Import authorisation for watermelon seed imports limited to processors under actual user authorisations; applications due by announced deadline.
Import of Water Melon Seeds - Other (ITC(HS) 12077090) is capped for 01.01.2022-31.03.2022 and fresh online applications for import authorisation are invited until 13.12.2021. Eligibility is restricted to processors on an Actual User basis with IECs issued before the Public Notice, one application per IEC, a processing capacity certificate dated prior to the Public Notice, and a valid FSSAI license. Allocations will be made by the Exim Facilitation Committee considering processing capacity and prior imports; DGFT may amend allocations. Consignments must reach Indian ports by 31.03.2022.

Refund of excess electronic cash ledger balance exempt from ordinary filing time limits and unjust enrichment certification requirements.
The circular clarifies that the statutory time limit for refund applications does not apply to refunds of excess balance in the electronic cash ledger; unjust enrichment certification is not required for such refunds; TDS/TCS credits in the electronic cash ledger are equivalent to cash and unutilized balances may be refunded; and for deemed export refunds the relevant date is the date the supplier files the return relating to those supplies.

Dynamic QR Code requirement: invoices to non-resident recipients may be exempted when payment is in convertible forex or RBI permitted rupees.
Where a recipient is located outside India but the place of supply of services is in India, an invoice to that recipient may be issued without a Dynamic QR Code if the supplier receives payment in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian rupees where permitted by the Reserve Bank of India; such supplies are not considered export of services for this purpose and the prior trade circular entry is substituted to reflect this relief.

Seized gold (excluding jewellery) will be sold only to RBI; SPMCIL to collect, refine and deliver standard bars under documented procedures.
Seized/confiscated gold (other than jewellery) shall be sold only to the RBI under a tripartite MoU with SPMCIL. SPMCIL will collect gold from Customs Commissionerates, transport it to designated India Government Mints for XRF pre assay, pre melting, assaying and conversion into LBMA specification standard bars; handovers must use witnessed HOGS Notes and CCTV records. Focal Commissionerates issue Preliminary and Final Weight Notes based on SPMCIL assay outputs; SPMCIL delivers bars to RBI at Mumbai and charges for melting/refining and logistics are reimbursed by CBIC. RBI values gold using the 30 day average LBMA rate converted via FBIL and shares final weight and price with DoL prior to payment; DoL maintains ledgers and effects payments to SPMCIL.

Refund of wrongly paid tax available when supply is later reclassified and claim filed within the prescribed limitation period.
Refund entitlement covers cases where a supply initially treated by the taxpayer as intra State or inter State is later reclassified as inter State or intra State respectively, whether reclassification is made by the taxpayer or by a tax authority. Claimants must file Form GST RFD 01 within the prescribed limitation period measured from the date tax was paid under the correct head; payments made before the controlling notification are subject to a limitation measured from the notification date. Refunds are not available where tax has been adjusted via issuance of a credit note.

Publishing Investor Charter and disclosure of investor complaints by stock brokers on their websites required from Jan 1, 2022.
SEBI mandates that stock brokers publish an Investor Charter and disclose monthly investor complaints data on their websites, make the Charter available to clients and provide complaint statistics in the prescribed format (including pending counts, ageing buckets and average resolution time) updated by the 7th of the succeeding month. Stock Exchanges must notify brokers of these obligations. These disclosure requirements supplement existing mandates and take effect from January 1, 2022.

SEZ-Online user charges revised, covering transaction, Softex, AMC and registration fees, now effective from the announced date.
Revised SEZ-Online user charges, effective from 15.11.2021, prescribe specified per-transaction charges for customs and transfer filings, per-invoice Softex form fees, annual maintenance charges differentiated for units and developers/co-developers, and one-time registration fees for units and developers/co-developers; the circular supersedes earlier departmental tariff communications.

Standard Input Output Norms: two SIONs notify input-output ratios for sodium salicylate and methyl cobalamin exports.
Notification fixes two new Standard Input Output Norms in the Chemical & Allied Product group, prescribing that export of Sodium Salicylate requires Salicylic Acid as the input material and that export of Methyl Cobalamin JP (Mecobalamin) requires Vitamin B12 (Cyanocobalamin) as the input material, thereby adding these two SION entries to the controlling schedule under Foreign Trade Policy authority.

Authorisation of State Tax Officers to assist GST audit teams enables delegated, jurisdictional audit support within local units.
State Tax Officers posted at any Circle, Charge or Large Taxpayer Unit are authorised to assist officers authorised to undertake audits under section 65 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, exercising powers under section 5(1) read with clause (91) of section 2; the administrative order specifies assistance within respective jurisdictions and takes immediate effect.

Authorisation for Audit under section 65 empowers specified State Tax officers to conduct jurisdictional GST audits.
Specified ranks of State Tax officers-Additional Commissioner, Senior Joint Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner-posted at any Circle, Charge or Large Taxpayer Unit are authorised to undertake Audit under section 65(1) of the West Bengal GST Act within their respective jurisdictions; the order supersedes a prior order, excludes officers appointed as Appellate Authority under section 107, and is deemed effective from the earlier order's commencement.

