Commencement appointment for section 88(b) to enable First Schedule tariff amendments, effective January first.
The Central Government appoints the first day of January, 2020 as the date on which clause (b) of section 88 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 shall come into force, thereby enabling the changes to the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975; the appointment is effected by a Department of Revenue/CBIC notification.

Anti-dumping duty imposed on clear float glass imports; continuation to prevent dumping and injury to domestic industry.
Imposition of definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of Clear Float Glass from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and UAE follows the Designated Authority's sunset review finding of dumping and continued injury to the domestic industry. Duties are set by country of origin, export and producer in the duty table, exclude reflective and tinted glass, are denominated in United States Dollar per metric tonne, payable in Indian currency, and effective for five years from publication unless earlier revoked or amended.

GST return and refund form amendments expand reporting options and standardise refund statement disclosures for affected fiscal years.
The amendment substitutes and inserts multiple Statements in FORM GST RFD-01 to standardise refund claim fields for accumulated ITC, exports, SEZ supplies and deemed exports; revises FORM GSTR-9 to add fiscal-year specific entries and grant optional consolidated/net reporting for FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19; and amends FORM GSTR-9C instructions and certification text to permit optional non-filing of several tables or alternative reporting (with adjustments to Table 5O), while preserving audit annexure requirements.

Special Economic Zone designation enables Free Trade Warehousing Zone approval and grants Inland Container Depot status.
Central Government notifies 50.491 hectares at Vallur and Edayanchavadi villages in Ponneri Taluk as a Special Economic Zone for a Free Trade Warehousing Zone, identifying land by specific survey numbers and citing approval under section 3 of the SEZ Act and rule 8 of the SEZ Rules. The Government constitutes an Approval Committee with specified ex officio members and State nominees for functions under section 14. The SEZ is also deemed to be an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act by exercise of powers under section 53(2) of the SEZ Act.

Special Economic Zone expansion: additional land parcels notified under SEZ Act, increasing zone footprint and incorporating specified survey plots.
Central Government notification under the SEZ Act and SEZ Rules approves and notifies inclusion of additional survey parcels at Hinjewadi, Pune into the sector specific IT/ITES SEZ, specifies the survey numbers and incremental area added, and records the revised total area of the SEZ together with administrative file reference.

GST return filing due date extended for FORM GST CMP-08 for the July to September 2019 quarter.
The Uttar Pradesh Government amended the earlier GST notification by inserting an additional proviso in paragraph 2. The amendment extended the due date for furnishing FORM GST CMP-08, containing details of payment of self-assessed tax, for the quarter July 2019 to September 2019, or part thereof, to 22 October 2019. The notification was given retrospective effect from 18 October 2019.

GST exemption schedule amended to add dried tamarind and leaf-based plates and cups from an earlier effective date.
The Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax exemption schedule is amended by inserting two additional entries. Tamarind dried is added as a new item under Serial No. 57A, and plates and cups made from leaves, flowers or bark are added as a new item under Serial No. 114C. The amendment operates under the power to grant exemptions by notification and is stated to take effect retrospectively from 1 October 2019.

GST exemption entries amended to widen nil-rate treatment for sports-related services, warehousing services, and specified registration thresholds.
GST exemption entries under the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax framework are amended to link the turnover threshold to exemption from registration, insert nil-rate entries for services connected with Fe de ration Internationale de Football Association and the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2020, and add a nil-rate entry for right to admission to events under that tournament. The notification also extends nil-rate treatment to storage or warehousing of specified agricultural produce, includes Bangla Shasya Bima, and makes related entry-specific textual and year substitutions, with retrospective effect from 1 October 2019.

Designation of Proper Officers under GST Act ensures specified officer cadres handle registration, assessment, enforcement.
The notification under the Andhra Pradesh GST Act designates proper officers for statutory functions, specifying minimum officer cadres for registration, post registration verification, assessment, scrutiny, provisional assessment, refund processing, inspection, search and seizure, enforcement actions, recovery, penalties and departmental appeals; and assigns officers entrusted with enforcement or in the Chief Commissioner's office to undertake specified investigatory and administrative duties.

