GST rate amendments: paper cartons, milk cans, solar cookers and farm produce packaging classification revised under Andhra Pradesh rules.
Amends the Andhra Pradesh GST rate notification by inserting specified goods in Schedule II at 6%, including cartons, boxes and cases of paper or paper board, milk cans made of iron, steel or aluminium, and solar cookers, while making corresponding exclusions and substitutions in Schedule III at 9%. It also inserts a proviso stating that agricultural farm produce supplied in packages exceeding 25 kilogram or 25 litre is not treated as pre-packaged and labelled notwithstanding the Legal Metrology Act, 2009. The notification comes into force on 15 July 2024.

Agricultural farm produce packaging exemption clarified for goods above the pre-packaged and labelled threshold.
The notification amends the existing Andhra Pradesh GST exemption notification by inserting a proviso clarifying that agricultural farm produce supplied in packages of more than 25 kilogram or 25 litre is not treated as pre-packaged and labelled, notwithstanding the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and the rules made thereunder. The amendment takes effect from 15 July 2024.

Competition Commission of India regulations: new procedural rules for filing, investigation, confidentiality, fees, and timelines.
The regulations prescribe procedural rules for filing and scrutiny of informations and references under section 19, including contents, verification, signing authorities, physical and electronic modes, and timelines for correction of defects; the Secretary must categorize, scrutinize and place matters before the Commission to determine existence of a prima facie case, after which the Commission may direct the Director General to investigate (ordinary report timeline 90 days) and proceed to forwarding non-confidential reports for objections, further inquiry, show-cause notices and final orders, while detailed confidentiality, evidence, service, fees and inspection regimes are provided.

Special Additional Excise Duty on Petroleum Crude reduced to nil per tonne, altering the tariff entry and taking effect imminently.
Amendment substitutes the tariff table entry for the first serial entry to read "Nil per tonne," reducing the Special Additional Excise Duty on production of Petroleum Crude. The change is made by Notification No. 25/2024 Central Excise under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002, thereby amending Notification No. 18/2022 Central Excise and taking effect from the commencement date specified in the notification.

Advance ruling mechanism establishes designated central and state tax members, replacing the previous institutional arrangement.
Constitution of the Tamil Nadu Authority for Advance Ruling under section 96(1) of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, is effected in supersession of the earlier Commercial Taxes and Registration Department notification issued in February 2024. The Authority consists of a Central Tax member serving as Additional Commissioner of GST and Central Excise, Audit-II, and a State Tax member serving as Joint Commissioner (State Tax).

Renewal of recognition granted to stock exchange, subject to SEBI prescribed compliance obligations for a limited period.
Renewal of recognition is granted to the Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India Limited under Section 4 of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 for a one-year period commencing mid-September 2024 and ending mid-September 2025, subject to the conditions stated in the notification and to any further conditions SEBI may prescribe or impose; the Exchange must comply with conditions as may be prescribed by SEBI from time to time.

Tariff value fixation sets prescribed values for edible oils, brass scrap, areca nut, gold and silver, effective mid-September.
The CBIC, under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) to fix tariff values for specified edible oils, brass scrap, areca nut, and defined forms of gold and silver, with values expressed in US dollars per metric tonne or per unit weight as appropriate; the amendment is effective from 14th September, 2024.

Export duty on onions imposed, and customs tariff rates plus import exemption timelines adjusted, effective from September.
The notification amends multiple customs instruments to impose a 20% export duty on onions, substitute revised duty entries (including 20% and 5% rates) and alter BCD/AIDC entries for crude and refined edible oils, and to extend the bill-of-lading cutoff date for an import exemption on Yellow Peas; the amendments take effect from 14th September, 2024.

Import Policy Extension: Yellow peas imports permitted free without minimum import price upon online monitoring registration.
Imports of yellow peas under ITC(HS) Code 07131010 are permitted free without Minimum Import Price and without port restriction, subject to registration under the online Import Monitoring System, and applicable only to consignments where the Bill of Lading is issued on or before the stated cutoff; all other terms and conditions remain as in prior notifications.

Removal of Minimum Export Price restores free export status for onions, effective immediately under export policy amendment.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has withdrawn the Minimum Export Price (MEP) condition previously applied to the export policy entry for onions in Schedule-II (Export Policy) of the ITC(HS), thereby restoring a free export status for the specified onion description. The amendment supersedes the earlier notification and takes immediate effect, remaining operative until further orders under the authority of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act and the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.

