Summary: The note confirms tax rates for AY 2024-25 remain unchanged in specified statutory sections and in Part I of the First Schedule, reproduces slabbed rates under the optional section 115BAC regime and explains surcharge rules-including staged surcharge percentages, caps where income includes dividends or incomes under sections 111A/112/112A, marginal relief provisions-and that Health and Education Cess at 4% applies on tax inclusive of surcharge.
Summary: Part II of the First Schedule to the Finance Bill, 2024 prescribes FY 2024-25 rates for deduction of income-tax at source under specified sections; tax is to be deducted per the relevant statutory provisions. The rate for other income paid to a company that is not a domestic company is proposed to be reduced to thirtyfive percent. A revised table sets distinct TDS rates on capital gains for non-residents for transfers before and on or after 23rd July 2024. Other TDS rates generally remain as in the Finance Act, 2023. Surcharge is unchanged and Health and Education Cess remains at four percent for non-residents.
Summary: Rates for deduction of income tax at source from Salaries and under section 194P and the computation of advance tax are specified in Part III of the First Schedule to the Finance Bill for the relevant fiscal year; those rates also apply to charging income tax in specified accelerated assessment circumstances such as provisional assessment of shipping profits to non residents, assessments of persons leaving India, likely property transfers to avoid tax, and bodies formed for short duration.
Summary: A concessional tax regime under proposed clause (ii) of sub section (1A) of section 115BAC will apply to individuals, HUFs, AOPs, BOIs and certain artificial juridical persons from assessment year 2025 26, prescribing graded tax rates by income band; an opt out under sub section (6) of section 115BAC makes Part III of the First Schedule applicable. Part III also provides age based higher exempt thresholds for resident senior and super senior citizens and includes capital gains under sections 111A, 112 and 112A in taxable income. Surcharge rates rise with income but are subject to caps, specific restrictions for dividend and specified incomes, limits for associations of companies, a reduced cap for persons under sub section (1A) of section 115BAC, and marginal relief at thresholds.
Summary: Co-operative society tax rates remain unchanged and are set in the First Schedule; tiered surcharge applies with marginal relief to address surcharge effects. A resident co-operative society meeting specified conditions may elect an optional lower tax regime with a prescribed surcharge. A manufacturing co-operative society formed and commenced production within specified dates, foregoing specified incentives and deductions, may opt for a concessional manufacturing tax rate for assessment years from the stated year, with a prescribed surcharge. These measures are provided in the cited clauses and the First Schedule.
Summary: The income-tax rate for firms remains unchanged from the prior year; firms with total income above the threshold face a surcharge on computed income-tax, but the combined tax and surcharge for income exceeding the threshold is capped so it cannot exceed the tax on income at the threshold plus the excess income.
Summary: The income-tax rate for local authorities for FY 2024-25 remains unchanged. A surcharge applies to income-tax where total income exceeds the statutory threshold, calculated as a percentage of income-tax. The combined income-tax and surcharge on income above the threshold is capped so that it does not exceed, by more than the excess income, the income-tax payable on income equal to the threshold.
Summary: The Bill sets differentiated corporate tax rates for domestic and non domestic companies, preserves optional lower-tax regimes for qualifying domestic companies, and reduces the non domestic base rate. It maintains surcharge bands for domestic and non domestic entities, provides marginal relief in surcharge computation, excludes surcharge on advance tax for certain specified funds, and imposes a Health and Education Cess on tax computed inclusive of surcharge without marginal relief for the cess.
Summary: An amendment makes the standard deduction for salaries and the family pension deduction operate as if the lower statutory caps were substituted by higher caps where income-tax is computed under the specified clause of the new tax regime; these substitutions apply only when tax is computed under that new-regime provision and take effect from the stated future assessment year.
Summary: Employer contributions to an employee's pension scheme will be deductible to the employer up to 14% of the employee's salary instead of the current 10%; contributions made by non government employers will also be deductible for the employee up to 14% of salary where the employee's pay is chargeable under the alternate tax regime. The amendments apply from 1 April 2025 for assessment year 2025 2026.
