GST rate amendments expand 'pre-packaged and labelled' classification, add Schedule VII rate, and redefine the qualifier under Legal Metrology.
The notification amends the State GST rate schedule by inserting a new 0.75% Schedule VII, revising multiple schedule entries to add, omit or rephrase descriptions (notably standardising the qualifier "pre-packaged and labelled" for numerous goods), adding specified medical, leather, map, solar, fly ash and machinery items, and redefining "pre-packaged and labelled" by reference to the Legal Metrology Act, 2009; the changes take effect from the stated commencement date.

Special additional excise duty on diesel altered, replacing prior rate with a revised per litre charge effective immediately.
Amendment to Notification No. 04/2022-Central Excise substitutes the entry for S. No. 2 in the Table with a revised per litre charge for diesel, effected under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002, and coming into force on 17 November 2022.

Special Additional Excise Duty increase on petroleum crude production takes effect, amending the prior excise notification.
Amends Notification No. 18/2022-Central Excise by substituting the entry in column (4) against S. No. 1 in the Table to increase the Special Additional Excise Duty on production of petroleum crude; enacted under Central Excise and Finance Act authority and effective from 17 November 2022 as a further amendment to the principal notification.

Sovereign wealth fund exemption under clause 23FE conditioned on filing, audit, reporting, ownership and holding requirements.
The notification specifies the Public Investment Fund as the specified person for exemption under clause (23FE) of section 10 for investments in India made up to 31 March 2030, subject to conditions: timely filing of returns; statutory audit and submission of the prescribed audit report; quarterly electronic reporting in Form II; maintenance of segmented accounts; minimum three year holding; exclusive government ownership and control; regulation under the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; prohibition on borrowings for investment in India; earnings to accrue to the Government; and restrictions on day to day participation in investees.

Transfer of proceeds and dividends: funds must remit within Board specified timeframes, with interest for delay and limited physical dispatch.
The amendment replaces Regulation 53 to require mutual funds and asset management companies to transfer dividend payments and redemption or repurchase proceeds to unitholders within periods to be specified by the Board; asset management companies must pay interest to unitholders for delays at Board-specified rates. Payment of interest does not bar separate action for failure to transfer within stipulated time. Physical despatch of payments is limited to exceptional circumstances and must be recorded with reasons.

Asset segregation and ring-fencing required to keep each AIF scheme's assets, liabilities and accounts separate.
The amendment mandates that AIFs declare the first close of a scheme in a Board-specified manner and, failing that, must reapply and pay the scheme fee; the Board may prescribe the method for calculating and modifying the tenure of close-ended schemes; notice provisions are expanded to cover Sponsor or Manager changes with possible fees and conditions; and Managers together with trustees or governing persons must segregate and ring-fence each scheme's assets, liabilities, bank accounts and securities accounts.

Orderly winding down frameworks required for clearing corporations to ensure transfer or settlement of positions and collateral.
Every clearing corporation must devise and maintain a framework for orderly winding down of its critical operations and services covering voluntary and involuntary scenarios, providing for timely and orderly settlement, cessation or transfer of positions, transfer of members' collateral, deposits, margins or other assets to another recognized clearing corporation that would take over operations, and other related matters, in accordance with guidelines specified by the Board.

SEZ de-notification reduces IT/ITES zone area following statutory approvals and Rule eight process by the central government.
The Central Government, under the second proviso to sub section (1) of section 4 of the Special Economic Zones Act, 2005 and rule 8 of the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, de notifies 0.0655 hectares (Survey No. 130/1, Hinjewadi) from the IT/ITES SEZ in Pune, making the resultant SEZ area 5.0600 hectares, following the developer's proposal, State Government approval, and the Development Commissioner's recommendation, and being satisfied that sub section (8) of section 3 and related requirements are fulfilled.

GSTR-9 filing period extended to include April-October, with the filing cutoff set for the end of November.
Notification under section 164 amends the Meghalaya GST Rules, 2017 by revising FORM GSTR-9 instructions: paragraph 7 and table entries for serial numbers 10-13 replace references to the period ending in September with references to the period ending in October and specify that those returns are to be treated as filed up to the end of November, thereby extending the reporting window and fixing the filing cutoff for those items.

Tariff value fixation set for edible oils, brass, areca nut, gold and silver, altering import valuation under customs rules.
The Central Board amends Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) by substituting Tables 1-3 to fix US dollar tariff values for specified imported goods: listed edible oils and brass scrap by value per metric tonne; specified categories of gold and silver by unit values with defined exclusions and explanations; and areca nut. The substituted tables govern import valuation under the Customs Act and the amendment takes effect from 16th November, 2022.