Food not specified classification allows import of Sajji Khar/Papad Khar without product approval, subject to contaminant testing.
Imported consignments of Sajji Khar/Papad Khar shall be considered food not specified until standards are notified and therefore do not require product approval under the Approval of Non-specified Food Regulations; such consignments must be tested and comply with contaminant and residue standards, including heavy metal limits, and officers must be sensitized to apply these testing and clearance measures.

Electronic filing of RCMC/RC enables contactless submission and instant verification through a common digital platform for exporters.
A common digital platform on the DGFT portal enables electronic submission, amendment and renewal of Registration Cum Membership Certificates (RCMC) and Registration Certificates (RC) using existing exporter login credentials and Digital Signature Certificate/Aadhaar authentication; certificates issued via the portal are instantly reflected in the exporter profile and verifiable by login.

Investor Charter requirement compels debenture trustees to publish charter and monthly complaint disclosures on their websites.
SEBI requires registered Debenture Trustees to publish an Investor Charter on their websites and offices and to disclose month wise complaint data in the Annexure B format by the 7th of the succeeding month; trustees must follow prescribed timelines for disclosures, monitoring, investor communication, grievance redressal, and special circumstance steps on breach/default, with these obligations effective from January 1, 2022.

GST registration verification shifts to the UPGST Field Visit App, replacing the earlier verification app for field use.
Physical verification of GST registrations is to be carried out through the UPGST Field Visit App available on the Google Play Store with effect from 01.12.2021, replacing the earlier Android-based Abhyuthan App. The earlier instructions for verification through Abhyuthan App stand superseded to that extent, and the app is to cease functioning from the night of 30.11.2021. The enclosed process flow covers installation, login with employee ID, OTP verification, entry of GSTIN details, offline saving of data, and later synchronisation of records when network connectivity is available.

REIC information sharing system streamlines follow-up action on economic offence inputs and compliance reporting.
Exchange of information received from REIC, Lucknow is to be used for follow-up action by the Commercial Tax Department through a dedicated REIC Information Sharing System module developed at headquarters. The module makes REIC inputs available directly on the login of the concerned Proper Officer, who is required to take the necessary legal action under the relevant Acts and Rules and update the action taken in the same system. Users are directed to use the module for all follow-up action on REIC information and to report technical difficulties to the IT Section by email.

Master Circular for REITs consolidates SEBI rules on filings, public-issue procedures, financial disclosures and exit mechanisms.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars on REIT regulation, mandating online filings, detailed public-issue procedures (merchant banker due diligence, draft/offer/final offer filings, ASBA bidding, anchor allocations and allotment rules), comprehensive financial and audit disclosures (three years' financials, Ind AS, NDCF framework, combined financial statements), and continuous listing and disclosure obligations including website updates, unit-holding patterns, credit-rating review, encumbrance reporting and a structured exit-option mechanism for dissenting unitholders with prescribed timelines, escrow arrangements and exit-price formulae.

Infrastructure Investment Trusts: SEBI clarifies unified filing, issuance, disclosure, NDCF calculation and exit-option procedures.
SEBI's Master Circular compiles operative InvIT circulars prescribing online filing, merchant banker due diligence and offer-document procedures; detailed financial disclosure, audit and NDCF frameworks; continuous reporting and listing obligations; issuance rules for equity and debt including pricing, lock-in and allotment timelines; encumbrance notification and disclosure duties; and a structured exit-option mechanism for dissenting unitholders with escrow, valuation- and VWAP-based exit pricing and specified timelines.

Electronic credit ledger blocking under Rule 86A requires recorded reasons, material evidence, and strict limits on ineligible input tax credit.
Guidelines are issued for disallowing debit of an electronic credit ledger under Rule 86A where input tax credit is believed to be fraudulently availed or ineligible. The power may be used only on recorded reasons based on material evidence, for specified grounds such as non-existent suppliers, non-receipt of goods or services, unpaid tax, absence of business activity, or absence of valid invoice documents. The instruction also specifies competent officers, monetary limits, procedure for blocking credit, and release of the restriction when the disqualifying conditions no longer exist, subject to a maximum period of one year.

Refunds from electronic cash ledger clarified: excess balances refundable without unjust enrichment declarations; TDS/TCS credits treated as cash.
Refunds of excess balances in the electronic cash ledger are not subject to the time limit in section 54(1), and declarations under Rule 89(2)(l)/(m) are not required because unjust enrichment does not apply; TDS/TCS credits in the electronic cash ledger are equivalent to cash deposits and unutilised balances may be refunded under the proviso to section 54(1) read with section 49(6); for deemed exports the relevant date for refund is the date the supplier files the related return under Explanation (2)(b) to section 54.

Dynamic QR Code exemption for B2C cross border service invoices when payment received in foreign exchange or RBI permitted rupees.
Suppliers issuing invoices to recipients located outside India for services whose place of supply is in India may issue such invoices without a Dynamic QR Code where payment is received through RBI-approved modes either in convertible foreign exchange or in Indian Rupees where permitted by the RBI, because a Dynamic QR Code cannot be used by an overseas recipient for payment.