Concessional import duty rules broadened to cover specified end use, allow limited utilisation extensions, and revise guarantee norms.
The 2022 IGCR Rules broaden IGCR coverage while retaining core procedures: where utilisation time is unspecified six months applies, with a one time three month extension possible for reasons beyond the importer's control; mandatory intimation, IIN generation, bond submission, record maintenance and monthly statement filing continue, and a new online confirmation form allows immediate bond re credit by the jurisdictional AC/DC prior to the monthly statement.

AGMARK certification requirement suspended for imported food consignments pending further orders, altering import compliance obligations.
The AGMARK certification requirement for imported food consignments is placed in abeyance pending further orders, following FSSAI's advisory that the Directorate of Marketing and Inspection does not issue overseas certification under the Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act. The Board has modified its earlier Instruction No. 12/2020 to reflect this temporary suspension and instructs that implementation issues be reported to the Board.

Section 67 search powers and transit checks under Section 68 must remain strictly within legal limits.
Vigilance and Enforcement units may act under Section 67 for inspection, search and seizure of business premises and warehouses, while Section 68 applies only to goods in transit. Where a discrepancy is found during survey between physically found goods and the goods declared in the books of account, further action under the relevant provisions of the State Act must be taken by the Vigilance/Enforcement unit itself. The powers under Section 68 must be exercised strictly in respect of goods in transit and in accordance with the established legal framework.

Transitional credit filing reopened-one time portal window allows aggrieved taxpayers to file or revise TRAN 1/TRAN 2 claims.
The circular reopens the GSTN common portal to allow aggrieved registered taxpayers a one time opportunity to file or revise claims for transitional credit using FORM GST TRAN 1 and FORM GST TRAN 2, subject to electronic verification and upload of a prescribed Annexure A declaration (and TRANS 3 where applicable). Claims will be verified by jurisdictional officers, who will adjudicate on merits after granting hearing and, if allowed, reflect the transitional credit in the Electronic Credit Ledger. Once submitted and filed on the portal the form is frozen and no further revisions under this dispensation are permitted.

Closed-container inland-waterway exports: ICD-cleared containers to Bangladesh require e-seals, ECTS tracking and port transshipment controls.
Export containers cleared at ICDs may be moved to Bangladesh via inland waterways in two legs: first from ICD to Kolkata/Haldia by road or rail after grant of the Let Export Order, with containers sealed using RFID e seals declared in the Shipping Bill and LEO issued under EDI/RMS; second, verification of e seals at the gateway port, submission of a container placement plan, loading onto barge/vessel with tarpaulin and ECTS monitoring where feasible, transmission of seal and placement data to LCS Hemnagar, re verification at Hemnagar, and final border crossing report enabling EGM reconciliation and discharge of the transshipment bond.

Line of Credit conditions mandate majority Indian sourcing and RBI procedural compliance for project export financing under FEMA.
Exim Bank's Government of India supported Line of Credit finances the Parliament building project in Eswatini subject to Foreign Trade Policy eligibility and Exim Bank approval. At least 65 per cent of contract value must be sourced from India, with remaining procurement permitted abroad. Shipments require Export Declaration Form/Shipping Bill filing per RBI instructions. No agency commission is payable under the LoC, though exporters may remit commission from their own funds or EEFC balances after realization, subject to AD Category I bank compliance. Directions are issued under FEMA without prejudice to other approvals.

Uploading of e-BRCs required for shipping bills with RoSCTL scrips; deadline extended to 30.09.2022, compliance mandated.
Exporters who availed RoSCTL scrips for shipping bills up to 31.12.2020 must upload the corresponding e-BRCs on the DGFT server by 30.09.2022; failure to comply will permit jurisdictional Regional Authorities to initiate enforcement action under the Hand Book of Procedures, with no further extensions after the deadline.

Disposal of seized gold: clarified valuation, quarterly transfer cycle, minimum handover threshold, and inclusion of pure gold jewellery.
This Instruction modifies Instruction No.27/2021-Customs to require recording gold purity at seizure, entering tariff value or an average market price in the stock register at handover to the processor, and using tariff value for refunds where seizure occurred in a customs area or average market price where it did not; the average market price is to be approved by the Joint Pricing Committee. It prescribes a quarterly schedule for certification, intimation, handover, delivery and realisation, sets a minimum accumulation threshold before intimating the processor with an exception for the final quarter, expands the procedure to 24-carat jewellery, and revises zone-to-mint mappings.

Prosecution guidelines under the CGST Act direct enforcement officers to follow CBIC instruction with the state manual.
Guidelines for launching prosecution under the CGST Act, 2017 were circulated for implementation by field officers. The communication refers to CBIC Instruction No. 04/2022-23 on prosecution and criminal proceedings for certain offences under Section 69 and Section 132, and directs officers to read it together with the State Tax Department's Enforcement Manual, which contains the procedures relating to arrest and prosecution.

Audit completion extension under proviso to section 65 granted due to technical inability to upload the final audit report.
The Commissioner, invoking the proviso to subsection (4) of section 65 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Act, 2017, extends the period for completion of the audit of M/s Shah Brothers (GSTIN 19AAOFS2392B1Z0) for the audit of 1 July 2017 to 31 March 2018. Citing inability to upload the final audit report and FORM GST ADT-02 due to technical glitches, the audit period is extended up to 20 September 2022 or nine months from commencement, whichever is earlier, with immediate effect.

