Securities lending for consideration is taxable as a service, with borrower liability applying under reverse charge from the prescribed date.
Lending of securities under the Securities Lending Scheme, 1997 is a taxable GST service because temporary lending for a fee does not involve disposal of securities. The lender's fee is consideration, while intermediary services facilitating lending and borrowing for commission or fees are separately taxable. For the earlier period, the lender was liable under forward charge; from 1 October 2019, the borrower is liable to pay IGST under the reverse charge mechanism.

Deferred payment of customs duty extended to authorised public undertakings, subject to eligibility, ICEGATE authentication and monitoring.
Extension permits deferred payment of Customs import duty to eligible Authorised Public Undertakings, governed by the Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016. APUs must meet specified eligibility criteria including government ownership/control, valid IEC, senior-government recommendation, compliance undertakings and AEO-related legal-compliance conditions. Applications go to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner, DIC, CBIC; approvals are for two years renewable. Approved APUs must obtain ICEGATE access for a nodal person to authenticate deferred-payment flags on Bills of Entry; payment due dates follow rule five of the Deferred Payment Rules and approvals may be revoked on ineligibility.

Grievance redressal committees for GST ensure structured resolution and escalation of taxpayer grievances to policy and IT wings.
Constitution of a State-level Grievance Redressal Committee for GST designates Co-Chairs, nodal officers and secretaries, prescribes member nomination and attendance rules, limits representation, and mandates quarterly meetings. The Committee will examine and resolve taxpayer procedural and IT grievances, refer policy matters to the CBIC Policy Wing and GST Council Secretariat, and refer portal issues to GSTN for time-bound resolution. The Secretary must submit quarterly reports to the GST Council Secretariat and CBIC; GSTN will develop a public portal for recording and displaying grievances and their disposal, with Co-Chairs and nodal officers responsible for timely updates.

Record preservation requirement updated to an eight-year minimum for depositories and depository participants, aligning regulations and circulars.
Preservation of records requirement for depositories and depository participants is revised to mandate a minimum retention period of eight years, replacing Section 4.6(i) of the Master Circular and updating the footnote to reference the earlier circular and Regulations 54 and 66 of the D&P Regulations, 2018; depositories must amend bye-laws, effect system changes, publish the provision on their websites and report implementation status to SEBI.

Unit Quantity Codes standardization limits permissible commercial codes in customs declarations to improve EDI data quality and compliance.
The notice mandates use of prescribed commercial unit quantity codes from the Annexure for Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills, requires declaration of Statistical Unit Quantity Codes alongside commercial invoice units captured in the Single Window table, and directs that only Annexure-listed UQCs will be accepted while deviations must be reported to the designated Joint Commissioner; the directions operate as a standing order for officers.

Audit assessment compliance under Assam VAT is accelerated through strict timelines, reporting duties, and disposal norms for assessing officers.
Audit assessment under the Assam Value Added Tax framework is expedited to secure timely revenue realisation and ensure compliance by dealers. Case selection under Rule 22, completion timelines for pending and future assessments, monthly disposal reporting, minimum disposal norms, and performance monitoring are prescribed. Officers are required to meet fixed deadlines for audit assessment work, and deviation or laxity may invite disciplinary action. The circular supersedes earlier instructions on the subject.

e-Office adoption: electronic communications encouraged to improve transparency and receive diary acknowledgement for future reference.
Launch of e-Office in the Kolkata South CGST & CX Commissionerate transitions office work to a paperless electronic application; taxpayers are encouraged to send communications in searchable PDF format, provide mobile and email for immediate mail/SMS acknowledgement, and will receive a Diary Number to reference future correspondence.

Unit Quantity Codes standardization: only prescribed commercial codes allowed in import declarations; non compliant codes will be rejected.
Statistical Unit Codes (SQCs) prescribed under the Tariff Act are mandatory for each item in import declarations and captured in the Single Window. From the effective date, only commercial UQCs listed in Annexure A will be accepted in Bills of Entry; any other commercial UQCs will be rejected. The instruction is to be treated as a standing order, trade associations must publicize it, and implementation issues should be reported to the Additional Commissioner of Customs (Technical).

Extension of time limits under Customs Act: key filing and compliance deadlines are extended to the notified end date for relief.
Time limits under the Customs Act, 1962 for filing refund applications, drawback claims (including under Section 74), export filings, appeals, issuance of show cause/demand notices, licence renewals and related actions whose last date fell within the covered period are extended to the new specified end date pursuant to the Government notification; the Public Notice directs stakeholders to utilise the extension and directs officers to treat the Notice as a standing order.

C-Form issuance is restricted to eligible specified-goods dealers, subject to justified application, recommendations, approval, and temporary portal access.
C-Forms may be issued only to eligible dealers purchasing specified petroleum products or alcoholic liquor for human consumption, and to manufacturers or processors of those specified goods. Portal access for obtaining C-Forms is disabled. Dealers must show sufficient cause to the assessing authority, whose recommendation is forwarded through the Joint Commissioner for approval. Once approved, the dealer login is temporarily unblocked to download the requested C-Form and immediately blocked again.

