-commercial and no quid pro quo.
GST is not leviable where a charitable organisation places a donor's name plate or similar acknowledgement solely as an expression of gratitude and public recognition, provided the donor's payment is a genuine donation/gift, the recipient is a charitable institution, and the display is non-commercial (not advertising), so that no supply for consideration (quid pro quo) arises.

GST on airport levies: airports liable for tax; airlines may act as pure agents when conditions met.
PSF and UDF charged by airport operators are consideration for services to passengers and liable to GST. Airlines collecting those levies may be treated as pure agents under Rule 33 if conditions are met; such amounts (and GST thereon) are excluded from the airline's supply value, must be separately indicated in the invoice, and the airline cannot claim ITC on them. Airport operators are liable to pay GST on PSF/UDF; collection charges paid to airlines are taxable supplies by the airlines.