Leaseback accounting: seller lessees must allocate gains and determine lease payments to exclude amounts attributable to retained use.
The amendment inserts paragraph 102A requiring seller lessees to apply paragraphs 29-35 to the right of use asset and paragraphs 36-46 to the lease liability for leasebacks, and to determine lease payments or revised lease payments so that no recognised gain or loss relates to the right of use retained; gains or losses on lease terminations remain recognised under paragraph 46(a). The amendments mandate retrospective application per Ind AS 8, set the date of initial application at the start of the first annual reporting period of adoption, and take effect for annual periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024.

Transmission of securities: legal heir certificates allowed with indemnity bond and NOC, plus prescribed valuation method.
Rules substitute "securities" for "shares"; allow a legal heir certificate issued by a Tahsildar as alternative evidence; require notarised indemnity bonds and notarised no objection certificates from non claimants when legal heir certificates are used; prescribe valuation for listed securities by prior day closing price and for unlisted by higher of face or maturity value; raise the Part B monetary threshold; permit notarised/apostilled self declarations for foreign nationals with passport and address proof; and require contingency insurance for verification report claims.

Exemption criteria for combinations: specified share and asset acquisitions exempt from prior merger filing when no control or sensitive access.
Categories of combinations are exempted from specified merger-filing requirements where acquisitions do not result in control or confer board representation or access to commercially sensitive information; exemptions include certain underwriting, stockbroker and mutual fund share acquisitions subject to holding caps; passive investment acquisitions without control or information/board rights; incremental share purchases constrained to avoid control or first-time board/information rights; acquisitions of current assets in the ordinary course; non-core investment asset purchases not amounting to substantial business operations; intra-group transfers, group reorganisations and acquisitions pursuant to Commission orders.

Combination criteria allow notice for transactions between non competing, non vertical and non complementary parties under competition law.
A combination may be notified where the parties, their group entities and affiliates do not produce similar or substitutable products or services and are not engaged in activities that are at different production stages or complementary. Parties include ultimate controlling persons, acquirers, acquired enterprises, merged entities and their group members. An affiliate is defined by ten per cent or more shareholding or voting rights, board representation rights as director or observer, or access to commercially sensitive information.

Minimum asset and turnover thresholds set for Competition Act applicability; rule prescribes operative measurement criteria.
Specifies operative thresholds for clause (e) of section 5 of the Competition Act, 2002 by prescribing a defined minimum value of assets and a defined minimum value of turnover as the measurements to determine whether the value of assets or turnover of persons or enterprises meets the statutory threshold; includes commencement and definitional provisions and is issued under section 63(2)(a) of the Act.

Merger control framework clarified: valuation rules, notification forms, filing obligations, scrutiny procedures, and compliance mechanisms.
Regulations create a detailed merger control regime: computing value of transaction for threshold purposes with inclusive rules for consideration and future payments; objective criteria for substantial business operations in India; mandated filing in Form I or Form II with specified supporting schedules, declarations for open offers and green channel, prescribed fees and payment modes; procedures for completeness checks, additional information, conversion between forms, and scrutiny including Director General reports; and processes for publication, modifications, compliance reporting, monitoring, and transitional savings from prior regulations.

SGST rate amendment reduces the specified SGST rate under a state notification, effective on gazette publication.
Amendment substitutes the phrase "half per cent." with "0.25 per cent." in Notification No. 52/2018 State Tax under powers conferred by the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, and states that the notification takes effect from the date of its publication in the official gazette.

Annual return exemption for small GST registrants provides filing relief for eligible taxpayers for the specified financial year.
Exempts registered persons whose aggregate turnover in the financial year 2023 24 is up to two crore rupees from filing the annual return for that financial year, the exemption being issued by the State government on the recommendations of the Council under the first proviso to the statutory provision governing annual returns.

Administrative notification amendment: designated officer titles substituted, updating authorised officers for Bihar GST upon notification.
The notification substitutes the entries at serial (i) and (ii) of an earlier Bihar GST notification with the designations "(i) Additional/Joint Commissioner (Tech.), CGST & CX, Patna-1" and "(ii) Senior most Additional Commissioner (Appeal.), Central Division, Patna," respectively, under the Governor's statutory authority, and provides that the amendment shall come into force from the date of its notification.