GST return period update extends GSTR-9 coverage and sets a November filing deadline for revised reporting.
The amendment revises FORM GSTR-9 instructions by substituting references to the reporting period "April to September 2022" with "April to October 2022 filed upto 30th November, 2022" in paragraph 7 and in the Table entries for serial numbers 10-13, under authority of section 164 of the Sikkim GST Act and operative from Gazette publication.

Annual return reporting in FORM GSTR-9 extends relevant reporting references through October 2022 for returns filed by the prescribed date.
Annual return reporting under FORM GSTR-9 is amended by extending the relevant reporting period in the instructions from April to September 2022 to April to October 2022, subject to returns filed up to 30 November 2022. The related table entries for serial numbers 10 to 13 are correspondingly revised. The amendment takes effect upon publication in the Official Gazette, unless otherwise provided.

GSTR-9 filing period extended: returns for April to October 2022 may be filed up to 30 November 2022.
The amendment to the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 designates the instrument as the Central Goods and Services Tax (Third Amendment) Rules, 2022 and substitutes in FORM GSTR-9 Instructions paragraph 7, and in the FORM GSTR-9 Table for serial numbers 10-13, references to "April, 2022 to September, 2022" with "April, 2022 to October, 2022 filed upto 30th November, 2022", thereby adjusting the reporting period and filing timeline for those entries.

No objection letter for schemes of arrangement: prior stock exchange clearance required before filing the scheme with the adjudicatory authority.
Amendments require listed entities with listed non-convertible debt securities or non-convertible redeemable preference shares to file a draft scheme of arrangement with stock exchange(s) and pay a prescribed fee to obtain a No-objection letter before filing the scheme with the adjudicatory authority; the No-objection letter is valid for six months. Stock exchanges must forward drafts to the Board, assess compliance with securities laws and issue No-objection Letters within Board-specified timelines, and place objections before the adjudicatory authority at sanction. Upon sanction, entities and exchanges must submit prescribed documents and recommendations to the Board.

Exchange rate revision for Korean Won updates customs valuation rates for imports and exports under the notification amendment.
Amendment revises the exchange rate applicable to the Korean Won in Schedule II of the referenced customs notification, substituting the Schedule entry to set distinct rupee-equivalent rates for imported goods and for exported goods, and takes effect on the stated effective date for application in customs valuation and related procedures.

Jurisdiction of income-tax authorities updated: specified Mumbai Principal Commissioners/Commissioners assigned distinct local jurisdictions under section 120, effective on Gazette publication.
Amendment under Section 120 substitutes serial numbers 106-111 in Schedule IV of CBDT notification No.50/2014 to reassign headquarters as Mumbai and to allocate distinct local jurisdictions to specified Principal Commissioner/Commissioner of Income tax posts; the change is administrative, effected by substitution of entries and comes into force on publication in the Official Gazette.

Control of income-tax authorities under section 118 amended to omit specified Schedule entries, effective on publication.
Amendment under section 118 removes specific Schedule entries in Notification No.60/2022: in SCHEDULE serial number seven, column (3), item (ii) omits the entries at item (iv) in column (4) and the related entries in column (5); and item (v) omits the entries at item (iv) in column (4) and the related entries in column (5). The amendment is effective from publication in the Official Gazette.

Jurisdictional reallocation of income-tax authorities restructures chief and principal commissioner jurisdictions after notification amendment.
Amendments modify the Schedule to the principal notification under section 118 and section 120, omitting a clause in Sl. No. 6, substituting the entire entry at Sl. No. 7 with a revised Chief Commissioner designation and an enumerated list of subordinate Principal Commissioner/Commissioner jurisdictions, and replacing entries at Sl. Nos. 32 and 34 with updated Chief Commissioner designations, headquarters and corresponding Principal Commissioner/Commissioner jurisdictions; changes take effect from publication in the Official Gazette.

Faceless assessment powers amended to omit specified unit entries from the notified schedule, altering concurrent assessing officer designations.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes amends Notification No. 61/2022 by omitting Sl. No. 2259-2286 and Sl. No. 2592-2612 and their related entries from the Schedule that lists units whose income-tax authorities exercise the powers and functions of Assessing Officers concurrently. The amendment is made under statutory delegation and comes into force upon publication in the Official Gazette, with a note referring to the principal notification.

Refund withdrawal: applicants may withdraw refund claims and have ledger debits restored under amended GST refund procedures.
Amendments amend Punjab GST rules to exclude the period between filing FORM GST RFD-01 and communication of deficiencies in FORM GST RFD-03 from the two-year refund limitation for rectified fresh claims; permit taxpayers to withdraw refund applications before issuance of sanction, payment, withholding, or notice by filing FORM GST RFD-01W; and require that any ledger debits made when filing the refund claim be credited back upon withdrawal. The revision also substitutes FORM GST RFD-07 to provide separate withholding and release parts and allows officers to release withheld refunds when withholding conditions cease to exist.