Specification of Chief Executive Officer GeM as specified person enabling information sharing under the Income-tax framework.
The Central Government specifies the Chief Executive Officer, Government e Marketplace (GeM) as the person for purposes of clause (a)(ii) of sub-section (1) of the relevant provision of the Income-tax Act, and the Notification is to be read with a CBDT order designating the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) as the designated authority for furnishing information to the authority being notified.

Approval as Scientific Research Association: granted subject to separate accounts, audit reports and donation disclosure; withdrawal for noncompliance.
Approval of M/s LPG Equipment Research Centre as a Scientific Research Association is subject to carrying out its own scientific research, maintaining separate books of account for research receipts and applications, obtaining and furnishing an audit report by a defined accountant by the income tax return due date, and furnishing an auditor certified statement of donations and amounts applied for research; approval is withdrawable for failure to meet these conditions or if research activity ceases or is not genuine.

Tax Return Preparer eligibility updated: education, age, application fee, enrolment deposit and staged disbursement rules clarified.
Amendments limit eligibility to individuals with a bachelor's degree or specified professional intermediate qualifications (including final-year candidates), prescribe age limits and require an application fee for validity. Enrolment now requires passing the qualifying test for each training centre, producing proof of qualification and payment of a non refundable deposit. The Board may authorise Resource Centres or Partner Organisations to disburse specified proportions of tax paid on income declared in returns prepared by the enrollee, subject to per-year ceiling amounts for successive eligible assessment years.

Tax exemption for Central Registry for Securitization: specified non-commercial incomes notified subject to conditions and retrospective application.
Notification under clause (46) of section 10 designates the Central Registry for Securitization as the notified body for exemption of specified income: fees from security interest transactions, fees from CKYC Records Registry transactions, interest on fixed deposits and savings accounts, and RTI application fees; the exemption is subject to conditions that the Registry shall not engage in commercial activity, that activities and the nature of specified income remain unchanged, and that the Registry files returns under clause (g) of sub section (4C) of section 139.

Income exemption under section 10(39) amended to substitute specified donors' receipts and omit a sub-clause.
The Central Government, invoking clause (39) of section 10, amends notification S.O. 3129(E) by substituting clause (i) to identify income from specified national supporters - Hero Motocorp Ltd., Bank of Baroda, Coal India Ltd., Think and Learn Private Limited, Dalmia Cement Bharat Limited and NTPC Limited - and stating the aggregate amount as rupees thirty-nine crore, thirty-nine lakhs, fifty two thousand and two hundred fifty; sub-clause (ii) is omitted with effect from 26th September, 2017.

Tax exemption for regulatory commission: specified fund and fee income exempted subject to non commercial and filing conditions.
Notification under section 10(46) exempts the West Bengal Electricity Regulatory Commission, Kolkata from tax on specified income comprising income from the fund under the 2006 Fund Rules and fees under the 2005 Fees Rules, subject to conditions that it shall not engage in commercial activity, that the activities and nature of specified income remain unchanged, and that it files returns under clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139. The notification applies retrospectively to the financial year 2016-2017 and to specified subsequent years.

Exchange of information obligations expanded under the tax treaty, mandating mutual information sharing while protecting confidentiality.
The Protocol replaces Article 26 to require competent authorities to exchange information foreseeably relevant for administering or enforcing taxes, applying to federal taxes in Brazil; information must be kept secret and used only for tax assessment, collection, enforcement, prosecution, appeals or oversight unless both States' laws permit other uses and the supplying State authorises such use. Requests must be met using available information gathering measures even absent domestic interest, and bank or fiduciary holding of information does not alone permit refusal, subject to limits preserving domestic law, unobtainable information, trade secrets and public policy.

National Savings Monthly Income Account now offers 7.3% per annum for deposits made on or after Jan 1, 2018.
The amendment adds clause (q) to rule 8(1) of the National Savings (Monthly Income Account) Rules, 1987, prescribing an interest rate of 7.3 per cent. per annum for deposits made on or after 1 January 2018, with the amendment deemed to have come into force on that date.

National Savings Certificates: five-year maturity for purchases from Jan 1, 2018, with prescribed annual interest and encashment amounts.
Certificates purchased on or after 1 January 2018 have a five-year maturity from issue; Rs.100 redemption at maturity is Rs.144.23 (proportionate for other denominations). Annual interest for Rs.100 accrues as Rs.7.60, Rs.8.18, Rs.8.80, Rs.9.47 and Rs.10.19 for years one through five; interest accrued through year four is deemed reinvested and aggregated with face value. Specific tiered encashment amounts apply for encashment after three years, with proportionate rates for other denominations after discount adjustment.