GST classification clarified: tariff headings and applicable rates for feeds, LPG, plastics, timber, bagasse boards, fabrics, WTEP and service movements.
Clarifies GST classification and applicable rates by HSN for specified goods: chhatua/sattu under HSN 1106 (nil if unbranded, concessional if branded); prepared animal/aquatic feeds are distinct from raw inputs such as fish meal and MBM (the latter classified under HSN 2301 and charged under the meals/flours entry); feed supplements presented ready for specific animal use fall under chapter 23 while vitamins in general-use or medicinal form fall under chapter 29; LPG supplied in bulk identifiable for household use qualifies for the reduced domestic supply rate; polypropylene bags laminated with BOPP classify under HS 3923; wood logs for pulping under 4403; bagasse boards (plain or laminated) attract the bagasse board concessional entry; three-piece embroidered fabric packs remain fabric; turbochargers classify under 8414; interstate movement of goods for provision of services on own account without transfer of title is not a supply liable to IGST.

Export of services: full contract value treated as export if reverse charge IGST is paid and RBI permits foreign retention.
Where an Indian exporter outsources part of services to a foreign supplier, two supplies occur: the exporter supplies the full contract value to the foreign recipient and imports the outsourced portion from the foreign supplier. The Indian supplier must pay integrated tax under reverse charge on the imported portion and may claim input tax credit. The entire contract value may still qualify as export consideration even if part is paid directly abroad, provided reverse-charge tax is paid and RBI permits retention outside India.

Denial of composition option may be applied retrospectively and triggers normal tax liability and recovery proceedings.
Withdrawal from the composition scheme takes effect from the date indicated in FORM GST CMP-04, not earlier than the start of the financial year of filing; contraventions may trigger recovery of tax, interest and penalty. Denial of the composition option follows issuance of FORM GST CMP-05, reply in FORM GST CMP-06, and an order in FORM GST CMP-07 within thirty days, and may be effective from a date, including retrospective, no earlier than the date of contravention; tax liability and input credit adjustments follow the order.

Taxation of government supplies: government departments must register and pay GST when supplying used or seized goods to unregistered persons.
Supplies of used vehicles, seized and confiscated goods, old and used goods, waste and scrap by government entities are taxable; supplies to unregistered persons require the supplying department to register and pay GST. Penalty under the self-assessment recovery provision applies only where show cause proceedings are invoked; late filing with tax and interest paid does not attract that penalty though general penalty provisions may apply. Debit/credit notes for post-appointed-day price revisions are taxed at GST rates. TDS applies only to bodies with majority government participation. Valuation includes TCS and owner of goods is consignor or consignee where invoice accompanies consignment.

Return of expired medicines: treat as fresh supply with ITC consequences or issue a credit note with time limit effects.
Provides two alternative procedures for return of time expired drugs: treat the return as a fresh supply (registered non composition issuers invoice and recipient may claim ITC; composition taxpayers issue bill of supply with no ITC to recipient; unregistered persons use a commercial document), with manufacturer required to reverse ITC on destruction of returned goods; or process the return by issuing a credit note, where adjustment of tax liability and portal upload depend on whether the credit note is issued within the statutory time limit, and where ITC reversal rules apply if goods are destroyed.

Casual taxable person advance tax net of input tax credit clarified, and ISD excess credit recovery procedures specified.
Advance tax for a casual taxable person is to be computed on the estimated net tax liability after accounting for eligible input tax credit. Long-running exhibitions beyond the casual taxable person period require normal registration without advance tax and may use the allotment letter as business proof. Excess input tax credit distributed by an ISD must be recovered from recipient units with interest and penalty; recipients may voluntarily deposit via the prescribed form, otherwise recovery proceedings may be initiated, and the ISD is liable to a general penalty.

Cancellation of registration: streamlined portal process with mandatory final return and tax on stock liabilities and procedural safeguards.
Applications for cancellation in FORM GST REG-16 must include prescribed portal particulars and, unless incomplete or where the transferee entity is unregistered, be accepted by the proper officer within thirty days of filing. Cancellation does not relieve past or future liabilities; a final return in FORM GSTR-10 must be filed within three months of effective cancellation, and tax on stock is payable by debiting electronic credit or cash ledger or by cash if shortfall exists. Debiting ledger balances is not a prerequisite for filing; ledger use is restricted from the specified effective date except to discharge liabilities up to final return filing.

TDS under GST: DDOs must record bunched TDS using a new GST TDS sub head in PAO Suspense for accounting compliance.
DDOs must account for aggregated TDS receipts using a new sub head under Head 8658.00.101-PAO Suspense designated GST TDS, per the Department of Revenue's modification to Circular No. 65/39/2018 GST; administrative officers must report implementation difficulties to headquarters.

GST exemption for religious and yoga residential programmes applies when the primary purpose is advancement; otherwise services are taxable.
Services by entities registered under Section 12AA for advancement of religion, spirituality or yoga are exempt from GST; residential programmes or camps charging fees that include boarding and lodging are exempt so long as the primary and predominant purpose is advancement of religion, spirituality or yoga. By contrast, where trusts primarily provide accommodation or food for consideration (including donations), or where activities are essentially fitness, aerobics, dance, music or similar secular classes, those services are taxable.

