Resignation of statutory auditors: timing and disclosure duties require issuance of pending review/audit reports and immediate Audit Committee reporting.
Resignation of statutory auditors from listed entities triggers timing-based requirements to issue limited review or audit reports before resigning, mandates inclusion of these conditions in engagement terms, immediate reporting of concerns to the Audit Committee, and provision of a detailed resignation disclosure in the Annexure A format; the Audit Committee must deliberate, communicate views to management and disclose those views to stock exchanges within twenty-four hours of its meeting, and entities must continue cooperation until required reports are filed.

Submission of FTP export-obligation statement required before insolvency proceedings, with duty saved details and attestations.
Firms or companies entering insolvency or tribunal referral proceedings must, as part of statutory filings before proceedings begin, submit a statement listing export obligations, duty saved amounts and applicable interest to the relevant regional authority and the insolvency forum, together with penalties and other dues; documentary proof of any partial fulfilment claimed to offset duty saved amounts must include consumption and capital goods procurement statements attested by a chartered engineer or chartered accountant.

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.

Support services classification clarified under GST: explanatory notes determine whether oil and gas activities fall in support or professional services.
Clarification directs that the scope of the entry for support services to petroleum extraction and related mining shall be governed by the explanatory notes to the relevant service codes, and that professional, technical and consulting services relating to exploration shall be governed by the explanatory notes to the corresponding professional service codes; services excluded by those notes must be classified in their appropriate headings and taxed accordingly.

GST classification and rates clarified for goods: exemptions, concessional rates, and tariff alignments explained.
Clarification of GST classifications and rates for specified goods: dried leguminous vegetables subjected only to mild heat treatment remain under HS 0713 (branded and packed attracting 5%, otherwise exempt; mixtures as namkeens under heading 2106), almond milk is classifiable under the residual beverage entry attracting 18%, mechanical sprayers of all types are covered by the schedule entry and attract the specified concessional rate, imported naval stores are exempt from GST under Customs Act treatment, leased imports supplying specified services are exempt subject to Condition No. 102, solar water heater parts in chapters 84/85/94 attract concessional treatment, and parts solely for medical devices classify with those devices per chapter note 2(b).

Withdrawal of administrative circular on post sales discount guidance; prior clarifications rescinded to ensure uniform GST application.
The State tax administration withdrew, ab initio, its earlier Trade Circular providing clarifications on secondary or post sales discount treatment under GST after receiving numerous representations; the withdrawal was exercised under statutory authority to ensure uniform field implementation and was declared effective from a specified operative date, thereby rescinding the prior administrative guidance.

Refund on appeal: file FORM GST RFD 01 without re debiting electronic credit ledger after favourable order.
Where a refund previously rejected in FORM GST RFD 06 is later allowed in appeal or by another authority, the claimant must file a fresh FORM GST RFD 01 under the category "Refund on account of assessment/provisional assessment/appeal/any other order", supply order details and upload the appellate order and original RFD 06; the claimant need not re debit the electronic credit ledger for amounts already debited. The proper officer will sanction the allowed refund, issue FORM GST RFD 06 and RFD 05, and ensure re credit of any remaining allowed amounts following prescribed guidelines.

Refund re filing after NIL claim: conditions and procedure for submitting a subsequent GST refund application and supporting documents.
A registered person who has filed a NIL refund claim in FORM GST RFD-01A/RFD-01 may reapply for refund for the same period and category only if (a) a NIL refund claim was filed for that period and category and (b) no refund claims under that category have been filed for any subsequent period, with condition (b) limited to unutilized ITC refunds for exports without tax, SEZ supplies without tax, and inverted duty accumulation. Eligible applicants may file under "Any Other" for the same period with supporting documents; the proper officer will calculate admissible refund, request debit via FORM GST DRC-03 if needed, and issue FORM GST RFD-06 and RFD-05 upon receipt of proof.

GST exemption for state-granted liquor licence fees clarified as a non-supply, limited to liquor licences only.
The Circular clarifies that licence and application fees charged by State Governments for grant of liquor licences for alcoholic liquor for human consumption are treated as not leviable under GST, implementing the GST Council's recommendation by exempting fees for the transitional pre-GST period and by classifying the grant of such licences as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of service; this special dispensation is confined to State-granted liquor licences and does not extend to other licences or privileges for a fee.

Retrospective effect of statutory explanation confirmed; explanation inserted under section 11(3) applies from entry inception.
The explanation excluding Government and Local Authority activities from the term business was inserted under the statutory power to add explanations to notifications within one year and therefore operates retrospectively from the inception of the original concessional entry on 21.09.2017. A statement in the subsequent notification setting a later commencement date does not change the retrospective effect conferred by that statutory provision; implementation difficulties may be reported to the Chief Commissioner of State Tax.

Lending of securities is a taxable service; borrowers assume GST liability under reverse charge from October 2019.
Lending of securities under the Securities Lending Scheme, 1997 is a taxable service because it does not involve disposal of securities; the lending fee is taxable from 01.07.2017. Intermediaries' 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 GST liability shifts to the borrower under reverse charge (IGST).

Place of Supply: for composite software/design services with ancillary hardware testing, supply is at recipient's location under IGST rules.
Where software and integrated circuit design services include testing on sample prototype hardware provided by the recipient and such testing is ancillary to the principal design/development activity, the contract is a composite supply and the place of supply is the location of the service recipient under the IGST recipient location rule; the provision treating goods made physically available by the recipient does not apply separately to the ancillary testing.

GST exemption for DG Shipping approved maritime courses affirmed; courses qualify as educational services exempt under GST law.
Maritime Training Institutes and their DG Shipping approved courses are recognised under the Merchant Shipping Act and STCW Rules; therefore such institutes constitute educational institutions under GST law and their approved courses are exempt from levy of GST, subject to meeting conditions in the State GST exemption notification.

GST exemption for donor name displays when acknowledgement is gratitude, not advertising, so no taxable supply arises.
Where a donor makes a gift or donation to a charitable organisation and the recipient places a name plate or similar acknowledgement that merely expresses gratitude and publicly recognises the donor without advertising any business activity, there is no supply for consideration and no GST liability. Non taxability requires: recipient is a charitable organisation; payment is a gift or donation; and the purpose is philanthropic, not commercial promotion.