Anti dumping duty extension on viscose filament yarn from China sustained under Customs Tariff Act, continuing the import levy for a further year.
The notification amends the principal anti dumping notification to provide that, notwithstanding paragraph 2, the anti dumping duty on Viscose Filament Yarn originating in or exported from the People's Republic of China shall, unless revoked earlier, remain in force up to and inclusive of the specified terminal date, thereby extending the period of applicability of the import levy following a designated authority continuation review and recommendation under section 9A and rule 23.

Special Economic Zone expansion notified: additional area included under statutory SEZ provisions, increasing total SEZ area.
Central Government notification exercises statutory SEZ notification powers to include an additional area of 0.97 hectares within the biotechnology Special Economic Zone at Village Manjari Budruk, thereby increasing the total SEZ area to 17.0901 hectares and listing the survey numbers and hectare allocations to be incorporated into the SEZ land schedule.

Special Economic Zone notified at Koorgalli; Inland Container Depot status declared and Approval Committee constituted for SEZ governance.
Central Government notifies 11.35 hectares at Village Koorgalli, Mysore District as a Special Economic Zone for Electronic Hardware and Software including ITES, specifying survey numbers and confirming prior approval for development, operation and maintenance under the Special Economic Zones Act. The Government constituting an Approval Committee for the SEZ lists ex officio members and a developer representative as special invitee, and declares the SEZ to be deemed an Inland Container Depot under the Customs Act, 1962 effective 2nd May, 2017.

Option under section 115BA: domestic companies must file Form 10-IB electronically with verification and officer certification.
The amendment creates rule 21AD requiring domestic companies to exercise the option under subsection (4) of section 115BA by filing Form No. 10-IB electronically, authenticated by digital signature or electronic verification code, with a principal officer's certification that the statutory conditions are and will be satisfied; the Systems Directorate will prescribe filing procedures, data standards, EVC generation and security, archival and retrieval policies.

Tariff value fixation updates customs reference values for specified imported goods, affecting import valuation and assessment procedures.
An amendment to the principal Customs (N.T.) notification substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 to fix tariff values for specified imported goods, listing tariff values (US$ per metric tonne or unit) for categories including various edible oils, brass scrap (all grades), poppy seeds, areca nuts, and unit-based values for gold and silver where certain notification entry benefits are availed, thereby updating the customs reference valuation schedule for import assessment.

Tax exemption for regulatory commission income: licence and application fees exempt if non-commercial activity and returns filed.
Notification under Section 10(46) designates the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission's licence fees from licensees and application processing fees as specified exempt income, conditional on the Commission not engaging in commercial activity, maintaining unchanged activities and nature of that income across the relevant years, and filing returns under clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139 of the Income-tax Act.

Designation of place of public worship under tax provision enables donor deduction eligibility for contributions to the institution.
Central Government notification designates "Shri. Ram and Ramdas Swami Samadhi Temple & Ramdas Swami Math at Sajjangad, Distt. Satara, Maharashtra" as a place of historic importance and as a place of public worship for the purposes of Section 80G(2)(b) of the Income tax Act, thereby classifying the institution within the statutory category relevant to donor deduction eligibility.

Tax exemption for government grants: National Skill Development Agency's grants and interest exempted subject to compliance conditions.
Notification under Section 10(46) notifies the National Skill Development Agency in respect of specified income limited to grant in aid from the Government of India and interest earned thereon, subject to conditions that the Agency shall not engage in commercial activity, its activities and the nature of the specified income remain unchanged, and it files income tax returns as required under the relevant return filing provision.

Prohibition on employee participation in Board-conducted auctions bars direct or indirect involvement in recovery-sale auctions.
A new Regulation 71A prohibits any employee of the Board from participating, directly or indirectly, in auctions conducted by the Board for sale of movable or immovable property in pursuance of recovery proceedings under the relevant securities and depositories enactments; the amendment is inserted into the Employees' Service Regulations, 2001 and takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Special Economic Zone area modification: Government adds and de notifies land, revising notified SEZ area by notification under SEZ Act.
Notification under the SEZ Act and Rules revises the Nagavara/Navagara IT/ITES and BPO SEZ by adding specified survey parcels totaling 0.850 hectares and de notifying specified parcels totaling 2.520 hectares, after the developer's proposal, the Development Commissioner's recommendation and the State Government's no objection, thereby revising the total SEZ area to 9.206 hectares.

