Extension of GSTR-2A and GSTR-1A generation deadlines aligns electronic invoice exchange with extended GSTR-1/GSTR-2 filing.
Details furnished by suppliers in FORM GSTR-1 are made available electronically to recipients in FORM GSTR-2A after the due date for filing FORM GSTR-1; FORM GSTR-2A is a read-only electronic record that recipients may use to verify, validate, modify or delete entries before preparing and furnishing FORM GSTR-2. Because the filing dates for FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-2 were extended, the availability and due date for FORM GSTR-2A is likewise extended. Modifications in FORM GSTR-2 are communicated to suppliers in FORM GSTR-1A and suppliers must accept or reject them within the prescribed window, which is also extended accordingly.

Supply on approval: goods may move on delivery challan and invoice issued on acceptance; inter-state supplies attract IGST.
Goods moved for supply on approval may be transported within the State or to another State on a delivery challan, with an e-way bill where applicable, and the tax invoice may be issued upon delivery/acceptance; supplies made in a different State are inter-state and attract Integrated GST.

Maintenance of books of accounts may be centralized at the principal place for auction-related warehouses, subject to notification and ITC conditions.
Principals and auctioneers must declare warehouses used for storing auctioned tea, coffee, rubber and similar goods as additional places of business. While they are generally required to maintain books of accounts at each additional place, they may maintain those books at their principal place of business if maintaining them at each warehouse causes difficulties, provided they inform the jurisdictional proper officer in writing. Records maintained centrally are subject to all other statutory conditions, and eligibility to claim input tax credit depends on compliance with the Act and rules.

Registered Exporter requirement: exporters must register to self certify rules of origin to access EU GSP benefits.
Extension of the transition period for registration under the Registered Exporter (REX) system permits exporters additional time to enroll and retain access to EU GSP preferences. Thereafter, EU GSP benefits will be available only to exporters registered under REX who can self certify the Rules of Origin on a commercial document, replacing Certificates of Origin issued by authorised agencies.

Certificate of Origin (Non Preferential) authorization granted to designated regional offices to issue GSP certificates under FTP.
Designation authorizes regional offices of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential) and GSP certificates under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020; these offices are added to Appendix 2E of the Appendices & Aayat Niryat Forms of the FTP, 2015-2020 and are therefore authorized to process and issue the listed export origin documentation.

Zero-rated supplies refund procedure: manual filing, acknowledgment within 15 days, provisional and final timelines enforced.
Manual processing of refund claims for zero-rated supplies is mandated while the portal refund module is unavailable. Suppliers may claim IGST refund on exports, IGST refund for SEZ supplies, or refund of unutilized input tax credit by filing FORM GST RFD-01A with supporting documents and, for ITC claims, proof of debit (ARN) from the electronic credit ledger. Acknowledgment must be issued within 15 days, provisional refund within seven days, and final disposal within sixty days; rejected amounts are to be re-credited by order in FORM GST PMT-03 and communicated via FORM GST RFD-01B. Payments are effected by the respective central or state tax authority and all manual communications and register entries are required until the portal is functional.

Sample drawal procedure for imported toys: sealed samples to be tested at NABL labs with Test Bond and warehousing steps.
Importers must apply to draw test samples of toys, nominate a NABL accredited laboratory, specify pieces and tests, and justify requests for more than two pieces. Appraising officers will draw up to three pieces per item in the presence of the importer, seal them, and hand them over in sealed condition; the importer must submit the NABL laboratory's acknowledgment of sealed sample receipt within fifteen days. The importer must furnish a Test Bond equal to the value of the goods and may warehouse the remainder. After lab reports, the importer shall file an ex-bond bill of entry and follow the public notice warehousing procedure.

Surety and security requirement eased for concessional-duty imports, with graded bank guarantee limits and conditions.
Clarification sets graded norms for surety, bank guarantee or cash security to obtain concessional-duty benefits: government entities are exempt; Authorized Economic Operators and compliant GST-registered manufacturers/service providers must provide surety equal to duty foregone or a bank guarantee/cash security up to 5% of duty foregone if surety is unavailable; other importers face up to 25% bank guarantee/cash security. Duty foregone is computed by reference to duties absent the concessional procedure. Commissioner may direct higher security up to 100% with written reasons; relaxed terms require no prosecutions in the prior three financial years. Consignment-wise guarantees and self-renewal clauses are permitted.

Refund claims procedure for inverted duty, deemed exports and electronic cash ledger balances moves to manual filing and processing.
Manual processing is required for refunds relating to unutilized input tax credit from inverted duty structure, deemed exports and excess electronic cash ledger balances, to be filed in FORM GST RFD-01A (monthly, or quarterly for GSTR 1 quarterly filers). Applicants must have filed GSTR 1 for the period and a valid prior GSTR 3B; provisional refunds require a manual undertaking to repay with interest if credit conditions are unmet. Statements 1 and 1A (inverted duty) and Statement 5B (deemed exports) must be furnished, and Central and State authorities shall nominate nodal officers to exchange sanction orders and facilitate payment.

Manual processing of GST refund claims: temporary procedure mandates form filing, ARN debit, timelines and ledger adjustments.
Manual filing and processing of refund claims for zero-rated supplies is mandated until the refund module is available. Exporters' shipping bills serve as refund applications where applicable; other claims must use FORM GST RFD-01A with submission of a portal-generated ARN for ITC claims. Offices must enter applications in a refund register, issue FORM GST RFD-02 within fifteen days, issue a single deficiency memo (FORM GST RFD-03), grant provisional refund in FORM GST RFD-04 within seven days, and complete final orders in FORM GST RFD-06 within sixty days. Rejections require re-credit by FORM GST PMT-03 and portal notification via FORM GST RFD-01B; payments are made by the respective central or state/UT tax authority.

