Exporters and customs brokers seeking preferential tariff treatment in New Zealand under the India-New Zealand FTA must declare the ORC information type, EPT qualifier and FTANZD code at item level in the shipping bill. Where exports are not under any preferential trade agreement, the information code must be NCPTI. The declaration is mandatory for all items; without it, the shipping bill cannot be filed. The certificate of origin number and date declared in the shipping bill must exactly match the issued certificate.

Grant-funded research and development by eligible entities qualifies for GST exemption; certification by the entity head that the work is research rather than consultancy may suffice. Imports of services without consideration by Indian establishments of foreign shipping companies from related persons or other establishments outside India are exempt from 1 November 2026, with GST payments for 1 July 2017 to 31 October 2026 regularised on an as-is-where-is basis. Statutory and ancillary costs recovered by vehicle lessors form part of the composite leasing supply and attract its GST rate. TRAI is not Government under GST law. Notional interest on loans or advances under banks' fund transfer pricing mechanism qualifies for the interest exemption. Lending services provided by NBFCs to banks under co-lending arrangements are taxable, with their value determined by the contractual agreement.

Sublimation paper falls under tariff heading 4809 and attracts 18% GST. Toy entries cover all toys under heading 9503, including dolls, scale models and puzzles; non-electronic toys attract 5% GST and electronic toys attract 18%, including their parts and accessories. Under the used-vehicle margin scheme, the input tax credit restriction applies only to tax paid on procured second-hand vehicles; credit on other inputs and input services remains available subject to the CGST Act. Seaweed-extract bio-stimulants registered under Schedule VI of the Fertiliser Control Order fall under heading 3101. Past disputes concerning sublimation paper classification and rates and bio-stimulant classification are recommended for regularisation on an "as is where is" basis.

For exports to New Zealand, the Customs EDI system captures certificate of origin details at item level in shipping bills from 20 October 2026. Exporters or customs brokers claiming preferential tariff treatment under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement must declare ORC as the information type, EPT as the qualifier and FTANZD as the code for each item. The declaration is mandatory for every item; NCPTI must be used as the code where exports are not under any preferential trade agreement. A shipping bill cannot be filed without the declaration. The declared certificate number and date must match the issued certificate of origin.

Companies may file cost audit reports for financial year 2025-26 in Form CRA-4, using XBRL format, up to and including 31 December 2026 without paying additional fees. Filings made after 31 December 2026 attract all applicable fees, including additional fees, under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014. Additional fees apply from the date on which the filing was actually due under Rule 6(6) of the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, rather than from the end of the relaxation period.

From 1 January 2021, quarterly filers may use the invoice furnishing facility (IFF) for supplies to registered persons in the first two months of a quarter, up to Rs. 50 lakh cumulatively per month, from the first to the thirteenth day of the following month. Details furnished through the IFF are not repeated in the quarterly GSTR-1. A monthly auto-drafted input tax credit statement in FORM GSTR-2B draws on supplier filings and import data, with reporting periods linked to the relevant GSTR-1 and IFF due dates. Quarterly filers must deposit tax for each of the first two months by the twenty-fifth day of the following month using FORM GST PMT-06, subject to extension and specified cash-ledger adjustments.

The first proviso to section 149 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 restricts the new ten-year reassessment limitation period for assessment years beginning on or before 1 April 2021. A notice is barred if the six-year limitation period under the earlier regime had expired when it was issued. For assessment year 2014-15, the earlier period expired on 31 March 2021, before the notice was issued on 31 August 2024.

Appellate authority functions under Section 107 of the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, read with Rule 109A of the corresponding Rules, are assigned to specified Additional Commissioners (Administration and Enforcement). The assignment covers hearing and deciding appeals arising from orders passed by Deputy Commissioners, with the assigned officers exercising the powers and discharging the functions of the appellate authority.

Departmental vigilance officer nominations for the Jammu and Kashmir State Taxes Department replace Namrita Dogra and Rakesh Kumar following their transfers. The nominations, dated 18 September 2026, partially modify the earlier office order No. 08/Adm of 2026 dated 12 May 2026. Dhananter Singh, Additional Commissioner of State Taxes (Administration and Enforcement), Jammu, is nominated at the Jammu division level. Shazia Koser, Deputy Commissioner of State Taxes (IT, Data Analytics and Economic Intelligence), Jammu, is nominated at the district level for Udhampur and Reasi.

Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, as applicable to the proceedings, covers financial years up to 2023-24 and cannot be invoked for financial year 2024-25. An order under Section 73(5) for a financial year outside that temporal scope is not sustainable; proceedings may instead be initiated in accordance with law.

Where the portal does not offer PMT-03, one interpretation is that Rule 93(2) addresses amounts debited from the electronic credit ledger when an unutilised input tax credit refund is claimed under Rule 89(3). A claim for IGST already paid on exports does not involve that filing-stage debit, so Rule 93(2) may not apply; this interpretation is contestable. An undertaking not to appeal may deem a refund rejected for re-credit purposes, but does not itself establish entitlement; an officer's PMT-03 order is still needed where applicable. A manual representation may be made to the jurisdictional officer, although no prescribed manual PMT-03 mechanism for this category was identified.

