Migration to model two system centralises GSTN BO registration roles and mandates Assistant Commissioner oversight.
Migration to a uniform Model 2 GSTN BO centralises registration approvals and splits officer roles into Registrations and Registration Enforcement. The Assistant Commissioner (ST) is the proper officer for suo moto registrations and must give prior manual approval before any cancellation, revocation or core amendment initiated by the registering authority, with manual records retained for ten years. Post registration physical verifications are authorised by the AC(ST) in APTis, assigned to officers not below GSTO (excluding the approving GSTO), reported via a mobile app, and followup actions are instructed by the AC(ST).

Mandatory e-document submission on eSANCHIT requires invoice and transport document IRN references in every Bill of Entry.
Mandatory uploading to eSANCHIT requires that every Bill of Entry include the uploaded Invoice/Invoice-cum-packing list and the relevant transport contract, with the corresponding document code and IRN declared in the Bill of Entry; other supporting documents (e.g., certificates of origin, licences from Participating Government Agencies) must be submitted electronically via eSANCHIT by beneficiaries or PGAs and physical copies should not be accepted.

Clearance of metal scrap permitted pending scanner installation where EDI and RMS profiling is enabled; inspections may be ordered.
Clearance of imported metal scrap may proceed at ports that have not installed Radiation Portal Monitors or container scanners provided the customs formation is on EDI and enabled with RMS profiling; consignments should be scanned based on risk assessment where scanning exists, and commissionerates may order 100% examination where additional risks are present.

Auto Out of Charge for ECCS shipments allows automatic release after X ray clearance, reducing the manual Out of Charge step.
Auto Out of Charge will automatically release goods under facilitated Courier Bills of Entry that have been cleared by Customs X ray screening, eliminating the manual step of forwarding X ray cleared CBEs to the Shed Superintendent/Appraiser solely for an Out of Charge order. Implementation responsibility lies with the systems directorate, and Chief Commissioners must issue Public Notices and Standing Orders; any implementation difficulties are to be reported to the Board.

Permissible Jurisdictions for Depository Receipts defined; issuers must list DRs only on specified international exchanges.
Issuance of Depository Receipts is permitted only in Permissible Jurisdictions and such DRs must be listed on specified International Exchanges; the Central Government has notified the list of Permissible Jurisdictions and SEBI has listed the corresponding International Exchanges in Annexure A. Stock exchanges and depositories must amend bye laws, rules and regulations, notify issuers and custodians, and disseminate the provisions on their websites to implement the framework under SEBI's regulatory powers.

Overnight fund investments permitted for clearing corporations, treated as liquid assets, with a combined limit on liquid investments.
Clearing corporations may invest in Overnight Funds, which will be treated as Liquid Assets for net worth calculation, provided that combined holdings in Liquid Funds and Overnight Funds remain within the existing limit relative to a clearing corporation's investible resources; this amendment supplements prior permissions for specified fixed deposits, central government securities and liquid debt mutual fund schemes and is effective immediately.

GST seizure compliance requires fresh processing under statutory rules, overriding interim release orders inconsistent with prescribed formalities.
Directions were issued to ensure compliance with the Supreme Court's judgment on seizure of goods and vehicles under GST. Interim orders allowing release on security, bank guarantee, cash deposit, or indemnity bond are not to be acted upon if they deviate from statutory requirements. Claims must instead be processed afresh strictly under the Act and relevant rules, and assessees must complete the prescribed formalities as mandated by law.

Writ petition monitoring for detained goods and vehicles requires entry of case details in the departmental module.
Goods and vehicles detained by flying squad units during transportation under the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, gave rise to writ petitions before the Hon'ble High Court, Allahabad against detention orders. For monitoring disposed of and pending cases, a new H.C. Writ Status link has been created in the departmental MS Entry Module, and each flying squad unit must enter the prescribed particulars of every such writ petition.

Weekly deployment monitoring of flying squad units requires electronic entry of inspection purpose, timing and results.
Departmental monitoring of flying squad deployment required weekly deployment plans to be recorded in the electronic module after each week, so that the place, time, purpose and result of each deployment could be tracked and reviewed. Additional Commissioners Grade-2 (Enforcement) were to prepare weekly deployment programmes for subordinate flying squad units on the basis of available intelligence and local tax evasion patterns, and ensure that the required entries were made through the departmental portal within the prescribed post-week period.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority permits Principal Director General to designate Commissioners to adjudicate DRI investigated cases efficiently.
The circular authorises the Principal Director General/Director General, DRI to appoint officers of the rank of Principal Commissioner or Commissioner of Customs as adjudicating authorities, in addition to Additional Director General (Adjudication). It prescribes that cases within a single commissionerate be assigned to the executive Principal Commissioner/Commissioner with jurisdiction, and that multi-commissionerate cases be assigned to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner where the highest duty demand was made in the Show Cause Notice; operational difficulties are to be reported to the Board.

