VAT rate on liquor changed to a fixed ad valorem levy; applies to foreign and country liquor.
Amendment to the Fourth Schedule substitutes the existing entries for foreign and Indian-made foreign liquor and for country liquor with uniform ad valorem levy set at twenty-five paise in the rupee; promulgated by notification under statutory power and effective from 10 June 2020.

E-way bill validity extension: validity for bills generated before the cutoff extended until end of June easing transport compliance.
Where an e-way bill generated under the Meghalaya GST Rules on or before 24 March 2020 had validity expiring on or after 20 March 2020, the validity of such e-way bill is deemed extended until the thirtieth day of June 2020.

Extension of refund order deadline under Section 54: issuance extended to 15 days after reply or June 30 for affected notices.
Where a notice has been issued rejecting a refund claim in full or part and the time limit to pass the order under the refund provisions falls between 20 March 2020 and 29 June 2020, the period for issuance of that order is extended to fifteen days after receipt of the registered person's reply to the notice or to 30 June 2020, whichever is later; this extension is effective from 20 March 2020.

GSTR-3B filing deadlines set for small taxpayers in Jharkhand for January-March 2020 returns; file electronically by portal dates.
A proviso mandates that taxpayers with principal place of business in Jharkhand and aggregate turnover below the prescribed threshold must furnish FORM GSTR-3B electronically through the common portal for January, February and March 2020, with specified due dates for each month; the amendment to Notification No.44/2019 is effective from 3rd February 2020.

E-way bill validity extension preserves deemed validity for qualifying GST transport documents affected by expiry during the prescribed period.
E-way bill validity under the Arunachal Pradesh GST framework is extended for e-way bills generated under rule 138 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 on or before 24 March 2020, where validity expired on or after 20 March 2020. Such e-way bills are deemed valid until 30 June 2020. The amendment takes effect from 31 May 2020.

E-way bill validity extension applies to bills expired after mid-March, with retrospective effect from late May.
Substitutes the proviso to extend the validity of e-way bills generated on or before 24 March 2020, whose validity expired on or after 20 March 2020, by deeming such validity extended until 30 June 2020; amendment takes effect from 31 May 2020.

E-way bill validity extended until end of June for bills generated before lockdown whose validity expired after mid March.
Where an e-way bill generated on or before 24 March 2020 had its validity expire on or after 20 March 2020, the proviso to the principal notification is substituted to deem the validity of such e-way bills extended until 30 June 2020; the amendment takes effect from 31 May 2020 and amends the earlier Notification No.35/2020-Central Tax as previously amended.

Extension of time for issuance of refund orders where statutory period fell during pandemic, deadline deferred accordingly.
The Government extends the time limit to issue orders on notices rejecting refund claims where the statutory period under sub section (5), read with sub section (7) of section 54 fell during the COVID 19 affected interval; the deadline is reset to fifteen days after receipt of the registered person's reply or to the 30th day of June, 2020, whichever is later, effective from 20th March, 2020, under powers of section 168A read with corresponding provisions of the Integrated and Union Territory GST Acts.

Extension of refund-order timeline under Section 54(7) allows later issuance following pandemic-period rejection notices and responses.
For cases where a notice for rejection of a refund claim has been issued and the time limit to pass an order under Section 54(7) would fall between 20 March 2020 and 30 August 2020, the period for issuance of that order is extended to fifteen days after receipt of the registered person's reply to the notice or to 31 August 2020, whichever is later; the notification takes effect from 20 March 2020.

Extension of GST compliance deadline by state notification; amended effective date applied retroactively to the prior commencement date.
Amendment of the state GST notification substitutes a later specified date for the earlier specified date in the first paragraph of the prior notification, extending the operative compliance deadline. Issued under the executive power in section 148 on Council recommendation, the notification states that it shall come into force with effect from the earlier specified date, thereby applying the amendment from that commencement date.

Deadline extension for the applicable GST notification, substituting 31st May with 31st July 2020 as operative date.
Amendment to Notification No. 10/2020 Central Tax replaces "31st day of May, 2020" in the first paragraph with "31st day of July, 2020" under the authority of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, and states that the amendment shall come into force with effect from the 31st day of May, 2020.

