Export prohibition of non-basmati white rice: qualifying consignments meeting any transitional condition may be exported within the permitted window.
Export of Non-basmati white rice (HS 1006 30 90) was changed from Free to Prohibited by Notification No. 20/2023. Though Para 1.05 transitional relief was not applied, exports were allowed for consignments meeting any one of three independent conditions: loading commenced before the notification; shipping bill filed and vessel berthed/anchored with rotation allocation prior to the notification (subject to port confirmation); or consignments handed to Customs/custodian and registered with verifiable timestamp prior to the notification. Such exports were permitted only within a specified export window.

Taxability of shareholding: mere holding of subsidiary shares is not a supply under GST unless a taxable supply exists.
Securities, including shares, are neither goods nor services under GST, and mere purchase, sale or holding of shares does not constitute a supply. The SAC classification for holding companies does not automatically create a taxable service; GST applies only if an activity meets the statutory definition of supply. Therefore, a holding company merely holding equity in a subsidiary is not, by itself, providing a supply of services liable to GST.

TCS liability: supplier side or buyer side e-commerce operator must collect TCS depending on who releases payment.
Where multiple ECOs operate in a single supply, the ECO that finally releases payment to the supplier must collect applicable TCS and complete statutory TCS compliance; if the supplier itself is an ECO, the buyer-side ECO collecting payment must collect TCS and fulfil TCS compliance obligations.

Input-tax credit limitation: provisional excess credits allowed within supplier-reported thresholds; excess credits disallowed without supplier payment evidence.
Clarifies treatment of discrepancies between ITC availed in taxpayers' returns and ITC reflected in supplier-reported returns for April 2019-December 2021: provisional additional ITC was permitted for periods when the rules allowed limited excess credit, but such availment remained subject to the statutory requirement that tax on the supply be paid by the supplier; verification guidelines from the earlier circular apply to the respective subperiods with the relevant provisional caps, while post-amendment ITC is allowed only if reported by suppliers and communicated through the return communication mechanism.

Authorised banks to import gold and silver updated, revising Appendix 4B import authorisations for the fiscal year.
Amendment updates Appendix 4B of the Handbook of Procedures, 2023 to list banks authorised to import both gold and silver and banks authorised to import only gold for FY 2023-24, effective 01.04.2023 and valid up to 31.03.2024, replacing prior Appendix 4B entries and thereby updating the import authorisation framework for precious metals under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Mandatory e-filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin: agencies must onboard to the platform or face de-notification.
Agencies and chambers notified as CoO issuers must complete onboarding to the DGFT Common Digital e CoO platform by the final deadline specified in this notice or be de notified; manual/paper CoO applications remain temporarily permitted during the transition period, and operational guidance is available on the e CoO landing page and via designated helpdesk channels.

Export quota allocation for wheat and flour to Bhutan extended; non-compliance triggers blacklist and enforcement action.
Trade Notice extends the application deadline for export licences for wheat, wheat flour (atta) and maida/semolina to Bhutan and prescribes that any mis-declaration or failure to export allocated quota within the specified period will result in blacklisting for two financial years and enforcement action under applicable foreign trade enforcement provisions.

Export quota extension for broken rice: application deadline extended for specified countries pending resolution of the judicial petition.
Export quota allocation procedure for broken rice is provisionally amended to extend the last date for submission of licence applications for exports to Senegal, Gambia and Indonesia on humanitarian and food security grounds, in compliance with a judicial order dated 10.08.2023; the extension applies until disposal of the pending petition and does not alter substantive licence conditions.

Inventory valuation must be reported by a nominated Cost Accountant in the prescribed Form 6C under the amended procedure.
Amendment requires an assessee to furnish an inventory valuation report prepared and signed by a Cost Accountant nominated by the supervisory commissioner when the Assessing Officer, with prior approval, considers such valuation necessary; draft Form No. 6C prescribes the format, inventory categories, valuation methods (including application of ICDS II where applicable), product wise quantitative and valuation schedules, reconciliations with Form 3CD/audited accounts, workings for cost of production and net realisable value, and explanations for variances and method changes.

GST rate reclassification updates applicable tax on extruded uncooked snack pellets and related goods, regularising past periods.
The circular implements GST Council recommendations reclassifying certain goods and prescribing applicable GST rates: uncooked extruded snack pellets under CTH 1905 and fish soluble paste under CTH 2309 attract 5% from 27 July 2023, imitation zari yarn under heading 5605 reduced to 5%, raw cotton supply from agriculturists to cooperatives is taxable at 5% on a reverse charge basis, and uniform 5% is clarified for goods under HSN 9021. Specified past periods of interpretational doubt are regularised on an "as is basis" and no refunds will be granted where higher GST was already paid.

Reverse Charge Mechanism: director's personal supplies excluded; cinema food treated as restaurant service when supplied independently.
Services by a director are subject to Reverse Charge Mechanism only when supplied in his capacity as director; personal-capacity supplies such as renting immovable property to the company are excluded. Supply of food or beverages in a cinema hall is taxable as restaurant service when supplied by way of or as part of a service and independent of the exhibition service; bundled cinema ticket and food supplies that form a composite supply attract GST at the rate applicable to the principal supply (exhibition). The Central circular is adopted mutatis mutandis under the Goa GST Act and is clarificatory.

