Refund processing: accept electronically transferred claims despite incorrect portal mapping and notify portal to correct assignment.
Where a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01A is electronically transferred by the common portal to a tax authority that is not the taxpayer's administrative assignee and the portal lacks a re assignment facility, the receiving tax authority should proceed to process the refund claim. After processing, that authority must inform the common portal of the incorrect mapping and request an update so subsequent applications are routed to the correct jurisdiction.

Place of supply rules clarified: port cargo-handling follows contractual determination; temporary import repairs follow export-linked supply rule.
Place of supply for port cargo-handling and ancillary services is determined by contract and not as services related to immovable property; place of supply for services on goods temporarily imported for repair or processing and re-exported without being put to use (e.g., cutting and polishing unpolished diamonds) is determined under the provision for services in respect of temporarily imported goods for repair or processing, not by the general rule locating services where performed.

GST on penal interest: seller charged late interest is taxable; financier charged interest may be exempt under interest rules.
Where a seller embeds credit in the sale of taxable goods and charges penal interest for delayed instalments, that penal interest is includible in the value of the taxable supply and taxable. Conversely, penal interest charged by an independent financer on a loan qualifies as interest under the relevant notification and is exempt from GST; the taxable value of the goods in that case excludes the financier's penal interest. Penal interest does not fall under Schedule II entry 5(e), while non interest service fees charged by a financer are taxable.

Composition levy opt-in deadline extended for eligible suppliers to file CMP-02 and submit ITC-03.
Correction revises the filing timeline for opting into the composition levy: eligible registered persons must file FORM GST CMP-02 selecting "Any other supplier eligible for composition levy" and furnish FORM GST ITC-03 as required by the governing sub rules; the corrigendum replaces the earlier deadline with a later cutoff. The department requests issuance of trade notices and asks that implementation difficulties be reported to the Commissioner of State Tax.

Refund of taxes on indigenous goods at airport retail outlets: eligible outlets may claim invoice based GST refunds for sales to outgoing tourists.
Retail outlets beyond immigration counters at international airports that sell indigenous goods to outgoing international tourists for foreign exchange may claim refund of taxes paid on inward supplies of those goods, subject to registration with a valid GSTIN and prescribed location. Refunds are invoice based (not input service tax) and require maintenance of electronic records with an audit trail, passport and boarding pass verification, passenger declaration, and supporting returns and invoices filed in FORM GST RFD 10B, with manual processing, acknowledgement, validation and inter authority disbursal procedures.

Post sale discounts: treated as supply value or separate service depending on dealer obligations and GST implications.
Post sales discounts affect the value of supply and must be classified by examining whether the supplier imposes further obligations on the dealer. Discounts without dealer obligations relate to the original supply and may be excluded from the supplier's taxable value if statutory conditions for exclusion are met. Discounts that require promotional actions by the dealer constitute a separate supply of services by the dealer, on which the dealer must charge GST and the supplier may claim input tax credit. Where statutory exclusion is not permitted, suppliers may issue financial/commercial credit notes but cannot reduce their original tax liability; dealers need not reverse ITC if they adjust payments in line with the credit notes and original tax charged.

Refund processing: accept and process applications received despite incorrect portal mapping, then request mapping correction.
Where a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01A is electronically transferred by the common portal to a tax authority other than the one to which the taxpayer is administratively assigned, and portal reassignment is not available, the authority that received the application must proceed to process the refund without delay; after processing, that authority should inform the common portal of the incorrect mapping and request correction for future transfers.

Place of supply for cargo handling services clarified as determined by contract under IGST place-of-supply rules.
Clarification: cargo handling activities by ports are ancillary and not immovable-property services; their place of supply is determined under the service-place rules according to the contract between supplier and recipient. Services performed on goods temporarily imported for treatment and exported without being put to use (e.g., cutting and polishing unpolished diamonds) fall under the temporary-import exception; their place of supply is determined by the rule applicable to services on such temporarily imported goods.

GST on penal interest: included in taxable value when charged by seller, exempt if charged by separate lender as loan interest.
Clarifies that penal interest levied by a seller on delayed EMI payments must be included in the value of the taxable supply and is subject to GST, whereas penal interest charged by a separate lender in the course of extending loans falls within the exemption for interest on loans and is not subject to GST; fees or charges that are not interest remain taxable.

GST applicability on penal interest clarified: penal interest on notified supplies excluded from GST, principal supply value unchanged.
Where additional or penal interest is charged in relation to a transaction whose underlying supply is covered by Sl. No. 27 of Notification No. 12/2017 Central Tax (Rate), that penal interest is not subject to GST because it is not covered by the notification; the value of the principal supply for levy of GST remains as stated in the illustrative scenario.

