Sample testing compliance mandated under board circular; stakeholders must follow enclosed procedures and report implementation difficulties.
Customs directs forwarding of samples to outside laboratories for testing in accordance with the enclosed Board Circular No. 28/2018-Customs; Customs Brokers, Exporters, Importers and other trade stakeholders must comply strictly with the enclosed procedures and report any difficulties in implementation to the issuing office.

Form BEN-2 filing extension: no additional fee if submitted within specified period after e form deployment.
The Ministry directed that the time limit for filing e Form BEN-2 is thirty days from the date the BEN-2 e form is deployed on the MCA 21 portal, and no additional fee shall be levied if filed within thirty days of deployment.

Signature requirement for customs printouts clarified: customs officers will no longer sign out of charge bills of entry.
The notice clarifies that duplicate and triplicate bills of entry are EDI generated after Out Of Charge and that signatures on these computer generated print outs are not mandatory; henceforth customs officers will not append their signatures on out of charge bills of entry.

Denotification of Customs Area enabling domestic warehousing at an inland container depot alters area classification and boundaries.
The Commissioner of Customs has partially modified prior public notices to denotify 18,879 square metres of the ICD operated by M/s. Container Corporation of India Ltd., reclassifying that portion for domestic warehousing and reducing the net customs area while confirming inclusion of the DPD area; revised boundaries are specified and all other conditions remain unchanged.

Round the clock customs clearance extended to facilitate time sensitive imports and sealed perishable exports at the sea port.
The Board authorizes round the clock Customs clearance at M/s Adani Kattupalli Sea Port for specified imports under 'facilitated' Bills of Entry and for specified exports comprising reefer containers with perishable/temperature sensitive goods sealed in presence of Customs and goods exported under free Shipping Bills; the Chief Commissioner must deploy sufficient officers on a continuous basis, issue Public Notices/Standing Orders, and report implementation difficulties to the Board.

Lapsing of Input Tax Credit on fabrics: accumulated input credit on specified inputs will lapse unless utilized, with reporting required.
Accumulated input tax credit on specified fabrics received on or before 31 July 2018 shall lapse to the extent unutilised after payment of GST for July 2018; the change applies prospectively to supplies received on or after 1 August 2018. The lapsing applies only to ITC on inputs arising from inverted duty structure and excludes ITC on input services, capital goods and zero rated supplies. The amount to lapse is computed using the prescribed formula for inverted duty refunds, allowing exclusion for inputs in closing stock, and must be self-assessed and reported in the taxpayer's return for August 2018 with supporting calculations retained for verification.

Discharge of bonds expedited: nominated banks must submit electronic export proofs and customs must act within prescribed timelines.
Nominated agencies/banks must electronically submit prescribed export proof documents (EP copy of shipping bill, customs-attested invoice, bank certificate of realisation/eBRC) to the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Customs via dedicated email. The officer will acknowledge receipt within 24 hours, may issue a deficiency memo within five days, and require additional documents only with Additional Commissioner approval. Agencies must supply missing documents within seven days; the officer will confirm export within seven days of receipt and discharge the bond within seven days of confirmation.

Simplification of AEO-TI application processing streamlines annexures and decentralizes accreditation to zonal AEO cells.
Simplification of AEO-TI application processing replaces multiple annexures with two streamlined annexures, requires immediate filing of new applications in the new format, and decentralizes accreditation to Zonal AEO Cells where a Zonal AEO Programme Manager will decide acceptance or rejection and notify the central directorate for certificate generation. Pending applications may be processed under either the old or new annexures at zonal discretion, and online processing will begin when digital infrastructure is available.

De-notification of Customs Notified Area: Sewree Timber Pond area de-notified under Section 8(b) enabling transfer for infrastructure project.
The Principal Commissioner of Customs (General), Mumbai, exercising powers under Section 8(b) of the Customs Act, 1962, has modified Notification No. 8 to de-notify the remaining Sewree Timber Pond area so that the entire area ceases to be a Customs Notified Area for storage and examination of cargo.

Input tax credit for auction supplies extends to principal's supplies received by auctioneers before or after auction.
Input tax credit clarification for auction-based supplies of tea, coffee, rubber and similar goods is corrected to include supplies received by the auctioneer from the principal before or after the auction. The requirement that such goods be supplied only through auction continues to apply.

Transporter godown as additional place of business concludes e-way bill movement, while onward movement requires a fresh valid e-way bill.
Goods temporarily stored in a transporter's godown before delivery must be accompanied by a valid e-way bill. If a recipient taxpayer stores goods in that godown, it must be declared, with the transporter's concurrence, as the recipient taxpayer's additional place of business. Transport under the e-way bill concludes when goods reach that declared godown, without requiring extension of validity. Any later movement to another recipient premises requires a valid e-way bill. Transporters and recipient taxpayers must maintain their respective prescribed records.

E-way bill requirement: goods stored in transporter godowns require a valid e-way bill unless declared additional place of business.
Goods in movement that are temporarily stored in a transporter's godown remain subject to e-way bill requirements; such godowns fall within the definition of place of business. If the consignee declares the transporter's godown as an additional place of business (with the transporter's concurrence), the transportation is deemed complete once goods reach that godown and e-way bill validity need not be extended. Any later movement from that declared godown to other recipient premises requires a fresh valid e-way bill. Transporters must continue to maintain accounts as ware-housekeepers and recipients must keep prescribed records.

