Rebate of State Levies for garment and textile exports revised; revised rates apply from July and implemented via EDI.
Revised rates for the Rebate of State Levies on exports of garments and textile made up articles were notified effective 01.07.2017, including a distinct rate for RoSL under the Advance Authorization-All Industry Rate combination; these rates apply to exports with Let Export Order dates from 01.07.2017 and have been implemented in the EDI system, with implementation issues to be reported to the Drawback Section at the Air Cargo Complex, NSCBI Airport, Kolkata.

Valuation of Second hand Machinery: empanelment of an additional chartered engineer firm to the approved valuation list.
The Commissioner amends prior Public Notices on customs valuation of second hand machinery to add M/S Nireekshan Engineers and Surveyors to the empanelled Chartered Engineers list (added as Sl. No. 4 in the referenced provisions), with a specified period of recognition.

Monthly warehouse statements must be filed within the prescribed period or face adjudication under customs law.
Licensees of Special, Public and Private Bonded Warehousing must maintain digital records pursuant to the Warehouse (Custody and Handling of Goods) Regulations, 2016 and submit the prescribed monthly statement of receipt, storage, operations and removal of warehoused goods to the bond officer within ten days after the close of the month; observed deviations from Para 2(a) of Circular No. 25/2016 will be subject to adjudication under the Customs Act, 1962.

Refund of IGST on exports: shipping bill deemed refund claim after EGM and valid return, triggering electronic credit.
Refund of integrated GST on exports is triggered when the shipping bill is deemed an application under Rule 96 after filing of the Export General Manifest and a valid return in Form GSTR-3 or GSTR-3B; Customs will process claims and electronically credit refunds to the applicant's bank account subject to electronic matching with Table 6A of GSTR-1 and PFMS validation of the bank account.

Filing extension for financial statements allows AOC 4 and AOC 4 (XBRL non IndAS) submissions without additional fee.
The circular extends the filing deadline for e forms AOC 4, AOC 4 (XBRL non IndAS) and corresponding AOC 4 CFC until 28.11.2017 without levying additional fee; it also notes an existing separate extension allowing AOC 4 (XBRL using Ind AS) filings for 2016-2017 without additional fee until 31.03.2018.

Unstitched salwar suit fabric retains its fabric classification when merely cut and packed for consumer stitching purposes.
Classification of unstitched salwar suit fabric under GST remains under the relevant fabric headings where fabric is merely cut from bundles or thans into pieces of varying lengths and packed for sale. Cutting and packing does not alter the character of the goods, including where purchasers subsequently have the pieces stitched. Such fabrics remain subject to GST at 5%, without refund of unutilised input tax credit.

Classification of cut fabric pieces: remain fabrics subject to a uniform GST rate and not converted into readymade garments.
Cut pieces of fabric sold unstitched remain fabrics for classification and attract the uniform GST rate applicable to fabrics; mere cutting and packing does not change their nature, and no refund of unutilized input tax credit is available.

Discontinuation of dedicated GST helpline; alternative DGFT GST app provided for trade and industry queries.
A dedicated telephone line for GST queries is discontinued due to no incoming queries and to avoid unnecessary expenditure; the specific phone number will no longer be in service. Stakeholders are directed to use an online application available on the Director General of Foreign Trade website as the alternative channel for GST-related assistance, with a reference to the relevant Trade Notice for further details.

DGTS Office relocation updates new address, contact details and weekly taxpayer meeting schedule to facilitate taxpayer interactions.
Amendment to Trade Notice No. 02/2016 relocates the Directorate General of Taxpayers Services, Bangalore Zone to the 2nd Floor, BMTC Building, Banashankari, provides updated email and phone contacts, and schedules in person meetings with the ADG(DGTS) for taxpayers and trade bodies every Wednesday between 10 AM and 01 PM; the earlier notice is amended only to this extent.

System-generated Shipping Bill no longer requires officer signature or stamp; officer identity is recorded by name and SSO-ID.
Final print-outs of Shipping Bills produced by the Customs EDI System after issuance of the Let Export Order (LEO) are system-generated documents that display the name and SSO-ID of the officer who granted the LEO; therefore the signature and stamp of the LEO officer are not required on the final printed Shipping Bill and will no longer be demanded.

