SEZ contiguity compliance: Development Commissioners must certify contiguity after joint physical inspection with revenue authorities.
Development Commissioners must explicitly certify SEZ land contiguity when forwarding notification or de-notification proposals, record that physical inspection was conducted in the presence of State revenue/land authority with names and designations of officials, and attach required documents from prescribed checklists (inspection report, developer certificate, legal possession and non-encumbrance certificates, certified maps and land details). De-notification requires State NOC, compliance with land-use guidelines, possible refund of benefits, and assurance that remaining SEZ land remains contiguous and meets minimum sectoral area criteria.

License fee for alcoholic liquor treated as neither supply of goods nor services, therefore not taxable under GST.
License fees and application fees charged by State Governments for granting alcoholic liquor licences are treated as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services for GST purposes and thus not taxable. This follows GST Council recommendations and implementing notifications, and the exclusion is limited to State grants of liquor licences and does not apply to other fee-based licences or privileges where GST remains payable.

Securities lending fees are taxable under GST; lender paid initially, borrower liable under reverse charge from October 2019.
The lending fee charged by the lender for temporarily lending securities under the Securities Lending Scheme, 1997 is taxable as a service under GST (heading 997119) at 18%. Intermediary facilitation services are separately taxable. From 01.07.2017 to 30.09.2019 GST was payable by the lender under forward charge (IGST); from 01.10.2019 the borrower is liable under reverse charge (IGST).

Support services classification: explanatory notes determine whether exploration, drilling and related activities are professional or extraction support services.
Clarification distinguishes operational support activities and professional/technical consulting for exploration, mining or drilling of petroleum crude or natural gas, directing that classification and tax treatment be governed by the Scheme of Classification of Services' Explanatory Notes: geological and geophysical consulting and mineral exploration fall under professional services, while well-related work, derrick services, test drilling tied to extraction and operation of extraction units fall under support services; activities outside these entries must be classified and taxed under their proper headings.

Electronic refund process via FORM GST RFD-01 enables end-to-end online filing and single disbursement across tax heads.
A fully electronic refund mechanism via FORM GST RFD-01 requires specified documentary uploads and online undertakings, with ARN generation only after complete filing; applications are electronically routed to jurisdictional officers, who must issue acknowledgements or deficiency memos within statutory timelines counted from ARN. Provisionally sanctioned refunds may be paid subject to later adjudication and recovery procedures; sanctioned refunds are disbursed as a single payment across tax heads through PFMS after bank-account validation, and re-crediting or recovery entries in electronic ledgers are governed by set procedural safeguards.

Optional annual return filing for small taxpayers; portal accepts filings only before the due date, voluntary payment permitted.
Optional annual return filing is permitted for small taxpayers for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19: composition taxpayers may optionally file FORM GSTR-9A and other eligible registered persons may optionally file FORM GSTR-9, but such filings must be done on or before the due date since the common portal will not permit filing for those periods after the due date. Taxpayers discovering short payment or ineligible input tax credit may voluntarily self-ascertain and pay via FORM GST DRC-03.

Restriction on input tax credit under rule 36 directed to be followed for uniform implementation across field formations.
The State directs adherence to the central GST policy wing's clarification on restriction in availment of input tax credit under sub rule (4) of rule 36 of the CGST Rules, 2017; subordinate tax officers are instructed, under the State's administrative powers, to follow that clarificatory Circular to ensure uniform implementation across field formations in respect of invoice matching, treatment of discrepancies, and procedural application of the rule's restriction.

UCC-demat mapping: exchanges must share UCC data with depositories to detect securities diversion and enable reconciliation.
Stock exchanges must share UCC data (including PAN, segment, TM/CM code and UCC) with depositories, which shall map UCCs to clients' demat accounts using PAN and validate any addition with the stock exchange or client; clients may request de-linking or addition of UCCs through their depository participants, and exchanges and depositories must maintain complaint-resolution mechanisms and controls to prevent misuse of inactive or non-operational UCCs.

SEZ approvals: Board authorised conditional name, shareholding and LoA changes alongside operational permissions for SEZ units.
Board approved extensions of formal approvals and LoAs, conditional changes in developer/co developer name and shareholding, and formal approvals for new sector specific SEZs, subject to seamless continuity of SEZ activities, fulfillment of eligibility criteria and security clearances, compliance with revenue and company rules, immediate furnishing of financial details to tax authorities, disclosure of PAN and jurisdictional assessing officer, and the Assessing Officer's right to assess taxability of gains from equity transfers, mergers or amalgamations.

Contract specification modifications: three tier regime sets exchange authority, committee oversight, and SEBI approval with required notifications.
Modification of contract specifications for commodity derivatives is categorised into three classes with distinct authorization and notice requirements: Category A permits non material changes at exchange level for launched and running contracts; Category B permits material changes at exchange level for yet to be launched contracts or running contracts with nil open interest subject to Product Advisory Committee deliberation and post facto Regulatory Oversight Committee approval; Category C requires Product Advisory Committee and Regulatory Oversight Committee deliberation followed by prior SEBI approval. Exchanges must notify SEBI and market participants of proposed modifications and reasons within specified timelines, except for exigent surveillance measures.

