Power delegation under GST Act: Assistant Commissioners authorised to perform specified Commissioner functions and act as proper officers.
The Commissioner delegates and assigns specified powers and duties under the Goods and Services Tax Act to Assistant Commissioners of State Tax, authorising them to perform functions of proper officers in respect of the listed sections and sub sections; these powers are to be exercised within their jurisdiction and subject to conditions and restrictions the Commissioner may impose.

Minimum public shareholding enforcement: exchanges to impose penalties and freeze promoter holdings until compliance is restored.
Non-compliance with the Minimum Public Shareholding requirements obliges recognised stock exchanges to issue notices and impose daily monetary penalties, direct depositories to freeze promoters' and promoter group shareholdings, and restrict promoters and directors from accepting new directorships in other listed entities until compliance. Persistent non-compliance escalates penalties and freezing of all securities in promoters' demat accounts; exchanges may also consider compulsory delisting. Upon satisfaction of compliance, exchanges must instruct depositories to unfreeze securities, lift restrictions, and publish compliance status.

IGST refund on exports: compliance with EGM, GSTR 1 and return filing required; refunds credited after PFMS bank validation.
Refunds of IGST on exports require correct and timely filing of the Export General Manifest and accurate reporting of zero rated supplies in Table 6A of Form GSTR 1, with electronic matching to customs shipping bill data. A valid return in Form GSTR 3 or GSTR 3B is also required. Refunds are credited to the bank account registered with Customs and processed via PFMS subject to account validation; exporters should reconcile Customs and GST bank details. Refunds are withheld if exports contravene the Customs Act, and separate guidance for manual shipping bills will follow.

Digitization of drawback claims: optional electronic submission and centralized database to expedite acknowledgments and record access.
Applicants may optionally submit a single scanned .pdf of the entire drawback claim and supporting documents to an authorized officer, who will copy it and return the storage device. The Drawback Section will maintain an electronic database with receipt, applicant, tax identifier, amount, date, and officer-acknowledgement fields; the .pdf must be hyperlinked to the receipt entry. Weekly backups and a Standard Operating Procedure are required to secure the database, which will facilitate acknowledgments, document retrieval, and interdepartmental access.

Letter of Undertaking for zero-rated exports extended to all registered exporters with procedural and security conditions enforced.
The facility to export without payment of integrated tax under a Letter of Undertaking is extended to all registered persons subject to exclusions for prosecuted persons beyond the specified tax-evasion threshold, with LUT valid for the financial year but deemed withdrawn if exports are not completed in the time under rule 96A(1) unless tax is paid. LUT/Bond submission procedures, three-working-day deemed acceptance, requirement of bank guarantee with bonds, use of running bonds to cover estimated IGST liabilities, sealing supervision, absence of CT-1, treatment of EOUs and Tamil Nadu jurisdictional arrangements for acceptance are specified.

Export under LUT extended to all registered exporters, with processing, bond and verification safeguards clarified.
Facility to export under a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) is extended to all registered persons except certain prosecuted taxpayers; the LUT is valid for the financial year tendered and may be withdrawn if export timelines or payment conditions are not met but can be restored on payment. Self-declaration is acceptable with post-facto verification, LUT/bond must be processed within three working days or deemed accepted, bonds require bank guarantees in specified prosecuted cases, running bonds must cover self-assessed integrated tax liabilities, and jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioners accept LUT/bond filings.

Drawback Rules reform limits drawback to Customs and excise duty incidence, revises AIRS and discontinues composite rates.
Changes to the Drawback Rules and AIRS limit drawback to the incidence of Customs duty on imported inputs and remnant Central Excise duty on certain petroleum products, exclude integrated tax and compensation cess, discontinue composite rates, and require tariff-item suffixes for claiming general and alternative AIRs. Provisional drawback payments may be authorized equivalent to applicable AIRs subject to claim conditions; previously fixed brand rates will not apply for exports from the rules' commencement and exporters must reapply for brand-rate fixation where necessary.

Customs valuation: Amendments clarify costs includible up to place of importation and exclude certain loading charges.
The amendment defines "place of importation" as the customs station where goods are cleared or warehoused and provides that transaction value includes costs incurred up to that place. Loading, unloading and handling charges incurred at or after the place of importation are excluded from CIF value; only charges incurred to deliver goods to the place of importation are includible. The rules clarify computation of freight and insurance where only aggregate FOB-plus amounts are known and exclude domestic transshipment costs from transaction value.

Drawback rules limit drawback to customs and excise incidence and revise AIRs, claim suffixes and brand rate procedures.
The notification implements the Drawback Rules, 2017 and revised AIRs effective 1.10.2017, redefining drawback to exclude integrated tax and compensation cess and omitting input services and service tax. Composite rates are discontinued; general AIRs with caps are provided and claim lines must be suffixed with 'B' (or 'D' for certain garment exports). Provisional drawback payable equals the applicable AIR subject to claim conditions. Previously fixed brand rates do not apply for exports from 1.10.2017 onward; fresh brand-rate applications under Rule 6 or Rule 7 are required. Stakeholders must ensure due diligence and report implementation difficulties.

Refund of IGST on exports: payments via existing tax refund system during PFMS migration, using consolidated cheque disbursement.
Temporary use of the existing tax refund payment mechanism is mandated for refund of IGST on exports from 10 October 2017 to 14 October 2017 due to PFMS migration. Departmental officers will issue a single consolidated cheque with an accompanying list of exporters and amounts; the authorised bank will credit exporters' accounts via ECS/NEFT/RTGS. Cheque books in use for refunds may be used and additional cheque books will be provided by the concerned PAO if required. PFMS disbursement via e-PAO will restart from 16 October 2017.