Summary: Proposed amendments broaden IFSC tax concessions: include retail schemes and Exchange Traded Funds as specified funds under section 10(4D); exempt specified income of Core Settlement Guarantee Funds by recognising IFSCA market infrastructure regulations; extend section 68 relief to Venture Capital Funds regulated by IFSCA; and exclude IFSC finance companies from the section 94B interest deduction limitation, subject to prescribed conditions. Amendments take effect from 1 April 2025 and apply to the subsequent assessment year.
Summary: The amendment provides that clause (viib) of section 56(2), which taxed excess consideration received by closely held companies on issue of shares as Income from other sources, shall not apply from the specified assessment year, with the change effective from the stated first day of April.
Summary: A new presumptive taxation regime for non-resident cruise-ship operators deems a fixed proportion of amounts received or receivable for carriage of passengers as profits from that business, replacing the existing presumptive shipping provisions for cruise-ship activity. Additionally, lease rentals paid by a company opting into this regime to a foreign recipient will be exempt in the hands of that recipient if both are subsidiaries of the same holding company, with defined subsidiary/holding relationships and a time-bound availability.
Summary: A scheme of block assessment applies where a search under section 132 or requisition under section 132A is initiated on or after the commencement date, requiring the Assessing Officer to make one consolidated assessment for a defined block period covering six preceding assessment years and the period up to execution of the last authorisation. Regular assessments for years within the block abate; total income for the block is to include undisclosed income evidenced during search or requisition, undisclosed income attributable to other persons is to be transferred to their jurisdictional Assessing Officer, and specified tax, penalty and timeline rules apply.
Summary: Before initiating assessment, reassessment or recomputation the Assessing Officer must issue a notice with the prior order determining fit for reopening and require a return within a period not exceeding three months. A notice can be issued only where information suggests escaped income; survey information after the commencement date is included as such information, and information from a notified information sharing scheme requires prior specified authority approval. A pre notice show cause procedure with an opportunity to reply and specified authority approval to proceed is mandated, subject to transitional provisions and revised limitation windows, including extended periods for substantial escaped income.
Summary: The provision governing the period of limitation for imposing penalties is amended to omit the reference to receipt of appellate orders by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner, removing ambiguity in calculating limitation periods arising from appeals; the amendment takes effect from 1 October 2024.
Summary: Assessing Officers may adjust refunds against outstanding tax demands and withhold refunds during pending assessment or reassessment subject to prior approval and reasons recorded in writing. The permissible withholding period is extended beyond the assessment date, and additional interest under the refund interest provision is not payable for the duration the refund is lawfully withheld.
Summary: The proposal adds penalty orders on undisclosed income arising from search assessments to the list of orders appealable to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, correcting an omission; and it changes limitation computation so appeals may be filed within two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated to the assessee or to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner to accommodate electronic faceless appeal communications.
Summary: The proposal phases out the approval route under sub clauses (iv), (v), (vi) and (via) of clause (23C) of section 10 by preventing consideration of applications filed on or after 1 October 2024, while allowing pending applications and existing approvals to continue under the first regime; approved entities may later apply for registration under the sections 11-13 framework, with amendments preserving certain eligible investment modes and enabling the transition.
Summary: The amendment authorises the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to condone delay in filing registration applications by trusts and institutions and to treat such applications as filed within time if satisfied there is a reasonable cause for the delay. This power is intended to avert tax liability on accreted income or permanent exit from the exemption regime and takes effect from 1 October 2024.
Summary: Amendments rationalise filing timelines and the processing procedure for funds and institutions seeking approval under section 80G, addressing cases where entities cannot meet existing deadlines and preventing unintended permanent loss of approval; the change preserves donor deduction eligibility and takes effect from the commencement date specified in the Bill.
