GST classification of food and beverage supplies refined; input tax credit restriction and value-of-supply substitution clarified.
The notification amends GST entries for supplies of food and drink to distinguish restaurant and institutional canteen supplies (excluding event based or occasional supplies), adds a specific sub-item for supplies by Indian Railways/IRCTC or licensees, conditions certain treatments on non-availability of input tax credit, substitutes "value of supply" for "declared tariff" in specified items, separately classifies event-based catering, defines multimodal transportation and multimodal transporter, and carves out e-books under telecommunications and information services.

Scope of governmental recipient: notification amended to include Union territory and municipalities under article 243W, expanding applicability.
Amendments under sub-section (2) of Section 7 of the Madhya Pradesh GST Act modify Notification No. FA-3-28-2017-1-V(48) by inserting "or Union territory" after "State Government" and "or to a Municipality under article 243W of the Constitution" after "Constitution", thereby expanding the notification's operative scope to include Union territories and municipalities.

Handicraft goods intra state GST exemption reduces state tax to specified concessional rates under government notification.
Exempts intra state supplies of handicraft goods by capping state GST at the concessional rates specified in a Table tied to tariff headings; tax in excess of the listed rate for each tariff item is exempt. "Handicraft goods" are defined as predominantly handmade items featuring substantial ornamentation or in lay work and distinctive aesthetic, artistic, ethnic or cultural features distinguishing them from mechanically produced goods.

Residency requirement clarified to count extended stays; declarations replace affidavits in incorporation filings.
Defines "resident in India" as a person who stayed in India for not less than one hundred and eighty two days in the immediately preceding financial year and for 2018-2019 counts stays from the first of January until notification; substitutes a requirement that each subscriber to the memorandum and each first director submit a declaration in Form INC-9; replaces the word "Affidavit" with "Declaration" in Form INC-9; and amends the List of Attachments in Form INC-32 (SPICe) to require declaration by first subscribers and directors.

Handicraft goods tax exemption caps state GST on listed artisan items at notified concessional rates for intra state supplies.
Exempts intra state supplies of handicraft goods from state GST to the extent the tax exceeds the concessional rates specified in the Table for the enumerated tariff classifications. The notification defines "handicraft goods" as predominantly hand made items with ornamentation or distinctive aesthetic, artistic or cultural features and operates by capping the State GST payable on listed goods at the notified rates.

Input tax credit restriction: specified goods excluded from notification and unutilised credits will lapse after the transitional period.
Amendment excludes specified goods listed at serial numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6,6A,6B,6C and 7 from the notification for input tax credit accumulated on supplies received on or after 1st August, 2018; any unutilised input tax credit remaining after payment of tax up to July, 2018, in respect of inward supplies received up to 31st July, 2018, shall lapse.

Tax Rate Schedule Amendment adds and substitutes tariff entries, expanding exemptions and specified goods, effective immediately.
Amendment to the State GST rate schedule inserts and substitutes tariff entries to reclassify and extend exemptions for specified goods including sal and sabai grass products, broom-making materials, khali dona and related goods, deities of stone/marble/wood, rupee notes or coins sold to central authorities, de-oiled rice bran (exemption effective from the earlier stated date), coir pith compost with branded conditions, sanitary towels and tampons, and rakhi not under Chapter 71; the notification is effective on the date of issue.

GST rate changes: reclassification and targeted schedule amendments adjust tax treatment and exclusions for specified goods.
Amendments revise State GST rate schedules by inserting, substituting and omitting tariff entries to reclassify and clarify taxable treatment of numerous goods-examples include ethyl alcohol supplied to Oil Marketing Companies for blending with motor spirit, fertilizer grade phosphoric acid, bamboo flooring, brass kerosene pressure stoves, fuel cell vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and specified domestic appliances-while adding exclusions and adjusting descriptive thresholds; these changes amend the principal State Tax (Rate) notification and take effect on the stated date.

Business definition clarified: government activities as public authorities excluded from the taxable 'business' under the state GST rate notification.
The term business shall not include any activity or transaction undertaken by the Central Government, a State Government or any local authority in which they are engaged as public authorities; this explanation limits the applicability of the State Tax (Rate) notification entry to exclude governmental public-authority functions from the definition of business.

Scope of State Tax notification expanded to include Union territories and municipalities under the Constitution, altering reference language.
The Governor, on the Council's recommendation under the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, inserts the words "or Union territory" after "State Government" and inserts the words "or to a Municipality under article 243W of the Constitution" after "Constitution" in the first paragraph of Notification No.14/2017 State Tax (Rate), thereby expanding the textual scope of that notification.