Section 107 appeals against Mobile Squad orders require quarterly reporting, module entry, and timely monitoring of appellate compliance.
Appeals under Section 107 against orders passed under Sections 129 and 130 by Mobile Squad units are to be monitored through a new M.S. module. Mobile Squad units must enter appellate order details into the module to ensure timely implementation. Details of orders from the second quarter of 2017-18 to the first quarter of 2020-21 must be emailed in the prescribed format by 31 August 2020, and thereafter within 10 days of each quarter end.

Manufacture in special warehouses governed by section 65: integrated licensing, bond and digital records control duty and GST treatment.
Licensed special warehouses under section 58A may undertake manufacturing and other operations under section 65 subject to an integrated application, execution of the prescribed bond and bank guarantee, and compliance with specified security, digital recordkeeping and software requirements. Resultant products exported require shipping bills and GST invoices with no duty on imported inputs under section 69; products cleared domestically attract GST/IGST and ex-bond Bills of Entry to discharge import duties on contained warehoused goods. Annexures prescribe application, inventory registers and bond formats and customs verification procedures.

Extension of AGM deadlines: companies must file Form GNL 1 to seek up to three months' extension for FY2020 AGMs.
Companies unable to hold AGMs for the financial year ended 31.03.2020 should file Form No. GNL-1 with the concerned Registrar of Companies by the prescribed deadline to seek extension of the statutory AGM period. Registrars are advised to consider such applications liberally and grant extensions for the period applied for, up to three months, taking into account hardships faced by stakeholders; prior relaxations for holding AGMs via video conferencing or other audio-visual means remain applicable.

Reduced interest relief for delayed GST filings establishes nil then lower interest followed by normal rate after notified cutoffs.
Clarification explains the staged application of modified interest rates and conditional waiver of late fees for delayed filing of FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-1: an initial nil interest window immediately after the return due date, a subsequent reduced interest rate until notified cut off dates, and reversion to the normal statutory rate thereafter; distinct schedules and examples are provided for taxpayers above and below the aggregate turnover threshold, and waiver of late fee applies only if returns are filed by the dates specified in notifications.

Input tax credit reconciliation under rule 36(4) requires cumulative adjustment for February to August 2020.
Clarification relates to the cumulative application of rule 36(4) for February, 2020 to August, 2020, requiring taxpayers to reconcile ITC availed in GSTR-3B with supplier-uploaded invoices up to the due date for GSTR-1 of September, 2020. The cumulative ITC for these months must not exceed 110% of the eligible credit reflected in uploaded invoices or debit notes, subject to the overall ITC limit under the substantive provisions. Any excess credit must be reversed in Table 4(B)(2) of the September, 2020 GSTR-3B, failing which it is treated as ineligible ITC.

Electronic communication encouraged: use searchable PDFs and provide contact details for immediate acknowledgement and tracking.
Launch of E-Office in the Principal Commissioner, CGST, Visakhapatnam establishes a paperless workflow application to enhance efficiency, transparency, accountability and data security. Taxpayers are encouraged to use electronic communication, submit PDF (preferably searchable) documents, and provide mobile and email contacts to receive immediate acknowledgement and a Diary Number for reference; trade bodies are requested to circulate the notice and report difficulties or suggestions.

e-Office implementation encourages electronic communications; submit searchable PDF filings with contact details for faster departmental processing.
Launch of e-Office requires taxpayers to use electronic communication and submit PDF files (preferably searchable) for faster processing. Communications should include mobile number and e-mail to enable immediate e-mail/SMS acknowledgement; the system will issue a Diary Number for reference. Trade associations are requested to disseminate this notice and convey difficulties or suggestions.

Refund of IGST on export: submit a signed concordance table mapping GST invoices to shipping bills for refund processing.
Exporters with invoice-shipping bill mismatches must use the alternative mechanism for IGST refund: consult the JNCH website list of affected IECs, prepare the prescribed concordance table signed by the authorised signatory mapping GST invoices to shipping bill invoices, and email it to the Deputy Commissioner (Drawback, NS II, JNCH) at [email protected]. The mechanism and SB005 error correction apply only to shipping bills within the corrective window specified by the implementing circular. Annexure A provides the concordance template and an IEC list for reference.

GST interest relief: zero initial window, reduced rates thereafter and conditional late fee waiver for timely filing.
Clarifies calculation and applicability of COVID 19 GST relief: segmented interest treatment where an initial zero interest window applies after the return due date, followed by a reduced interest rate for a prescribed period and the normal rate thereafter; separate regimes are set for taxpayers above and below the aggregate turnover threshold. Confirms that late fee waiver is conditional on filing Form GSTR 3B by dates specified in notifications and that late fee is payable from the original due date if not so filed. Illustrative examples show day wise allocation of interest bands.

Centralised receipt handling: all correspondence routed to CRU for scanning, e Office diarisation and controlled custody.
Centralises all incoming correspondence to a Central Receipt Unit responsible for receipt intake, scanning to searchable PDF, diarisation and upload into e Office, generation of acknowledgements, forwarding to addressees, and secure custody of physical documents; prescribes staffing, email handling, confidential envelope procedure, scanning specifications and storage and retention processes.