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Though the Government has announced various relief measures by way of waiver of interest, penalty, extension in statutory due dates, etc., for exporters, their woes seem to be increasing under GST. The article in this issue of Tax Amicus discusses in detail the provisions relating to refund of unutilized ITC in case of exports under LUT/Bond and focuses on the difficulties that will be faced by such exporters due to the clarification contained in Circular No. 135/5/2020-GST, dated 31-3-2020. According to the circular, refund of unutilized ITC of inputs and input services used in zero-rated supplies will be restricted to the extent of ITC reflected in Form GSTR-2A only. Taking note of Section 54 of the CGST Act, 2017 and Rule 89(4) of CGST Rules, 2017, the authors state that the circular appears to put a condition which is not found in the statute and that the Government is not empowered to issue circulars that are contrary to the Act or the Rules. Raising various other possible issues like retrospectivity of the said circular, the authors conclude by stating that representations may be filed by the Export Councils to highlight the problems before the GST Council...
Goods & Services Tax (GST)
Notifications and Circulars
TRAN-1 – Time limit for filing – CGST Section 140 amended with effect from 01-07-2017
IBC – Special procedure for corporate debtors – Relaxations
COVID-19 related relaxations in various time lines
E-way Bill – Extension of validity
Return related changes – CGST (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2020 notified
Annual return for Financial Year 2018-19 – Time limit extended again
Ratio decidendi
Rectification of previously filed Form GSTR-3B, in the period to which it relates, permissible – Delhi High Court
Transportation by own vehicle – Issuance or not of consignment note, not material for GST liability – Appellate AAR Rajasthan
Valuation – Partial amount received from Government on behalf of farmers not excludible as ‘subsidy’ – AAR Karnataka
Pre-developed and pre-designed software is ‘goods’ – Benefit under Notification No. 45/2017-Central Tax available – AAR Karnataka
Supply of powerpacks and commissioning/installation service when not a ‘composite supply’ – AAR Karnataka
Valuation – Inclusion/exclusion of various types of income in aggregate turnover – AAR Karnataka
Supply of software in DVDs/CDs when not covered as ‘E-Books’ – AAR Tamil Nadu
Customs
Notifications and Circulars
Validity of existing Export Performance Certificates for FY 2019-20 extended up to 30-09-2020
Relaxation from submitting Bonds extended till 30-05-2020
Advance authorisations/DFIAs - Procedure for extension in import validity period and export obligation period, prescribed
Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) for Pre and Post shipment Rupee Export Credit extended by one year
Transport and Marketing Assistance on Specified Agriculture Products (TMA) - Claims for air shipment to be made on per kilogram basis
Sanitizers - Export policy of sanitizers, other than alcohol-based hand sanitizers, relaxed
Masks - Export policy revised
Paper import – Prohibitions for ‘stock lot’ of paper under HSN 4810 clarified
Registrar of Newspapers of India included for e-SANCHIT application
Metallic scrap and waste - Submission of scanned copy of Pre-shipment Inspection Certificate
Silver - Import policy revised
Ratio decidendi
Valuation – Turnkey contracts – Value of drawings and designs for post importation activities when not includible – Supreme Court
MEIS – Omission of declaration of intent in shipping bill when not fatal – Gujarat High Court
CA certificate not conclusive to overcome unjust enrichment – CESTAT Ahmedabad
Samples can be drawn only before imported goods are cleared/removed from Customs area – Punjab and Haryana High Court
TED refund for supplies to power projects under ICB – Delhi High Court
Neutral substances to be considered while determining small/commercial quantity – Supreme Court
Central Excise, Service Tax & VAT
Ratio decidendi
Sabka Vishwas Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme – Non-mention of penalty in application form not fatal – Guwahati High Court
Manufacture – Fixing hologram/barcode and placing outer cover on bottles of medicines is not manufacture – Madhya Pradesh High Court
Demand of central excise duty by SEZ DC from power plant in SEZ procuring HSD from DTA, not sustainable – Madras High Court also quashes SEZ Power Guidelines, 2015
Commercial Training or Coaching service – Non-inclusion of profits from sale of books and provision of hostel facility – CESTAT Allahabad
High Court cannot disregard statutory period of limitation, exercising power under Article 226 – Supreme Court
Car mats are classifiable under TI 5703 90 90 and not under Heading 8708 – Supreme Court
