Faceless Appeal Scheme renames National e-Assessment Centre to National Faceless Assessment Centre and updates scheme terminology.
The amendment substitutes clause (xviii) in the Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2020 to define the National Faceless Assessment Centre as the body previously termed National e-Assessment Centre or as referenced elsewhere, and directs that every occurrence of "National e-Assessment Centre" in the principal scheme be replaced by "National Faceless Assessment Centre", with the amendment taking effect on the stated commencement date.

Customs duty concessions under the India-Mauritius CECPA extend to specified goods, tariff quotas and origin-based import conditions.
Customs duty exemption and tariff concession framework is prescribed for goods imported into India from Mauritius under the India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement. The notification exempts specified goods listed in Table 1 from customs duty to the extent of the rates stated, grants partial tariff concessions for goods in Table 2 as a percentage of the applied rate of duty, and allows duty-free import of goods covered by Table 3 up to an annual tariff rate quota of 7.5 million pieces, subject to annexed conditions. Table 4 provides separate tariff rate quota quantities, in-quota tariff rates and in-quota AIDC rates for specified goods.

Prescribed Income tax Authority designation enables NaFAC officer to issue assessment notices under the income tax assessment provision.
The Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax/Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax (NaFAC) at Delhi is authorised as the Prescribed Income-tax Authority to issue the notice under sub-section (2) of section 143 of the Income-tax Act in respect of returns furnished under section 139 or in response to notices under sub-section (1) of section 142 or sub-section (1) of section 148; the notification is effective from 1 April 2021.

Authorisation of Regional Faceless Assessment Centres to exercise concurrent income-tax powers and delegate to subordinate officers.
Designated Principal Commissioners of Income-tax of the Regional Faceless Assessment Centre (Verification Unit) are authorised under section 120 (sub-sections (1), (2) and (5)) read with section 133C and rule 12D to act as Prescribed Authority with concurrent powers for specified territorial areas, persons, cases or incomes; Principal Commissioners may delegate these powers in writing to Additional/Joint Commissioners, who may further delegate to Deputy/Assistant Commissioners or Income-tax Officers within the Schedule's territorial and subject-matter limits based on information held by the Directorate of Income-tax (Systems).

Tariff amendment: revised customs duty treatment for petroleum crude and related goods under substituted notification entries.
Amendment substitutes entries in the Table of Notification No. 52/2017 Customs to provide a specific tariff heading for petroleum crude with a nominal duty per tonne and a separate entry for other goods under the related heading with nil duty, thereby modifying the exemption and levy positions under the principal notification.

Exemption from Integrated Tax and Compensation Cess extended for goods imported under AA/EPCG authorizations, notifications amended.
Extension of the exemption from Integrated Tax and Compensation Cess for goods imported under AA/EPCG authorizations by substituting the earlier cut off date with a later cut off date in the opening paragraph provisos and specified conditions of notifications 16/2015, 18/2015, 20/2015, 22/2015 and 45/2016, thereby continuing the exemption under the stated authorization schemes.

Regional Faceless Assessment Centres exercise concurrent Assessing Officer powers for faceless assessments nationwide, subject to specified exclusions.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes directs specified Income tax Authorities of Regional Faceless Assessment Centres (ReFACs) to exercise, concurrently, the powers and functions of Assessing Officers to facilitate faceless assessment proceedings under Section 144B in respect of all persons, incomes and cases within India, excluding those covered by Notification No. 57/2014 and Notification No. 70/2014; a Schedule lists the ReFACs and their headquarters. The notification is effective 1 April 2021.

Health cess exemption for specified x ray machine parts continued by amended customs notification, adding tariff entries and maintaining exemption.
Amendment continues the health cess exemption for specified x ray machine parts by inserting ", 564A, 564B, 564C," after "564" in column (2) against Sl. No. 3 of the TABLE in Notification No. 08/2020 Customs, with effect from the first day of April.

Faceless assessment jurisdiction extended: NaFAC authorities empowered to act as Assessing Officers for specified cases nationwide.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes directs that the Income-tax Authorities of the National Faceless Assessment Centre specified in the Schedule shall exercise the powers and functions of an Assessing Officer concurrently to facilitate conduct of Faceless Assessment proceedings under section 144B in respect of persons, classes of persons, incomes, classes of incomes or cases across India, excluding those covered by Notification No.57/2014 and No.70/2014.

Customs duty changes raise BCD and create conditional exclusions for vehicle parts and X ray machine components.
Amendments to Notification No.50/2017 modify tariff entries by substituting descriptions to exclude goods suitable for specified motor vehicle categories, substituting tariff codes, omitting and inserting serial entries, and setting revised Basic Customs Duty rates for targeted items including battery chargers for use in manufacture of electrically operated or hybrid vehicles and specified components used in manufacture of X ray machines.