Taxability of services by individual Direct Selling Agents clarified: supplies to banks and NBFCs covered; renting of immovable property defined.
The notification inserts a taxable entry for services supplied by individual Direct Selling Agents (excluding bodies corporate, partnerships and LLPs) to a banking company or a non-banking financial company located in the taxable territory, and adds an explanation defining "renting of immovable property" to include allowing access, occupation, use or similar facilities, with or without transfer of possession or control, expressly encompassing letting, leasing, licensing and similar arrangements.

GST exemption for specified public and welfare services expands to cover old age homes, agricultural electrification, and select social services.
The notification amends the State GST rate schedule by inserting exemptions and clarifications: it creates targeted nil-rated entries for services such as qualifying old age homes, electricity distribution works to farmers' tube wells for agricultural use, warehousing of minor forest produce, provident and pension fund administrative services, government guarantees to undertakings, FSSAI testing services to food business operators, artificial insemination of livestock, assignment of royalty collection to contractors (with a reconciliation proviso limiting exemption to GST actually paid by mining lease holders), and membership-fee based services by non-profit or unincorporated bodies; it also substitutes "value of supply" for "declared tariff" and clarifies educational boards' status for examination services.

GST rate classification for restaurant and related services updated, altering supply definitions, event exceptions, multimodal transport and e book rules.
The amendment reclassifies supplies of food and drink by restaurants, eating joints and institutional canteens, excludes event based occasional supplies, conditions reduced rate eligibility on non availability of input tax credit, substitutes "value of supply" for "declared tariff" in specified items, treats rail catering similarly, and separately prescribes rates and definitions for multimodal transportation, other goods transport services, and e books versus other telecommunications and information supply services.

Concessional GST rate for specified handicraft goods caps state tax on intra state supplies at notified rates.
Notification establishes a concessional state GST regime for intra state supplies of specified handicraft goods, exempting such supplies from state tax to the extent it exceeds the concessional rates notified in the Schedule. It defines handicraft goods as predominantly hand made items with distinctive ornamentation or cultural features and provides a table mapping tariff headings and goods descriptions to the prescribed concessional rates, thereby capping state GST liability for the listed handicraft articles.

Input tax credit limitation: ITC on specified goods supplied after effective date excluded and unutilised balances lapse.
The amendment inserts a proviso excluding input tax credit on specified goods for inward supplies received on or after the effective date, and provides that any unutilised input tax credit remaining after payment of tax for the period up to the cutoff month in respect of inward supplies received on or before the cutoff date shall lapse.

GST schedule amendments add exemptions and classifications for specified agricultural, sanitary and ritual goods, and currency supplies to government.
Amendment to the Haryana GST schedule inserts and substitutes entries to classify and exempt specified goods: sal/siali/sisal/sabai leaves and related goods; vegetable materials for broom manufacture; deities of stone, marble or wood; Khali Dona; sanitary towels, sanitary napkins and tampons; rakhi (excluding Chapter 71 goods); substituted treatment for rupee notes or coins sold to Reserve Bank or Government; substitution exempting de-oiled rice bran effective from 25th January, 2018; and a conditional exemption for coir pith compost bearing brand-related enforceable rights.

GST rate reclassification updates adjust schedule entries and product descriptions, changing which goods attract specific tax rates.
Amendment to the State GST tariff revises schedule classifications and rate applicability by inserting, substituting and omitting specific tariff entries across Schedules I-IV. The notification adds new commodity lines, alters product descriptions to create explicit inclusions and exclusions (for example for ethyl alcohol for blending, bamboo flooring, lithium ion batteries, refrigerators, washing machines and certain vehicles), substitutes descriptions and value thresholds, and deletes obsolete serial numbers, thereby reclassifying specified goods into different GST rate bands.

Business definition excludes activities by government or local authorities as public authorities, clarifying GST applicability.
An explanation is inserted to clarify that, for the purposes of the relevant item in notification No. 46/ST-2, the term "business" does not include any activity or transaction undertaken by the Central Government, a State Government or any local authority in which they are engaged as public authorities, thereby excluding such government or local authority activities from the scope of "business" for GST applicability under the notification.

Scope expansion: inclusion of Union territories and municipalities under the GST notification, broadening recipient coverage.
The notification inserts the words "or Union territory" after references to "State Government" and adds language extending references "to a Municipality" exercising constitutional municipal powers in the first paragraph of the earlier GST notification, thereby broadening the class of public bodies covered. The amendment is made under the enabling provision of the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 on the recommendation of the Council.

Tax treatment for individual Direct Selling Agents clarified; services to banks and NBFCs specified and renting of immovable property defined.
The notification inserts a new table entry clarifying that services supplied by individual Direct Selling Agents (DSAs), other than a body corporate, partnership or LLP, to banking companies or non banking financial companies located in the taxable territory are separately identified by supplier and recipient class; it also inserts a definition of "renting of immovable property" to include permitting access, occupation or use, with or without transfer of possession or control, and includes letting, leasing, licensing or similar arrangements.