Combination exemption for small acquisitions, control changes and mergers: limited-threshold transactions temporarily exempted from notification.
Central Government exempts acquisitions, control acquisitions over similar businesses, and mergers or amalgamations from Section 5 where asset value or turnover of the combination does not exceed specified India thresholds; the exemption lasts two years. For partial transfers, assets and turnover attributable to the transferred portion are used; asset value is the prior financial year's book value reduced by depreciation and includes specified intangibles, and turnover must be certified by the statutory auditor from the last audited accounts.

Competition thresholds increased for asset and turnover values, extending merger control applicability effective from notification.
Central Government, under sub section (3) of Section 20 of the Competition Act, 2002, has enhanced the value of assets and value of turnover for purposes of section 5 by one hundred and fifty percent, based on the wholesale price index and exchange rate of the rupee, effective from the date of publication of the notification in the Official Gazette.

Packing machine registration required: unique machine IDs, chartered engineer certification and monthly production statements due each month.
Requires registered manufacturers of specified pan masala and tobacco products to register packing machines in FORM GST SRM I within set timelines, report new installations, amendments and disposals promptly, and obtain a unique registration number for each machine. Mandates monthly production and input statements in FORM GST SRM II by the tenth of the following month and upload of Chartered Engineer certificates in FORM GST SRM III for declared or amended machines. Effective 1 April 2024 and covers scheduled tariff items listed in the Schedule.

GST rate amendment: tariff classifications substituted for specified entries, altering reduced-rate schedule applicability under GST framework.
The Government amends Notification No. 1/2017-Tax (Rate) by substituting, in Schedule I (reduced-rate 2.5%), the entries at S. No. 165 and S. No. 165A with the tariff headings "2711 12 00, 2711 13 00, 2711 19 10"; the amendment is declared to operate from the fourth day of January, 2024.

Information sharing consent: Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit notified for GST common portal integration and data exchange.
Notification under the Rajasthan GST Act notifies the Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit as the system with which information may be shared by the GST common portal based on consent under section 158A(2). The platform is described as an enterprise grade open architecture IT framework enabling access to information from multiple data sources, convergence of financial and data service providers, and interoperable data exchange through standard, protocol driven open APIs.

Online money gaming classification creates GST liability for platform operators and deems cross-border supplies to domestic recipients taxable.
The Act inserts definitions for online gaming, online money gaming and virtual digital asset, expands actionable claims to include betting, casinos, gambling, horse racing, lottery and online money gaming, and provides that any person who organises or operates a platform for supply of such specified actionable claims shall be deemed the supplier for GST purposes, with all Act provisions applying as if that person is liable to pay tax. The Act also treats cross-border supplies of online money gaming to persons in the country as taxable and amends Schedule III accordingly.

Exemption from Quality Control Orders allows conditional import of inputs for manufacture of physical exports under endorsed authorisations.
Amendments permit import of inputs subject to mandatory Quality Control Orders by Advance Authorisation holders without pre-import QCO compliance only when specifically endorsed on the AA and used in manufacture of export goods for physical export. Unutilised imports cannot be cleared to DTA and must be destroyed or re-exported; AA holders must pay exempted duties with interest and a composition fee to DGFT before EODC. Exemptions exclude DFIA, apply similarly to EOUs upon undertaking, and are subject to para 2.03(c) and Appendix 2Y listings.

Import policy amendment revises permissible petroleum coke imports, imposing feedstock only, actual user, non export, and compliance conditions.
The import policy substitute for Condition 06(b) sets revised permissible import quantities for RPC for CPC manufacturing and CPC for the aluminium industry, conditional on: use only as feedstock, prohibition on use as fuel, actual user restrictions preventing transfers or exports, reliance on recorded processing capacity for pro rata allocations, and mandatory compliance with the air quality order.

Consent-based data sharing: Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit notified for authorized information exchange under GST law.
Notification designates the Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit as the system with which the common portal may share information on the basis of consent under the Mizoram GST framework. The platform is defined as an enterprise-grade open-architecture IT platform designed for large credit ecosystems, enabling convergence of financial service providers and data service providers on a standard, protocol-driven architecture using an open and shared API framework, thereby specifying the technical mechanism for authorized consent-based data exchange.

TDS exemption for IFSC units: specified payments exempt from tax deduction subject to Form One filing and conditions.
No tax shall be deducted at source on specified payments to Units of an International Financial Services Centre where the payee claims deduction under the Section 80LA framework, provided the payee furnishes a verified statement cum declaration in Form No. 1 declaring the consecutive previous years for which the deduction is claimed; the payer shall stop deduction only after receipt of that form and must report all payments exempted from deduction in the prescribed statement. The relief applies only for the years declared in Form No. 1 and is subject to registration and regulatory definitions and secure data procedures to be prescribed by Income tax Systems authorities.