Extension of time for issuing refund-rejection orders to fifteen days after receipt of reply or until June thirtieth.
Where a notice rejecting a refund claim has been issued and the statutory period to pass the order falls between 20 March 2020 and 29 June 2020, the time for issuance is extended to fifteen days after receipt of the registered person's reply to the notice or until 30 June 2020, whichever is later; the notification is effective from 20 March 2020.

Extension of compliance date: statutory deadline in a State Tax notification substituted and declared effective retroactively.
The Government, under section 148 of the Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and on the Council's recommendation, amends Notification No. 09/2020 State Tax by substituting "31st day of May, 2020" with "31st day of July, 2020" in its first paragraph, and states that this notification shall come into force with effect from the 31st day of May, 2020.

Customs Tariff amendment adds tariff classification for bamboos, updating the exemption and schedule under the Customs notification.
Amendment substitutes the Table entry at serial number 55 in Notification No. 50/2017-Customs to specify the tariff classification and particulars for bamboos, effected under powers under section 25 of the Customs Act and section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, and referencing the principal notification and its prior amendment.

Anti-dumping duty on flexible slabstock polyol from Singapore continues to counteract dumped imports and protect domestic industry.
Imposition of anti-dumping duty on imports of Flexible Slabstock Polyol (molecular weight 3000-4000) originating in or exported from Singapore is prescribed following a sunset review finding of continued dumping and injury. The Central Government imposes producer-specific and other-producer duties denominated in US dollars per metric tonne as set out in the Table, makes the duty effective for five years from publication unless earlier altered, requires payment in Indian currency, and directs use of the notified exchange rate for conversion at the bill of entry date.

Provisional anti-dumping duty imposed on imports of 1 phenyl 3 methyl 5 pyrazolone from China PR, for a limited period.
Imposes a provisional anti-dumping duty on 1 phenyl 3 methyl 5 pyrazolone from China PR for a limited duration, equal to the difference between a specified per unit benchmark amount and the customs-assessed landed value where the landed value is lower. The measure covers imports produced or exported from the subject country, including transshipments, is payable in Indian currency, and uses the Government notified exchange rate with the bill of entry date as the relevant date. Landed value is defined as assessable value under the Customs Act plus applicable customs duties, excluding certain specified duties.

De-notification of SEZ area follows statutory approvals and recommendations, reducing the zone after compliance with SEZ Act requirements.
Central Government de-notifies a portion of the Nokia India Private Limited sector specific Special Economic Zone at Sriperumbudur after the developer's proposal, State Government approval, and the Development Commissioner's recommendation, finding that required procedural and eligibility conditions under the SEZ regime are satisfied; the notification lists the specific survey parcels removed and states the revised total SEZ area.

Force majeure GST compliance extensions permit retrospective notification-based relaxation of statutory deadlines during epidemics and other calamities.
Bihar Goods and Services Tax law permits the Government, on the Council's recommendations and by notification, to extend statutory, prescribed or notified time limits where actions cannot be completed or complied with due to force majeure. The power includes retrospective operation from a date no earlier than commencement of the Bihar Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Force majeure includes war, epidemic, flood, drought, fire, cyclone, earthquake and other calamities affecting implementation of GST law.

Commencement date fixed for Nagaland GST amendment rules, bringing those amendment provisions into force on the appointed day.
The Finance Department, exercising statutory power under the Nagaland Goods and Services Tax Act and the Forty Second Amendment Rules, 2020, appoints the commencement date by notification to bring the amendment provisions made earlier by notification dated 5th May 2020 into force.

Furnishing Nil GST Return by SMS now effective under Rule 67A, enabling GSTR-3B nil filing via SMS.
Provision instituting Rule 67A establishes a procedure for furnishing a nil return in FORM GSTR-3B by SMS as an acceptable mode of submission, and the notification appoints the specified commencement date for the amendment rules to come into force, thereby operationalising the SMS-based nil-filing mechanism.