Article
Exporting under GST – A Boon or Bane?
By Nivedita Agarwal and Nirav Karia
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