Higher TDS for non-furnishing of ITR: Reserve Bank notified as a specified person, effective on publication.
Central Government has notified the Reserve Bank to be a person referred to in the proviso to the higher-TDS provision, bringing the central banking authority within the scope of the higher rate of tax deduction for payees who do not furnish income-tax returns; the notification is effective from its publication in the Official Gazette.

Cost Inflation Index updated: government notifies a new index value, effective for the upcoming assessment year.
Notification inserts a new table entry specifying the Cost Inflation Index for the financial year 2024-25 under the authority of clause (v) of the Explanation to section 48 of the Income-tax Act, amending the prior Gazette notification and stating that the new index comes into force on the first day of April and applies to the corresponding assessment year and subsequent assessment years.

Tax exemption for public water board extends to designated service receipts subject to non commercial and filing conditions.
Notification grants exemption to Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, Chennai for specified incomes: water charges to recover maintenance costs; centage charges from local bodies for water supply and sewerage works to compensate establishment charges; investigation and DPR preparation charges for schemes to cover establishment charges; and interest earned on bank deposits. The exemption is conditional on the Board not engaging in commercial activity, maintaining unchanged activities and specified incomes during the financial year(s), and filing its return of income as required by the referenced return filing provision.

Tariff value fixation for edible oils, gold, silver, brass scrap and areca nut took effect late May 2024.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs amends Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) by substituting TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 to fix tariff values for specified edible oils, brass scrap, categories of gold and silver, and areca nut, with most entries noted as unchanged.

Extension of implementation timeline for GST notification, postponing its operative date while preserving original commencement effect.
The amendment substitutes the original operative implementation date in the earlier Haryana GST notification by replacing the words, figures and sign of the prior effective date with a later date in the specified paragraph, thereby altering the scheduled commencement of that notification. The amendment further provides that the notification shall be deemed to have come into force from the original commencement date.

BIS registration requirement: electronics and IT imports barred unless BIS registered or MeitY exempt, with reexport or destruction mandated.
Imports of electronics and IT goods notified under the BIS registration order are prohibited unless registered with BIS and compliant with BIS labelling requirements, or covered by a MeitY exemption; non compliant consignments must be reexported or rendered unusable and disposed as scrap under Customs intimation to MeitY. For specified LED products and control gears, random samples will be tested at BIS recognized labs for defined safety parameters and only consignments with compliant samples will be cleared; failing consignments will be returned or destroyed at importer's cost.

Insider trading definition refined: unverified media reports excluded from public information and wording on unpublished price sensitive information amended.
Regulation 2(1)(e) of the Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations is amended to provide that information made available on a non-discriminatory basis "shall not include unverified event or information reported in print or electronic media"; the NOTE to regulation 2 is revised to insert the word "constitutes" in the explanatory phrase concerning unpublished price sensitive information and to omit an existing verb to refine the explanatory wording.

Exclusion of material price movements allowed to adjust VWAP and lower price-range calculations under LODR framework.
The amendment permits exclusion of the effect on equity share price due to material price movement or confirmation of reported events as per the LODR exclusion framework when determining the volume weighted average market price for buy-back calculations and when computing the lower end of the price range for buy-back offers.

Offer price determination may exclude price effects from material movements and confirmed events under the listing framework.
Amendments allow exclusion of price effects from material market movements and confirmation of reported events or information, using the framework under sub-regulation (11) of regulation 30 of the listing regulations, for determination of the takeover offer price and for pricing listed equity shares offered as consideration under the takeover regulations.

Shareholder eligibility expansion: substantial non individual public shareholders and promoter group entities recognised for contribution and lock in rules.
The ICDR amendments add non individual public shareholders holding at least five per cent. of post issue capital and entities forming part of the promoter group (other than promoters) to multiple contribution, lock in and holding period provisions; permit equity from conversion of fully paid compulsorily convertible securities held by specified holders to be treated as eligible where held for at least one year and converted before filing with full disclosure; shorten various procedural timelines from three working days to one working day and add "unforeseen" to refine such circumstances; omit several regulations; and incorporate the LODR regulation 30(11) framework to exclude price effects from material price movement when determining preferential and issue pricing, with technical changes to schedules on issue size disclosure in rupee value.