Consent-based information sharing through the Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit under GST notification framework.
The Governor has notified the Public Tech Platform for Frictionless Credit as the system through which information may be shared by the common portal on a consent basis under section 158A of the Uttar Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, read with the corresponding provision of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The platform is described as an enterprise-grade open-architecture IT system enabling digital access to information from multiple sources through a standard, protocol-driven, open and shared API framework.

Exchange rate determination: updated import and export conversion rates for specified foreign currencies effective 8 March 2024.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs determines rupee-equivalent exchange rates for specified foreign currencies under section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962, to be applied for imported and exported goods with effect from 8th March, 2024, and supersedes the earlier notification except as to things done or omitted prior to supersession. The annexed schedules list separate rates for imported and export goods for each specified currency.

GST rate schedule amendment inserts millet based flour product entry with specified composition, effective from 20 October 2023.
The State Tax (Rate) schedule is amended by inserting tariff entry 94A under Tariff Code 1901 for a food preparation of millet flour in powder form containing at least 70% millets by weight, excluding pre packaged and labeled products. The insertion is made under section 11(1) of the Delhi GST Act and takes effect from 20 October 2023, amending Notification No. 02/2017 State Tax (Rate).

De-notification of Special Economic Zone reverses SEZ status so land can be repurposed for non SEZ IT infrastructure.
Rescission of the notification that had notified 1.51 hectares as a sector-specific IT/ITES Special Economic Zone at Sadamangala (Whitefield), Bengaluru, is made following the applicant's proposal, the Development Commissioner's recommendation, and the State Government's No Objection Certificate; the de-notified land will be used for IT infrastructure outside the SEZ, and the earlier notification is rescinded subject to actions already taken under it.

Rescission of SEZ notification: previously notified IT/ITES zone de notified and land cleared for non SEZ IT infrastructure.
Central Government rescinds the prior SEZ notification under the first proviso to rule 8 of the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, following the developer's proposal to de-notify the entire notified area, receipt of a State No Objection Certificate and a recommendation from the Development Commissioner; the rescission does not affect actions done or omitted before it, and the land will be repurposed for IT infrastructure outside the SEZ framework.

SEZ de-notification under statutory rule reduces the notified area after state approval and administrative recommendation.
The Central Government, under the first 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, hereby de-notifies specified land parcels aggregating 532.17 hectares from the multi-product SEZ proposed by M/s. Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited, resulting in a revised SEZ area of 500.10 hectares, with survey numbers and areas for the de-notified parcels specified and State approval and Development Commissioner recommendation recorded.

Online money gaming taxation gets expanded under Tripura GST amendments, with platform operators and offshore suppliers brought within registration and supply rules.
The Tripura State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is amended to align with Central GST changes and to address online gaming and specified actionable claims, with retrospective effect from 1 October 2023. The amendments define online gaming, online money gaming, specified actionable claims, and virtual digital asset; deem persons organising or arranging such supplies, including platform operators, to be suppliers; require registration for persons supplying online money gaming from outside India to India; and substitute "specified actionable claims" in Schedule III. The earlier Ordinance is repealed, while actions taken under it are preserved.

Settlement mechanism: establishes procedural filing, timelines, and a discounted penalty framework for resolving competition law allegations.
Regulations create a procedural framework for settlement of inquiries under section 26(1) for alleged violations of section 3(4) or section 4, requiring a detailed Settlement Application with disclosures, settlement proposals, undertakings as per Schedule I, and prescribed non refundable fees; a complete application is considered within set timelines, during which the inquiry is kept in abeyance, the Commission computes a Settlement Amount (base guided by Penalty Guidelines with a 15% settlement discount), and the applicant must accept and pay within prescribed periods or face rejection and resumption of the inquiry.

Commitment procedure enables enterprises to offer binding remedies that may conclude commission inquiries, subject to monitoring and revocation.
Regulations prescribe a procedure for enterprises facing an inquiry under section 26 to submit commitment applications offering measures to address alleged contraventions; they set application contents, timelines for filing and curing defects, application fees, requirements for a non-confidential summary, and mandated undertakings and waivers. The Commission places complete applications for consideration, invites comments and may keep inquiries in abeyance while evaluating commitments; acceptance yields a final binding commitment order that is not a finding of contravention, while revocation for non-compliance or nondisclosure can restore or initiate inquiries and attract legal costs.

Determination of turnover or income: rules clarify calculation, documentation and foreign currency conversion requirements for assessments.
Turnover or income for enterprises is the value of sales and other operating revenue per audited financial statements, excluding other income, indirect taxes, trade discounts and intragroup sales; consolidated audited statements govern where required, otherwise certification by a statutory auditor or Chartered Accountant with an authorised affidavit suffices, and foreign currency amounts must be converted to Indian Rupees using average RBI reference rates certified by a Chartered Accountant with an affidavit.