Government loan guarantee exemption under GST confirmed for services supplied to undertakings and public sector undertakings.
The document reiterates that services supplied by Central or State Government to their undertakings or Public Sector Undertakings by way of guaranteeing loans from banking companies and financial institutions are specifically exempt from GST under the exemption entry covering government-provided loan guarantees, and invites reporting of any implementation difficulties to the Board.

GST exemption on composite supply: milling for PDS eligible if goods value within threshold; otherwise taxable at concessional job work rate.
Milling with fortification supplied to State Governments for PDS is exempt under entry No. 3A if the value of goods in the composite supply does not exceed 25% of the total value; otherwise, when supplied to a registered person as job work, it is chargeable at the concessional job work GST rate. A person registered only for deduction under section 51 is also a registered person for the concessional rate.

Tax classification for ropeway construction to government entities: treated as general works contract, not concessional entry.
Entry No. 3(vi) applies to a composite supply of works contract for civil structures meant predominantly for non commercial use and provided to government bodies; the explanatory note excluding government activities as public authorities does not extend to Governmental Authority or Government Entity. Ropeway construction for tourism is treated as a civil construction with a predominant commercial purpose and is not covered by entries for roads, bridges, terminals, or railways. Therefore, works contract services for ropeway construction supplied to a Government Entity fall under the general works contract classification for other constructions and not under the concessional entry.

GST exemption on board-conducted examinations confirmed, and input services for examinations exempt; accreditation and registration services taxable.
Services by Central or State Boards, including conduct of examinations and related input services (online testing, result publication, printing of notifications, admit cards and question papers) supplied to the Boards are exempt from GST, and fees for such examinations are not taxable. Other services by these Boards, notably accreditation, registration or authorisation services provided to institutions or professionals, are taxable at the applicable GST rate.

GST exemption for road access does not extend to annuities paid for road construction, which remain taxable as construction services.
Access-related services remunerated by toll or annuity are exempt as supporting transport services, but the exemption is limited to that category and does not apply to general construction services; deferred annuity payments made for construction of roads are not exempt under Entry 23A and remain subject to GST.

Exemption for catering services to educational institutions: GST not leviable even when meals are funded by grants or donations.
Entry 66(b)(ii) of Notification No. 12/2017 exempts catering services to educational institutions, including mid-day meal schemes, and the definition covers pre-school institutions such as Anganwadis; therefore serving of food to schools and Anganwadis is exempt from GST irrespective of funding by government grants or corporate donations.

Amendment to List of Nominated Agencies: inclusion of Diamond India Ltd registered and branch offices in Appendix for FTP recognition.
Amendment to the List of Nominated Agencies under the Foreign Trade Policy adds M/s Diamond India Limited to Appendix 4B, specifying its registered office in Mumbai and branch addresses in multiple States with corresponding GSTINs. The Director General of Foreign Trade has ordered the inclusion with immediate effect, updating Appendix 4B to reflect these registered and branch office entries for official recognition under the FTP.

Reporting under Liberalised Remittance Scheme: authorised dealer banks must submit monthly remittance data via XBRL by the fifth following month.
AD Category I banks must report monthly Liberalised Remittance Scheme data via the XBRL system (replacing ORFS), uploading required information by the fifth day of the succeeding month from the July 1, 2021 cycle; user IDs will be provided and 'nil' should be uploaded if no data exists. The direction is issued under FEMA and without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Running account settlement mandates periodic actual payment, permits limited retention after margin pledge adjustment, and requires client notification.
TMs must periodically effect actual settlement of clients' running account funds, considering end-of-day obligations across exchanges; where clients have outstanding positions, TMs may retain pay-in obligations for T and T 1 and a capped multiple of end-of-day margin liability after first adjusting collateral accepted as margin pledge (with haircuts). Excess client-identifiable collateral need not be unpledged. Settlement requires actual payment to the client's bank account; journal entries do not substitute for settlement. Exchanges must monitor compliance via online systems and reporting.

System driven disclosures under Regulation 7(2) extended to listed debt securities of equity listed companies, to be published on exchanges.
The circular extends the System Driven Disclosures mechanism under Regulation 7(2) of the PIT Regulations to include listed debt securities of equity listed companies, applying the same implementation procedure as for equity and equity derivatives. Depositories and stock exchanges must arrange for dissemination of these disclosures on exchange websites and exchanges must notify listed companies; implementation is to be coordinated by depositories and exchanges and published in the integrated disclosure displays.

Outside laboratory testing requires importers or owners to bear costs for specified animal feed additives and edible oils.
Testing of animal feed additives or premixes and extra virgin edible-grade oil is assigned to specified FSSAI-notified outside laboratories for six months from 16 June 2021. Importers or owners must bear applicable testing costs under the Customs Act, 1962. Specific operational difficulties may be referred to the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner of Customs, Group 1A, and required actions are to be treated as a Standing Order for customs officers and staff.