Manual refund processing for inverted duty, deemed exports and cash ledger requires RFD-01A, specified statements and undertakings.
Manual filing and processing in FORM GST RFD-01A is mandated for refunds of input tax credit accumulated due to inverted duty structure, refunds on deemed exports, and refunds of excess electronic cash ledger balance while the portal refund module is unavailable. Applicants must file GSTR-1 details and have filed a valid GSTR-3B for the prior period; provisional sanctions may be granted subject to a manual undertaking to repay refunded amounts with interest if entitlement conditions are later unmet. Specified statements (Statement 1, 1A, 5B) and prescribed undertakings are required, and State/Central authorities must exchange sanction documents within seven working days to effect payment.

e waybill commencement under GST: new electronic system from 1 February with transitional validity and cancellation rules.
New electronic e waybill system under GST will commence in West Bengal from 1 February 2018. Transitional rules: generation and use of existing waybill keys stop at midnight of 31 January 2018; waybills generated by then remain valid for entry until 15 February 2018 or until their validity expires; cancellations of unused keys and generated waybills permitted until 15 February 2018 after which unused keys are system cancelled and remaining waybills treated as used. Cancelled waybills after 31 January cannot be re generated and must be replaced by new GST e waybills. Transhipment continues until 15 February; entry without a waybill during the period is punishable under the WBGST Act.

Pass validity rules: H category passes valid for five years, G category passes tied to custom broker licence validity.
G category passes will be issued or renewed with validity coextensive with the custom broker licence from the date of issue, while H category passes will be issued or renewed with a fixed five year validity from the date of issue; both are subject to submission of prescribed documents, employee verification from concerned ports, and applicable CBLR 2013 provisions and administrative guidelines.

Export under Letter of Undertaking permitted for registered persons, subject to prescribed validity, bond and bank guarantee safeguards.
All registered persons may export goods or services without payment of integrated tax by furnishing a Letter of Undertaking (LUT), except those prosecuted in high-value tax-evasion cases. LUTs are valid for the financial year but can be withdrawn if exports are not completed within prescribed time and unpaid tax is not settled; payment restores the facility. Until electronic FORM GST RFD-11 is available, exporters must submit a physical FORM GST RFD-11 or LUT to the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner; bonds where required must be on stamp paper and accompanied by a bank guarantee. Self-declarations suffice for initial acceptance, which must occur within three working days or be deemed accepted.

Intra-day crystallised losses to be real-time blocked from free collateral, triggering risk-reduction if insufficient collateral.
Intra-day crystallised losses on transactions subject to upfront margining must be monitored and blocked in real time from a member's free collateral, with client-level offset against crystallised profits permitted; losses are to be calculated on weighted average prices and not adjusted from exposure free liquid networth. If losses exceed available free collateral, the member must be placed into risk reduction mode as specified by the regulator. Clearing Corporations must implement these measures within three months, notify members, publish the provisions, and report implementation status in monthly development reports.

College hostel mess food services attract GST without input tax credit, regardless of whether operated internally or outsourced.
GST applies at 5% without input tax credit to food or drink supplied through a college hostel mess or canteen for students and staff. The same tax treatment applies whether the facility is operated by the educational institution or students, or outsourced to an external contractor.

GST on college hostel mess services taxable without input tax credit regardless of who operates the service under notified rules.
Supply of food or drink by a mess or canteen, whether provided by the educational institution itself, students, or outsourced to a third party, is taxable under the notified concessional treatment for mess/canteen supplies and applies without entitlement to input tax credit; implementation difficulties may be brought to the notice of the Board.

Recovery of drawback for non realization of export proceeds - exporters urged to seek personal hearing or face adjudication on records.
Recovery of drawback is being pursued against exporters who failed to furnish proof of realization of export proceeds as required by prior circulars; notices under the Drawback Rules were issued, many returned undelivered. Exporters listed in the annexure must contact the Deputy Commissioner, Drawback BRC Monitoring Cell, Chennai IV for personal hearing during the stated period or the show cause notices will be decided on available records. Contact numbers for the BRC cell and officers are provided for clarifications.

Electronic book mechanism now governs private placements of specified debt securities, imposing platform, disclosure and bidding obligations.
The circular mandates use of an Electronic Book Mechanism for private placements of debt securities and NCRPS meeting specified thresholds and permits voluntary use for other debt instruments. Recognised stock exchanges acting as Electronic Book Providers (EBPs) must offer an anonymous, on-line bidding platform, maintain audit trails and IT resilience, publish standardized issue data, and coordinate KYC, enrollment, bidding, allotment (ascending-yield priority with pro-rata at cut-off) and pay-in through clearing corporations. Issuers, arrangers and participants have specified disclosure, enrolment, KYC and withdrawal obligations, with debarment and cooling-off provisions for defaults and withdrawals.

Self sealing and e sealing procedure extension: effective period for implementation has been extended; compliance guidance issued.
The procedure authorizing self sealing and e sealing of containerized export cargo at factory and approved warehouse premises under paragraph 6(iii) of the Public Notice is extended, maintaining the described mechanism for obtaining and applying self seals/e seals. This extension aligns with administrative amendments to Customs reorganisation timelines and stakeholders are asked to report implementation difficulties to the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, FSP Cell, JNCH.