Summary: Applications by trusts, funds, or institutions seeking registration under section 12AB or approval under section 80G must be processed by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner within six months from the end of the quarter in which the application is received; this quarter-end computation applies to initial and further or final registration/approval applications and replaces the prior month-end calculation.
Summary: Proposal: mergers of approved or registered charitable trusts and institutions may attract the tax on accreted income; a new statutory provision will prescribe conditions under which such mergers will not attract the accreted-income regime, specifying qualifying non-attraction safeguards for mergers between entities across the two approval/registration regimes. The amendments are to apply prospectively from the notified commencement date of the finance measures.
Summary: The amendment adds additional section 10 clause references to sub-section (7) of section 11 so that registration under section 12AB becomes inoperative when an entity is approved under those additional clause types; trusts and institutions retain a one-time option to apply to make their section 12AB registration operative, permitting an election between the registration regime and specified section 10 exemption regimes.
Summary: The Bill simplifies capital gains taxation by creating two holding periods-shorter for listed securities and longer for other assets-raising the specific short-term rate for securities subject to securities transaction tax while unifying long-term gains under a single lower rate with an increased exemption for specified securities; it removes indexation for long-term gains on property, gold and unlisted assets, brings unlisted debentures and bonds to tax at applicable rates, and aligns non-resident and withholding provisions to the new rates, effective from the operative date in the Bill.
Summary: The amendment redefines Specified Mutual Fund under section 50AA to mean (a) a mutual fund investing more than sixty five percent of its proceeds in debt and money market instruments, or (b) a fund investing sixty five percent or more of its proceeds in units of such a fund. The change clarifies treatment of ETFs, gold funds and Fund of Funds previously affected by the thirty five percent equity threshold and is proposed to be effective from 1 April 2026 for AY 2026 27 onwards.
Summary: Rationalisation of TDS rates streamlines withholding provisions by lowering multiple prior rates for specified non-salary payments, proposing omission of the provision on mutual fund unit repurchases, and preserving existing withholding regimes for salaries, virtual digital assets, lotteries, immovable property transfers, non-resident payments and contractor payments; implementation is phased on different effective dates to promote administrative simplification and improved taxpayer compliance without changing substantive chargeability.
Summary: The Finance Bill amends withholding tax treatment for remuneration or reward for soliciting or procuring insurance business by reducing the TDS rate applicable to resident non-corporate payees; payers must continue to deduct tax at source when such income is credited or paid under existing triggering rules and modes, with the reduced rate taking effect from the prescribed effective date stated in the amendment.
Summary: Section 194DA requires persons paying sums under life insurance policies to deduct tax at source on the income component of such payments, excluding amounts exempt under clause (10D) of section 10. The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 proposes a reduction in the withholding rate under Section 194DA, with the amendment to take effect from the first day of October under Clause 54, thereby lowering the deductor's TDS obligation on qualifying life insurance payouts to residents.
Summary: Payers of commission, remuneration or prizes on sale or distribution of lottery tickets must deduct tax at source at the statutory withholding rate at the time of credit or payment, whichever is earlier. The Finance Bill amendment (Clause 56) lowers that withholding rate, with the reduction effective from the commencement date specified in the Bill.
Summary: Section 194H imposes TDS on persons other than individuals and HUFs for commission or brokerage (excluding insurance commission), requiring deduction at the time of credit or payment. The Finance Bill proposes a reduction in the TDS rate under section 194H, with the amendment to take effect from the stated commencement date, thereby modifying deductor withholding obligations for subsequent payments.
Summary: Section 194-IB presently obliges individuals and Hindu undivided families (except those excluded by the second proviso to section 194-I) paying rent above the monthly threshold to deduct tax at source; the Finance Bill amends the provision to reduce the TDS rate from five percent to two percent, with the amendment operative from 1 October 2024.
Summary: Section 194M requires individuals and Hindu undivided families (except those already required to deduct under related contractor, commission or professional service provisions) to deduct tax at the earlier of credit or payment on sums for carrying out work (including supply of labour), commission or brokerage (excluding insurance commission), and fees for professional services. The Finance Bill proposes to reduce the prescribed withholding rate under Section 194M, with the amendment effective from 1 October 2024 as Clause 60.
