Filing deadline extension for income tax returns and audit reports, but interest under Section 234A continues to apply.
CBDT, by an order under Section 119, extended the due date for filing income tax returns and all audit reports for assessment year 2018-19 for assessees covered by clause (a) of Explanation 2 to section 139(1) from 30th September, 2018 to 15th October, 2018. The order clarifies there is no extension for the purpose of Explanation 1 to section 234A and assessees remain liable for interest under section 234A.

Bond discharge procedures require nominated banks to submit export proof electronically and Customs to acknowledge and confirm export swiftly.
Nominated agencies and banks must electronically submit prescribed export proof - EP copy of shipping bill, Customs attested invoice, and bank certificate of realization/eBRC - to the designated Customs e mail; Customs will acknowledge receipt promptly, issue deficiency memos for incomplete submissions, require prior approval for requisitions beyond prescribed documents, confirm export by document review or ICES verification, and discharge the bond following confirmation within the procedural timeframes.

Extension of time for FORM GST TRAN-1 granted for registrants affected by portal technical difficulties.
The Commissioner, exercising powers under the Chhattisgarh GST Act and Rules and on the Council's recommendations, extends the filing period for FORM GST TRAN-1 for the class of registered persons who could not submit the declaration by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal and whose cases were recommended by the Council.

FPI eligibility rules limit NRI/OCI/RI ownership and control and require manager registration, with specified exceptions.
SEBI clarifies that beneficial ownership under PMLA Rules applies only for KYC and not for FPI eligibility; NRIs/OCIs/RIs may be constituents if a single contribution is below 25% and aggregate contributions are below 50%, and they are not in control of the FPI. Investment managers owned or controlled by NRIs/OCIs/RIs may control FPIs only if the IM is regulated and registers as a non-investing FPI or is incorporated and registered in India. Exceptions include FPIs investing only in mutual funds and offshore funds with a no-objection certificate. A two-year transition and a 90-day cure period are provided.

Beneficial ownership identification under PMLA Rules mandates look through KYC and risk based periodic review with secured data access.
Identification and verification of beneficial owners for Category II and III FPIs must follow Rule 9 of the PMLA Rules: FPIs must maintain a certified list of BOs (Annexure A), apply a materiality threshold at the FPI level and on a look through basis to intermediate shareholders/owner entities (with Annexure B disclosures), identify senior managing officials, and disclose ownership or control exercised through voting rights, agreements or arrangements. Enhanced due diligence applies to FPIs from high risk jurisdictions and Category III FPIs must furnish prescribed financial data; periodic, risk based KYC reviews and secured KRA access to BO data are required, with record retention and compliance timelines.

Interception procedure clarified: minor e-way bill errors avoid detention but attract specified penalties per circular
The circular narrows the use of detention and seizure for goods-in-transit by clarifying that absence of an e-way bill where an invoice is present may justify seizure, but where both invoice and e-way bill accompany goods, certain limited clerical discrepancies (spelling errors, minor PIN or address mistakes, small document-number or vehicle-number errors, and limited HSN digit errors where tax rate and principal HSN digits are correct) should not trigger seizure; instead a fixed penalty must be imposed and weekly records of such consignments furnished to the controlling officer.

GST on PSLCs: seller bank liable on forward charge for past trading period, clarified by tax authority.
For trading in Priority Sector Lending Certificates during the identified past period, GST liability is to be discharged by the seller bank under the forward charge mechanism and the supply is subject to the specified GST rate; implementation difficulties are to be reported to the tax authority.

SEIS e-com module activation delayed; exporters instructed to apply only through the new online application once operational.
The Directorate announces that the SEIS online e com module implementing ANF 3B will be activated after completion of minor modifications and testing necessitated by mid term incentive rate changes; exporters are instructed to apply for SEIS only through the new online module once it becomes operational.

Coastal cargo exemption requires arrival and departure manifests on EXIM berths; other coastal filings and MOT charges waived.
Vessels carrying exclusively coastal goods are exempt from filing Bills of Coastal Goods, port clearance, and shipping bills for ship stores, but when operating from berths used by import/export vessels they must file arrival and departure cargo manifests; MOT charges are waived and authorized preventive officers may conduct random checks to verify no import or export goods are loaded.

RFID tagging for commercial vehicles becomes mandatory as the State rolls out monitoring and stakeholder guidance measures.
Implementation of an RFID system for monitoring commercial vehicles entering and exiting the State is to take effect from 01.11.2018. From that date, it is mandatory for all commercial vehicles entering or exiting the State to have RFID tags affixed and installed, with distribution and installation arrangements near RFID readers at 41 identified entry and exit points. Each zonal office is to establish a help desk, and camps and meetings are to be organized to guide stakeholders until the system is streamlined.

