Refund claims for unutilised CENVAT credit under the transitional provision must be disposed of under the existing Central Excise law. Where the original and first-appellate orders concern refund of accumulated CENVAT credit or rejection of credit under that regime, the appellate remedy lies before CESTAT. GSTAT therefore has no appellate jurisdiction over such appeals, which must be pursued before CESTAT.

An early Bilateral Trade Agreement is proposed to protect Indian interests, secure tariff exemptions for key exports, reduce barriers affecting industrial products, and create predictable trade conditions. Recommended measures include financial and export-credit support for small industries, real-time monitoring of customs requirements, documentation assistance, and timely policy support against tariff and non-tariff barriers. Export strategy should develop knowledge services and critical supply-chain integration, while a National Fund should assist suppliers with redesign, tooling, certification and entry into new global supply chains.

Ethanol imports for fuel blending remain outside concessions or commitments in India-US trade discussions. Under the Ethanol Blended with Petrol Programme, ethanol procurement is governed solely by domestic policy requirements and is sourced entirely from domestic producers. Claims of existing or intended large-scale ethanol imports from the United States for fuel blending, or of a policy change permitting them, are stated to be baseless.

Ethanol used for fuel blending under the Ethanol Blended with Petrol Programme is sourced entirely from domestic producers, with no imports from the United States for that purpose. No concessions or commitments on importing United States ethanol for fuel blending have been made in trade discussions. Fuel blending and ethanol procurement continue to be governed solely by domestic policy requirements, and claims of a policy change allowing large-scale imports are incorrect.

Patent and trade marks agent examinations comprise an objective Paper I, a descriptive Paper II and a viva voce assessing suitability to practise before the Intellectual Property Office. Candidates must secure the stipulated minimum marks in each written paper and the required aggregate score to pass. Registration in the relevant Register of Patent Agents or Register of Trade Marks Agents is available only to candidates who satisfy all prescribed eligibility conditions and qualify the examination.

Draft amendments to the Non-Banking Financial Companies credit-facilities framework have been released for public consultation. Regulated entities and other interested stakeholders may submit comments or feedback through the 'Connect 2 Regulate' platform or by email using the specified subject line.

GST paid on cancelled service advances or returned invoiced goods is generally adjusted through a credit note and the relevant return; a refund claim for excess tax payment may be made where no output liability exists for adjustment. Where no invoice was issued for a cancelled advance, a refund voucher is required and refund may be claimed through FORM GST RFD-01. The clarification also extended the time for furnishing LUT, filing the TDS return and depositing deducted tax, and filing refund applications falling within the specified relief period.

The amendments introduce a mechanism for reversal and later re-availment of input tax credit where the supplier does not furnish the corresponding GSTR-3B within the prescribed deadline. They also establish rule 88C, requiring a registered person to pay or explain differences between liability reported in GSTR-1 or the invoice furnishing facility and GSTR-3B, with recovery consequences for unpaid and unexplained differences. GSTR-1 reporting is revised to add electronic-commerce supply disclosures, while refund, appeal, registration and prescribed-form procedures are updated.

Appellate Tribunal appeal limitation under the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is notified for backlog and subsequent appeals. Appeals against orders communicated before 1 April 2026 may be filed up to 30 June 2026. Appeals against orders communicated on or after 1 April 2026 must be filed within three months from communication of the order to the appellant.

Himachal Pradesh SGST rate schedule classification is amended by substituting specified tariff entries for beverages under Notification No. 09/2025-State Tax (Rate). Schedule I, attracting 2.5% tax, is revised for entries at serial numbers 150 and 151, while Schedule III, attracting 20% tax, is revised for entries at serial numbers 2 and 3. The amendments are deemed effective from 1 May 2026.

Appellate Tribunal filing timelines under the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 are notified up to 31 July 2026 for specified appeals and applications. Appeals against orders communicated before 1 May 2026 and applications relating to orders passed before 1 February 2026 may be filed by that date. Later appeals continue to carry a three-month period from communication, while later applications carry a six-month period from the passing of the order.

Refund of accumulated input tax credit is restricted to credit supported by supplier-uploaded invoices reflected in the applicant's FORM GSTR-2A. Credit relating to invoices not reflected in FORM GSTR-2A is not refundable merely on upload of invoice copies. The restriction does not affect input tax credit availed on import documents, Input Service Distributor invoices, or inward supplies liable to reverse charge; refund treatment for those credits continues unchanged.

COVID-19 GST relief measures revise the interest and late-fee treatment for delayed FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-1 filings. Eligible delayed filings receive nil interest for notified periods, reduced interest for subsequent specified periods, and normal interest thereafter, with calculation based on the portion of delay within each applicable period. For small taxpayers, the reduced-interest relief extends to additional tax periods. Late-fee waiver for FORM GSTR-3B remains conditional on filing by notified dates; otherwise, late fee runs from the original due date until filing.

Mandatory jute packaging reservations were sought to be retained at full coverage for foodgrains and increased for sugar packaging for the forthcoming Jute Year. The submission before the Standing Advisory Committee emphasised absorption of bumper jute output, remunerative prices for cultivators, uninterrupted mill operations, and protection of farm and worker livelihoods. It also stressed that biodegradable jute bags offer an environmentally friendly alternative to HDPE and polypropylene woven sacks, and that dilution of compulsory packaging could undermine plastic-pollution reduction efforts.

NBFC Upper Layer classification subjects identified large non-banking financial companies to enhanced regulatory requirements for at least five years and requires stock-exchange listing within three years of identification. The framework divides NBFCs into Base, Middle, Upper and Top Layers. Seventeen large NBFCs were included in the Upper Layer list, while Tata Sons' classification remains subject to the pending examination of its de-registration application.

The Chief Commissioner, State Tax nominates an Additional Commissioner, State Tax to act as an officer of the State Government on the State-level Screening Committee on Anti-Profiteering. The nomination is made under the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax framework pursuant to the power to appoint officers and the related Finance Department notification.

Deemed approval of GST registration applications was withheld during the COVID lockdown because the period was treated as having no working days and misuse was apprehended. Pending applications were to be cleared through a special drive before the three-working-day deemed-approval mechanism resumed. Applications remaining pending on the specified date were to receive deemed approval, while cases approved during lockdown because of technical glitches could be subjected to physical verification of business premises where required.

The Closing Auction Session in the equity cash segment uses an auction-based method to determine closing prices of eligible shares with futures and options contracts, aiming to strengthen transparent and robust price discovery. Its effect on benchmark closing levels may differ according to constituent liquidity and institutional order flow. The Reserve Bank of India retained the policy repo rate and neutral stance, indicating that future policy decisions will be data-dependent and influenced by assessment of energy-cost effects on inflation.

State Tax officers of the rank of Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner are authorised to exercise powers under sub-rules (1) and (2) of rule 86A of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. Exercise of the authorisation is confined to each officer's respective jurisdiction and is effective from 31 December 2019.

Public grievance redressal is assessed through the Grievance Redressal Assessment and Index, which analyses grievance categories and disposal. The Department of Financial Services' Insurance and Banking Divisions received third and sixth ranks respectively in the June 2026 assessment. Its framework includes disposal of grievances, random reviews by senior officials, and workshops on effective grievance redressal, supporting best practices, stakeholder coordination, technology use, customer-centric service, and accountable public service delivery.