Exchange rate determination for customs: specified conversion rates set for import and export goods, effective 22 April 2022.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs prescribes specific rates of exchange for listed foreign currencies into Indian rupees for customs valuation of imported and exported goods, effective 22 April 2022, superseding a prior notification; rates appear in Schedule I (per unit) and Schedule II (per 100 units), and certain currency entries were substituted by subsequent notifications.

Tax exemption for notified SEZ Authority: specified non commercial incomes exempt subject to non commercial and filing conditions.
Notification under clause (46) of section 10 notifies SEEPZ Special Economic Zone Authority (PAN AAALS4995G) as an Authority for exemption of specified incomes: lease rentals/service charges from SEZ units; gate pass fees, fines, penalties and miscellaneous receipts; and interest on bank deposits and investments. The exemption is conditional on the Authority not engaging in commercial activity, maintaining unchanged activities and income character across financial years, and filing income returns per clause (g) of sub section (4C) of section 139. The notification is deemed effective for 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 and applicable for 2022-2023 to 2024-2025.

Tax exemption for regulatory authority: specified government grants, fees and related interest exempted subject to non-commercial and filing conditions.
Central Government notifies Gujarat Real Estate Regulatory Authority as an Authority under clause (46) of section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, declaring specified income exempt: (a) government grants or loan/advance; (b) fees or penalties from builders/developers, agents or other stakeholders under the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016; and (c) interest on such amounts, subject to conditions that the Authority not engage in commercial activity, maintain unchanged activities and income nature across the financial years, and file returns as required by clause (g) of sub-section (4C) of section 139.

Concessional GST rate on intra-state brick supplies applies where input tax credit is not claimed.
Concessional State tax relief is granted for specified intra state supplies of bricks, blocks and tiles at the reduced rates listed for each tariff classification, on the condition that the supplier does not avail input tax credit for those supplies, and that any partly claimed credits are reversed as if the supply were exempt in accordance with credit reversal rules.

Composition scheme eligibility revised; prescribed manufacturers of certain goods barred from opting, with staged effective dates.
An eligible registered person with aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year not exceeding one crore fifty lakh rupees may opt for the composition levy as prescribed under the Jammu and Kashmir GST Rules; however, manufacturers of specified goods listed by tariff classification (including edible ice, pan masala, tobacco and substitutes, fly ash bricks/aggregates, certain siliceous bricks, building bricks and earthen roofing tiles) are excluded. Tariff classification interpretation follows the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act. Exclusions for S. Nos. 1-3 are effective from 1 April 2019 and for the remaining items from 1 April 2022.

Amendment to GST notification inserts fly ash and brick products into the notified table, effective from April.
S.O. 182 amends SRO-207 (18-3-2019) under Sub-Section (2) of Section 23 of the Jammu and Kashmir Goods Services Tax Act, 2017 to insert four new table entries: fly ash bricks or fly ash aggregate and fly ash blocks; bricks of fossil meals or similar siliceous earths; building bricks; and earthen or roofing tiles, with specified numerical headings. The amendment is declared to be effective from 1 April 2022.

GST rate amendment: schedules updated to remove certain entries and add specified bricks and tiles, effective from the tax period.
Amendment revises GST schedules by omitting specified serial entries from Schedule I and inserting new tariff classifications in Schedule II for fly ash bricks, bricks of siliceous earths, building bricks, and earthen or roofing tiles, with effect from the stated commencement date under the authority of Section 9 of the Jammu and Kashmir GST Act.

Fit and proper criteria for Nidhi declarations strengthened; non-compliant entities barred from member deposits and loans.
New rules require public companies seeking declaration as Nidhi to file Form NDH-4 within a prescribed period, attach declarations that promoters and directors satisfy fit and proper person criteria with specified disqualifications, and await Central Government examination which is deemed approved if not decided within the statutory period; non-compliant companies or those with rejected NDH-4 cannot raise deposits or provide loans to members and any deposits raised after non-compliance are governed by Chapter V of the Act.

Designation of Special Courts under tax law assigns specified magistrate courts jurisdiction over tax and black money offences in Kerala.
The Central Government, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Kerala, designates specified magistrate courts in Kerala as Special Courts to exercise jurisdiction over offences under the Income-tax Act and the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, assigning each listed court to a corresponding territorial area for purposes of investigations and prosecutions under those statutes.