TDS under GST: DDOs must deduct, deposit via CPIN/CIN, and file monthly GSTR-7 while issuing GSTR-7A certificates.
Guidance requires DDOs to deduct GST TDS where contract thresholds apply, register on the GST portal, generate CPINs and deposit deducted amounts via NEFT/RTGS or OTC so that a CIN credits the DDO's electronic Cash Ledger. Two options are provided: individual bill wise CPIN generation and immediate deposit, or booking deductions to a Suspense Head and periodic bunching with consolidated CPINs. DDOs must file monthly Form GSTR-7, issue Form GSTR-7A certificates, and maintain the Annexure A register to document all TDS deductions.

GST on Priority Sector Lending Certificates: seller bank bears tax liability under forward charge for prior-period trading.
For PSLC trades between 1 July 2017 and 27 May 2018 the seller bank must pay GST on a forward charge basis, and a GST rate of 12 per cent applies; the clarification is effective from 12 September 2018.

E-way bill requirement: declaring a transporter's godown as an additional place of business stops e-way movement until onward transport.
Goods stored in a transporter's godown while in movement must be accompanied by a valid e-way bill; if the consignee declares that godown as its additional place of business (with the transporter's concurrence), transportation under the e-way bill ends when goods reach that godown and e-way bill validity need not be extended; any subsequent movement from that godown to other recipient premises requires a new valid e-way bill and both transporter and recipient must maintain prescribed records.

Refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department clarified: procedures and documents for half-tax invoice-based refunds on inward supplies.
The circular prescribes an invoice-based refund entitlement for the Canteen Stores Department equal to fifty percent of tax paid on inward supplies destined for unit canteens or authorized customers, requiring quarterly manual filing in FORM GST RFD-10A with specified documents (undertaking of receipt, declaration of no prior claim, GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A copies, attested invoices not in GSTR-2A, and bank details). The proper officer must acknowledge receipt or issue a single deficiency memo within fifteen days, validate GSTINs, scrutinize returns and invoices, sanction fifty percent refunds by tax head, and coordinate with counterpart tax authorities for payment via PFMS.

Inter-State character of warehoused supplies: taxpayers paying central and state tax deemed compliant if amount equals integrated tax.
Supply of goods deposited in customs bonded warehouses retained an inter-State character, but portal constraints led suppliers to report such transfers as intra-State and pay central and state tax. The Commissioner directs a one-time administrative exception: suppliers who paid central and state tax will be deemed to have complied with tax-payment requirements if the total of central and state tax paid equals the integrated tax liability for those supplies.

Submission of FORM GSTR-2A enables refund processing and reliance on portal data, with prescribed electronic ledger debit order.
Claimants must submit a printout of FORM GSTR-2A and Annexure-A with FORM GST RFD-01A and ARN; the proper officer will rely on FORM GSTR-2A as evidence of supplier accountal and need not insist on invoices whose details appear in GSTR-2A, though hard copies may be called for if GSTR-2A is incomplete. Refund of unutilized ITC is the least of three prescribed amounts and must be debited from the electronic credit ledger in the order: Integrated Tax, then Central and State/UT tax equally, with specified procedures for re-crediting on rejection and for disbursal obligations.

Lapsing of accumulated input tax credit on fabrics clarified; formula-based calculation and exclusions for services, capital goods and exports.
Amendment removes the refund bar prospectively for supplies of specified fabrics and provides that accumulated input tax credit on inputs attributable to inverted duty structure for inward supplies received up to the cut-off shall lapse to the extent unutilised after payment of tax for the cut-off month. Lapsing is limited to credits on inputs, excludes input services and capital goods, and the amount is to be determined using the formula applied for refundable inverted-duty credit, excluding zero-rated supplies. Taxpayers must self-assess and disclose the lapsed amount in their return and retain supporting calculations.

Exemption for vocational training: private ITIs offering approved designated trades are GST-exempt; other trades taxable.
Private ITIs offering approved vocational educational courses qualify as an educational institution and services for designated trades are exempt from GST; services for non-designated trades are taxable. Entrance fees and admission or examination services for designated trades by private ITIs are exempt, whereas the same services for non-designated trades attract GST. Government ITI services to individual trainees, including training and examinations, are exempt as government-provided services to individuals.

Concessional GST on fertilizers supplied for direct use or as inputs for complex agricultural fertilizers applies under specified rate provisions.
Fertilizers under Chapter 31 headings 3102-3105 supplied for direct agricultural use or as inputs to manufacture complex fertilizers for soil or crop use attract the concessional GST rate; items under those headings clearly not intended as fertilizers do not qualify for the concession and attract the higher rate.

GST on petroleum gases: liability confined to net quantity retained by manufacturer; returned gas taxed when resupplied.
GST is to be levied by the refinery only on the net quantity of petroleum gases retained by the recipient manufacturer for production; returned quantities attract GST only if and when the refinery supplies them to another person. The clarification applies mutatis mutandis to other feedstock-retention arrangements and directs that net billing be based on the amount retained by the recipient.

GST classification clarifications confirm applicable tax rates for specified goods and services, resolving tariff and eligibility ambiguities.
Clarifies GST classification and applicable rates for specified goods and services by applying HSN explanatory notes and the General Rules for Interpretation: fortified toned milk is nil-rated under HSN 0401; all beet and cane sugar under heading 1701 attract the lower rate by exclusion from a higher-rate entry; both plain and modified tamarind kernel powder under chapter 13 attract the lower rate; drinking water supplied for public purposes (not in sealed containers) is nil-rated; normal human plasma and plasma products attract different rates; wipes are classified by essential character under headings for cosmetics or detergents; metallised yarns (kasab) are taxed as yarn; marine engines as vessel parts; cotton quilts defined by filling; bus body building treated as supply or service based on transaction; disc brake pads classed as vehicle parts.