Extension of Form PAS-6 filing deadline granted; filings allowed within sixty days after deployment of the form.
The Ministry extends the last date to file Form PAS-6 without additional fee for the half-year ended 30.09.2019 to sixty days from the date of deployment of the form on the Ministry's website, the extension being issued with competent authority approval.

Filing deadline extension: companies in J&K and Ladakh may file AOC 4 and MGT 7 without additional fees.
Extension of the due date applies to electronic filing of e forms AOC 4 (including AOC 4 CFS and AOC 4 XBRL) and e form MGT 7 for companies within the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, permitting submission without levy of additional fee until the extended date specified by the Ministry.

Preferential issue of units: listed InvITs subject to prescribed eligibility, pricing, lock in and disclosure requirements.
Guidelines set the regulatory framework for listed InvITs to conduct preferential issues and institutional placements only after unitholder approval, minimum prior listing periods, and in principle exchange approval; they impose dematerialised allotment, caps on private placement recipients, distinct pricing methods for frequently and infrequently traded units (market VWAP formulas or NAV-based valuation), specified lock in and transfer restrictions by allottee category, strict allotment timelines with refund and interest liabilities on default, and detailed disclosure and placement document requirements with lead manager due diligence.

Preferential issue and institutional placement rules for REITs set conditions, pricing, lock in, listing and refund liabilities.
Guidelines set conditions and procedures for a listed REIT's preferential issue or institutional placement: require unitholders' resolution, prior listing tenure, in-principle stock exchange approval, compliance with listing obligations, dematerialised allotment, payment through trustee bank account, listing application and allotment reporting, prescribed pricing methodologies for frequently and infrequently traded units (including NAV-based pricing where applicable), lock-in and transfer restrictions for sponsors and other allottees, specified allotment timelines, and refund liability with interest for non-compliance; annexures prescribe detailed disclosure, placement document content, valuation and due diligence requirements.

Filing deadline for Form NFRA-2 extended to a specified period measured from its deployment on the NFRA website.
Extension of the filing period for Form NFRA-2 under rule 5 of the National Financial Reporting Authority Rules, 2018 is announced: the time limit for filing will run for a limited period commencing from the date of deployment of the form on the NFRA website, with the revision issued following stakeholder representations and approved by the Competent Authority.

GST on penal interest: penal interest forming part of goods' consideration is taxable, financier's loan interest may be exempt.
Where a delayed-payment charge forms part of the consideration for a taxable supply of goods, the penal interest must be included in the value of supply and is taxable; where penal interest is charged by an independent financier for a loan, that interest is covered by the exemption for services extending loans or advances and is not subject to GST. Penal interest qualifies as "interest" under the notification and is not a separate Schedule II service, while separate non-interest fees charged by the financier are taxable.

Effective date of explanatory amendment affirmed as retrospective to original entry despite later stated commencement.
The circular clarifies that an explanation excluding Government and Local Authority activities from the term "business," inserted within the statutory one-year insertion power, operates retrospectively as if part of the original concessional-rate entry from its inception; any separate commencement line in the later notification does not alter that retrospective operation, and implementation difficulties may be reported to the Policy Branch.

KYC verification for first-time importers streamlines document submission, mandates limited KYC documents and digital ID creation to ease imports.
KYC verification for first time importers creates a dedicated KYC cell to accept IEC plus specified Category I identity/entity documents and one Category II financial document, generate a unique digital ID, and coordinate verification with SIIB including address and bank checks; adverse findings trigger alerts against the IEC and supervisory escalation.

Steel Import Monitoring System registration required for iron and steel imports; obtain advance online registration and declare it.
Importation of certain goods under Chapters 72, 73 and 86 is made free subject to compulsory registration under the Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS), requiring advance online submission and obtainment of an automatic registration number; ICES has been updated and Bills of Entry must include the SIMS registration number as mandated by the applicable ICES advisory.

Service export reporting: STP units must file monthly SERF returns to capture specified services export data.
STP units must file monthly the Service Exports Reporting Form (SERF) prescribed in Annexure VI of Appendix 6E to the designated officer in STP, reporting services classified in Annexure V. The amendment inserts Clause 6(A) into Appendix 6E and adds Annexures V and VI, while retaining existing requirements for EOUs/EHTP/STP/BTP to maintain accounts and file digitally signed quarterly and annual reports to the designated officer and Customs/Central Excise authorities.