E-commerce operator liability to pay GST on restaurant services shifts tax payment and invoicing responsibility to the operator.
E-commerce operators are liable to pay GST on restaurant services supplied through their platforms under section 9(5), must discharge that GST in cash and will not be required to collect TCS or file GSTR-8 for those restaurant services. ECOs will issue invoices for such services. ECOs remain eligible to claim ITC for their own inputs, but cannot use ITC to pay GST on restaurant services supplied through them; other supplies through ECOs continue to be taxed and reported under existing supplier-led mechanisms.

Compliance with GST updates: Joint Commissioners must consult official portal resources and update staff to ensure correct application of law.
All Joint Commissioners of State Tax must regularly consult the Commercial Taxes Department portal and GSTN resources for amendments, notifications, circulars, removal of difficulty orders, Advance Rulings and help files, disseminate updates to divisional staff, seek or propose training as required, and ensure legal positions are applied in proceedings; failure to account for current law or to initiate proceedings timely will be regarded as dereliction of duty and officers' performance will be assessed on knowledge upkeep and application.

Refund of wrongfully paid tax: claim allowed when taxpayer or authority later determines supply status, subject to a time limited filing.
Clarifies that "subsequently held" covers both taxpayer self reclassification and later determinations by tax authorities, permitting refund claims if the taxpayer pays the correct tax under the proper head and files the prescribed refund application within the time limit introduced by amendment to the refund rules; refunds are barred where tax has been adjusted by issuance of a credit note.

E commerce operator liability: ECOs must pay GST in cash on restaurant services supplied via their platform, not collect TCS.
Notification of restaurant service under section 9(5) makes the e commerce operator liable to pay GST on restaurant services supplied through its platform from 1 January 2022; ECOs need not collect TCS or file GSTR 8 for those supplies although TCS continues for other supplies. ECOs need not take separate registration, are liable even if the supplier is unregistered, and must include supplies via ECO in the supplier's aggregate turnover. ECOs are not recipients for reverse charge, may retain ITC and are not required to reverse ITC, but must pay GST on restaurant services in cash; ECO issues invoices and reports these supplies in GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 as directed.

Risk-based export compliance requires precise goods descriptions and item-specific verification to prevent unwarranted clearance delays.
Exporters must provide clear and specific descriptions of goods, while Shed officers must verify the item-specific applicability of Compulsory Compliance Requirements and avoid insisting on unwarranted compliances. Export consignments must not be held without valid reasons. Genuine difficulties must be recorded in writing and escalated, with approval, to the officer responsible for export examination; routine escalation is to be avoided. The designated Nodal Officer is to resolve internal issues and coordinate with stakeholders, where possible, to expedite export clearance.

Late Fee Waiver for Bills of Entry During ICEGATE Shutdown Enables Relief for Budget-Update Filing Delays
Late fees for belatedly filed Bills of Entry were waived where delays resulted from the temporary shutdown of ICEGATE services for Budget 2022-23 system updation. The waiver applied to Bills of Entry relating to entry inwards on 02.02.2022 and 03.02.2022, including a two-day waiver for advance Bills of Entry required to be filed by 01.02.2022 and a one-day waiver for those required to be filed on 02.02.2022. The concession operated under the Bill of Entry (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2018.

Refund of excess electronic cash ledger balances: unutilized TDS/TCS refundable and deemed export refunds tied to supplier return.
The circular clarifies that the time limit under section 54(1) does not apply to refunds of excess balances in the electronic cash ledger and that unjust enrichment certification under Rule 89(2)(l)/(m) is not required for such refunds. TDS/TCS amounts credited to the electronic cash ledger are equivalent to cash deposits and unutilized balances may be refunded after discharge of dues. For deemed export refunds, clause (b) of Explanation (2) to section 54 governs the relevant date, which is the date of filing of the supplier's return related to those supplies.

IND AS adoption for mutual funds mandates IND AS financial statements, specified formats, disclosures and expense treatment for transaction costs.
Mandated IND AS adoption requires mutual fund schemes to prepare an opening balance sheet at transition and IND AS comparatives, use the Annexure A financial statement formats at scheme level, and provide specified disclosures including classification of assets/liabilities, accounting policies, impairment and defaulted security details, and percentage of income/expenditure to average net assets. Prior GAAP per unit statistics need not be restated for two years but must be labelled as non IND AS with the nature of adjustments disclosed. Brokerage and transaction costs must be expensed consistent with IND AS; specified execution costs may be charged to schemes and excess amounts only within the overall Total Expense Ratio.

Prospectus disclosure requirements: revised abridged prospectus and front-cover formats require KPI substantiation and QR code linkage.
SEBI prescribes revised formats for abridged prospectuses (Annexure A) and front outside cover pages (Annexure B) applicable to all issues opening after the circular, requiring issuers and merchant bankers to ensure accurate, non-misleading disclosures; qualitative statements must be supported by Key Performance Indicators; abridged prospectuses must be made downloadable via issuer/lead manager/registrar websites and linked in price band advertisements; QR codes linking to prospectus materials are mandated; stock exchanges must disseminate the circular; and prescribed content includes offer particulars, timelines, WACA data, limited risk and litigation summaries, financial snapshots and issuer/selling shareholder responsibility declarations.