Summary: Section 194-O obliges an e-commerce operator to deduct tax at source on the gross amount of sales or services when that amount is credited to an e-commerce participant's account or paid, whichever is earlier. The Finance Bill proposes reducing the operator's TDS rate to achieve parity with lower rates applicable to comparable offline provisions, with an effective date specified in the Bill.
Summary: Proposal deletes section 194F, removing the TDS obligation on payments for repurchase of units by mutual funds and UTI as part of capital gains tax rationalisation; the amendment takes effect from the first day of October under the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 (Clause 55).
Summary: Amendment modifies the rule for computing tax to be deducted from salary so that any tax deducted or collected under the statutory collection-at-source and related withholding regimes is taken into account when determining salary tax deduction, thereby reducing cash-flow impacts on employees and the need to claim refunds; effective from 1 October 2024.
Summary: The Bill amends section 206C(7) to increase the simple interest rate for failure to remit tax collected at source from one percent to one and one-half percent per month or part thereof, calculated from the date of collection until actual payment to the Government; the amendment is prospective and effective from 1 April 2025.
Summary: The Finance Bill raises the allowable deduction threshold for remuneration to working partners under section 40(b)(v), preserving the two-tier structure that gives a more favourable limit on the initial portion of book-profit and a lower ceiling on the balance. The amendment takes effect from 1 April 2025 and applies to assessment year 2025-26 and subsequent years, with deductions permitted only where remuneration is authorised by and accords with the partnership deed.
Summary: Proposal empowers the Board to notify rules permitting allocation of tax collected at source to persons other than the collectee, addressing cases where tax is collected in a minor's name. Credit of a minor's TCS is allowed only when the minor's income is included in the parent's total income under the income clubbing rule, thereby conditioning credit on that inclusion and providing safeguards against misuse.
Summary: Sums paid by a domestic company for purchase of its own shares are proposed to be treated as deemed dividend taxable in the hands of recipient shareholders at applicable rates with no expense deductions; concurrently, the extinguished shares will generate a capital loss (consideration deemed nil less cost of acquisition) which may be carried forward and set off against future capital gains on remaining or subsequently sold shares, preserving the shareholder's original cost of acquisition for later capital gains computation.
Summary: The Finance (No.2) Act, 2004 is amended to increase Securities Transaction Tax rates: the levy on sale of an option in securities is increased to a higher rate of the option premium and the levy on sale of a futures in securities is increased to a higher rate of the traded futures price. Recognised stock exchanges, specified funds, insurers and lead merchant bankers remain responsible for collecting STT and remitting it to the Central Government within the prescribed monthly timeline. The amendment responds to the growth of derivative trading and is set to commence on the Bill's stated future effective date.
Summary: Amendment clarifies that income from letting out a residential house or part thereof shall be chargeable under Income from House Property and not under Profits and Gains of Business or Profession, to prevent misclassification of rental receipts and tighten the tax base.
Summary: The amendment restricts the exclusion from capital gains chargeability for transfers by gift, will or irrevocable trust so that it applies only where the transferor is an individual or a Hindu undivided family, thereby preventing use of gift transfers by companies to avoid capital gains tax and aligning the non-recognition rule with fair market value anti-avoidance provisions; the substitution applies prospectively to the announced assessment year and subsequent years.
Summary: A new provision imposes TDS on partnership firms for payments to partners - salary, remuneration, commission, bonus and interest - including amounts credited to capital accounts, where aggregate payments to a partner in a financial year exceed a specified threshold; the applicable rate is ten percent and the provision takes effect from the commencement of the stated financial year.
Summary: Amendment expands the Tax Collection at Source provision that applies to high-value motor vehicle sales to include other notified high-value luxury goods; sellers must collect TCS from buyers on notified goods exceeding the prescribed value threshold at the rate specified by law, to enhance tracking of luxury expenditure and to widen and deepen the tax base, effective from 1 January 2025.