Qualification relaxation for Technical Member appointments permits Bihar Commercial Tax Gazetted officers with requisite long government service to qualify.
The Governor of Bihar relaxes the statutory qualification for appointment as Technical Member (State) in the State Benches of the GST Appellate Tribunal by replacing the requirement of completion of twenty five years in Group 'A' or equivalent with a qualification limited to officers of the Bihar Commercial Tax Department who have completed at least twenty five years of government service as Gazetted Officers, for a ten year period; all other conditions in clause (d) of sub section (1) of section 110 of the Central GST Act remain applicable.

Rescission of SEZ de-notification restores area status for industrial use following State clearance and administrative recommendation.
The Central Government rescinds a prior de-notification of a biotechnology SEZ area following a developer proposal, State no-objection certificate, and Development Commissioner recommendation, restoring the area's status for industrial and infrastructure use in conformity with State land-use plans and preserving actions taken before rescission.

De-notification of SEZ area permitted after developer proposal and state NOC, leading to rescission of prior notification.
M/s. Wipro Limited proposed de-notification of the entire 9.15 hectare SEZ at Hinjawadi, Pune; the State issued a No Objection Certificate and the Development Commissioner recommended de-notification. The Central Government, invoking rule 8 of the SEZ Rules and powers under the SEZ Act, rescinds the earlier notification for the specified area while preserving the legal effect of actions taken or omitted before rescission, conditional on reuse of the land for infrastructure consistent with SEZ objectives and State land use guidelines.

De-notification of SEZ land reduces the notified area and permits use of the land for infrastructure under state land use plans.
The Central Government has de-notified 44.7305 hectares from the Multi Service SEZ at Seekinankuppam, reducing the notified SEZ area to 77.2095 hectares; the State Government approved the proposal, the Development Commissioner recommended it, and the de-notified land will be used for infrastructure that conforms to state land use guidelines.

De-notification of SEZ land reduces notified area, permitting reuse for infrastructure subject to land use conformity.
Central Government de notifies 4.37 hectares from the Puppalguda SEZ, reducing the notified area to 1.40 hectares, under powers conferred by the Special Economic Zones Act and Rules; the deletion (survey number 285/P) follows the developer's proposal, State Government approval and the Development Commissioner's recommendation, and the de notified land is to be reused for infrastructure that will subserve SEZ objectives and conform to State land use guidelines.

SEZ de-notification reduces designated area, permitting industrial reuse after statutory approvals and compliance with land use guidelines.
Central Government, exercising powers under the Special Economic Zones Act and rule 8 of the SEZ Rules, 2006, de notifies 368.80 hectares from the Raviryala SEZ following a proposal by M/s. FAB City SPV (India) Private Limited, State Government approval and Development Commissioner recommendation, resulting in a residual SEZ area of 66.06 hectares; the de notified parcels are to be used for industrial purposes and must conform to state land use guidelines and master plans, as detailed by survey numbers and hectare figures.

Compounding framework under FEMA enables administrative settlement of foreign exchange contraventions with prescribed authorities and procedures.
The rules create a compounding mechanism under the Act allowing specified compounding authorities-Director of Enforcement, authorised officers, and graded Reserve Bank and Directorate officers under supervisory control-to accept applications in the prescribed Form with fee and documents, call for further information, afford a hearing and issue dated signed compounding orders within a statutory timeframe; they also prescribe exclusions to compounding, payment methods and timelines for the compounded sum, and consequences of non payment, while ensuring copies of orders are provided to the applicant and Adjudicating Authority.

Electronic export declarations for Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL require qualifying couriers to use integrated shipping bill processing.
The amendments permit the specified electronic export-entry process for exports under Duty Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL. An Authorised Courier or qualifying agent who has passed the prescribed Customs Brokers Licensing examination must make the export entry through the electronic integrated declaration under the Shipping Bill (Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing) Regulations, 2019. The amendments also remove references to the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme and revise the treatment of export promotion schemes.

Revisional Authority under Delhi GST Act appointed; Commissioner and zonal commissioners authorised to review subordinate GST orders.
The Commissioner of State Tax is authorised as Revisional Authority to review decisions of Special/Additional/Joint Commissioners, and likewise the Special/Additional/Joint Commissioner of the relevant zone is authorised to review decisions of Assistant Commissioners/GST Officers, delegating hierarchical revisional responsibility under the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act.

Rescission of SEZ notification reverses prior area designation after developer proposal, state NOC and administrative recommendation.
The Central Government rescinds the prior notification for the Special Economic Zone at Survadi and Nandal, exercising the proviso to rule 8 of the SEZ Rules, based on the developer's proposal and the Development Commissioner's recommendation; the rescission is prospective except for actions already done. The State Government issued a No Objection Certificate certifying that the de-notified parcels will be utilised to create infrastructure that sub-serves the SEZ's original objectives and will conform to State land use guidelines and master plan.