Late-fee waiver for delayed advance Bills of Entry applies where budget-related system downtime prevented timely electronic filing.
Late fees for delayed advance Bills of Entry are waived where filing was prevented by the temporary ICEGATE shutdown for ICES updation following Budget 2022-23 changes. The waiver covers belated Bills of Entry for consignments granted entry inwards on 2 and 3 February 2022. A two-day waiver applies to advance Bills of Entry due by 1 February 2022, and a one-day waiver applies to those due by 2 February 2022. ICEGATE filing services were fully enabled on 3 February 2022.

Most favoured nation clause: import of concessional treaty treatment requires OECD membership at signing and domestic notification.
The MFN clause permits importing a lower rate or restricted source taxation scope from a later India-third State treaty into an earlier India-OECD State treaty only if the third State was an OECD member when India concluded the later treaty, the later treaty was concluded after signature/entry into force of the earlier treaty as required by the MFN wording, India limited its taxing rights in the later treaty for the relevant income items, and India issues the required domestic notification implementing the treaty benefit; unilateral foreign decrees lacking bilateral consultation are not binding on India.

Extension of DVAT return filing granted for the quarter, deadline moved while tax payment obligations remain unaffected.
Dealers may file DVAT returns for the quarter ending 31.12.2021 in Forms DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 with required annexures up to 12.02.2022 under the Commissioner's power to extend prescribed periods. The extension does not affect the obligation to pay tax, which remains payable in the usual manner, and dealers filing with a digital signature need not submit a hard copy of the return/Form DVAT-56.

Waiver of late filing fee for Bills of Entry affected by ICEGATE downtime during Budget update, preserving compliance relief.
Waiver of late filing fee applies to Bills of Entry filed belatedly because ICEGATE was unavailable from 17:00 on 1 February 2022 until completion of budgetary updates in ICES; the relief covers Bills of Entry relating to IGMs filed from that time and is to be implemented under the Bill of Entry (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2017.

Authorised officers notification: Customs must ensure imported food samples are tested only in FSSAI notified NABL accredited laboratories.
The instruction designates 157 Points of Entry for imported food and specifies that 104 PoEs will be manned by Customs officials as Authorised Officers; it mandates that sampling and testing of imported food be carried out only in FSSAI notified laboratories with valid NABL accreditation and provides Annexures listing the authorised PoEs and the notified laboratories for enforcement and officer sensitisation.

No Objection Certificate requirement: lenders representing a substantial majority of secured creditors must consent for listed-entity schemes to proceed.
A No Objection Certificate (NOC) is mandated from lending scheduled commercial banks, financial institutions or debenture trustees representing a substantial majority in value of secured creditors as an amendment to Part I Para A 2(k) of the Master Circular; this requirement applies to all schemes filed with stock exchanges after the mid-November 2021 amendments, and stock exchanges are directed to notify listed companies and publish the circular on their websites under SEBI's regulatory powers.

Show Cause Notice drafting standards require fact-based, format-compliant notices with clear allegations and quantified prima facie demand.
SCNs must be issued only after proper inquiry confirms prima facie allegations, and must follow the prescribed GST format. Notices must clearly state facts and legal provisions, attach reasons and supporting documents, specify documents to be produced by the noticee, quantify any prima facie amount due while allowing for additional demand, and keep open the possibility of further evidence or anomalies. The SCN must state the authority issuing it with contact details, inform the noticee of the option for personal hearing, avoid sole reliance on portal dropdowns, and be disposed within statutory timelines.

Tariffisation and withdrawal of conditional exemptions reshape customs duty application and revised IGCR rules.
The Finance Bill, 2022 and linked notifications initiate a comprehensive tariffisation moving many unconditional concessional rates into the First Schedule so BCD will largely operate through tariff entries (with many changes effective 1 May, 2022 or immediately under provisional declaration). Numerous conditional exemptions are pruned or phased out with sunset validity under section 25(4A), while sectoral BCD increases, decreases and PMPs for wearables, hearables and smart meters are prescribed. Customs Act amendments clarify assignment and jurisdiction of officers, advance ruling procedures, measures against undervaluation, and create an offence for unauthorised publication of trade data; IGCR Rules are digitised. GST and central excise measures simplify compliance and adjust valuation and fiscal incentives.

Intelligence-based enforcement action: initiating authority completes investigation, notices, adjudication and appeals under GST framework.
Both Central and State tax administrations may initiate intelligence-based enforcement action across the entire value chain, and the authority that initiates such action is empowered to complete the entire process arising from it, including investigation, issuance of show-cause notices, adjudication, recovery and appeals; Section 6(2)(b) UPGST prevents initiation of duplicate proceedings by another proper officer, and strict compliance is directed to prevent coordination failures and parallel actions.

Retail sale price based assessment confirms excise and NCCD computed after abatement; GST payable on transaction value including duties.
Valuation for basic excise duty and NCCD uses a retail sale price based assessment with a 55% abatement as the prescribed measure for computing those duties; the abated value is not the manufacturer's prescribed sale price. GST and Compensation Cess are payable on transaction value, which includes basic excise duty and NCCD. Manufacturers may adjust retail price to account for duty increases. A statutory saving for tariff references preserves the validity of existing notifications referring to the repealed tariff Act.

Social Welfare Surcharge applicability clarified: no surcharge where aggregate customs duties payable are zero, not on notional duty.
Social Welfare Surcharge is levied on the aggregate of customs duties, taxes and cesses actually levied and collected as duties of customs on imported goods; if the aggregate customs duty payable is zero due to an exemption, the SWS base is zero and no SWS is payable. The law does not require SWS computation on a notional customs duty calculated at tariff rate where the applicable aggregate customs duties are nil.