Appointment of Finance Commission Member reflects amendment to notification substituting member's credentials after resignation and confirms revised official listing
The order amends the Gazette notification constituting the Fifteenth Finance Commission by substituting the entry in paragraph 1, serial number three, to identify the appointee, list his former offices, and formally designate him as a Member, reflecting his resignation from a non executive part time bank chairmanship.

Search and seizure powers authorised for designated enforcement officers to secure records and property relevant to fugitive economic offender proceedings.
Authorization under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Ordinance, 2018 empowers officers not below the rank of Assistant Director to search persons and seize records or property useful or relevant to proceedings under the Ordinance, limiting the delegation to locating and preserving evidence or assets pertinent to investigations and prosecutions.

Startup recognition requires meeting temporal, turnover and innovation criteria, with certification and share issue approval through prescribed forms.
The notification sets eligibility for startup recognition-temporal, turnover and activity thresholds-and an online application regime requiring incorporation proof and a business write-up; recognised startups may seek tax certification from the Inter Ministerial Board via Form 1 and approval for share issue tax treatment via Form 2 with prescribed investor and corporate documentation, while authorities may request further information and revoke certificates or approvals obtained by false information.

Special Deposit Scheme interest rate established for non government provident, superannuation and gratuity funds for the specified quarter.
The notification establishes the interest rate for deposits under the Special Deposit Scheme for Non Government Provident, Superannuation and Gratuity Funds at 7.6%, effective for the specified quarter and to be applied to deposits made under the Scheme during that period.

Corrigenda to Finance Act clarify assent date and correct textual errors, amending misspellings and a reference.
Corrigenda to the Finance Act, 2018 amend the published Gazette entry to change the recorded assent date from "28th March 2018" to "29th March, 2018" and correct typographical errors, replacing "amendement" with "amendment" and "marginal heading" with the intended reference "43 of 1961."

Extension of Aadhaar submission deadline: regulatory compliance timeline deferred until final judgment in ongoing Aadhaar litigation.
Central Government, under clauses (a) and (c) of sub rule (17) of rule 9 of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, extends the deadline for clients to submit Aadhaar Number and Permanent Account Number or Form 60 to reporting entities until a date to be notified following the final judgment in the Aadhaar litigation, deferring the prior submission timeline in line with an interim judicial direction.

Commencement of Part XV provisions of the Finance Act: operative commencement announced under section 209.
The Central Government, exercising the power conferred by section 209 of the Finance Act, appointed the 31st day of March, 2018 as the date on which the provisions of Part XV of Chapter VIII of the Finance Act, 2018 shall come into force by formal notification.

Commencement of Finance Act provisions: notification appoints the date for Part I of Chapter VIII to take effect.
Pursuant to the authority conferred by section 113 of the Finance Act, 2018, the Central Government, by notification dated 31 March 2018, designates the commencement date on which Part I of Chapter VIII of the Finance Act, 2018 shall come into force.

Commencement of Part XIII of Chapter VIII comes into force on 1 April 2018 under statutory commencement powers.
The Central Government, exercising powers conferred by the Act, notifies the effective date for Part XIII of Chapter VIII, thereby activating the statutory regime set out in those provisions and recording the exercise of the Act's commencement authority by the relevant department.

Government securities issuance rules prescribe eligibility, auction processes and repayment mechanisms including call and put options.
General guidelines prescribe eligibility (residents and specified non-residents subject to FEMA/SEBI), minimum subscription, electronic application and payment procedures, forms of holding, and interest/payment processing through designated RBI offices. Issuance modes include auctions, pre-announced coupon issues, on-tap sales and conversions, with auction mechanics (uniform/multiple price, multiple bids, green shoe, non-competitive retail participation) and RBI/Government discretion on allotment. Repayment, transferability, coupon types, embedded call/put options and applicable statutory/regulatory frameworks are governed by the Government Securities Act and Specific Notifications.

7.75% Savings Bonds: interest is taxable; use Revised Form A; tax exempt applicants must declare and attach certificate.
The notification substitutes clauses to state that interest on 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018 is taxable under the Income Tax Act; applications must be made in Revised Form A with applicant details; applicants claiming income tax exemption must declare the exemption and attach a true copy of the tax authority certificate; and brokers registered with Receiving Offices will receive brokerage at 0.5% of the amount mobilized on stamped applications submitted on behalf of clients.

