Interception procedure modified: release wording standardized and detention limited to consignments with GST non-compliance, hard-copy proof allowed.
The circular modifies transit enforcement: replace "three working days" with "three days" and fix FORM GST MOV-05 release wording. Where a conveyance has been physically verified in transit, no further verification in the State is to occur absent fresh information of evasion; hard-copy notices/orders may be used as proof between tax authorities while portal forms remain unavailable. Detention or confiscation is limited to goods or conveyances for which a violation of GST law or rules is established, allowing selective action against non-compliant consignments on a multi-consignment conveyance.

Territorial jurisdiction of appellate authority designated, conferring appellate competence over adjudicating authority orders within notified GST areas.
The State authorised a specified officer to act as Appellate Authority for Jaipur-III under the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Act, conferring appellate competence over orders of Adjudicating Authorities within the territorial jurisdictions notified by the State; the designation is made under the Act read with the relevant procedural rule and remains in force until superseded by further order or a new posting.

Territorial jurisdiction of appellate authorities clarified, aligning GST appeal postings with prior VAT appellate offices.
The order authorises specified officers to act as Appellate Authorities to hear appeals against orders or decisions of adjudicating authorities under the GST law for persons within notified territorial jurisdictions, and maps those GST appellate posts to corresponding appellate offices under the prior RVAT regime.

Electronic sealing for export containers: self sealing and factory stuffing exporters may self seal at approved premises per procedures.
Exporters with self sealing permission and those holding factory stuffing permission, including Authorized Economic Operators, are entitled to carry out factory stuffing and apply electronic seals at their approved stuffing premises under the Board's circulars; the notice lists additional exporters granted self sealing permission (July-September 2018) with addresses and notes that certain permissions remain conditional on customs officer supervision.

FPI registration processing time disclosure requires DDPs to report monthly application counts, average processing time, and pendency reasons.
DDPs must report monthly to SEBI the number of FPI applications received, the average time taken to process those applications, the number pending beyond thirty days and reasons for pendency, in a prescribed format by the fifth working day of each month for publication on SEBI's website; requirement is effective immediately.

Drawback election prevents later IGST refund claims when exporters declared higher composite drawback and relinquished IGST entitlement.
Exporters who claimed composite drawback rates and made the required shipping bill declarations (suffix A/C and DBK002/DBK003) thereby relinquished any claim for refund of integrated goods and services tax; accordingly, IGST refunds shall not be permitted where higher drawback was elected, and this instruction operates as a standing order for officers.

Online registration requirement for budgetary support under GST mandates electronic claim filing and processing with portal-issued unique IDs.
Online registration and electronic filing are mandated for units seeking budgetary support under the GST regime in specified states; eligible units must obtain one-time registration on the ACES-GST portal to receive a unique ID used for submission, processing, sanction and payment of claims. Jurisdictional Deputy Commissioners or Assistant Commissioners of Central Tax will process and approve registrations and online claims; manual filing is discontinued and previously manually registered units must re-register online without additional verification based on earlier approval.

Waiver of penalty for late filing of Bills of Entry granted where electronic filing failed due to system outage.
Non-functioning of the e-Sanchit module prevented some importers, exporters and Customs brokers from filing Bills of Entry within prescribed time limits. As a trade facilitation measure, and with the Commissioner of Customs' approval, penalties for late filing of Bills of Entry are waived for those who could not file due to the technical failure during the outage.

Drawback election: claiming higher composite drawback with required declarations relinquishes entitlement to IGST refund for that export.
Claiming composite drawback by using drawback serials suffixed A or C and by making required declarations (including DBK002 and DBK003) on the shipping bill constitutes an affirmative relinquishment of any IGST refund or ITC claim for that export; the shipping bill functions as the drawback claim under the Drawback Rules, rendering exporters who elected higher drawback rates ineligible for subsequent IGST refund for the same export and not subject to reopening.

Export proceeds monitoring requires banks to update EDPMS to avoid recovery action for disbursed drawback and interest.
Monitoring of export proceeds is effected via the RBI-BRC Module for shipping bills with LEO on or after 01.04.2014; quarterly defaulting-IEC lists have been published. Exporters must have their authorised dealer banks update realisation details in the banks' EDPMS so customs can reconcile data; failure to do so will attract alerts and show cause notices for recovery of drawback with interest. Manual BRCs or Negative statements will not be accepted for affected shipments.

GST TDS deduction and deposit guidelines for DDOs under Assam law, covering registration, remittance, and monthly return filing.
Guidelines prescribe the procedure for deduction, deposit and return filing of GST TDS by DDOs under section 51 of the Assam GST Act, 2017, including registration on the GST common portal, monthly deposit of the deducted amount, filing of FORM GSTR-7 and issuance of FORM GSTR-7A. The instructions set out the registration particulars required, the 2 per cent deduction rate for intra-State and inter-State supplies, the rounding rule for deduction, and the obligation to maintain a deduction register for monthly return filing.

