GST compliance relief clarifies credit notes, refund vouchers, LUT validity, TDS deposits, and refund deadlines during COVID-19 disruptions.
GST paid on cancelled service-contract advances is adjusted through a credit note where an invoice was issued; a separate refund claim is required only where no output tax liability is available for adjustment. Where no invoice was issued, a refund voucher must be issued and GST may be claimed through FORM GST RFD-01. Invoiced goods returned by recipients are similarly addressed through credit notes. COVID-19 compliance relief extended the deadline for furnishing the Letter of Undertaking, filing GSTR-7 and depositing deducted tax, and filing eligible refund applications to 30 June 2020.

Terminal Excise Duty refund and duty drawback claims require revised ANF 7A with specified invoices, DBK worksheets, and declarations.
Revised ANF 7A prescribes the application format and supporting documentation for Terminal Excise Duty refunds, Duty Drawback under AIR, and brand rate fixation under FTP 2015-2020. It requires applicant, bank, excise/customs jurisdiction details, invoice level supply data, DBK worksheets for inputs, declarations on CENVAT non availment, time bar and late cut particulars, and a checklist of attested invoices, B/Es, proof of payment, PAC/project documents and prescribed annexures for verification and processing.

Unit Quantity Code standardization: SBs must use prescribed UQCs; temporary relaxation allows license-SB UQC mismatch for legacy licenses.
Only prescribed Unit Quantity Codes (UQCs) are accepted in Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills, with Statistical Quantity Codes mandatory in item-level declarations. A temporary relaxation permits filing License Shipping Bills where the Shipping Bill item UQC (which must be a prescribed standard code) does not match the UQC recorded in an existing license; the license table should retain the license UQC while item declarations use standard UQCs.

Special warehouse manufacturing requires Section 58A/65 permission, bonds, digital records, security, and GST/duty compliance.
The circular sets the procedure for permitting manufacture and other operations in a special warehouse under Section 65, requiring an integrated application for Section 58A licence and Section 65 permission, execution of prescribed bond and bank guarantee, maintenance of digital, time stamped records per Annexure B, secure premises with CCTV and fire safety, customs verification and locking of the strong room, and specified tax treatment: exports require shipping bill and GST invoice with no import duty on incorporated goods, while domestic clearances attract GST/IGST and import duties via ex bond Bill of Entry.

Net cash tax liability interest applies administratively, while gross-tax interest notices remain on hold pending retrospective legislative amendment.
Interest under the Rajasthan GST law is directed to be recovered on the net cash tax liability for the period from 1 July 2017 to 31 August 2020. Net cash tax liability covers tax paid or payable through the electronic cash ledger. Show-cause notices seeking interest on gross tax payable are to be kept on hold pending retrospective amendment of the interest provision. Prescribed information on such notices must be collected and submitted, with strict compliance required.

GST verification of mining product transporters tightened through physical verification, return monitoring, and border road checks.
Inspection and verification measures were issued for vehicles transporting mining products into Uttar Pradesh, in view of reported use of fake receipts and false invoices to facilitate illegal entry of mining goods and evade GST. Registered dealers dealing in mining products are to be physically verified through the departmental Physical Verification App, and their returns are to be monitored regularly. Where documents produced by vehicles carrying mining products appear suspicious, legal action is to be taken in accordance with law, and the concerned section office as well as the Mining Department are to be informed.

Enforcement information exchange through the Alert System strengthens action on bogus invoices and inadmissible input tax credit.
Timely exchange of enforcement information and monitoring of follow-up action is prescribed for bogus or non-existent firms issuing tax invoices without actual supply of goods, leading to inadmissible Input Tax Credit. An Enforcement Alert System module has been created for prompt circulation of such information and tracking of action taken. Registered-dealer information within the State is to be made available directly to the concerned Proper Officer, who must take necessary action and update the record in the MS/SIB module on Vyavas Central.

Harmonization of MEIS schedule amends Table 2 of Appendix 3B, adding one HS code and deleting others.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends Table 2 of Appendix 3B to harmonize the MEIS schedule with ITC(HS) 2017 and Finance (No.2) Act changes: adding ITC(HS) code 38249900 (Other) at an MEIS rate of 2, and deleting multiple specific MEIS entries corresponding to HS subheadings that ceased to exist, effective 01.01.2020, to align with Notification No. 38/2015-2020 and the Fifth Schedule revisions.

Track and Trace system implementation deadline extended, postponing mandatory parent-child packaging reporting for pharmaceutical exports.
Extension of the implementation date for the Track and Trace system by amending Para 2.90A of the Handbook of Procedure under Paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, postponing the mandatory requirement to maintain and upload the Parent-Child relationship across packaging levels for exported drug consignments to the Central Portal; the extension applies to both SSI and non-SSI manufactured drugs.

Certificate of Origin details must be uploaded, declared and defaced in the Bill of Entry to claim preferential duty treatment.
Importers claiming preferential rates must enter item-wise COO details in the Bill of Entry (BE_SW_INFO_TYPE), upload the relevant Certificate of Origin to e Sanchit and declare its IRN, file the self-declaration codified as CUF02 in BE_STATEMENT, populate specified COO fields (issuing country code, COO number|issue date, origin criteria codes, accumulation indicator), enter appropriate transit country codes, and ensure mandatory electronic defacement of each COO before Out of Charge; Annexure 2 maps PTA/FTA notifications to COO document codes. These ICES changes took effect 21.09.2020.

