Excise duty amendment revises rates for petroleum crude and aviation turbine fuel, altering statutory notification entries and taking effect imminently.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 18/2022-Central Excise to substitute the table entries: for S. No. 1, column (4) is replaced with Rs. 4,350 per tonne; for S. No. 2, column (4) is replaced with Rs. 1.50 per litre, the amendment being made under section 5A of the Central Excise Act, 1944 read with section 147 of the Finance Act, 2002 and coming into force the day after publication.

Governance requirements for REIT managers strengthened; board composition, audit tenure, disclosure and compliance obligations tightened.
Regulatory amendments strengthen REIT governance by refining definitions of change in control, independent director and senior management; impose limits on auditor appointment and mandate limited review of consolidated accounts; treat overnight mutual fund investments as cash equivalents excluded from REIT asset value; require transfer of unclaimed distributions to an investor protection fund; and import specified listing obligations to prescribe board composition, quorum, quarterly compliance reviews, vigil mechanism, secretarial compliance reporting and compliance certificates with supporting evidence as set out in Schedule VIII.

Governance reforms for InvIT investment managers impose board composition, auditing, disclosure and compliance obligations.
Amendments clarify definitions of change in control, independent director and Senior Management; restrict auditor tenure and require limited reviews of consolidated entities; mandate transfer of unclaimed distributions to an Investor Protection and Education Fund; treat overnight mutual fund investments as cash equivalents excluded from InvIT asset value; and impose governance, compliance and disclosure obligations on investment managers, including minimum board composition, quarterly compliance reviews, a vigil mechanism, secretarial compliance reporting and specified board information and compliance certificates as set out in Schedule VII.

GST compliance reforms strengthen registration verification, input tax credit reversal, return reconciliation, refund documentation, appeal withdrawal and e-commerce reporting requirements.
The amendments strengthen GST registration and compliance through PAN-linked contact verification, biometric Aadhaar authentication and document verification for risk-identified applicants. They require reversal of input tax credit where suppliers fail to furnish corresponding returns, subject to later re-availment. Electronic reconciliation of differences between outward-supply statements and returns requires payment or explanation through FORM GST DRC-01B, with recovery consequences for unresolved differences. The changes also revise refund evidence for unregistered persons, appeal filing and withdrawal procedures, and GSTR-1 reporting for electronic commerce supplies.

Export policy change: agri-residue biomass and briquettes/pellets permitted for free export while fodder remains restricted.
The amendment to Schedule 2 of the ITC(HS) Export Policy places Agri Residue Based Biomass and associated briquettes/pellets under the Free export category with immediate effect, while exports of fodder, including wheat and rice straw, remain Restricted and continue to require controls.

Minimum Import Price change raises threshold for areca imports and restricts supari imports, with EOUs/SEZ exemptions.
The notification raises the Minimum Import Price (MIP) threshold for ITC (HS) 080280 areca nut tariff lines, permitting import only when CIF meets the revised MIP, and changes ITC (HS) 21069030 (Supari) from free to prohibited but similarly permits import if CIF meets the revised MIP. MIP conditions do not apply to imports by 100% EOUs and SEZ units when no DTA sale is allowed.

ITR-7 form substituted: new income-tax return format for entities claiming exemptions, reporting detailed schedules, effective 1 April 2023.
Notification substitutes Form ITR-7 in Appendix-II of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, prescribing a revised return for persons required to file under sections 139(4A)-139(4D). The Income-tax (Second Amendment) Rules, 2023 take effect from 1 April 2023 and replace the prior Form ITR-7 with a version that requires detailed identification, registration and exemption basis, plus numerous schedules (e.g., VC, J, FA, PTI, CG, BP, OS, VDA) to capture corpus, investments, application of funds, foreign assets, special-rate incomes and tax computations.

GST rate schedule amendment revises classifications for ethyl alcohol, fruit drinks, residues, and school boxes.
Revises the Andhra Pradesh GST rate notification by substituting schedule entries for ethyl alcohol, denatured spirits, bran and other cereal residues, fruit pulp or fruit juice based drinks, and mathematical, geometry and colour boxes. The amendment places ethyl alcohol supplied to oil marketing companies or petroleum refineries for blending with motor spirit in the concessional entry and separately classifies denatured ethyl alcohol and other spirits in the higher-rate schedule. The notification is effective from 1 January 2023.

GST exemption schedule amendment expands animal feed coverage and adds husk and concentrate entries under Andhra Pradesh notification.
Amendment to the Andhra Pradesh GST exemption notification revises the Schedule entry for animal feed and allied products and inserts a new entry for specified husk and concentrate goods. The substituted description covers aquatic feed, poultry feed, cattle feed, supplements, additives, wheat bran and de-oiled cake, other than rice bran. A further entry is added for husk of pulses, including chilka, and concentrates including chuni or churi and khanda, under the specified tariff headings.

