Composition scheme eligibility clarified: exempt interest-related services do not bar participation and are excluded from turnover.
The Order clarifies that suppliers who provide Schedule II clause (b) goods/services and also supply exempt services, including services by way of extending deposits, loans or advances where consideration is interest or discount, remain eligible for the composition scheme if other conditions are met, and that the value of such exempt services shall be excluded from aggregate turnover when determining composition eligibility.

Exemption applicability extended to all registered persons under Assam GST, with retrospective commencement in notification.
The amendment omits the proviso under Paragraph 1 of Notification No.8 and declares that the exemption in that notification, as amended, shall apply to all registered persons until the thirty-first day of March, 2018; the amendment is deemed to have come into force from the thirteenth day of October, 2017.

State tax reduction on intra state motor vehicle supplies implemented with conditional eligibility and tariff interpretation rules.
Notification fixes a reduced state tax on intra-State supplies of motor vehicles at sixty-five percent of the state tax otherwise applicable under an earlier notification for tariff entries under Chapter 87, subject to conditions in the annexure. Eligibility is limited to (a) lessors who purchased vehicles before 1st July, 2017 and leased them before that date, and (b) registered suppliers who purchased vehicles before 1st July, 2017 and did not avail input tax credit of central excise duty, VAT or other taxes. The notification is deemed effective from 13th October, 2017 and adopts Customs Tariff interpretative rules.

Supply of used and seized goods by government bodies: clarified treatment for registered recipients under amended notification.
An amendment inserts Sl. No.6 into Notification No. FTX.56/2017/17 to add used vehicles, seized and confiscated goods, old and used goods, waste and scrap, with suppliers being Central/State/UT governments or local authorities and recipients being any registered person; the change is effected under section 9(3) of the Assam GST Act and is deemed effective from 13th October, 2017.

Government entity supplies exempted when funded by grants - clarifies exemption scope and defines Government Entity.
A new exemption covers Duty Credit Scrips and supplies by a Government Entity to government or specified persons when consideration is received as grants; the Explanation revises trademark identity wording, omits and renumbers clauses, and defines Government Entity as a legislative or government-established body with ninety percent or more equity or control. ANNEXURE I requires a brand-owner affidavit voluntarily foregoing actionable claims and authorising packers to print that forgone status on unit containers.

GST rate schedule amendments expand covered goods and add brand-owner affidavit requirement for unit-packed goods.
Amendment to the Assam GST notification modifies tariff classifications and rate-schedule entries by inserting, substituting and omitting specific commodity descriptions and HS codes across Schedules I-IV, adds new entries (including dried mango slices, khakhra/plain chapatti/roti, branded namkeens subject to brand-right conditions, medicaments per authoritative pharmacopeias, various wastes including e-waste, biomass briquettes, textile threads and parts), and imposes an ANNEXURE-based affidavit requirement where brand ownership and packing are by different persons.

Supply of services by overseeing committee members to central bank specified under amended GST notification, applied retrospectively.
The notification amends an earlier Assam GST notification by inserting a Table entry that treats the supply of services by members of an Overseeing Committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India to the Reserve Bank of India as covered by the notification; the amendment is issued under the powers of subsection (3) of section 9 of the Assam GST Act, 2017 and is effective from 13th October, 2017.

GST exemptions expanded for government funded services and specified transport and annuity road access services.
Amendments expand recipients in the Table to include Central Government, State Government, Union territory, local authority or Governmental Authority; insert a new exempt entry (9C) for services supplied by a Government Entity to government bodies or persons specified by them when consideration is in the form of grants; add exempt entries (21A) for certain goods transport agency services to unregistered persons with specified exclusions and (23A) for access to road or bridge on annuity payment; revise the serial 41 entry to cover upfront amounts for long-term leases of industrial or infrastructure plots provided by specified government-owned entities; and replace definitions of "Governmental Authority" and introduce "Government Entity" with ninety percent participation criteria.

Government Entity inclusion expands GST recipient scope, alters works-contract, input tax credit conditions and concessional service treatments.
Amendments expand recipient categories to include Central Government, State Government, Union territory, local authority, Governmental Authority and Government Entity; add provisos that supplies to a Government Entity must be procured for work entrusted by government; reframe works-contract and construction entries (including earthwork predominance and offshore E&P), adjust concessional treatments for passenger transport and vehicle renting where fuel is included, assign a concessional rate for pre-existing vehicle leases, add specific printing, food and job-work items, and define Governmental Authority and Government Entity with 90% equity or control; amendments are deemed to commence retrospectively.