Extension of time to seek revocation of cancelled GST registration allows proper officers to grant delays on sufficient cause.
The SOP implements an administrative mechanism for extension of time to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration on proof of sufficient cause and recorded reasons. Taxpayers must apply to the proper officer who forwards requests to the divisional Joint Commissioner for the earlier extension band and to the Additional Commissioner for the later band; competent authorities may grant or refuse extensions in writing, require personal hearing where appropriate, and on grant the proper officer shall process the revocation application under existing law.

Relaxation of minimum vesting period: options and SAR vest immediately on employee death to legal heirs or nominees.
The circular provides that the one year minimum vesting period under the SEBI (Share Based Employee Benefit) Regulations shall not apply in case of an employee's death and that all options, SAR or other benefits granted to the employee shall vest in the legal heir or nominee on the date of death; this relaxation applies to employees who died on or after April 1, 2020 and is issued under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act.

Regulatory sandbox enables controlled live testing of fintech solutions with investor protections and reporting obligations.
The framework allows SEBI registered entities to test innovative securities market solutions in a two stage sandbox under SEBI approved user caps and informed consent. Applicants must show genuine need for live testing and for any regulatory relaxations, demonstrate testing readiness, user benefits and risk mitigants, and obtain a limited certificate of registration. SEBI may grant exemptions case by case while retaining core investor protections (KYC/AML). Applicants must submit project plans, monthly and final reports, maintain records, provide grievance redressal and indemnity cover, and comply with exit, withdrawal and revocation procedures.

Foreign investment caps in insurance set under automatic route with residency, governance and regulator verification requirements.
The FDI regime for the insurance sector prescribes fixed foreign equity ceilings with entry via the automatic route subject to IRDAI verification, compliance with the Insurance Act and licensing, RBI pricing guidelines for increases, and FEMA/SEBI rules for portfolio investment. Insurers with foreign investment must have a majority of resident Indian directors and key management personnel and meet the Indian Insurance Companies (Foreign Investment) Rules, 2015. Insurance intermediaries have separate full foreign equity allowance but face incorporation, senior-residency, dividend repatriation, payment limitation, disclosure and board/composition requirements. Bank-promoted insurers and related applications require RBI consultation with IRDAI.

Jurisdictional reallocation: APEDA now authorised to issue RCMCs for cashew products, Cashew EPC powers suspended.
APEDA is designated to issue and renew Registration cum Membership Certificates for Cashew Kernels, Cashewnut Shell Liquid and Kardanol with immediate effect, and the Cashew Export Promotion Council's authority to issue/renew RCMCs for these products is suspended; RCMCs already issued by the Cashew Export Promotion Council remain valid for their residual validity.

GST concessions on COVID 19 relief items: targeted rate reductions and exemptions to ease consumer costs.
The Council approved GoM recommendations for time bound GST relief on COVID 19 items: vaccines to remain at 5%; Tocilizumab and Amphotericin B exempted; most medicines, medical oxygen, concentrators and certain devices reduced to 5%; specified testing kits to 5% while major diagnostic machines remain unchanged; sanitizers and pulse oximeters to 5%; differentiated adjustments for temperature equipment, crematorium furnaces and ambulances. The Council rejected domestic zero rating/0.1% as requiring law amendments and raising ITC and manufacturing issues, accepting the package with Chairperson modifications and a review by 31.08.2021.

Compulsory scrutiny selection: centralised assessment by NaFAC or Central Charges for survey, search, and specified cases.
Guidelines allocate compulsory scrutiny of returns for 2021-22: survey cases with impounded material must be transferred to Central Charges within fifteen days of the notice; survey cases without impounded material, search and certain 142(1)/148 non-return situations, and returns filed after specified notices will have assessment proceedings conducted by the National Faceless Assessment Centre, with the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer required to upload relevant reports and issue preliminary notices as prescribed.

Opportunity to be heard: Tax authorities must follow prescribed GST notice and procedure before raising demands.
Tax demands under the TGST Act, 2017 must be raised only after following the statutory procedure and issuing prescribed notices; jurisdictions have been observed initiating non-filer assessments and enforcement without issuing the required notice to return defaulters and without following the procedure set out in the GST scheme and applicable SOP. Taxpayers must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to present their case before demands are finalized or recovery actions commence.

GST registration verification for coal-traders targets bogus filings, e-way bill misuse, and high-risk compliance patterns.
Physical verification, desk scrutiny and continuous monitoring of GST registrations of coal-traders are directed to detect bogus or fictitious registrations, mismatch between e-way bill generation and return disclosures, nil return filing despite large dispatches, and other indicators of tax evasion. Jurisdictional officers must identify high-risk taxpayers from GST and e-way bill portal data, verify business addresses, documents, banking details, premises and financial capacity, and suspend or initiate cancellation proceedings where suspicious activity is found. New registration applications must also undergo due verification before grant, with regular monitoring of analytical reports and e-way bill patterns.