Warranty replacement ITC rule: no GST or ITC reversal when replacements are covered by original supply consideration.
The original supply value includes anticipated warranty replacement and repair costs, so where replacement parts or repair services are provided during warranty without separate consideration, no further GST is chargeable and the manufacturer is not required to reverse input tax credit. If additional consideration is charged, GST applies. Distributor actions: free warranty service to customers attracts no GST; invoicing the manufacturer for parts/services is a taxable supply enabling manufacturer ITC; manufacturer-provided parts to distributor without charge do not attract GST or ITC reversal.

Life insurance exemption limits: premium aggregation rules restrict income-tax exemption for certain non-ULIP policies issued after amendment.
Amendments provide that consideration (including bonus) from non-ULIP life insurance policies issued on or after 01.04.2023 is not exempt under Clause (10D) where the annual premium payable in any previous year during the policy term exceeds the prescribed threshold; for multiple such policies exemption is available only for policies whose aggregate annual premium does not exceed that threshold. Sums received on death are excluded from these provisos. Excess consideration over aggregate unclaimed premiums is taxable under "Income from other sources." Premiums are to be measured exclusive of GST and term insurance policies are exempt from these provisos.

Reverse charge on director services: personal-capacity rentals to the company are not taxable under RCM; director-capacity services attract RCM.
Services supplied by a director to the company in his private or personal capacity, such as renting immovable property, are not taxable under the Reverse Charge Mechanism; only services supplied by the director in his capacity as director are taxable under RCM. Supply of food or beverages in a cinema hall is taxable as restaurant service when supplied by way of or as part of a service and independent of cinema exhibition; if ticket sale and food supply are bundled and form a composite supply, the entire supply attracts GST at the rate of the principal supply (cinema exhibition).

GST rate reductions and retrospective regularisation for specified goods, with no refunds where higher GST was paid.
Clarification implements GST rate reductions for specified goods effective 27th July, 2023 and regularises past-period treatment on an "as is" basis where genuine interpretational doubts existed. Key changes: uncooked extruded snack pellets (CTH 1905), fish soluble paste (CTH 2309), and imitation zari thread (tariff heading 5605) move to 5% GST; ready to eat extruded snacks remain at the higher rate. Supply of raw cotton by agriculturists to cooperatives is taxable at 5% under reverse charge. Goods under HSN 9021 attract a uniform 5% rate. No refunds will be granted where higher GST was earlier paid.

E invoice obligation applies to supplies to government entities registered solely for tax deduction under section 51.
Supplies by taxpayers exceeding the e invoicing turnover threshold to government entities registered solely for tax deduction at source must have e invoices issued; those government entities are treated as registered persons and suppliers must comply with the applicable e invoicing rule. The clarification is issued to ensure uniform implementation and to permit reporting of implementation difficulties to the Principal Commissioner.

Custodian appointment approved for CFS operator, with CCSP designation conditioned on AEO status and regulatory compliance.
M/s Hind Terminals Pvt. Ltd. is approved as the successor operator and appointed as the Custodian and as a Customs Cargo Services Provider for the Container Freight Station covering the notified Customs area of 36,456 SQM, subject to compliance with the Customs Act and the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, validity linked to AEO LO accreditation (or five years if AEO lapses), conditional waiver of bank guarantee during AEO validity, requirement to submit amended MPCB consent, and the Commissioner's right to review approval for non compliance.

Subsidiary shareholding alone is not a taxable service unless an independent supply exists under GST.
Holding shares in a subsidiary by its holding company, per se, does not constitute a supply of services and does not attract GST. Securities, including shares, are neither goods nor services, and their purchase, sale, or holding does not independently amount to a supply. A service classification entry concerning holding companies cannot by itself establish taxability. GST applies only where an actual and independently identifiable supply of services satisfies the statutory requirements for supply.

Input tax credit reconciliation requires supplier tax-payment verification and adherence to period-specific unmatched-credit limits for GST returns.
Input Tax Credit mismatches between FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-2A for the period from 1 April 2019 to 31 December 2021 must satisfy section 16, including payment of tax by the supplier, and remain within the applicable unmatched-credit limit under rule 36(4). The limits are 20 per cent, 10 per cent, and 5 per cent for the respective prescribed periods. Credit beyond the applicable limit is inadmissible despite supporting evidence. Cumulative adjustment applies for specified periods in 2020 and 2021. From 1 January 2022, credit requires supplier reporting and communication in FORM GSTR-2B.

Wrongly availed IGST credit attracts interest only when combined IGST, CGST and SGST ledger balances fall below the credit.
Interest on wrongly availed and reversed IGST credit is assessed by considering the combined electronic credit ledger balance under IGST, CGST and SGST. No interest arises if that cumulative balance never falls below the wrongly availed credit between availment and reversal, even where the IGST balance alone falls below it. If the combined balance falls below the wrongly availed credit, interest applies only to the extent of the shortfall. Compensation cess credit is excluded because it cannot be utilised towards IGST, CGST or SGST liabilities or reversals.