Tax Deduction at Source under GST suspended until notification; DDOs should register and suppliers must file declarations when applicable.
Deductions under Section 51 of CGST/MGST and clause (x) of Section 20 of the IGST Act are not to be made for supplies invoiced on or after 1.7.2017 until those provisions are notified; DDOs should register on the GSTN as tax deductors in advance. Suppliers who received payments without GST TDS must submit the prescribed declaration (Annexure A) when the contract value exceeds the specified threshold. Supplies invoiced before 1.7.2017 remain subject to TDS under the Meghalaya Value Added Tax Act, 2003.

Block deal windows revised with defined sessions, price references, order price limits and mandatory delivery requirements.
Two block deal windows are prescribed: a Morning Block Deal Window (08:45-09:00) using the previous day's closing price as reference, and an Afternoon Block Deal Window (14:05-14:20) using the VWAP of cash trades from 13:45-14:00 as reference (VWAP to be disseminated between 14:00-14:05). Orders must be within 1% of the applicable reference price, meet the prescribed minimum order size, and result in delivery. Exchanges must disseminate trade details same day after market hours and apply normal trading, settlement, surveillance and risk-containment requirements. The framework is effective January 1, 2018.

Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary compliance: exporters must secure required certificates or face code suspension and statutory penalties.
Exporters must ascertain and comply with importing countries' Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary requirements and submit certificates from designated agencies with export documents; failure that brings disrepute or prejudices trade relations may lead to suspension or cancellation of the Importer Exporter Code and penalties under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992, and may attract action under the Customs Act, 1962 or other applicable laws.

Ind AS XBRL filing deadline extended; affected companies may file AOC-4 without additional fees pending taxonomy deployment.
The Ministry extended the last date for filing AOC-4 in Ind AS XBRL for the specified financial year without additional fee until the Ind AS XBRL taxonomy and supporting tools are deployed; companies must file when the taxonomy is available and will be notified accordingly.

GST on retained superior kerosene oil is confined to the quantity used to manufacture linear alkyl benzene.
GST on superior kerosene oil supplied for extraction of n-paraffin is payable only on the net quantity retained by the Linear Alkyl Benzene manufacturer. Where the remaining SKO is returned to the refinery, its return does not separately attract GST in that transaction. The refinery is liable for GST on returned SKO when it subsequently supplies that quantity to another person.

GST on retained SKO applies to the net quantity used for n paraffin extraction, not on SKO returned to refinery.
GST applies to the net quantity of superior kerosene oil (SKO) retained by LAB manufacturers for extraction of n paraffin used in manufacturing Linear Alkyl Benzene; the refinery is liable to pay GST only on that retained quantity, while returned SKO does not attract GST unless the refinery supplies it to another person.

TDS registration: nodal officers appointed to assist government departments with registration under Nagaland GST Act.
Designated nodal officers are appointed in each district to provide Special TDS Registration Services for DDOs of Central and State departments, local authorities and government agencies making payments for taxable supplies under the Nagaland Goods and Services Tax. Affected departments should contact the district nodal officer or visit the District State Taxes Office with required documents (department PAN/TAN, DDO PAN and photo, and an authorisation letter from the HOD) to complete TDS registration. The exercise is supervised by the Additional Commissioner of State Taxes.

Supply on approval: invoice may be issued on delivery; transport on delivery challan with e-way bill; interstate attracts IGST.
Where goods are transported for supply on approval, the supplier may move them on a delivery challan (with e-way bill where applicable) and issue the tax invoice only upon delivery when the supply is accepted. Movements resulting in supply across State boundaries are treated as interstate supplies and attract Integrated GST.

Composition scheme eligibility preserved despite exempt services; exempt interest and discount excluded from aggregate turnover calculation.
A supplier of taxable supplies referenced in paragraph 6(b) of Schedule II who also furnishes exempt services, including interest or discount on deposits, loans or advances, shall not be ineligible for the composition scheme if other composition conditions are met, and the value of such exempt services shall be excluded from aggregate turnover when determining composition eligibility.

Import contract registration allowed for pre-notification advance payments, subject to regional approval and documentary bank verification.
The notice permits registration of pre-notification import contracts for moong/urad dal where advance payment was made before the notification date, subject to production of contract/purchase invoice and bank-certified payment details indicating import intent. Applications must be filed with jurisdictional Regional Authorities headed by Additional DGFTs by the specified deadline, pay the prescribed application fee, and obtain Head of Office approval after documentary and bank verification; only designated Zonal and specified Regional Offices will process such registrations under the relaxed Para 1.05 requirement.