Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess inclusion: exemptions revised to treat AIDC as part of the duty base for specified customs notifications.
The notification amends four customs miscellaneous exemption notifications to include Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) within their exemption scope, substituting Explanation text to define the duty base as the sum of the standard rate of duty under the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act and the AIDC leviable under the Finance Bill, 2021, and inserting corresponding preamble language where applicable.

Tariff value fixation for edible oils, metals and agricultural commodities updated, replacing prior tables under Customs Act powers.
Under section 14(2) of the Customs Act the CBIC substitutes Tables 1-3 in Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to fix tariff values in US dollars per metric tonne (and per unit for gold and silver) for specified imported goods, including edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut, and defined forms of gold and silver; several entries are stated as "no change."

Networth and governance reforms: continuous AMC networth maintenance and quarterly trustee review, with tightened timelines for refunds and unit issuance.
Amendments update definitions (including sponsor, exchange traded fund, equity related instruments, networth, relative), require AMCs to maintain specified networth continuously with trustees conducting quarterly reviews, exclude loans to sponsors/associates when computing AMC networth, shorten refund and unit-issuance timelines (refunds within five working days; units/demat timelines), require dematerialisation within two working days, set open-ended repurchase price floor at 95% of NAV, mandate segregation and ring-fencing of scheme assets and liabilities, and insert or omit multiple provisos and schedule clauses to align terminology and operational requirements.

Quarterly return option for eligible small taxpayers allows continued quarterly filing with monthly tax payment and limited revision window.
Notification permits registered persons below a specified aggregate turnover threshold who opted under rule 61A(1) to furnish quarterly returns from January 2021, subject to the condition that the return for the preceding month was furnished when exercising the option and that the option, once exercised, remains effective unless revised. Eligibility ceases if aggregate turnover crosses the threshold during a quarter, effective from the following quarter's first month. Deemed options for October 2020 filers were set out and an electronic window on the common portal allowed changing the default option within a prescribed period.

Special tax deposit procedure: interim electronic cash ledger deposits required in early quarter months based on prior period liability.
Notification permits registered persons filing quarterly returns to make interim payments in the first and/or second month of a quarter by depositing into the electronic cash ledger an amount equal to thirty five percent of the tax liability from the relevant preceding period (preceding quarter for quarterly filers; last month of immediately preceding quarter for monthly filers). Deposits are not required where electronic cash or credit ledger balances suffice or where liability is nil. Eligibility requires furnishing the return for a complete preceding tax period.

Extension of due dates for anti profiteering GST compliance shifted to end March, allowing additional time for required actions.
Amendment to G.O.Ms.No.264 substitutes the proviso to clause (i) by moving the original late November compliance deadlines for anti profiteering measures under the Andhra Pradesh GST regime to end March, and states the amendment is deemed effective from 1 December 2020.

Commencement of Section 7 appointed as the operative date for enforcement under the Andhra Pradesh GST amendment notification.
The Governor, exercising powers under the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2019, by notification appoints 10th November 2020 as the date on which the specified amendment provision shall come into force, and directs publication of that notification in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette.

Exchange rate determination sets new customs conversion rates for imports and exports, effective from early February 2021
The notification, issued under the Customs Act, determines distinct rates of exchange for conversion of specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for imported and exported goods, sets those rates in Schedule I and Schedule II, and makes them effective from 5th February, 2021; it supersedes the prior exchange-rate notification except as to prior actions.

Amendment to central excise notification reallocates appellate postings and restructures territorial jurisdiction tables.
Amendment revises territorial and appellate assignments by removing a sub-entry against Sl. No. 7 in Table I, substituting Sl. No. 14 with four designated Commissioner (Appeals) postings for Mumbai, Raigarh and Thane, and restructuring Table III by substituting Sl. No. 13 with Delhi 1 (its constituent units), omitting Sl. Nos. 14 and 31, and replacing Sl. No. 32 with Mumbai II listing Mumbai East, Mumbai Central and Mumbai South.

Appointment of HAAR member: Ms Rachna Singh named as member under HGST Act by departmental amendment.
Amendment substitutes the entry at serial no. 2 in notification no.112/ST-2 dated 18.10.2017 to appoint Ms. Rachna Singh, Joint Commissioner, GST Panchkula as member of HAAR under the Haryana Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, effected by notification No. 05/GST-2 dated 3rd February 2021 issued by the Excise and Taxation Department under powers conferred by section 96.