Drawback rates for Guar products amended to revise tariff classifications and applicable drawback percentages under customs notification.
Amendment substitutes Schedule entries in Notification No. 131/2016-Customs (N.T.) to revise tariff classifications and associated drawback specifications for guar products: replacing Chapter 7 items to distinguish Guar Gum Refined Split and others, replacing Chapter 11 items to identify Guar Meal and others, and modifying the Chapter 13 description to refer to Guar Gum, thereby altering the Schedule references and drawback applicability under the Drawback Rules.

Excise duty relief: administrative non-recovery ordered where prevailing practice led to historical non-levy for specified goods.
Notification directs non-recovery of excise duty on Heena Powder and Paste under Chapter 33 where a prevailing practice resulted in non-levy during a specified historical period; the Central Government, exercising its statutory power, orders that the duty that would otherwise have been payable shall not be required to be paid for goods on which duty was not levied pursuant to that practice.

SCOMET list updated: revised Appendix 3, new Category 8, licensing and reporting rules for controlled exports.
The notification replaces Appendix 3 to Schedule 2 of the ITC(HS) Classification with a revised SCOMET list, clarifies that exports of SCOMET items are Prohibited/Restricted and generally require authorisation, and allocates licensing/jurisdiction: Department of Atomic Energy for Category 0 nuclear items, Department of Defence Production SOPs for certain Category 6 munitions items, and DGFT for Categories 1,2,3,4,5,7 and 8; it imposes reporting requirements for DTA SEZ supplies and mandates DGFT permission before permitting site visits or on site access by foreign parties; effective 1 May 2017.

Inter Ministerial Board composition updated to include specific departmental representatives and Secretary may nominate additional members.
Amendment to the composition of the Inter Ministerial Board responsible for furnishing certificates of eligibility to startups for availing tax benefits under the Income Tax Act, 1961: the Board shall include representatives of the Department of Biotechnology, the Department of Science & Technology, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Joint Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion. The Secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion may nominate a representative from any other Department to the Board as deemed necessary.

Duty credit scrip usage expanded to permit payment of customs duties for export obligation defaults, with penalties payable in cash.
Duty Credit Scrips may be utilised or debited to discharge Customs Duties arising from export obligation defaults for Authorizations issued under Chapters 4 and 5 of the Foreign Trade Policy, and this permissive use is extended to Authorizations issued under previous FTPs; penalty and interest must be paid in cash.

Valuation method for trust assets determines aggregate fair market value for tax under section 115TD.
Rule 17CB prescribes that the aggregate fair market value of a trust's assets for section 115TD is the sum of fair market values of balance-sheet assets reduced by income-tax paid (net of refunds) and any balance-sheet items not representing assets. It details valuation methods: quoted shares by average quoted prices on the specified date; unquoted equity shares by a formula adjusting book assets and market values apportionable to paid-up equity; non-equity securities by open-market valuation with a merchant banker or accountant report; immovable property by higher of registered valuer price or stamp duty value; business undertakings by net assets.

Customs duty exemption for defence and paramilitary unit imports on return, subject to proof of prior export to customs satisfaction.
Exemption from customs duty and the integrated tax is allowed for goods imported by or along with Army, Navy, Air Force or Central Paramilitary Forces units returning after service abroad, provided the Assistant or Deputy Commissioner of Customs is satisfied that the goods were exported by or with the unit on departure; the notification is issued under section 25(1) of the Customs Act and supersedes the earlier notification on the subject.

Exchange Rate Determination: notified conversion rates for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees for import and export goods.
Determination of conversion rates for specified foreign currencies into Indian rupees with effect from 21st April, 2017; the Central Board of Excise and Customs prescribes distinct rates of exchange for imported goods and for export goods in two annexed schedules for application under the Customs Act, and the notification supersedes the earlier board notification dated 6th April, 2017, except as to prior actions.

Customs exemption for patient assistance programmes permits duty-free import of specified drugs subject to compliance.
Imports of drugs under Chapter 30 for supply under specified Patient Assistance Programmes are exempt from customs duty provided the sponsoring pharmaceutical company supplies the drugs free to patients, furnishes an undertaking to the jurisdictional Customs officer to maintain records (patient details, identity and residence proofs, diagnosis and dosage, and imported/consumed drugs), ensures use solely for the programme, and agrees to pay duty with interest in case of non compliance.

Exemption of additional duty expanded to cover specified jute imports from Nepal under amended customs notification.
Alters Notification No. 8/2011-Customs by inserting the words "or Nepal" after "from Bangladesh," thereby extending the exemption of additional duty of Customs to specified jute products imported from Nepal as well as Bangladesh, without altering the products covered or other substantive conditions of the principal notification.