Consumer Welfare Fund rules expand governance and grant, investment, audit and recovery powers for consumer protection.
The amendment prescribes a formula for refunds under an inverted duty structure defining Net ITC and Adjusted Total Turnover, establishes a Consumer Welfare Fund with audit and Standing Committee governance, enumerates committee powers and meeting procedures, revises capital goods valuation in FORM GST ITC-03 to a monthly 1/60th reduction, inserts FORM GSTR-10 for final return on cancellation with stock and tax reconciliation, and substitutes FORM GST DRC-07 for standardized summary of orders.

Anti-dumping rate calculation clarified: exchange rate rule and veneered engineered wooden flooring definition specified for duty assessment.
Amendment to Notification No.17/2018-Customs (ADD) substitutes the explanation to confirm that the exchange rate for calculating anti-dumping duty is the rate notified under the Customs Act and that the relevant date is the date of presentation of the bill of entry. It also defines Veneered Engineered Wooden Flooring as typically comprising Top Layer (real wood), Middle Layer (fibre board such as MDF/HDF) and Bottom Layer (real wood), and notes the Product Under Consideration may be of two or three layers.

Corporate governance requirements strengthen board composition, director independence, disclosure and related-party transaction controls under amended listing regulations.
Amendments impose enhanced corporate governance requirements: revised related-party definition treating significant promoter-group holders as related parties; strengthened independent director criteria, age limits and female director mandates for top listed entities; caps on maximum directorships; mandatory secretarial audits for material unlisted subsidiaries; stricter related-party transaction disclosures and materiality thresholds; enhanced committee composition, quorum and meeting frequency rules; expanded financial reporting, audit and annual report disclosure obligations; and shareholder approval thresholds for large director remuneration.

Punjab GST rules amended: electronic invoicing signatures waived, revised refund and annual return forms, EWB restrictions for defaulters.
Amendments effective 31 December 2018 require non-physical collectors to state collection and principal business States in FORM GST REG-07; remove supplier signature requirements where electronic invoicing or documents comply with the Information Technology Act; insert procedural and definitional clarifications (including departure manifest, financial year wording and handicraft goods definition); substitute and expand FORM-GST-RFD-01, FORM GSTR-9, GSTR-9A and GSTR-9C with detailed refund, annual return and reconciliation formats; add rule 138E restricting EWB PART A furnishing for repeat return defaulters; and add rule 109B requiring notice (FORM GST RVN-01) and summary (FORM GST APL-04) for revisional orders under section 108.

Assignment of proper officer functions under GST Rules allocates specific rule duties to designated tax officers, effective upon notification.
The Commissioner of State Tax assigns specified officers as proper officers under the Assam Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, designating the Additional Commissioner, Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistant Commissioner, Superintendent and Inspector of State Tax to perform the Rule-based functions listed in the Table, subject to the conditions and restrictions in those provisions, and makes the assignment effective from the stated date.

Designation of notified agency: National Technical Research Organisation added under PMLA notification, expanding agencies subject to statutory authority.
Amendment to the PMLA notification inserts a new serial entry adding the National Technical Research Organisation to the list of entities notified under the Prevention of Money laundering Act, thereby expanding the roster of recognised agencies under the statute while leaving the remainder of the notification unchanged.

Appellate Authority appointment: Additional Commissioners authorised to hear appeals under section 107 of the DGST Act.
The Commissioner (State Tax) authorises all Additional Commissioners of the Department of Trade and Taxes to perform the functions of Appellate Authority to hear appeals referred to in the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, exercising powers under sub section (1) of section 5 read with clause (8) of section 2 and the rules framed thereunder.

Notification under national interest clause designates specified foreign oil companies and storage agreements as notified for tax provision.
Central Government notifies specified foreign companies-Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC Marketing International Limited, and ADNOC Marketing International (India) RSC Limited-and the Oil Storage and Management Agreement (25 January 2017) and its Amended and Restated form (10 February 2018) under the proviso to clause (48A) of section 10 of the Income tax Act in the national interest; the notification is effective from publication in the Official Gazette.

Import exemption for captive mining and oil rigging equipment permitted subject to re-export or scrapping certification.
A new Policy Condition (10) in Chapter 87 of ITC (HS) 2017-Schedule I exempts imports of automotive mining equipments, oil rigging equipments for captive operations and vehicles for research and development from Policy Conditions 1 and 2, applicable to both new and used items; the exemption is conditional on re-export or scrapping under certification by concerned authorities once the item's purpose is served, and such equipment/vehicles must not ply on public roads except for mobilization and demobilization.