Summary: Amendment clarifies that for deduction under section 194-IA the consideration, and thus the threshold exemption and deduction obligation, is the aggregate amount paid or payable where more than one transferor or transferee is involved, countering treatment of individual buyer payments in isolation and addressing related tax avoidance.
Summary: Amendment to Section 193 mandates deduction of tax at source at the time of payment of interest to residents where interest exceeds the prescribed threshold, specifically covering Floating Rate Savings (Taxable) Bonds (FRSB) 2020 and any Central or State Government security as may be specified by the Central Government; the amendment is effective from 1 October 2024.
Summary: Amendment to Rule 2 of the First Schedule mandates that any expenditure not admissible under section 37 shall be included (added back) to the profits and gains of life insurance business, supplementing the actuarial surplus based computation and preventing misuse of deductions. The change takes effect from 1 April 2025 and applies from assessment year 2025 26.
Summary: Proposed amendment deems amounts deducted under Chapter XVII-B and income tax paid outside India by way of deduction, where credit is allowed against tax payable under the Act, to be income received for computing an assessee's total income, preventing under reporting and double benefit from foreign tax credits.
Summary: The amendment expressly excludes sums covered by section 194J from the definition of "work" in the Explanation to section 194C, removing overlap where payments for professional or technical services could otherwise be taxed as contractor payments; the change is framed as an anti avoidance clarification and takes effect from 1st October 2024.
Summary: The amendment clarifies that expenditure incurred to settle proceedings relating to a contravention under any law, as notified by the Central Government, falls within the definition of expenditure "for any purpose which is an offence or which is prohibited by law" and therefore shall not be allowable as a deduction for business or profession.
Summary: Amendment extends the Explanation for computing fair market value to include equity shares sold under an offer for sale in an IPO that were unlisted on 31 January 2018 or at acquisition but listed subsequent to transfer; FMV is to be determined by applying the Cost Inflation Index proportion between 2017-18 and the first year of holding (or 2001-02 baseline) to the cost of acquisition, and the change is retrospective to 1 April 2018.
Summary: Introduction of a Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 to enable settlement of disputed direct tax issues pending at appellate levels, particularly at Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals), to reduce litigation and expedite disposal. The proposal, prompted by the prior Direct Tax Vivaad Se Vishwas Act, 2020 and rising appeal pendency, will commence and conclude on dates to be notified by the Central Government and is set out in clauses 88 to 99 of the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024.
Summary: The equalisation levy shall not apply to consideration received or receivable for e commerce supply or services on or after 1 August 2024. Income from e commerce supply or services made, provided or facilitated on or after 1 April 2020 but before 1 August 2024 shall be governed by clause (50) of section 10 of the Act, restoring its prior exemption framework where applicable. The exclusion for amounts effectively connected to a permanent establishment in India remains in force.
Summary: Amendments to sections 42 and 43 of the Black Money Act reinforce resident reporting obligations for foreign assets and income and confirm that failure to disclose may attract a penalty under section 42 or 43. The Finance Bill proposes raising the proviso exemption for low value assets (other than immovable property) so the sections will not apply where the aggregate value of such assets does not exceed a revised threshold, addressing stakeholder concerns that the prior threshold led to penalties disproportionate to asset value.
Summary: The amendment exempts a person from prosecution for failure to pay tax deducted at source where the tax for a quarter is paid to the credit of the Central Government on or before the time prescribed for filing the quarterly statement under the Act, thereby creating a temporal safe harbour tied to the statutory filing deadline.
Summary: Amendments to section 201 and insertion of sub section (7A) in section 206C impose a uniform limitation: no order deeming a person an assessee in default shall be made after six years from the end of the financial year in which payment/credit occurred or tax was collectible, or two years from the end of the financial year in which a correction statement is delivered, whichever is later; effective 1 April 2025.