Manufacturing in warehouse: ICES now maps IEC warehouses and updates BE fields so Ex Bond BEs attract no interest for home clearance.
ICES changes require mapping importer IECs to licensed Sec 65 warehouse codes and an updated BE message format with BE_ITEM_SW_CTRL item-level fields (fixed 'SEC65' control code, warehouse code, warehousing date, GST invoice number and date, finished goods description, quantity, UQC and CTH fragment) to validate Ex-Bond Bills of Entry for home clearance after manufacturing in a Sec 65 warehouse so that such Ex-Bond BEs attract no interest; a system option also allows re-crediting the Warehouse BE ledger on re-export.

Write-off of shares: FPIs may now write off all unsellable holdings when surrendering registration, subject to prescribed process.
Write-off of shares held by Foreign Portfolio Investors is expanded to permit FPIs to write off shares of any company they are unable to sell when surrendering registration, replacing the prior limitation to unlisted, illiquid, suspended, or delisted shares; the write-off must follow the process set out in paragraph 17 of Part C of the Operational Guidelines and custodians are to notify their FPI clients.

Alternate Risk Management Framework mandates alternative margining and pricing when commodity futures approach near zero or negative prices.
An Alternate Risk Management Framework applies when commodity futures approach near zero or negative prices: activation follows CC review upon specified triggers; prices are modelled as normally distributed with EWMA volatility on absolute price differences; initial margin floors include an absolute currency floor plus percentage floor on absolute prices; spread margin benefits are withdrawn; option pricing models suitable for negative underlyings are used; pre expiry and Extreme Loss Margins may be levied; deactivation requires cessation of triggers, time lag, exit thresholds, and margin convergence.

Ex-bond bill validation under Section 61: new ICES mapping and BE message requirements prevent interest on home-clearance after warehouse manufacturing.
ICES changes require IEC-warehouse mapping to record warehouses licensed under MOOWR and validate Ex-Bond Bills of Entry filed with a Section 65 declaration so items cleared for home consumption after manufacturing attract no interest; the BE_ITEM_SW_CTRL table and updated BE message format must be used for each item, and ACB role functionality allows re-crediting the Warehouse BE ledger on export by entering Shipping Bill details.

Unit of Quantity Code mismatch relief allows filing of export shipping bills despite non matching licence UQCs during a transitional period.
The system now permits filing of Shipping Bills where the item UQC does not match the UQC in the corresponding licence, subject to a limited transitional relaxation. Exporters must declare standard UQCs in the Shipping Bill item table while recording quantities in the licence table in the licence's UQC. Affected licences are to be amended and retransmitted with standard UQCs; operational issues should be reported to the Additional Commissioner and the measure is a standing order for officers.

Unit of Quantity Code flexibility allows filing of export Shipping Bills despite UQC mismatch, with standard UQCs required in item entries.
Customs has permitted filing of export Shipping Bills even when the item UQC in the Shipping Bill does not match the UQC shown in the associated licence by modifying system validations; exporters must nevertheless declare standard UQCs in the Shipping Bill item table and record licence quantities in the licence table using the licence UQC. The concession is time-limited to licence Shipping Bills filed within the announced relaxation period, with future licences to use standard UQCs and operational issues reportable to the Additional Commissioner.

Customs rules require importers to provide detailed origin information and enable verification of Certificates of Origin for preferential claims.
Guidelines implement section 28DA and CAROTAR, 2020 requiring importers claiming preferential rates to hold and furnish specified information and COO support demonstrating compliance with Rules of Origin; customs must first request information from importers and may then seek verification from the Board's nodal point when doubts on genuineness or origin persist. Procedural requirements include representative COO selection, Commissioner approval for verification requests, prescribed timelines, referral to Risk Management Centre for non-compliance, and mandatory ICES data fields, eSanchit COO upload with IRN, and defacement of COOs before out-of-charge.

Import documentation: ICES mandates COO upload with IRN, CUF02 declaration, defacement marking; Sec65 Ex Bond items exempt from interest.
ICES requires IEC Warehouse mapping to validate Ex Bond Bills of Entry for goods manufactured in Section 65 warehouses; new BE item fields must be furnished item wise so such Ex Bond BE filings attract no interest. ICES also mandates item level declarations and mandatory upload of the Certificate of Origin with IRN when claiming preferential rates, a CUF02 self declaration per item, and system marking of COO defacement before Out of Charge. These operational changes take effect 21.09.2020.

Certificate of Origin requirements: upload COO with IRN, itemwise declarations, and mandatory defacement before release.
Importers claiming a preferential rate under trade agreements must make itemwise declarations in the Bill of Entry and upload the corresponding Certificate of Origin (COO) to eSanchit with IRN. Bills must record issuing country code, COO number and issue date, origin criterion (COWO/COOG/COOP) and accumulation/cumulation status; transit country must be declared when applicable. A mandatory system marking of COO defacement is required before Out of Charge; these measures take effect from 21.09.2020.

Importer duty of care for origin documentation requires provision of information and may trigger compulsory verifications.
Section 28DA and CAROTAR, 2020 require importers to retain and supply prescribed minimum information supporting a claim for preferential tariff treatment; authorities must call for that information before initiating verification with partner countries. Mere presentation of a Certificate of Origin does not absolve the importer of the duty to exercise reasonable care; failure to provide information or exercise reasonable care will be reported to RMCC and may result in compulsory verification of subsequent consignments until adequate controls are demonstrated.