Independent director relative indebtedness rule limits relatives' financial ties to company, affecting eligibility and securities.
The amendment inserts a sub rule excluding certain financial ties of relatives of independent directors from the independence disqualification: a relative who is indebted to, or has given a guarantee or provided security for the indebtedness of any third person to, the company, its holding, subsidiary or associate company, or their promoters or directors, within the two immediately preceding financial years or the current financial year, falls within the specified monetary and temporal limits set by the rule. The amendment also replaces "shall" with "may" in rule 16, converting a mandatory requirement into a permissive one.

Companies prospectus rules amendment removes specified procedural rules and takes effect on Gazette publication immediately.
The Central Government, under powers conferred by section 26 read with section 469 of the Companies Act, 2013, notifies the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Amendment Rules, 2018, which come into force on publication in the Official Gazette and provide for the omission of rules 3, 4, 5 and 6 from the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014.

Commencement of Companies Amendment Act brings specified corporate and statutory provisions into force from appointed date.
Central Government appoints 07th May, 2018 as the date on which specified provisions of the Companies (Amendment) Act, 2017 shall come into force under sub section (2) of section 1. The notification lists the particular clauses of section 2, sections 8, 13, 18-19, sections 30-33, 39-40, 46, 49, 52, 54-58, 61-62, specified clauses of sections 21 and 23, specified proviso and clauses of section 80, and sections 83 and 86-89 as those provisions to be commenced.

Share capital rules amendment removes prior continuous duration requirement from eligibility explanation, altering application of rule eight.
Amendment to the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Rules deletes the words "for at least last one year" from the Explanation to clause (i)(a) of rule 8(1), removing the minimum prior-duration requirement; the amendment is titled the Companies (Share Capital and Debentures) Second Amendment Rules and commences on publication in the Official Gazette.

Quorum and virtual participation: directors may attend board meetings via video conferencing only when quorum is physically present.
The amendment permits director participation by video conferencing only when quorum exists through physical presence; narrows applicability from "every listed company" to "every listed public company"; and replaces the special resolution rule under section 186 to require specification of the total amount the Board is authorised to use for loans, guarantees, securities or acquisitions and mandates full particulars be disclosed in the financial statements.

Internal financial controls wording changed to focus on controls tied to financial statements and auditor qualification text streamlined.
The amendment revises specified provisions of the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, omitting an explanation and the proviso to rule 3 and deleting rule 9, substitutes the phrase internal financial controls with reference to financial statements for the prior phrasing of internal controls in rule 10A, and amends rule 14 to replace "who is a cost accountant in practice" with "who is a cost accountant" in two sub-clauses, thereby altering textual qualifications for cost accountants in auditor-related provisions.

Companies registration fee rules amended to impose tiered additional fees for delayed filings and a 15 day RUN resubmission period.
The amendment requires the Registrar to allow fifteen days for re-submission to rectify defects in name reservation applications filed through RUN and establishes a tiered additional-fee regime for belated filings: specified multipliers of normal filing fees for delays (up to 12 times beyond 180 days), a Rs.100 per day charge for delayed filings under sections 92 or 137 where the deadline expires after 30/06/2018, and confirmation that fees payable at actual filing apply to filings due before notification. The additional fee also applies to revised financial statements, board reports and secretarial audit reports.

Amendment to companies' definitions rules removes clause (r), changing specified definitions effective upon Gazette notification.
Amendment removes clause (r) from rule 2(1) of the Companies (Specification of Definitions Details) Rules, 2014; the Central Government enacted the Companies (Specification of Definitions Details) Amendment Rules, 2018 under statutory authority, with a short title and commencement upon publication in the Official Gazette.

Provisional assessment of jute exports pending new shipper review, with security and importer liability for potential anti dumping duty.
Provisional assessment is ordered for jute products exported from Bangladesh by M/s Roman Jute Mills Ltd. and M/s SMP International, LLC pending completion of a new shipper review. The provisional assessment may be secured by such security or guarantee as the proper customs officer deems fit to cover any deficiency if a definitive anti dumping duty is imposed retrospectively. If the review recommends anti dumping duty, importers will be liable to pay the recommended duty on all imports of the subject goods from the date of initiation of the review.

E-way Bill notification validity extended by state tax commissioner under rule 138 to a newly specified expiry.
The Commissioner of State Tax, Maharashtra, under clause (d) of sub-rule (14) of rule 138 of the Maharashtra GST Rules, 2017, substitutes clause 2 of Notification No. JC(HQ)-1/GST/2018/Noti/1/E-way Bill/ADM-8 to provide: "This notification shall remain in force until 24th May 2018", thereby fixing the notification's period of validity.

Intra-state e-way bill rules introduced in Assam; rules take effect and earlier notification is rescinded by the commissioner.
Notification implements an intra-state e-way bill regime in Assam for goods movements beginning and ending within the State, effective from 16th May, 2018, following consultation with the Central Tax Authority. It further rescinds the prior notification issued on 27th March, 2018, and establishes the Commissioner of State Tax as the issuing authority for the commencement and enforcement of intra-state e-way bill compliance.