Power of inspection and search in GST: procedural safeguards require documented seizures, quantified inventories, and custody controls.
Power of inspection, search and seizure under the SGST framework authorizes Proper Officers to inspect premises, verify accounts and seize documents where necessary. Searches must be planned, timed to avoid tipping off, and documented by a Shop Inspection Report/Mahazar. Seizures require written reasons, Form GST INS-02 entries, and an inventory with quantified description; electronic devices and data must be detailed and handled with signed non-rewritable copies. Seized records are to be entered in a custody register, returned after copying with receipts and undertakings, and supervisory oversight is required for case processing and enforcement actions.

Airport retail tax refund entitlement for inward taxed indigenous goods sold tax-free to departing international tourists.
Retail outlets beyond immigration counters at international airport departures may claim invoice-based refunds of applicable central, state, integrated, union territory taxes and compensation cess paid on inward supplies of indigenous goods sold tax-free to eligible departing international passengers. Claimants must be GST-registered with a valid GSTIN, maintain electronic records with an audit trail, collect passport and boarding pass details, a passenger declaration, and a tax-exempt invoice for each sale. Refunds are applied for in FORM GST RFD-10B with prescribed undertakings and return copies, processed by the proper officer with validation against GSTR-2A, and paid head-wise with statutory recovery rules applicable for improper refunds.

Export cargo security: CFS custodians must allow sample drawals only on authorised customs letters and face liability.
CFS custodians are responsible for secure custody of export cargo and must permit sampling only when a Customs officer or authorised agency draws samples in the presence of the exporter or representative and on production of a letter from the concerned AC/DC (CFS). Custodians must maintain records of samples and authorising letters; non-compliance in sampling or record-keeping makes the custodian liable for pilferage or shortages and requires reporting such incidents to the Docks (Administration).

Electronic Out of Charge transmission enables custodians to issue gate pass without hard copy; manual order if system fails.
Custodians shall issue the Gate Pass/Delivery Order on electronic transmission of Out of Charge (OOC) through ICEGATE without insisting on the hard copy of the Out of Charge. If electronic transmission is not possible due to system failure or technical problems, custodians may issue a Manual Delivery Order signed by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Import Shed), which must be regularized in the system by the next working day.

Waiver of Late Filing Penalty for bills of entry affected by e Sanchit outage; charges waived subject to verification.
Late filing penalties for Bills of Entry affected by the e Sanchit outage will be waived where the IGM and Bill of Entry dates fall within the affected window; such waivers will be administered by the respective Deputy/Assistant Commissioners. For Bills filed after the disrupted period but linked to entries during the outage, applicants must furnish ICEGATE job numbers, screenshots or messages to evidence attempted filing, and those cases will be considered on merits.

Recovery of penalties should proceed despite pending appeals unless an explicit stay is granted by the appropriate authority.
Adjudicating Authorities in Regional Authorities and SEZs must initiate recovery of imposed penalties where no specific stay has been granted, because filing an appeal or review does not itself stay recovery. Authorities are required to review cases with penalties outstanding, commence recovery where appropriate, and furnish a report of all such cases and recovery action taken to the Directorate within thirty days.

Composition scheme election: deadline extended to file FORM GST CMP-02 and furnish FORM GST ITC-03 for eligible suppliers.
Corrigendum extends the deadline for registered persons to opt for the composition levy by filing FORM GST CMP-02 selecting "Any other supplier eligible for composition levy" and requires such persons to furnish FORM GST ITC-03 in accordance with the governing procedural rule; implementation difficulties are to be reported to the Commissioner.

Deemed payment rule: bank-holiday delayed transfers treated as timely under Income Disclosure Scheme when credited within prescribed window.
Clarification grants procedural relief under the Income Declaration Scheme by deeming payments effected on the next working banking day after consecutive bank holidays to be paid on the original due date, and by treating payments tendered by declarants and credited by banks within a specified subsequent window as paid on the due date; the concerned Principal Commissioner/Commissioner must verify and report to the Principal DGIT (Systems).

Exemption from late filing charges granted for delayed Bill of Entry filings due to portal failures; waivers available on evidence.
Exemption from late filing charges is authorized where e Sanchit/ICEGATE delays prevented timely Bill of Entry filings. The waiver covers consignments with entry inward dates 08.07.2019 and 09.07.2019 and Bills of Entry dated 08.07.2019-10.07.2019 and will be handled by the respective Deputy/Assistant Commissioners. For filings after 10.07.2019 relating to those entry dates, applicants must submit Job numbers, screenshots or ICEGATE messages to show attempted submissions; waivers will be considered on merits.

Mandatory e-storage of export documents requires digitally signed uploads at shipping bill filing; physical supporting documents disallowed.
Mandatory implementation of eSANCHIT requires exporters or their authorized persons to upload digitally signed supporting documents on ICEGATE at the time of filing the Shipping Bill; physical supporting documents are prohibited. A Shipping Bill is deemed filed and self-assessment completed when ICEGATE generates the Shipping Bill number. Clearance orders after assessment, payment and examination may be recorded and conveyed electronically. The authorized person must retain the assessed copy of the Shipping Bill and original supporting documents for the prescribed retention period and produce them when required; noncompliance attracts penal liability.