Appeal time-limits clarified: commencement begins from order communication or when the Appellate Tribunal State President assumes office.
The Order clarifies that, where the Appellate Tribunal has not been constituted, the start of the three months period for appeals under sub section (1) of section 112 and the six months period for applications under sub section (3) of section 112 shall be the later of the date of communication of the order or the date on which the State President of the Appellate Tribunal, after constitution under section 109, enters office.

Limitation for GST appeals adjusted: appeal period begins on communication or when Appellate Tribunal President assumes office.
The Order prescribes that for calculating the filing periods under Section 112(1) and Section 112(3) the start of the limitation shall be the later of the date of communication of the impugned order or the date on which the President or State President of the Appellate Tribunal, after its constitution, enters office.

Filing of offer documents now requires lead managers to submit filings to the Board office under issuer registered office jurisdiction.
The Fifth Amendment substitutes Schedule IV to require lead manager(s) to file draft offer documents, letters of offer and offer documents with the Board office under the jurisdiction of the issuer company's registered office, with the filing location determined by the estimated issue size as specified by the Board.

Notification effectiveness contingent on finance act provision being notified, delaying implementation until further notice.
Notification No.31/2015-2020 dated 13 November 2019 will not be effective until Section 88(b) of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 is notified by the Department of Revenue and the amendment to the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act specified in the Fifth Schedule to the Finance Act is notified; the effective date will be notified later.

Definition of bus body building expanded to include bodies built on chapter 87 vehicle chassis, altering GST classification scope.
Amendment to Notification No. 11/2017 inserts an Explanation to item (ic) at serial 26: for this entry, "bus body building" includes building of body on chassis of any vehicle falling under Chapter 87 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The change is made under sub-section (3) of Section 11 of the Himachal Pradesh GST Act, 2017 and comes into force with effect from 22nd November, 2019.

State representative designation for Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling updated to a Commissioner-level appointee effective immediately.
Amendment substitutes clause (a) of Notification No. 1639-F.T. to designate the Commissioner of State Tax as the State representative to the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling, enacted under the powers conferred by the applicable goods and services tax rules and effective immediately.

Foreign investment rules amended to reshape FPI transfers, convertible pricing, sectoral conditions, and local sourcing obligations.
Amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management (Non-debt Instruments) Rules, 2019 revise commencement and definitions, remove a repatriation restriction, and restate FPI equity transfer rules subject to Schedule and SEBI conditions while preserving Government approval where required. Convertible equity instruments must fix conversion price or formula at issuance and conversion price cannot be lower than issuance fair value. Schedule changes clarify coal mining and associated processing infrastructure, expand manufacturing and e-commerce sale permissions, require e-commerce marketplace statutory auditor reports, classify certain digital streaming activity, make specific entry routes automatic, and revise SBRT local sourcing and operational conditions. Schedule II permits FPI acquisitions and company resolutions to raise aggregate limits up to sectoral caps.

Limitation for GST appeals: appeal period starts from either order communication or tribunal president entering office.
For computing the three month appeal period under sub-section (1) and the six month period under sub-section (3) of section 112, the start date is the later of the date of communication of the order or the date on which the President or State President of the Appellate Tribunal, after its constitution under section 109, enters office; the Order is deemed issued on the stated deemed date.

Limitation period for GST appeals runs from order communication or Tribunal President's assumption of office, whichever is later.
Clarifies that for appeals under subsection (1) of section 112 the three month period, and for applications under subsection (3) the six month period, shall start from the later of the date the order is communicated or the date on which the President or State President of the Appellate Tribunal, after its constitution under section 109, enters office.

Due date for furnishing FORM GSTR-1 established for small taxpayers, setting quarter end filing deadlines and subsequent notifications.
Prescribes special quarterly due dates for furnishing FORM GSTR-1 by registered persons below the notified turnover threshold, requiring submission of outward supply details for the October-December quarter by the end of January and for the January-March quarter by the end of April, with subsequent notification of related monthly furnishing time limits in the Official Gazette.

Limitation period for GST appeals clarified: time begins either on order communication or when tribunal president takes office.
Clarifies that where the Appellate Tribunal is not yet constituted, the limitation period for filing appeals or Commissioner-initiated applications begins on the later of the date the order is communicated or the date the President or State President of the Appellate Tribunal enters office after its constitution.