Market capitalisation applicability updated: annual ranking now determines regulatory obligations and phased cessation rules apply.
The amendments revise market capitalisation applicability by requiring year end ranked lists from stock exchanges, set commencement and cessation rules including a three year outside threshold test for removal of obligations, require newly covered entities to implement compliance systems and disclose the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report, extend and remove various date references and phased triggers, mandate six month timelines to fill certain board vacancies requiring approvals, clarify board meeting intimation and material price movement disclosure rules, and impose a duty on promoters, directors, KMP and senior management to promptly respond to queries so the listed entity can disseminate disclosures.

GSTR-1 filing deadline extension for March 2024 revises outward supply reporting timelines under Andhra Pradesh GST rules.
Extension of the time limit for furnishing outward supply details in FORM GSTR-1 for the tax period March 2024 under the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax framework. The amendment inserts an additional proviso to the existing notification governing filing timelines and extends the due date for registered persons required to furnish returns under section 39(1), other than those covered by the specified proviso, to 12 April 2024.

Exchange rate determination for customs conversions sets official foreign currency rates for import and export valuation.
CBIC determines official foreign currency conversion rates for customs purposes under the authority of section 14 of the Customs Act, superseding the earlier notification, and prescribes separate rates for imported and export goods in two annexed schedules (unit rates in Schedule I and per 100 unit rates in Schedule II) effective from the notification's commencement date for use in customs valuation and related procedures.

Anti-dumping duty on pentaerythritol imposed; importers liable to specified per tonne rates with exchange rate conversion.
An anti dumping duty is imposed on pentaerythritol (tariff item 2905 42 90) for five years with specified per metric tonne rates in USD applied to defined origin/export permutations for China PR, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan; duty is payable in Indian currency using the Ministry of Finance exchange rate applicable on the bill of entry date.

Amendment of notification date: substituted 15th May while commencement remains from 1st April for Goa GST
Amendment substitutes in the earlier notification the words "1st day of April, 2024" in paragraph 4 with "15th day of May, 2024" under the powers of section 148 of the Goa Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, on Council recommendation; the notification further states it shall come into force from the 1st day of April, 2024.

Tariff value fixation updated for edible oils, metals, areca nut, gold and silver; new customs values apply from the effective date.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs, invoking section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, substitutes TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 of Notification No. 36/2001-Customs (N.T.) with updated US dollar-denominated tariff values for specified goods including edible oils, brass scrap, areca nut, and defined categories of gold and silver, with explanatory qualifications for particular entries; the amendment is administrative, alters the reference tariff values used for customs valuation, and takes effect on the stated commencement date.

Special Additional Excise Duty on petroleum crude amended to a revised rate; change takes effect in May.
Notification No. 14/2024-Central Excise amends notification No. 18/2022-Central Excise by substituting, against S. No. 1 in the Table, the entry in column (4) with "Rs. 5700 per tonne" for the Special Additional Excise Duty on production of petroleum crude; the amendment is made under the Central Excise Act and the Finance Act and is effective from 16th May, 2024.

Eligibility relaxation for Technical Member in GSTAT reduces required Group A service, retains overall gazetted service and experience.
Appointment of a Technical Member (State) to GSTAT Andhra Pradesh requires an officer not below Additional Commissioner level or equivalent not lower than First Appellate Authority, with twenty years of Group A service (or equivalent), subject to twenty five years' overall Gazetted Officer service, and at least three years' experience in administration of an existing law, GST, or state finance and taxation; the relaxation is valid for ten years.

Effective date amendment changes commencement from early April to mid-May under GST, adjusting the notification's operative date.
Amendment substitutes the commencement date in paragraph 4 of Notification No. 04/2024-State Tax by replacing "1st day of April, 2024" with "15th day of May, 2024." The amendment is made under section 148 of the Gujarat Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the notification declares it shall come into force from the 1st day of April, 2024.

Proof of Principal Place of Business: electricity bill accepted as valid proof under state GST registration rules, effective June.
Amendment adds electricity bill details to FORM GST REG-01-requiring the name of the electricity distribution company and consumer account/number-and adds to the List of Documents that a copy of the electricity bill is acceptable proof of the principal place of business for state GST registration.