Capital gains taxation under section 45(5A) is questioned where a landowner entered into a registered, area-sharing joint development agreement and the developer allegedly sold the landowner's allocated flats using a forged power of attorney, defaulted on construction and absconded before a completion certificate was issued. The issues include whether capital gains can be taxed in those circumstances and whether the loss of property rights is a capital loss eligible for set-off or carry-forward under sections 70 and 74, or a non-deductible personal loss. The questions, raised with reference to Notification No. 06/2019-CT(R), include whether development rights are a taxable service or a benefit arising from land covered by Schedule III, entry 5, and whether the landowner can be required to pay the reverse-charge liability when the developer absconds without delivering the units.

Permanent discontinuation of supplementary import general manifest (IGM) and export general manifest (EGM) filings takes effect on 12 August 2026 at all remaining ports, including Mundra. Following that date, amendments must be filed only through standard Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR) amendment messages, namely SAA and SDM; legacy or manual supplementary formats are not accepted after that date. Under Mundra customs jurisdiction, trade stakeholders, shipping lines and agents must use those messages for adjustments, amendments and supplementary details.

Customs procedures at Mundra must follow the practices of Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (JNCH), with necessary adaptations, unless a specific requirement peculiar to Mundra necessitates a different approach, including because of infrastructural or geographical constraints. This approach reflects the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs' direction to adopt JNCH processes as a model for other ports and promote uniformity in customs procedures across India. Importers, exporters, customs brokers, shipping lines, terminal operators, custodians and other stakeholders are requested to bring processes they consider inconsistent with JNCH's documented processes to the attention of the Additional Commissioner, Mundra Customs, for examination and appropriate action.

For each selected GSTIN, all returns for the relevant financial year are scrutinised, and a single compiled notice in FORM GST ASMT-10 may be issued. The notice identifies specific discrepancies, seeks an explanation and, where possible, quantifies tax, interest and other amounts, taking account of payments already made through FORM GST DRC-03. The registered person may pay the amounts arising from accepted discrepancies through DRC-03 and communicate payment, or explain the discrepancies in FORM GST ASMT-11 within 30 days or an allowed extension. An acceptable explanation or payment is communicated in FORM GST ASMT-12.

Under the India-UK CETA, a valid origin declaration completed in the prescribed manner by the UK exporter or producer supports a preferential tariff claim without Form-I. Form-I need not accompany the Bill of Entry and is not a precondition for preferential treatment. Relevant Form-I information may be sought from the importer only when the National Risk Management System interdicts the Bill of Entry for origin checks and the proper officer has reason to believe that the origin criteria have not been met. An earlier determination denying preferential treatment may be applied to subsequent imports of identical goods from the same producer or exporter unless sufficient information establishes that the country-of-origin criteria are met. Before applying the earlier determination, the importer must have an opportunity to furnish additional information about the subsequent consignment.

Eligible industrial units that failed to file claims within the prescribed timelines before 15 October 2026 may submit their pending claims within two months of that date. This opportunity is conditional on filing all returns due under section 39 of the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and paying the tax due on those returns together with any applicable interest. Annexure-A, entry 4, concerning edible oil and vanaspati ghee, is revised to exclude oil extracted directly from oil seeds from the reference to edible oil. The revised claim-filing provision and entry apply from 15 October 2026.

Exporters shipping textile goods under specified eight-digit tariff items must declare whether the commodity is flame-retardant fabric or other than flame-retardant fabric in electronic export declarations from 1 November 2026. Covered tariff items are listed in the annexure to CBIC Circular No. 42/2026-Customs. When filing shipping bills through the Customs Automated System (ICEGATE), exporters or their authorised customs brokers must enter FR001 for flame-retardant fabric and FR009 for commodities other than flame-retardant fabric, mapped to Info Type Code CHR. Failure to provide the identifiers for covered tariff items is non-compliance and may lead to rejection of the declaration or failure to recognise product eligibility for scheme incentives.

Eligible industrial units that failed to file claims within the prescribed timelines before 15 October 2026 may claim scheme benefits by filing their pending claims within two months from that date. Delayed claims are conditional on filing all returns due under section 39 of the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, and paying the tax due along with any applicable interest. Entry 6 of Annexure A is amended to except oil extracted directly from oil seeds from the reference to edible oil; the reference to Vanaspati Ghee remains. Both amendments take effect on 15 October 2026.

Nominations for the GSTAT E-Tribunal Portal supersede all previous orders concerning portal roles. The Deputy Commissioner State Taxes (Judicial), Jammu and Kashmir, is nominated as Nodal Officer (State), while the Assistant Legal Remembrancer State Taxes, Jammu and Kashmir, is nominated as Authorized Representative (Nodal State). Both designations are recorded for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir under the Centre/State and Zone/State fields.