Extension of adjudication period under Customs Act provision extends time for determination of duty or interest for listed entities.
The Principal Director General, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, under the first proviso to section 28(9) of the Customs Act, 1962, extends the period for determination of duty or interest for specified show cause notices by appointing the Common Adjudicating Authority and granting further time beyond the initial one year or six month limitation. The notification enumerates named noticees, cites the related show cause notices and prior appointment notifications, and specifies whether the extension granted for each matter is for one year or six months to permit adjudication by the appointed authority.

Tariff value fixation for specified edible oils, metals and seeds maintained; amended tariff tables substituted under Customs Act.
Fixation of tariff values under sub-section (2) of section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962: Notification No. 13/2021 substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.), setting tariff values for specified edible oils, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nut and per-weight tariff values for specified forms of gold and silver, with explanatory clarifications and linkages to pre-existing notification entries for benefit entitlement.

Serial-entry substitution updates listed company officers and records a later changed reading of the affected entries.
Central Government exercises powers under section 31 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 to substitute serial entries 5 and 6 relating to Falta SEZ. Entries for Bharat C. Arya and Sanjay Budhia are replaced by Sanjay Budhia, Managing Director of Patton International Limited, and Abhishek Murarka, Wholetime Director of Cheviot Company Limited.

Scheme of merger: startups may merge with other startups or small companies under amended merger rules.
The amendment permits a scheme of merger or amalgamation to be entered into either between two or more start-up companies or between one or more start-up companies and one or more small companies, and defines start-up company as a private company incorporated under the Companies Act and recognised as such under the specified government notification; the rules take effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Small company definition updated to set specific paid-up capital and turnover caps; changes effective from April 1, 2021.
The Amendment Rules, 2021 add clause (t) to rule 2(1) of the Companies (Specification of Definitions Details) Rules, 2014, specifying that for sub-clauses (i) and (ii) of clause (85) of section 2 of the Act, the paid-up capital and turnover of a small company shall not exceed rupees two crores and rupees twenty crores respectively; the amendment is effective from 1 April 2021.

Companies (Incorporation) Rules amended: OPC conversion process set, required filings, and residency threshold shortened.
The substituted rule 6 prescribes conversion of a One Person Company into a Private or Public Company (other than a section 8 company) by altering MOA and AOA through a resolution under subsection (3) of section 122, increasing membership and directorship to prescribed minima, maintaining applicable minimum paid up capital, complying with section 18, and filing e Form INC 6 with fees and attachments (altered MOA/AOA, copy of resolution, lists of proposed members/directors with consents, list of creditors, and latest audited financial statements) for Registrar approval and issuance of a conversion certificate.

Input tax credit statement: auto-drafted monthly FORM GSTR-2B issued to recipients, altering ITC reconciliation and return filing obligations.
Rules require suppliers to furnish outward supply details in FORM GSTR-1 or, for eligible quarterly filers, via the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) for the first two months of a quarter; IFF submissions are excluded from quarterly FORM GSTR-1. Supplier-submitted details populate recipient-facing statements including FORM GSTR-2A and a new monthly auto-drafted ITC statement, FORM GSTR-2B, which aggregates data from GSTR-1, GSTR-5, GSTR-6 and import records to indicate ITC available and ITC to be reversed for reconciliation and claiming in FORM GSTR-3B. Registered persons must furnish FORM GSTR-3B electronically by prescribed due dates and quarterly filers must make interim deposits in FORM GST PMT-06 for the first two months.

Quarterly GST returns with monthly tax payment permitted for small taxpayers who opt in, subject to turnover and filing conditions.
The notification allows registered persons below the prescribed turnover threshold to file GST returns quarterly while paying monthly tax, subject to filing the immediately preceding month's return and continuation of the elected option unless revised; ineligibility arises if aggregate turnover exceeds the threshold in a quarter, effective from the stated operative date, with deemed options based on prior October filings and an electronic window to change the default.

Tariff classification amendment updates headings and raises applicable customs duty rates effective early February.
Amendment to the principal Customs notification substitutes additional tariff headings into specified Table entries and replaces an existing duty percentage with a higher rate for another Table entry, thereby changing the scope of covered items and the applicable duty for those entries; the amendment takes effect on the specified commencement date in February 2021.

Social Welfare Surcharge exemption extended to crude and roughly trimmed marble and travertine block imports under customs notification.
The Central Government amends an existing customs miscellaneous exemption notification to add tariff lines 2515 11 00 and 2515 12 10, thereby extending exemption from the Social Welfare Surcharge to imports of crude or roughly trimmed blocks of marble and travertine; the amendment takes effect on 2 February 2021.