Summary: Amendment expands the scope of Section 200A to permit the Board to make a scheme for processing statements of tax deduction or correction statements filed by persons other than the deductor, addressing filings like exchange-submitted statements where the deductee provides tax details, with effect from the first day of April, 2025.
Summary: The proposal amends subsection (1) of section 197 and subsection (9) of section 206C to include the buyer-side withholding provision and the seller-side collection provision within the scope of a lower deduction/collection certificate, allowing taxpayers to seek reduced withholding or collection rates to address blocked funds, refund processes, and overlapping compliance obligations.
Summary: The Central Government is empowered to notify, in the Official Gazette, persons or classes of persons-including institutions, associations or bodies-for whom no TCS shall be collected or for whom TCS shall be collected at a lower rate in respect of specified transactions; this addresses cases where entities with tax-exempt income and no return-filing obligation nonetheless face TCS, and the amendment prescribes a prospective commencement for the relief.
Summary: Imposes a six year cut off for delivering correction statements for TDS and TCS: no correction statement may be delivered after six years from the end of the financial year in which the original statement was delivered, thereby providing finality to TDS/TCS filings and preventing indefinite post filing revisions.
Summary: The penalty provision for failure to furnish TDS/TCS statements is amended so that no penalty applies only if, after paying TDS/TCS with fees and interest to the Central Government, the person files the TDS/TCS statement within a shortened compliance period measured from the time prescribed for furnishing such statement.
Summary: Non-resident liaison offices must furnish an annual statement of activities within a period to be prescribed by Rules. Failure to furnish will attract a penalty of one thousand rupees per day where the default does not exceed three months, and one lakh rupees otherwise, subject to relief if the assessee proves reasonable cause; the amendment is prospective and adjusts penalty provisions in the compliance framework.
Summary: The amendment enables the Transfer Pricing Officer to determine and compute the Arm's Length Price for specified domestic transactions that were not referred by the Assessing Officer or not disclosed in the taxpayer's transfer pricing audit report, extending to SDTs the existing procedural powers previously available only for international transactions; the change takes effect from 1 April 2025 and applies to the relevant assessment year and subsequent years.
Summary: The proviso allowing quoting of an Aadhaar Enrolment ID instead of an Aadhaar number for PAN allotment and income tax returns is proposed to be discontinued effective 1 October 2024 because expanded Aadhaar coverage makes the enrolment ID option a risk for PAN duplication and misuse; persons allotted PAN using an Enrolment ID must intimate their Aadhaar number by a notified date.
Summary: Amendments permit withdrawal of applications transferred from the former Authority for Advance Rulings to the Board for Advance Rulings where no order under the relevant provision has been passed, by allowing applicants to apply for withdrawal by 31st October, 2024; the Board may, upon such application, order the transferred application to be rejected as withdrawn on or before 31st December, 2024, with the amendment taking effect from 1st October, 2024.
Summary: The Bill proposes empowering the Commissioner (Appeals) to set aside best judgement assessments made under section 144 and refer the case to the Assessing Officer for a fresh assessment, and proposes a consequential amendment to section 153(3) to prescribe a time limit for disposal of cases so referred; the amendment applies to appellate orders passed on or after the specified commencement.
Summary: The amendment specifies that penalty applies where a person furnishing statements under section 285BA either furnishes inaccurate information or fails to comply with prescribed due diligence, to align with the AEOI/CRS framework. It further adds the penalty provision to the scope of section 273B, allowing a reasonable cause defence against imposition of the penalty. The changes are enacted prospectively as provided in the Finance Bill.
Summary: The amendment adds liabilities under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 to the list of tax statutes whose outstanding liabilities may render it necessary for a person domiciled in India to obtain a tax clearance certificate before leaving the country, while preserving the proviso requiring recorded reasons and prior approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner; the amendment takes effect from 1 October 2024.
