Late fee waiver for delayed GSTR-4 filings permits partial or full waiver if central tax liability is nil.
The amendment inserts a proviso waiving the portion of the late fee payable under section 47 in excess of two hundred and fifty rupees, and fully waiving the late fee where the total central tax payable in the return is nil, for registered persons who failed to furnish FORM GSTR-4 for quarters from July 2017 to March 2019 or for financial years 2019-20 to 2021-22 by the due date but who furnish those returns between 1 April 2023 and 30 June 2023.

Waiver of interest on import duty due to electronic cash ledger and portal technical failures, easing trade facilitation.
Waiver of interest on import duty arising from electronic cash ledger and Common Portal technical failures. The Board, invoking its power to waive interest in the public interest, finds that integration difficulties among ICES, ICEGATE, banks and stakeholders prevented completion of duty payment processes and caused interest to accrue; accordingly it waives interest payable where payment is made from electronic cash ledger amounts for the affected period. Implementation will be effected on the Common Portal, while refund claims for entries already integrated into ICES remain subject to statutory refund provisions.

Online real money game verification requires self-regulatory approval, user disclosures, identity checks, and restrictions on gaming finance.
Online gaming intermediaries enabling permissible online real money games must display a visible verification mark, disclose deposit, withdrawal, winnings, fee, identity-verification and deposit-protection information, verify users before accepting deposits, and refrain from financing gameplay. A permissible online real money game requires verification by an online gaming self-regulatory body and must not involve wagering on an outcome. Self-regulatory bodies must apply a published verification framework addressing user harm, child protection, gaming addiction, financial loss, and financial fraud, while maintaining public information on verified games and grievance-redressal arrangements.

Residential dwelling rent exemption clarified for proprietors using premises personally as their own residence under state GST rules.
Exemption under the Assam State GST rate notification is clarified for renting of a residential dwelling to a registered person where the registered person is a proprietor using the premises in his personal capacity as his own residence, and not on behalf of the proprietorship concern. The notification also omits Sl. No. 23A and the related entries, with retrospective effect from 1 January 2023.

Essential oils GST rate entry amended for specified mint oils and related supplies under Assam SGST.
Assam SGST notification amends the State Tax (Rate) schedule by substituting Sl. No. 3A in the existing GST rate notification. The substituted entry covers specified essential oils other than citrus fruit, including peppermint oil and oils of other mints such as spearmint, water mint, horsemint, bergament and mentha arvensis, under the listed tariff headings. The revised table also distinguishes the entry by reference to any unregistered person and any registered person, with effect from 1 January 2023.

GST exemption entries amended for animal feed and pulse husk concentrates under the Assam tax schedule.
Amendment to the Assam State Tax (Rate) notification revises the Schedule entries relating to exempt goods under the Assam Goods and Services Tax regime. The existing description at Sl. No. 102 is substituted to cover aquatic feed, including shrimp and prawn feed, poultry feed and cattle feed, including grass, hay and straw, supplement and additives, wheat bran and de-oiled cake, other than rice bran. A new entry, Sl. No. 102C, is inserted for goods under tariff headings 2302 and 2309, covering husk of pulses including chilka, and concentrates including chuni or churi and khanda.

GST rate notification amended to revise entries for ethyl alcohol, fruit drinks, residues, and stationery boxes under Assam tax schedules.
Amendment made to the Assam State GST rate notification by substituting specified entries in Schedule I at 2.5%, Schedule II at 6%, and Schedule III at 9%. The revised entries cover ethyl alcohol supplied to oil marketing companies or petroleum refineries for blending with motor spirit, bran and other cereal or leguminous residues, fruit pulp or fruit juice based drinks excluding carbonated variants, and mathematical, geometry and colour boxes. Denatured ethyl alcohol and other spirits are also reclassified with an exclusion for ethyl alcohol supplied for blending with petrol.

Exchange rate determination fixes conversion rates for specified foreign currencies for import and export goods under Customs Act authority.
Determines the rate of exchange for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for customs valuation of imported and export goods, superseding an earlier notification and fixing separate conversion rates for imports and exports effective from 7 April 2023, as set out in two annexed schedules (per unit rates and per 100 unit rates).

Jurisdiction list update: specified foreign jurisdictions set for section 285BA reporting and related tax information obligations.
Amendment substitutes the Table in Notification No. 78/2018 to specify the foreign jurisdictions applicable for the purposes of section 285BA of the Income tax Act, as read with the Explanation to clause (6) of rule 114F; the replacement Table lists the named jurisdictions that determine the territorial scope of the reporting mechanism under the said provision.