No Objection Certificate requirement eased for certain gas storage licences, with local body NOC retained for LPG-in-cylinder sites.
The draft narrows the No Objection Certificate obligation by excluding Form F storage licences that form part of cylinder filling plants and Form F LPG-in-cylinder storage from the District Authority NOC, while requiring local body NOC for LPG-in-cylinder sites; it also provides that licences or approvals stand cancelled if the licensee loses site rights, removes the lease agreement submission requirement in Form C, adjusts NOC submission rules for Form G and Form F applications, and updates a cross-reference in Form G to Table II of condition 7.

7.75% Savings Bonds: taxable interest, demat-only issuance, seven-year term, limited premature encashment for seniors.
Notification issues 7.75% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2018 in dematerialised form at par with no maximum investment limit, payable to resident individuals and HUFs. Bonds bear 7.75% p.a. in cumulative or non-cumulative forms; interest and maturity proceeds are taxable with TDS except where exemption certificates are produced. Bonds are non-transferable, not tradable or eligible as collateral. Repayment is after seven years with restricted premature encashment for investors aged 60+ subject to age-based lock-in periods and specified surrender dates.

Electoral bonds enable anonymous donations to eligible political parties, encashable within a short validity subject to KYC.
Electoral Bond Scheme, 2018 creates a bearer banking instrument issued by designated State Bank of India branches in specified denominations, purchasable by Indian citizens or entities subject to Know Your Customer norms. Only political parties registered under section 29A and having secured not less than one per cent of votes in the last general election may encash bonds through their authorised bank account. Bonds bear no interest, are valid for fifteen days, non-tradable and non-refundable; unencashed bonds must be deposited to the Prime Minister's Relief Fund. The face value is treated as voluntary contributions for exemption under section 13A of the Income-tax Act.

Designation correction: 'Member of Parliament' changed to 'former Member of Parliament' in specified notification.
Corrigendum substitutes "Member of Parliament" with "former Member of Parliament" in line 3, paragraph 1 of the cited Gazette notification, effecting a textual correction only.

Finance Commission constituted to recommend tax devolution, state grants and a fiscal consolidation roadmap for Union and States.
Constitution of the Finance Commission under Article 280 to recommend allocation of net tax proceeds between the Union and States, principles and sums for grants in aid from the Consolidated Fund of India, and measures to augment State Consolidated Funds for local bodies. The Commission will review Union and State fiscal positions and propose a fiscal consolidation roadmap, consider resource demands and GST impacts, may propose performance based incentives for States, review disaster financing, and must provide state wise estimates and the basis for its findings in a five year report.

Budgetary support under GST enables partial reimbursement of central tax share for eligible legacy manufacturing units in notified states.
The Scheme reimburses, on a quarterly basis, specified proportions of Central tax and Integrated tax actually paid in cash for specified goods manufactured by units that were eligible under listed excise exemption/refund notifications and operating before 01.07.2017; claims are payable only after utilisation of input tax credit, reduced for inputs procured from Composition Scheme suppliers, subject to documentary proof, inspection, verification, special audit where necessary, and strict recovery mechanisms for mis declaration or fraud.

Inter-ministerial committee appointment enables centralized consultation on RLIU rule amendments after public comment period and notification.
The draft substitutes rule 10(2) to empower the Central Government to notify one or more inter-ministerial committees representing specified Ministries or Departments - Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Industry specified in the First Schedule to the Act, Home Affairs, Commerce and Corporate Affairs - permitting determination of committee size and inclusion of other Ministries or Departments as deemed fit, with committees appointed by notification in the Official Gazette.

Tenure extension of Tribunal President in officiating capacity continues under statutory authority until a regular President is appointed.
Extension of tenure granted to Shri G. D. Agrawal to continue as President of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in an officiating capacity until a regular President is appointed, effected by the Central Government under the Income Tax Act, the Appellate Tribunal Rules, 2017 and applicable Fundamental Rules as notified by the Department of Legal Affairs.

Definition amendment: expanded gas cylinder and LNG definitions clarify fuel scope and container size limits for regulation.
The amendment adds definitions for Auto LNG and liquefied natural gas, and replaces the definition of gas cylinder to include closed metal containers for compressed gas, LPG, LNG and CNG cylinders fitted to motor vehicles, composite and cryogenic containers, and permits increased water capacity for certain gas storage cylinders subject to diameter limits.