Summary: Amendments revise time-limits: assessments on returns filed following administrative directions may be completed within twelve months from the end of the financial year of filing; fresh assessments after appellate or supervisory orders will include cases set aside by the Commissioner (Appeals); timelines are specified for revived proceedings following annulment of block assessments; and search-period exclusions are adjusted so the limitation date falls at the end of the month after exclusion. A consequential provision applies return-obligations to returns furnished under administrative orders. Effective from 1 October 2024.
Summary: Section 80G is amended to specify that donations to the National Sports Development Fund established by the Central Government are deductible in computing total income, replacing the earlier reference to the National Sports Fund; the amendment is prospective and will apply to subsequent assessment years.
Summary: Amendment proposes deleting references to the National Housing Bank in section 43D, removing the clause on public companies engaged in housing finance and related explanations that linked recognition of interest income on prescribed bad or doubtful debts to NHB guidelines, and aligning tax text with the regulatory transfer of housing finance companies to the Reserve Bank of India; the amendment is effective from 1 April 2025 and applies to subsequent assessment years.
Summary: The amendment adds a reference to the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 to Section 132B of the Income-tax Act, authorising recovery of existing liabilities under the Black Money Act from assets seized or requisitioned under section 132, with prospective effect from the 1st day of October, 2024.
Summary: Amendments to section 24 fix procedural timelines: benamidar and beneficial owner must file explanations within three months from the end of the month of notice; the Initiating Officer's period to provisionally attach or decide attachment matters is extended to four months from the end of the month of notice; and the period to prepare and refer the statement of the case to the Adjudicating Authority is increased to one month from the end of the month in which the attachment order is passed.
Summary: Insertion of Section 55A permits the Initiating Officer, with previous sanction of the competent authority, to tender conditional immunity from penalty under section 53 to non-beneficial-owner persons involved in benami transactions in exchange for a full and true disclosure; accepted immunity renders them immune from prosecution and penalty to the extent tendered, but the Initiating Officer may record non compliance or falsehood and, with sanction, withdraw immunity, enabling prosecution and imposition of penalties for the offence or related offences.
Summary: The Customs Act amendments permit varied forms of proof of origin, including self certification, to align with trade agreements; empower the Central Government to proscribe specific manufacturing or other operations in warehouses; and expand references from "a class of importers or exporters" to include "any other persons," broadening the scope of certain customs provisions.
Summary: Section 6 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, authorising levy of protective duties by the Central Government on recommendations of the Tariff Commission is omitted by the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2024 because the Tariff Commission was wound up by resolution on 1 June 2022; the change is effective from enactment of the Bill.
Summary: The Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2024 amends the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 to implement immediate provisional increases in specified basic customs duties using the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 2023 for certain PVC flex films, consumer goods and laboratory chemicals in small packings, and further tariff adjustments to be given effect in the Schedule from October while preserving current BCD levels for other affected goods via notification amendments.
Summary: The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 revises Basic Customs Duty rates effective 24 July 2024, lowering or nil-rating duties across agricultural inputs, aquaculture, critical minerals, metals, chemicals, IT and electronics, medical equipment, renewable energy inputs and precious metals; it also simplifies and rationalises export duties on hides, skins and leather to streamline export taxation.
Summary: The Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2024 validates Notification No. 37/2023 to confirm exemption from basic customs duty and anti-dumping/countervailing duties on imports of crude soybean oil and crude sunflower seed oil, conditional on unutilized TRQ quota and a bill of lading issued on or before 31 March, 2023; it also exempts GST Compensation Cess on imports into SEZs by SEZ units or developers for authorized operations.
Summary: Amendment inserts a New Shipper Review provision into the Customs Tariff Rules, 1995 to permit review of new exporters or suppliers within the existing framework for identification, assessment and collection of countervailing duty and for determination of injury; effective from 24.7.2024.
Summary: The notifications extend temporal reliefs and adjust tariffs: aircraft and vessels imported for maintenance, repair and overhaul may remain imported for one year (further extendable by one year), warranty exports qualify for duty free re import for five years (further extendable by two years), and the India-UAE CEPA tariff notification is amended to revise duty rates on precious metals; changes effective 24 July 2024.