Threshold for composition scheme increased under Assam GST Act, raising the notified turnover limit through notification amendment.
Amendment to the Assam GST notification substitutes the previously notified monetary threshold with a higher monetary threshold by textual replacement, effected under the Governor's powers on the Council's recommendation, thereby altering the notified turnover limit that governs the application of the specified provision in the earlier notification.

Composition scheme opt-in requires CMP-02 filing, ITC-03 within ninety days, and blocks later TRAN-1 filings.
Registrants provisionally registered or newly registered may opt into the composition scheme by filing FORM GST CMP-02 on the portal by the prescribed date, must furnish FORM GST ITC-03 within ninety days of commencing composition liability, and are precluded from filing FORM GST TRAN-1 after ITC-03 is filed; a mid-quarter composition opt-in requires FORM GSTR-4 for the period under composition and other applicable returns for the prior part of the quarter.

Payment of State Tax: registered persons below turnover threshold must pay on outward supply and file prescribed returns.
Registers persons with aggregate turnover below the specified threshold, or likely to be so in the year of registration, who have not opted for the composition levy, as required to pay state tax on outward supplies at the time of supply under clause (a) of sub section (2) of section 12 (including section 14 situations), and to furnish details and returns under Chapter IX and the rules, with tax payable within periods prescribed by the Act.

Proper officer designation: CGST-appointed officers authorised to sanction Assam GST refunds for taxpayers in their territorial jurisdiction.
Officers appointed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act who are authorised under sections 54 or 55 of the CGST Act by the Commissioner are designated as the proper officers to sanction refunds under the Assam GST Act for registered persons located within their territorial jurisdiction, with the notification establishing the administrative delegation and territorial application for refund sanction.

GST notification amendment expands textile and handloom classifications and inserts new artisanal product entries, altering schedule coverage.
Amendment substitutes the prior serial 9 entry to read Textile (handloom products), Handmade shawls, stoles and scarves with specified chapter inclusions and inserts five new schedule entries for chain stitch; crewel, namda, gabba; wicker willow products; toran; and articles made of shola, each referenced to any chapter. The change is promulgated under the delegated authority of the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act and is stated to have retrospective effect from an earlier date.

Proper officer designation under CGST Act enables sanction of refunds under Delhi GST Act for territorial registrants.
Officers appointed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act who are authorized by the Commissioner in the Board to act as proper officers for refund provisions shall act as proper officers to sanction refunds under the Delhi GST Act, read with rules, for registered persons located in their territorial jurisdiction. The specification derives from the Delhi GST Act on Council recommendation and took effect from 13 October 2017.

Tax rate correction substitutes one schedule and rate for another in an earlier notification, affecting GST classification.
Corrigendum to Notification No. 1277-F.T. dated 14 July 2017: in clause (iii) the prior schedule-and-rate reference is replaced by a different schedule-and-rate reference, thereby changing the GST classification applicable under that clause. This correction is issued by the West Bengal Finance Department as Notification No. 2159-F.T. dated 1 December 2017 and records the textual substitution in clause (iii) of the earlier notification.

Appointment of State Tax Officers to perform statutory duties under Delhi GST and VAT Acts to assist administration.
Pursuant to the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act and clause (a) of sub section (2) of section 66 of the Value Added Tax Act, the Lt. Governor appointed specified officers to assist the Commissioner of State Tax and Value Added Tax in administering those Acts. Most appointees are designated as Assistant Commissioner of State Tax and Value Added Tax Officer; one is designated Goods and Services Tax Inspector and Value Added Tax Inspector. Appointments are effective from the date of assumption of charge to enable performance of statutory duties.

Brand-based GST classification: packaged non-unit goods bearing registered brand names receive distinct tariff treatment under amended notification.
The notification amends the Delhi GST Schedule by substituting, omitting and inserting tariff entries to distinguish goods that are fresh or chilled from those other than fresh or chilled, and to treat non-unit-container goods bearing a registered brand name or an actionable brand right differently subject to conditions in ANNEXURE I; it also revises descriptive scope for specified commodities and defines "registered brand name" to include brands registered on or after 15th May 2017 under Indian or foreign law.

Fixation of Tariff Value amends customs tariff values for edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut, gold and silver.
The Central Board of Excise & Customs, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 in Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.), prescribing tariff values for specified imported goods. The amendment sets US dollar unit tariff values per metric tonne for edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds and areca nut, and per unit values for gold and silver where specified entry benefits are availed, for application in import valuation and customs assessment.

GST classification: Limited Liability Partnerships treated as partnership firms and GTA non-payers covered by amended notification.
The notification amendment excludes a goods transport agency from the specified exemption if it has not paid state tax at the rate of 6%, and expressly declares that a Limited Liability Partnership registered under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 shall be considered a partnership firm for the purposes of the notification.