Invoice-based GST refunds for CSD require quarterly claims, prescribed evidence, verification, and coordinated payment by respective tax authorities.
CSD is entitled to an invoice-based refund of 50 per cent of applicable GST paid on inward goods subsequently supplied to Unit Run Canteens or authorised customers, rather than a refund of accumulated input tax credit. Quarterly claims must be manually filed in FORM GST RFD-10A with prescribed declarations, returns, invoice evidence and bank details. Proper officers must acknowledge complete claims or issue one comprehensive deficiency memo within 15 days, verify returns and supply details, and sanction eligible refunds separately by tax head. Counterpart tax authorities must receive refund orders within seven days for payment of their respective tax components.

Invoice-based refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department requires specified filings and inter-authority communication for payment.
CSD refund claims are invoice-based and filed quarterly on FORM GST RFD-10A manually until an online utility exists; applications must include an undertaking of goods receipt, declaration of no prior claims, copies of FORM GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A (with attested invoices not in GSTR-2A), and bank details. The proper officer issues an acknowledgement, may issue a single deficiency memo, validates GSTIN and return details on the portal, relies on GSTR-2A as evidentiary support, and issues separate sanction/rejection orders and payment advice per tax head, with inter-authority communication required for payment processing.

Refund claim procedures: GSTR-2A evidence, prescribed invoice statement, ledger-debit sequencing and re-credit conditions clarified.
Refund claims premised on availed input tax credit must include the claimant's FORM GSTR-2A printout and a completed invoice statement in Annexure-A; GSTR-2A will serve as prima facie proof of supplier accountal and hard copy invoices may be called for only if GSTR-2A lacks entries. Refundable amounts are computed as the least of the statutory formula, period-end electronic credit balance, and ledger balance at filing, and debits from the electronic credit ledger must follow the prescribed sequence starting with integrated tax, then central and state/UT tax equally. Rejected amounts for ineligible credit are re credited with simultaneous demand and recovery procedures, while other re credits require an undertaking against appeal.

Wrongly availed credit recovery requires reversal through GSTR-3B where electronic liability register functionality remains unavailable, with applicable interest and penalty.
Arrears from wrongly availed input tax credit under the existing law and inadmissible transitional credit are recoverable as State tax liability. Where the Electronic Liability Register functionality is unavailable, registered persons may reverse such credit through Table 4(B)(2) of FORM GSTR-3B. Applicable interest and penalty on the reversal must be paid through the relevant entry in Table 6.1 of FORM GSTR-3B.

Recovery of wrongly availed CENVAT credit must be discharged via prescribed DRC forms, with interest and penalty applying.
Recovery of arrears for wrongly availed CENVAT credit and inadmissible transitional credit must be treated as central tax liability and discharged either voluntarily in FORM GST DRC-03 or recovered by order in FORM GST DRC-07, with payment made in FORM GST DRC-03; applicable interest and penalty apply. The alternative of reversing such credits through Table 4(B)(2) of FORM GSTR-3B has been withdrawn (it had been temporarily allowed when electronic liability register functionality was unavailable).

Principal-agent relationship: agent issuing invoice determines whether supply is treated as on behalf of principal and triggers registration.
The scope of the principal-agent relationship under Schedule I depends on the agent's representative role and whether the agent issues invoices and transfers title in his own name. If the agent issues the invoice in his name and supplies or receives goods on behalf of the principal, such transfers fall within Schedule I as supplies despite absence of consideration. If invoices are issued in the principal's name, the intermediary is treated as providing services and Schedule I does not apply. Registration obligations arise for agents who supply in their own name, while procurement-only intermediaries register only if their taxable services cross the registration threshold.

Deemed export benefits: amended forms and procedures streamline claims for TED, duty drawback and interest.
Amendments to Appendices and ANFs under Chapter 7 of the FTP/HBP 2015-20, effective 5.12.2017, standardise procedures and documentary formats for claiming deemed export benefits. The changes update notified agency lists and prescribe formats for Project Authority Certificates, Certificates of Payments, DBK I/II/IIA statements with certification requirements, and ANF-7A/ANF-7B application templates for TED/duty-drawback claims, brand-rate fixation and interest on delayed refunds, together with checklists of supporting documents and undertaking/declaration obligations.

Export Oriented Unit compliance: updated approval, monitoring, NFE calculation and DTA sale procedures enforce reporting and fiscal obligations.
Amendments to Chapter 6 appendices and Aayat Niryaat Forms of FTP/HBP 2015 20, effective 5 December 2017, update approval, sectoral, monitoring and compliance procedures for EOU/EHTP/STP/BTP units. They prescribe documentary and verification criteria for automatic approvals, Board of Approval composition and powers, standard formats for LOP/Legal Agreement, sector specific conditions, DTA and advance DTA sale rules, detailed QPR/APR reporting and NFE calculation methodology, CST reimbursement procedures, and exit/revival/conversion mechanics, along with jurisdictional contacts and standardised ANF application forms.