IGST refund denials: exporters must align drawback claims with applicable rates to promptly secure refund consideration.
Denial of IGST refunds is linked to exporters claiming incorrect drawback rates or where higher and lower rates are identical; claims will be examined and disposed of per the legal provisions in Circular No. 37/2018 governing Drawback Claims, and field formations are directed to notify stakeholders to ensure compliance with applicable drawback rates.

Input Tax Credit mismatch: assessing authorities to examine annexure discrepancies and make assessments under DVAT Act.
Audit identified irregular and excess Input Tax Credit claims, including credits from unregistered or composition scheme suppliers, inflated purchases, and purchase sale mismatches. Assessing Authorities must examine Annexure 2A 2B mismatches for FY 2014 15, 2015 16 and onwards, use DVAT portal mismatch reports, and proceed to make assessments of tax, interest and penalty under the DVAT Act and Rules following due process while observing the statutory limitation period. Zonal Incharges must monitor and report progress.

Eligible Foreign Entities permitted to hedge Indian commodity exposure under a regulated registration and compliance framework.
Permits participation of Eligible Foreign Entities (EFEs) in Indian commodity derivatives markets for hedging actual exposure to Indian physical commodity markets, subject to eligibility (resident outside India with demonstrable import/export exposure, regulator MoU requirements, and minimum net worth), registration through designated Authorized Stock Brokers (ASBs), strict KYC/AML and documentation (auditor-certified import/export turnover, invoices, board resolution), hedge limits tied to certified physical exposure, prohibition on speculative/arbitrage activity, margining and additional risk measures by Exchanges/Clearing Corporations, ongoing monitoring with periodic auditor certifications, and anonymous public disclosure of allocated hedge limits by Exchanges.

IGST refund denial where exporters claimed higher drawback preserves drawback election and prevents subsequent refund claims.
Exporters who elected composite/all-industry drawback rates by declaring suffixes and making DBK002/DBK003 declarations on the shipping bill thereby relinquished any claim to IGST refund or ITC for the exported product; the shipping bill is treated as the operative drawback claim and, once higher drawback was claimed, IGST refund cannot subsequently be allowed.

Compulsory product registration: importers must register notified electronic goods with BIS before import or present MeitY exemption.
Importers must ensure notified electronic and IT goods conform to Indian Standards and are registered with BIS before import or have MeitY exemption; registration follows product testing at BIS-recognized labs and permits use of the BIS Standard Mark on product and packaging (stickers prohibited). Repaired, refurbished and second-hand notified items require registration or prior MeitY permission and may be detained if unregistered. Customs officers must verify BIS certificate coverage, proper Standard Mark display, upload of BIS certificates to e-sanchit, and refuse clearance of non-complying goods, referring issues to MeitY.

Agent representation determines GST treatment: invoice issuance by agent makes principal-agent goods supply treated as supply.
The Commissioner clarifies that Schedule I treats movements of goods between principal and agent as supply only where the intermediary acts in a representative capacity; the practical, objective test is whether the agent issues the invoice for further supply in his own name (indicating authority to transfer title). If the agent invoices in his own name for onward supply, the entry applies and may trigger registration obligations; if invoices are issued in the principal's name, the entry does not apply.

IGST refund entitlement denied where exporter claimed higher drawback and declared relinquishment; claim cannot be reopened.
Exporters who, between 1.7.2017 and 30.9.2017, claimed composite drawback by using drawback serials suffixed A or C and making the required shipping bill declarations (including DBK002/DBK003 or prior manual declarations) thereby relinquished any IGST/ITC refund claim; where such declarations were made, IGST refund cannot subsequently be allowed and the issue will not be reopened.

Customs duty on cruise consumption: vessels must declare and pay duty for consumed stores, with limited exceptions for mere passage.
Cruise vessels must pay Customs duty on liquor and other stores consumed aboard, based on self-assessment and vessel declarations. Domestic passengers on domestic sectors cannot buy duty-free goods on board; any such purchases will attract duty payable at the next port. International passengers retain baggage allowance under the Baggage Rule, 2016. The definition of Indian Customs waters is extended to the Exclusive Economic Zone, but dutiability arises only when a vessel calls at a port or transits territorial waters or stays in Indian waters; mere passage without calling does not attract duty.

Compulsory registration requirement: importers must verify BIS registration and valid IMEI/ESN/MEID before clearance.
Imported notified electronics must bear the Standard Mark and a unique BIS registration matching product, brand, model, manufacturer and manufacturing location verifiable on www.crsbis.in; GSM handsets without valid IMEI or with all-zero IMEI and CDMA phones without valid ESN/MEID or with all-zero ESN/MEID are prohibited, and Customs and trade participants must increase vigilance to ensure compliance with the CRO and mobile import policy.