Anti-dumping duty extension on fishing nets from China continues, maintaining existing import levy and review framework.
Extension of the existing anti-dumping duty on imports of fishing nets under Tariff Heading 5608 11 10 from China PR. The Central Government, invoking section 9A of the Customs Tariff Act and applicable rules, amends the prior notification to keep the duties listed in the notification's table in force until the specified extended date unless revoked, superseded or amended earlier.

Halal certification now requires i-CAS Halal accreditation for exporting meat, with compliance and registration obligations following.
Meat and meat products exported as Halal certified must originate from facilities with valid i-CAS Halal certification issued by Certification Bodies accredited by NABCB; exporters to countries with national Halal regulations must also comply with importing-country approvals, and existing certification bodies and export units have six months to obtain NABCB accreditation and to register on APEDA's dedicated portal respectively.

Limitation extension for GST tax recovery: deadlines extended for specified financial years to permit issuance of recovery orders.
The state government, on the Council's recommendation and by modifying prior notifications, extends the time limit for issuance of orders for recovery of tax not paid or short paid and for recovery of input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised. Distinct extended cut-off dates are prescribed for each specified financial year: one to the end of December of the stated calendar year, another to the end of March of the following calendar year, and a third to the end of June of the following calendar year.

Late fee waiver for final GST return non filers: excess late fees waived if return filed within amnesty period.
The Karnataka Government, under section 128 of the Karnataka GST Act, waives the portion of the section 47 late fee exceeding five hundred rupees for registered persons who failed to furnish FORM GSTR-10 by the due date but file the final return between 1 April 2023 and 30 June 2023, limited to that excess amount and without affecting other statutory liabilities.

Late fee rationalisation for annual GST return caps per turnover class and waives excess fees for filers availing amnesty window.
The notification prescribes a rationalised late fee regime for annual returns under section 44 for 2022 23 onwards, setting per day rates with a maximum cap calculated at 0.02% of turnover for specified turnover classes, and establishes an amnesty window during which late fees in excess of ten thousand rupees under section 47 will be waived for filers of returns for earlier financial years when furnished within the announced period.

Assessment withdrawal amnesty: tardy filers can obtain deemed withdrawal by filing returns and paying interest and late fees.
Assessment orders under section 62(1) issued on or before the cutoff will be deemed withdrawn if the registered person files the outstanding return by the extended date and pays interest under section 50(1) and the late fee under section 47; this relief applies irrespective of the existence or outcome of any appeal against the assessment order.

Revocation of GST registration: eligible cancelled registrants may apply for revocation subject to returns and payment conditions.
Affected persons whose registrations were cancelled under specified clauses and who missed the statutory period may apply for revocation until 30th June, 2023; applications must be filed only after furnishing all returns due up to the effective date of cancellation and paying the tax, interest, penalty and late fee shown in those returns, and no further extension will be available. The class includes those whose appeals were rejected for failure to meet the original time limit.

Late fee waiver for GSTR 4 non filers: excess fees waived; full waiver if state tax liability is nil upon amnesty filing.
The Karnataka amendment waives late fee amounts in excess of two hundred and fifty rupees for registered persons who did not furnish composition scheme returns for specified past periods, and fully waives late fee where the total State tax declared in the return is nil, provided the outstanding returns are furnished in the prescribed form within the specified amnesty filing period.

De-notification of SEZ land reduces zone area and allows conversion of specified parcels to DTA use.
Central Government de notifies 12.942 hectares from the SIPCOT Perundurai Engineering SEZ, reducing the SEZ area to 56.841 hectares, under the second proviso to sub section (1) of section 4 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 read with rule 8 of the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006; State Government approval and Development Commissioner recommendation were recorded, statutory requirements under sub section (8) of section 3 were satisfied, and the de notified land is to be used for Domestic Tariff Area purposes.

SEZ de-notification permits conversion of specified land to IT/ITES and commercial use, altering the SEZ area.
Central Government de notifies 5.1333 hectares from the sector specific SEZ for Information Technology and ITES at Plot No. 3, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Marunji, thereby reducing the SEZ to 22.1647 hectares. The de notification, effected under the Special Economic Zones Act and SEZ Rules on the Development Commissioner's recommendation and with State approval, lists the survey numbers comprising the 5.1333 hectares. The de notified area is to be utilised entirely for IT/ITES and commercial activity.

Designation correction: replace 'Dy. Secy' with 'Under Secy' in Central Excise notification on export duty.
Corrigendum to Notification No. 17/2023-Central Excise directs that, in the English version of G.S.R. 268(E) dated 3rd April 2023, at page 3 line 19, the designation "Dy. Secy" be read as "Under Secy"; issued as G.S.R. 273(E) dated 5th April 2023 with reference F. No. 354/15/2022-TRU and signed by Nitish Karnatak as Under Secy.