Continuous disclosure obligations ensure timely financial reporting and escrow-based payment security for municipal debt obligations.
Amendments under the ILDM Regulations require listed municipal debt issuers to submit half-yearly unaudited and annual audited financial results within prescribed timelines with comparative information and governance body sign-off, disclose financial ratios and any material adverse changes affecting debt servicing, certify timely payment of interest or principal to stock exchanges, implement an escrow payment mechanism with specified accounts monitored by a debenture trustee, disclose quarterly escrow balances and transfer notes, permit defined investments of escrow and interim proceeds with a trustee lien, and ensure annual credit rating review and prompt dissemination of rating changes.

KYC verification for first-time exporters streamlines identity and address checks and issues a unique digital identifier after SIIB verification.
KYC verification of first-time exporters is conducted by a dedicated KYC cell at ICD-Export TKD requiring an IDC Certificate plus prescribed Category-I identity/formation documents and one Category-II document (tax return or banker's certificate). The KYC cell opens individual files, records file numbers on shipping bills, and forwards lists for zonal upload. SIIB verifies details including address checks and bank confirmation; verified exporters receive a unique Digital ID and results are maintained in a register with adverse reports escalated for preventive action.

Designated port restriction for scrap imports now includes Kattupalli; scrap consignments must enter only through listed ports.
Enlistment of Kattupalli Port as a designated port is effected by amendment to Para 2.54(d)(iv) of the Handbook of Procedure (2015-20): import of scrap is permitted only through the listed designated ports, with Kattupalli added to the list, and no exceptions are allowed including for EOUs and SEZs, under powers conferred by paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Mandatory upload of import documents in e SANCHIT requires IRN references for invoices and bills of lading.
Mandatory uploading of specified import documents in e-SANCHIT requires that for every Bill of Entry the supporting documents required by law-specifically Invoice (Invoice or Invoice cum Packing List) and Transport Contract (various Bills of Lading and airway/waybills)-be uploaded and the generated IRN reference with the corresponding document code declared in the Bill of Entry.

Single integrated GST refund system introduced, with older ARN-based refund applications continuing under the manual process.
Implementation of a single integrated refund system under GST took effect from 26.09.2019, with necessary legal and rule changes made by the Central Government. Refund applications with ARN generated up to 25.09.2019 are to be processed under the manual system. Officers were directed to study the detailed procedures in the referenced communications and act accordingly.

Input tax credit restriction: 20% cap on unreported supplier invoices, claimant must self-assess and adjust returns.
Sub-rule (4) to rule 36 restricts ITC for invoices/debit notes not uploaded by suppliers under section 37(1): the disallowed credit in a tax period shall not exceed 20% of the eligible input tax credit attributable to invoices/debit notes that have been uploaded by suppliers as on the due date for suppliers' FORM GSTR-1; the restriction is applied across all suppliers and only to invoices otherwise eligible for ITC. Taxpayers must self-assess the cap in FORM GSTR-3B and may claim the balance ITC in later months as suppliers upload details.

Restriction on input tax credit availability where supplier uploads are missing requires self-assessed limitation and later claim upon upload.
Restriction on availment of input tax credit applies where suppliers have not uploaded invoice details under subsection (1) of section 37; recipients must self-assess the restricted amount in FORM GSTR-3B, calculated by reference to eligible ITC shown in uploaded invoices as per auto-populated FORM GSTR-2A on the due date for filing suppliers' FORM GSTR-1. The limitation is not supplier-wise, excludes IGST on import, reverse charge supplies and ISD credits, and withheld ITC may be claimed in subsequent months once requisite supplier uploads are made.

Input tax credit restriction limits provisional ITC to a capped proportion where suppliers haven't uploaded invoice details, subject to self assessment.
Restriction permits provisional availment of input tax credit only up to a capped proportion of the eligible credit attributable to invoices or debit notes whose details have been uploaded by suppliers; this limit is calculated on a consolidated basis across all suppliers using the recipient's auto populated FORM GSTR 2A as on the due date for filing the supplier's FORM GSTR 1. Credits outside the upload regime remain unaffected if eligibility conditions are met, and any restricted balance may be claimed in subsequent periods when suppliers upload requisite details, with taxpayer self assessment required.

Cross-margining facility for offsetting index futures expands margin efficiency, subject to correlation and constituent overlap requirements.
Introduction of a cross-margining facility permitting margin benefits for offsetting futures positions in highly co-related equity indices, subject to correlation, constituent overlap and weightage eligibility. Clearing Corporations must verify eligibility monthly and on constituent changes and apply to SEBI with supporting data. An initial spread margin is levied on eligible spreads, with cross-margin computed in real time at client level and passed through trading/clearing members. Exchanges and clearing corporations must update systems, rules, legal agreements for margin utilisation, notify market participants, and report implementation status to the regulator.

UPI with ASBA: Phase II implementation extended and T+6 operational timelines mandated for intermediaries and banks.
Extension of Phase II implementation of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with ASBA is directed until March 31, 2020, retaining the T+6 listing environment and prescribing detailed operational timelines. Retail applications via intermediaries must include UPI IDs; stock exchanges, sponsor banks, issuer banks, SCSBs, registrars, merchant bankers and NPCI must perform API-based bid validation, mandate initiation, funds blocking and multilayered reconciliation. Sponsor banks and merchant bankers have specified cut-offs and daily reporting obligations to consolidate data and share it with SEBI; liability for failed transactions rests with the participant where the transaction lifecycle halts.