GST classification updates clarify electric vehicles without batteries, mango forms, stone finishes, treated sewage water, nicotine gum, and pulse by-products.
Electrically operated vehicles are classifiable under HSN 8703 and eligible for the concessional Schedule I rate even if supplied without batteries; Napa and similar minor polished ready to use stones qualify under the non mirror polished concessional entry; mangoes under CTH 0804 are taxed by form (fresh exempt, sliced dried concessional, other dried forms including pulp at the general rate); treated sewage water under heading 2201 is exempt; nicotine polacrilex gum for cessation classifies under tariff 2404 91 00; the 90% fly ash condition applies only to aggregate; and pulse milling by products (chilka, khanda, churi) fall under heading 2302 and attract the concessional Schedule I rate, with past periods regularized as recommended.

Taxability of contractual penalties: GST applies only when payment is consideration for an independent agreement.
GST applies to payments only when there is an express or implied contractual agreement under which one party undertakes to do, refrain from, or tolerate an act and the other pays consideration for that obligation. Payments that merely compensate for breach or are statutory penalties with no contractual offer to tolerate (such as liquidated damages, forfeiture of earnest money in certain bids, statutory compensation under court orders, and fines for legal violations) are not consideration for a supply and are not taxable. Ancillary commercial charges (cancellation fees, late payment fees, early termination fees) that compensate for a facility provided are taxable as part of the principal supply unless that principal supply is exempt.

GST rate and exemption clarifications: ice cream parlours regularised; educational, IVF, transit cargo and toll treatments defined.
The circular classifies and clarifies GST treatment for varied services: ice cream parlours' sales are taxable at the standard rate prospectively with past lower rate payments regularised; educational entrance/application/migration fees are exempt as services by educational institutions; storage of ginned/baled cotton was exempt prior to July 18, 2022; transit cargo services to and from Nepal and Bhutan including return of empty containers are exempt subject to customs/transhipment and tracking rules; renting of vehicles with operator for mineral transport is rental service and not road goods transport and thus not exempt; location charges paid upfront with long term lease premiums form part of exempt upfront amount.

Withdrawal of refund circular: airport retail refund clarification rescinded after retrospective omission of rule 95A.
Circular providing clarifications on rule 95A-concerning refund of tax on inward supply by retail outlets in international airport departure areas to outgoing international tourists-has been withdrawn ab initio because the rule has been omitted retrospectively; the Commissioner of State Tax has annulled the earlier circular, removing it as authoritative guidance on refund eligibility and procedure for those supplies.

Refund of unutilised ITC for exported electricity: filing requirements, REA-based relevant date and formulaic calculation clarified.
Procedure for refund of unutilised ITC on exported electricity requires filing FORM GST RFD-01 under "Any Other" with Statement 3B, Statement 3A calculation, REA monthly statement from RPC and tariff agreements; relevant date is the last date of the month in which export appears in REA; refund computed under Rule 89(4) using REA scheduled energy multiplied by contracted tariff, using the lower of REA and invoice quantities, and adjusted total turnover excludes domestic electricity.

Re-credit in electronic credit ledger via PMT-03A restores erroneously refunded input tax after deposit and officer order.
Taxpayer must deposit the erroneous refund with applicable interest and penalty through FORM GST DRC-03 by debiting the electronic cash ledger and indicate the reason for payment; then submit a written request in Annexure A to the jurisdictional proper officer. Upon verifying full payment through DRC-03, the proper officer shall re-credit an amount equivalent to the erroneous refund into the electronic credit ledger by order in FORM GST PMT-03A, preferably within thirty days from receipt of request or from payment, whichever is later.

Inverted duty structure refunds admissible where concessional notifications cause lower output tax rates than input tax rates.
Refund under the inverted duty structure is admissible where input tax credit accumulates because the rate on outward supplies is lower than on inputs at the same time due to supplies made under a concessional notification providing a lower rate for specified goods, except where output is nil-rated or fully exempted or specifically excluded by government notification.

Input tax credit availability for deemed exports clarified; credit excluded from net ITC and credit ledger use limited to output tax.
Tax paid on supplies regarded as deemed exports is made available to recipients as credit only for enabling refund claims and is not treated as Input Tax Credit under Chapter V, thus it is not subject to blocked credit provisions and is excluded from "Net ITC" for refund computations; the proviso permitting credit where employers are legally obliged to provide goods or services applies to the whole exclusion clause, leasing in the exclusion is limited to motor vehicles/vessels/aircraft, employer perquisites under contract are not taxable supplies, electronic credit ledger may be used only for output tax (excluding reverse charge) and not for interest, penalty or other amounts, while the electronic cash ledger may meet tax, interest, penalty and other liabilities.

Fraudulent input tax credit: recovery and fraud-specific penalties apply; issuers of fake invoices face separate penal sanctions.
Issuing tax invoices without actual supply does not amount to "supply" and does not create tax demand under the usual recovery provisions; the issuer, however, is punishable under the penal provision for issuing invoices without supply. A recipient who fraudulently avails and uses input tax credit on such invoices is liable to recovery of the ITC, interest and penal action under fraud-specific provisions; if penalised under those provisions, duplicate penalties for the same act are precluded. Where the recipient further issues invoices without supply to pass on credit, no tax demand arises for outward transactions, but penal liability attaches for issuing invoices without supply and for taking/utilizing ITC without receipt; other penal or confiscation provisions may also be invoked depending on facts.

Inter State supply reporting: ensure place of supply-wise disclosure and correct ITC reversal classification for accurate credit settlement.
Registered persons must report place of supply-wise inter State supplies to unregistered persons, composition taxpayers and UIN holders in both outward statements and the return to ensure correct destination based settlement. Total ITC is auto populated from the inward statement into the return; registered persons must record absolute ineligible reversals and temporary reversible reversals in the designated reversal sub tables so that Net ITC equals auto populated total less these reversals and only that net amount is credited to the electronic credit ledger.