Reverse charge on essential oils is amended to cover peppermint and other mint oils under Andhra Pradesh GST.
Amends the Andhra Pradesh GST reverse charge notification under section 9(3) by substituting entry 3A for specified essential oils other than citrus fruit, including peppermint and other mints such as spearmint, water mint, horsemint, bergamot and Mentha arvensis. The amendment applies to supplies involving an unregistered person and a registered person and takes effect from 1 January 2023.

Renting of residential dwelling exemption clarified for proprietors using premises as personal residence under Andhra Pradesh GST.
Amends the Andhra Pradesh GST exemption notification by inserting an explanation for the entry relating to renting of residential dwelling. The exemption is clarified to cover cases where a registered person, being the proprietor of a proprietorship concern, rents the dwelling in his personal capacity for use as his own residence and not on behalf of the concern. It also omits S. No. 23A and the related entries, with effect from 1 January 2023.

Refund application timelines require officers to decide applications within twenty-one days and Chief Commissioner to issue guidelines.
Proper officers receiving refund applications under the Rajasthan GST framework must decide each application within twenty-one days from receipt; detailed procedural guidelines to implement this timeline will be issued by the Chief Commissioner, State Tax.

Late fee reimbursement under GST: available for outward supply returns, subject to filing conditions and recovery safeguards.
Reimbursement is directed for late fees paid under section 47 of the Rajasthan GST Act for returns/details of outward supplies for the specified period, excluding annual returns under section 44. Eligibility requires furnishing returns under sections 37, 39 and 45 for that period or by the cut-off date. Wrongful claimants face recovery as arrears of State tax with interest and penalty. The Chief Commissioner will issue application and procedural guidelines, and the State Government may review or modify the order.

Income tax rules amended: new ITR forms and schedules effective 1 April 2023, expanded filing and disclosure requirements.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes issued the Income tax (First Amendment) Rules, 2023, effective 1 April 2023, amending rule 12 and substituting Appendix II by replacing ITR 1 SAHAJ, ITR 2, ITR 3, ITR 4 SUGAM, ITR 5, ITR 6, ITR V and the Income Tax Return Acknowledgement with new, expanded forms and schedules for filing returns for assessment year 2023 24.

Payment Mode Standardization requires electronic fee payments via SEBI gateway or bank transfers, replacing paper instruments.
SEBI amended numerous regulations to require that fees and levies be paid by direct credit into the Board's bank account through NEFT/RTGS/IMPS or online payment using the SEBI Payment Gateway, or by any other electronic mode as may be specified by the Board, replacing prior permissibility of demand drafts and banker's cheques. The amendments apply to a wide range of regimes and restate timing and procedural payment requirements for annual, application and non refundable fees, with the changes effective from the first day of April, 2023.

Buy-back regulation: phased elimination of open-market buy-backs and mandatory book-building, electronic filings and procedural limits.
Amendments update buy-back regulation by defining frequently traded shares and secretarial auditor, requiring thresholds to be based on standalone or consolidated statements whichever is lower, phasing out open-market buy-backs with transitional caps, mandating electronic filings and merchant banker certifications, broadening acceptable escrow instruments, and introducing a book-building process with specified disclosure, pricing, retail participation limits and a prohibition on promoter participation in book-building.

Inclusion of new members in CSEZ Authority updates notification to substitute two member entries, altering Authority composition.
Amendment to the composition of the CSEZ Authority substitutes the members at Sl. No. 5 and 6 in Notification No. S.O. 3625(E) dated 17.09.2020, replacing the previously listed individuals with newly nominated persons and their corporate affiliations, thereby updating the Authority's notified membership roster under the Special Economic Zones Act.

Corrigendum to Customs Notification updates textual references in an earlier customs notice by correcting specified line references.
Corrigendum to Notification No. 2/2023-Customs issues textual amendments: replace '113' with '114' in line 4; replace '112' with '113' in line 33; and replace '113' with '114' in line 35 of the original notification, effecting corrections to the published references in the Gazette relating to customs duty and IGST rates for imported goods.

Import permission for diamond certification added: GSI Pvt. Ltd. authorized to import diamonds for grading and re-export.
Gemological Science International (GSI) Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, Maharashtra is inserted at serial no. (6) of paragraph 4.42 of the Foreign Trade Policy (2015 20), thereby authorizing GSI as a permitted agency to import diamonds for certification and grading and to re export them under the existing policy framework.

RoDTEP schedule aligned with Customs Tariff First Schedule for chapters 28, 29, 30 & 73 effective 15.02.2023.
Notification revises and aligns RoDTEP Appendix 4R for chapters 28, 29, 30 and 73 with the First Schedule of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975. The revised Appendix 4R - specifying eligible export items, RoDTEP rates (percentage of FOB or fixed quantum), units of quantity per the First Schedule and per-unit caps - is effective 15.02.2023 and applies to exports from 15.02.2023 to 30.09.2023, subject to further revisions under the Scheme's budgetary framework; the full Schedule is published on the DGFT portal under Regulatory Updates > RoDTEP.