Research institution approval enables tax deduction eligibility for social science and statistical research for specified assessment years.
Central Government approved Sri Sharada Institute of Indian Management Research Foundation Trust, New Delhi (PAN: AAJTS0088H) as an other Institution in the category of University, College or other institution for research in social science and statistical research under clause (iii) of sub-section (1) of section 35 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 read with the Income-tax Rules, with effect from publication and applicability to the specified assessment years; retrospective effect certified as not adversely affecting any person.

Special Court designation under income tax and black money laws allocates territorial jurisdictions for statutory prosecutions.
The Central Government, under section 280A of the Income tax Act, 1961 and section 84 of the Black Money Act, 2015, in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court of Allahabad, notifies designated magistrate courts in Uttar Pradesh as Special Courts and allocates territorial jurisdictions to those courts by a table listing each court and its covered districts for proceedings under those statutes.

Turnover threshold reduction alters composition scheme eligibility under state GST from higher to lower limit.
The notification amends the principal State GST notification by substituting the existing turnover benchmark with a lower turnover benchmark, effective from the stated commencement date, thereby changing the turnover-based eligibility for the specified simplified tax treatment under the principal notification.

Income-tax exemption under clause (48D): National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development notified for ten consecutive assessment years.
The Central Government notifies the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development, constituted under the enabling Act of 2021, as covered by clause (48D) of section 10 for tax purposes for a period of ten consecutive assessment years beginning from the assessment year 2022-2023, with the notification effective from its publication in the Official Gazette.

Corrigendum: deletion of the phrase sub-section (5) of section 15 from a state GST notification, correcting the text.
Corrigendum deletes the phrase and sub-section (5) of section 15 from line 1 of the Government of Karnataka Notification dated 31 March 2022, thereby correcting the published text of that notification.

GST reclassification of masonry products reallocates specified bricks and tiles to a different tax schedule, changing applicable levy.
The State amends a prior notification to omit certain serial entries from the 2.5% Schedule and to insert specified entries for fly ash bricks, bricks of siliceous earths, building bricks, and earthen or roofing tiles into the 6% Schedule, thereby reclassifying those building materials for GST purposes and altering their schedule placement under the MP GST notification, effective as stated in the notification.

GST classification update adds fly ash bricks, building bricks and roofing tiles to the notified taxable goods list.
Amendment inserts four tariff items into the State GST notification identifying fly ash bricks and blocks, bricks of fossil meals or similar siliceous earths, building bricks, and earthen or roofing tiles, each with specified tariff codes, and declares the amendment effective from the start of April 2022.

GST classification amendment inserts specific building material entries into the state notification, effective from the stated date.
The State amends a prior GST notification by inserting HSN-coded entries for specified building materials-fly ash bricks or fly ash aggregate with high fly ash content and fly ash blocks; bricks of fossil meals or similar siliceous earths; building bricks; and earthen or roofing tiles-into the Table of the earlier notification under the authority of the proviso to Section 10(1) of the Madhya Pradesh GST Act, 2017, and declares the amendment effective from 1 April 2022.

Concessional SGST rate for intra state brick supplies permitted where input tax credit is not availed, subject to reversal rules.
Grants a concessional State GST rate on specified intra state brick products provided no input tax credit is claimed for goods or services used exclusively for those supplies, and any partially attributable input tax credit is reversed as if the supplies were exempt under subsection (2) of section 17 and related rules. The relief applies only to the tariff items listed in the table and is subject to the annexed condition requiring ITC non availment or reversal.

Tariff value fixation for specified imported edible oils, metals, areca nut, gold and silver updated for customs valuation.
Amendment under section 14 of the Customs Act substitutes TABLE 1, TABLE 2 and TABLE 3 in the principal notification to fix US dollar tariff values for specified imports, listing commodity-specific benchmark values for edible oils, brass scrap, areca nut, and specified forms of gold and silver to govern customs assessment; the notification takes effect the day after publication.

Customs exemption on raw cotton: duty and agriculture cess waived during specified period under statutory powers.
Exempts imports of raw cotton under Chapter 5201 from customs duty and Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess to the extent those levies exceed amounts calculated at the specified standard rates, both of which are set at nil, under powers of section 25 of the Customs Act and section 124 of the Finance Act, 2021, for the period specified in the notification, with the expiry date later substituted by a subsequent notification.