Summary: The Finance measure extends conditional Basic Customs Duty (BCD) exemptions for numerous specified goods-inputs, parts, capital goods, and medical supplies-preserving duty-free import treatment subject to existing notification conditions, while narrowing or broadening the scope of certain entries and maintaining targeted provisions for SEZ-related supplies and bona fide exporters; stakeholders must refer to the notification for full descriptive and documentary eligibility requirements.
Summary: Amendments extend Basic Customs Duty (BCD) exemption timelines for specified notifications and remove prescribed end dates for another subset, thereby sustaining concessional import treatment for listed categories such as media content, specialised machinery, castor products, artworks, precious stones on approval basis, copper products, export-jobbing inputs, instructional materials and other sectoral items; notifications remain authoritative for full descriptions.
Summary: Customs duty exemptions and concessional notifications listed in earlier customs instruments are being allowed to lapse, removing specified concessional import treatments. Affected provisions include selected entries of notification No. 50/2017-Customs covering inputs and equipment for sectors such as solar manufacturing, electric vehicles, medical devices, telecommunication equipment, and certain industrial catalysts, and several standalone notifications granting exemptions for gold imports by banks, donated second-hand computers, SAD-related exemptions, SEZ to DTA transfers, and aviation re-imports.
Summary: Amendment to Notification No. 11/2018 exempts a specified list of imported goods from the levy of the Social Welfare Surcharge with effect from 24 July 2024, covering raw minerals, metal ores and concentrates, high purity silicon and silicon products, rare earth metals and compounds, various oxides, hydroxides, salts and carbonates, graphite and a range of unwrought metals, powders, waste and scrap.
Summary: Amendment revises the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) rates on specified precious metal goods by modifying Notification No. 11/2021 - Customs, effective 24 July 2024, reducing AIDC and altering the effective customs duty incidence on listed tariff entries including gold, silver, platinum group metals, coins of precious metals, and related findings.
Summary: The amendment extends the submission period for the final Mega Power Project certificate under Notification No.12/2012 Central Excise from 120 to 156 months. It also exempts Clean Environment Cess on excisable goods in stock as of 30 June 2017, conditional on payment of applicable GST Compensation Cess on supplies of those goods on or after 1 July 2017. Both changes take effect from the date of enactment of the Finance (No. 2) Bill, 2024.
Summary: Insertion of Section 74A establishes a separate regime for determination of tax not paid, short paid, erroneously refunded or incorrect input tax credit for periods from the Financial Year 2024-25 onwards, prescribes a uniform limitation period for issuing demands and orders for those periods, retains higher penalties where fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression is found, and triggers consequential amendments across assessment, recovery, credit, return-filing and appeal provisions to align procedures and pre-deposit requirements.
Summary: The Bill amends IGST to exempt Extra Neutral Alcohol used in making alcoholic liquor from integrated tax; empowers the Government to regularize non levy or short levy arising from established general practice; revises the zero rating regime to allow notification of classes eligible for zero rated supplies and corresponding refunds under Central GST refund rules while barring refunds where export duty applies; and reduces maximum pre deposit amounts required to file appeals before the appellate authority and the Appellate Tribunal.
Summary: Amendment excludes union territory tax on Extra Neutral Alcohol used in manufacture of alcoholic liquor for human consumption, narrowing the UTGST taxable base and requiring suppliers and manufacturers to adjust tax treatment. A newly inserted Section 8A authorizes the government to regularize non-levy or short levy of union territory tax where such shortfall resulted from a general practice, creating a mechanism to validate or correct historical under-collection attributable to systemic practices.
Summary: Section 8A empowers the government to regularize cases of non-levy or short-levy of the compensation cess where such under-collection arose from a prevailing general practice, providing an administrative mechanism to treat practice-driven cess shortfalls as regularizable liabilities under the GST compensation framework.
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