IGST refund on exports: refunds processed when EGM, valid GSTR 3/3B and matching shipping bill data are filed.
A shipping bill or bill of export is deemed an application for IGST refund under Rule 96 once a correct Export General Manifest is filed and a valid GSTR 3/GSTR 3B return is submitted; Customs will match Table 6A GSTR 1 details with shipping bill data, process eligible claims, and electronically credit refunds to the exporter's bank account registered with Customs, subject to PFMS validation and withholding where required under the Rule or for Customs Act violations.

Uniform defence coordination for GST petitions to ensure consistent government positions and prevent contradictory judicial orders.
Officers authorized to represent the Union in GST-related writ petitions must coordinate with State Government respondents so that a uniform stand is taken before courts, ensuring consistent positions across Central and State governments and preventing contradictory orders or judgments.

Re-export of EPCG capital goods allowed for defect, repair or replacement with EO re fixation and duty adjustment.
Capital Goods under EPCG found defective may be re-exported to supplier or exported for replacement/repairs abroad within three years of customs clearance with RA/Customs permission; EO will be re fixed and Customs will credit previously availed duty benefits which can be debited on import of replacements, and the duty component of repair costs plus insurance and freight both ways will be considered for EO re fixation.

Plant quarantine clearance requirements revised for imported timber and wood products; importers must meet amended conditions.
Amendments to the Plant Quarantine Order, 2003 revise plant quarantine clearance provisions for imported timber, wood and bamboo products by modifying Chapter II clearance requirements and updating Schedule VI to impose altered additional declarations and special conditions; stakeholders involved in importation and related logistics must comply with the revised documentary and inspection obligations.

Mutual fund scheme categorization standardizes categories and mandates reclassification and compliance timelines for asset managers.
Mutual funds must classify open-ended schemes into standardized groups (Equity, Debt, Hybrid, Solution Oriented, Other) with uniform descriptive types and specified asset-allocation or strategy thresholds; solution oriented schemes carry mandated lock-ins. SEBI defines large, mid and small cap by ranked full market capitalization and requires AMFI to publish a semi annual stock list that funds must use and rebalance to within one month. Only one scheme per category is permitted subject to limited exceptions; AMCs must submit reclassification proposals with trustee approval and implement mergers, wind-ups or fundamental attribute changes within prescribed compliance timelines.

Drawback limitation: drawback covers customs and excise duties, with new AIR suffix rules and provisional payment mechanism.
Drawback entitlement is confined to Customs duties and remnant Central Excise duties (excluding integrated tax and compensation cess) on inputs used in exported goods; composite rates are discontinued and AIRs have been revised. General AIRs with caps are claimable by using tariff items suffixed with B, while alternative garment AIRs for Special Advance Authorization require suffix D. Provisional drawback equal to the applicable AIR component may be paid under Rule 7(3) and considered for further provisional authorisations. Brand rates fixed earlier do not apply for exports with let export date on or after commencement; exporters must apply afresh under Rule 6 or Rule 7. The Drawback Committee's tenure is extended to address representations arising from these changes.

Export under Letter of Undertaking permitted for all registered exporters; procedural and security requirements govern acceptance and use.
Notification No. 37/2017 extends the facility of export under Letter of Undertaking (LUT) to all registered persons except those prosecuted above a specified tax-evasion threshold; LUTs are valid for the financial year but may be withdrawn if exports are not completed within the time prescribed and required tax not paid. Bonds, when required, must be on non-judicial stamp paper and accompanied by a bank guarantee of fifteen percent of the bond amount. Exporters may furnish running bonds to cover estimated integrated tax liabilities and must maintain debit/credit records for inspection. LUT/bond shall be accepted by the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner within three working days or be deemed accepted.

Letter of Undertaking replaces bond for export without payment of integrated tax, subject to eligibility and safeguards.
Conditions are specified for furnishing a Letter of Undertaking instead of a bond for export without payment of integrated tax: eligible registered persons may submit the Letter of Undertaking on letterhead in duplicate for the financial year and it must be executed by specified authorised persons; prosecution for significant tax evasion disqualifies eligibility.

Tax Deduction at Source under GST requires registration on the GST portal using TAN; deductions commence after official notification.
The State requires specified governmental and government-controlled entities to register as tax deductors on the GST Common Portal using the TAN issued under income tax law; registration functionality is operational but actual TDS deductions will begin only after a commencement date is notified. Administrative support including training, district help desks, and an IT contact has been provided, and departments are directed to ensure liable persons register before the stipulated date.

GST Council approves exporters' relief, composition threshold rise, quarterly filing for small taxpayers, and staggered e Way bill rollout.
The Council adopted corrections to prior minutes; noted GIC decisions on procedural extensions and export facilitation; directed staged IT and filing measures after GSTN/GoM briefings; approved exporters' relief package including manual refunds until systems ready, exemption for imports under AA/EPCG/EOU and deemed export treatment to 31 March 2018, 0.1% tax for merchant exporters, duty scrip relief, and an e wallet by 1 April 2018; increased Composition threshold to Rs. one crore (normal States) and amended Special Category thresholds; approved quarterly filing for taxpayers up to Rs.1.5 crore; suspended reverse charge under specified provisions till 31 March 2018; and decided staged roll out of the national e Way bill from 1 January 2018.