Income-tax rules: new ITR forms prescribed for AY 2021-22; eligibility expanded to include 194N TDS and deferred tax cases.
The Income-tax (7th Amendment) Rules, 2021 amend Rule 12 effective 1 April 2021 to add persons whose tax has been deducted under section 194N and persons with deferred payment or deduction of tax under employer/payer deferment provisions to the return filing provisos, and substitute revised ITR forms (SAHAJ/ITR 1, ITR 2, ITR 3, SUGAM/ITR 4, ITR 5, ITR 6, ITR 7 and ITR V) in Appendix II for Assessment Year 2021 22 onwards.

Time-limit extension for income-tax and finance-act compliance; notices, sanctions and Aadhaar intimation deadlines moved forward.
The notification modifies prior relief by extending statutory time-limits: for certain Income-tax Act actions-orders under the dispute-resolution provision, issuance of reassessment notices and sanctions to initiate reassessment-the original end date in late March is fixed and the time-limit is extended to the end of April, applying the pre-2021 finance-act versions of the relevant income-tax provisions for reassessment notices and sanctions. The Aadhaar intimation requirement to the prescribed authority is extended to the end of June. Comparable March-to-April extension applies to specified intimation obligations under Chapter VIII of the Finance Act.

Anti-dumping duty extension on melamine maintains import restrictions following the designated authority's review request.
The Central Government has amended the principal notification imposing Anti-Dumping duty on melamine from China PR by substituting the earlier terminal date in paragraph 3 with a new terminal date, thereby extending the period during which the duty continues. The amendment follows a review initiation and successive requests from the designated authority for extension under the Customs Tariff statutory framework and implements the continuation mechanism while the review process proceeds.

Invoice preparation requirement for registered persons exceeding the turnover threshold ensures prescribed documentation for supplies to other registered persons.
The notification requires registered persons, excluding specified exceptions in the registration rules, whose aggregate turnover exceeds the prescribed threshold, to prepare invoices and other prescribed documents for supplies of goods or services to a registered person; it supersedes an earlier notification while preserving prior actions and specifies the commencement date for the obligation.

Waiver of penalty: compliance start deferred, offering relief for non-compliance during the extended period, subject to later compliance.
Amendment substitutes the original compliance clause to create a covered period during which non-compliance is subject to a waiver of penalty, conditional on the person complying with the notification from a deferred commencement date; the change is effected by replacing specified words in the earlier Finance Department notification under the authority of section 128.

E invoicing threshold change expands mandatory e invoicing coverage, altering taxpayer compliance obligations from the effective date.
Amendment reduces the aggregate turnover threshold triggering mandatory e-invoicing under the Haryana GST Rules by substituting the prior higher benchmark in the departmental notification with a lower benchmark, and prescribes the effective date for taxpayers above the revised threshold to comply with e invoicing requirements.

Deadline extension for GST compliance shifts statutory effective dates, extending the compliance window and affecting penalty timing.
Amendment to Notification No. 45/2020 - State Tax substitutes the first paragraph's dates, replacing the original terminal and initial dates with later calendar dates, thereby extending the compliance window and altering the period relevant to enforcement and penalty considerations under the earlier notification.

Regulatory repeal of underwriters regulations: registrations deemed surrendered, with prior rights and proceedings preserved under savings provisions.
The notification repeals the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Underwriters) Regulations, 1993 effective on publication in the Official Gazette, with certificates of registration under the 1993 Regulations deemed to be surrendered. It contains savings provisions preserving prior operation, rights, obligations, liabilities, penalties and ongoing investigations, legal proceedings or remedies, permitting such matters to be continued and enforced as if the 1993 Regulations had not been repealed.

Underwriting by stock brokers: permitted subject to net worth funding, recordkeeping, disclosure, conflict safeguards and limits on obligations.
Registered stock brokers are permitted to act as underwriters and must enter written underwriting agreements with issuers detailing term, duties, obligation amounts, subscription timelines, commission and fulfilment arrangements. They must maintain prescribed books and records, including audited financials for corporate underwriters and receipts/payments and assets/liabilities for non-corporate underwriters, and retain records of agreements and subscribed amounts. Brokers must fund underwriting from their own net worth/funds as prescribed, limit aggregate underwriting obligations relative to net worth, subscribe to securities when called within the prescribed period, and comply with enhanced disclosure, conflict-of-interest, conduct, and market-integrity requirements.

Underwriting obligations cap limits merchant bankers' aggregate exposure relative to net worth and mandates timely subscription.
The amendments require merchant bankers acting as underwriters to enter written agreements with issuers specifying duration, duties, underwriting obligations, subscription timing and remuneration; prohibit indirect benefits beyond agreed commission; cap aggregate underwriting obligations relative to net worth; mandate subscription within a prescribed period upon intimation; and require maintenance of records including agreements, amounts subscribed and capital adequacy statements, with additional prohibitions on insider trading, misrepresentation and unfair competition.