Salary increase for NFRA Chairperson and members implemented by amendment to appointment and service rules, effective on gazette publication.
The Central Government amends the NFRA Rules by substituting in sub rule (1) of rule 11 specified salary expressions for the Chairperson and full time members with higher fixed amounts; the amendment is effected under sub-section (3) of section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013 and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Limitation extension for tax recovery extends issuance deadlines for past financial years under Assam GST
The notification extends the time limit for issuance of orders to recover tax not paid or short paid and for correcting wrongly availed or utilised input tax credit for specified past financial years, partially modifying prior notifications; the extension is declared effective from a stated earlier date.

Late fee waiver for final GST return non-filers who filed within prescribed window; excess late fees are waived.
The Governor, on the Council's recommendation under section 128 of the Assam GST Act, waives the portion of late fee under section 47 that exceeds five hundred rupees for registered persons who failed to furnish the final return in FORM GSTR 10 by the due date but who submitted that return during the period from 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023, with the waiver declared effective retrospectively from 31 March 2023.

Late fee waiver for annual GST returns: capped per-day penalties and limited amnesty for specified late filings.
The notification waives late fee for annual returns under section 44 for 2022-23 onwards by prescribing per-day capped late fees for two turnover classes and an overall cap tied to 0.02 percent of turnover; it also waives late fee in excess of ten thousand rupees for specified earlier-year returns filed between 1 April and 30 June 2023, with effect from 31 March 2023.

Deemed withdrawal of assessment orders where taxpayers file outstanding returns with interest and late fee, irrespective of appeals.
Notification deems certain assessment orders issued on or before 28 February 2023 to be withdrawn if the registered person files the outstanding return by 30 June 2023 and pays the interest liability and late fee under the Act; the benefit applies regardless of the existence or disposal of any appeal and is effective from 31 March 2023.

Extension of revocation application deadline for cancelled GST registrations requires returns filing and payment before filing.
A limited class of persons whose registration was cancelled under clause (b) or (c) of section 29 and who missed the section 30 time limit may apply for revocation within the extended period only after furnishing all returns due to the effective date of cancellation and paying tax, interest, penalty and late fees; no further extension is available.

Late fee waiver for GSTR-4 non-filers who filed delayed returns during the specified filing window, easing GST compliance.
Amendment adds a proviso waiving late fee such that amounts in excess of two hundred and fifty rupees are waived and fully waived where state tax payable is nil, for registered persons who failed to furnish FORM GSTR-4 for specified quarters and financial years by the due date but furnished those returns between April 2023 and June 2023; the notification is deemed effective from 31st March 2023.

Rescission of customs exemption for imported artworks removes prior duty-free treatment for museum exhibitions, with retrospective savings.
The Central Government, invoking powers under the Customs Act and the Customs Tariff Act and citing public interest, rescinds Notification No. 26/2011 Customs that exempted works of art imported for exhibition in public museums or national institutions, while preserving actions done or omitted before rescission and specifying the rescission's commencement.

Commencement of Goa GST amendment: specified provisions begin shortly while remaining provisions commence at a later scheduled date.
Government, exercising the power under sub section (2) of section 1, appoints commencement dates for provisions of the Goa Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Act, 2024 by formal notification, implementing one provision on an earlier appointed date and the remaining provisions on a later appointed date.

GST exemption from annual return relieves registered persons below the turnover threshold from filing the annual return.
Exempts registered persons whose aggregate turnover in the financial year 2023 24 is up to two crore rupees from the requirement to file an annual return, issued by the Commissioner under the first proviso to the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 on the recommendations of the Council.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority to centralise adjudication of specified customs show-cause notices against a named respondent.
An officer is appointed under section 4 read with section 5 of the Customs Act, 1962 to exercise the powers and discharge duties of specified adjudicating authorities for the show-cause notices listed against M/s D.K. Biopharma Pvt. Ltd. and others; the Table identifies the noticee, show-cause notice reference, the authorities whose functions are being reassigned, and the Common Adjudicating Authority; the notification takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.