RFID tower verification requires enforcement units to confirm installation and submit photographs and reports within deadlines.
Verification of installed RFID towers is required to support real-time monitoring of commercial vehicles. Enforcement units must verify the towers within their jurisdiction and send photographs of the tower and surrounding location by email. The verification report and hard copies of the photographs must also be furnished to headquarters within the prescribed deadline.

Mandatory upload of supporting documents via e SANCHIT required; hardcopy not to be insisted upon and assessment documents to follow e SANCHIT procedure.
Importers and customs brokers must upload the essential supporting documents (Invoice, Packing List and Bill of Lading) for all Bills of Entry through e SANCHIT; officers shall not insist on hardcopies when documents exist on e SANCHIT, and additional assessment documents must follow the e SANCHIT procedure with operational issues reported to the Joint Commissioner (Systems).

Refund procedures for unutilized input tax credit: GSTR-2A reliance, ledger debit order and re credit rules clarified.
Clarifies refund procedures under the Goa GST: refund applications must include a printout of FORM GSTR-2A and Annexure-A listing invoices and eligibility; refundable amounts on the portal are computed as the least of prescribed amounts and debited from the electronic credit ledger in the order of Integrated Tax, then Central and State Tax equally with cross-debiting for shortfalls; rejected unutilized ITC must be re credited via FORM GST RFD-01B with simultaneous recovery notice where ineligible, while other re-credits require an undertaking or final adverse appellate outcome; deficiency memos require refiling and amounts below the de minimis per tax head are to be rejected and recredited.

Rating review procedure requires a distinct majority committee with at least one third independent members to reconsider issuer requests.
CRAs may rate financial instruments under guidelines of specified financial sector regulators and undertake incidental research. Requests by issuers for rating review must be examined by a rating committee with a majority of members different from those who assigned the earlier rating and with at least one third independent members; all other provisions of the earlier circular remain unchanged.

Extension of filing deadline for FORM GST TRAN-1 granted for registrants unable to file due to portal technical issues.
The Commissioner, invoking sub rule (1A) of rule 117 and section 168, extends the period for submitting the FORM GST TRAN-1 declaration for registered persons who could not file by the due date due to technical difficulties on the common portal and whose cases are recommended by the Council; the extension is effective retrospectively from 17th September, 2018.

GST TRAN-1 filing extension for eligible registered persons facing portal technical difficulties under the prescribed rule.
Extension of the time limit for filing Form GST TRAN-1 under Rule 117(1A) was granted for registered persons who could not submit the declaration by the due date because of technical difficulties on the common portal and whose cases were recommended by the Council. The Commissioner, exercising power under Section 168 read with Rule 117(1A), extended the period for submission of the declaration up to 31-01-2019 for the specified class of eligible persons.

Authorization of Cost Accountants permits certification for IGST refunds where GSTN records were not transmitted, enabling interim processing.
Exporters whose GSTN records were not transmitted due to GSTR 1/GSTR 3B mismatches were allowed provisional IGST refund sanction on undertakings and certificates from Chartered Accountants plus post refund audit; the Board now authorises Cost Accountants to provide the requisite certificates under that interim mechanism and directs field formations to notify exporters and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Extension of time for GST TRAN-1 filings where portal technical difficulties occurred; council-recommended cases allowed extra filing period.
Extension of the period for submission of FORM GST TRAN-1 is granted for registered persons who could not file by the due date because of technical difficulties on the common portal, limited to cases recommended by the Council; the Commissioner of State Tax, under rule 117(1A) of the Haryana GST Rules read with the enabling Act, authorized the extension until January 2019.

External Commercial Borrowings policy liberalisation shortens minimum maturity for manufacturers and permits bank participation in rupee bonds.
ECB policy liberalisation permits manufacturers to raise ECBs at the existing small ticket limit with a reduced minimum average maturity of one year, while Indian banks are authorised to act as arrangers, underwriters, market makers and traders for Rupee denominated bonds issued overseas, subject to applicable prudential norms. All other ECB provisions remain unchanged and the Master Direction is being updated; AD Category I banks must notify constituents. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and do not affect other statutory approvals.

RMS-selected container examination moved to terminal inspection area, customs preventive staff to inspect and apply one time bottle seals.
Examination of RMS selected packages of DPD/DPE factory stuffed and e sealed containers will be conducted within a dedicated area at the VCTPL terminal by Customs Preventive Staff, and containers will be resealed by the preventive officer with one time bottle seals; this trade facilitation measure modifies Public Notice No. 27/2018 to reduce time and cost by avoiding diversion to CFSs.