Updates
What changed, and when it takes effect
52 government schemes, rule changes and notifications affecting Indian companies. Each one names the authority that issued it and links to the page it was read from.
GST
- GST registration granted electronically within three working days for low-risk applicants
The Government's GST backgrounder states that an ease-based registration scheme has been introduced for low-risk applicants, allowing registration within three working days. It sits alongside the other compliance-easing measures accompanying the 2025 GST refor…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedSource
- Health Security se National Security (HSNS) Cess on pan masala commenced 1 February 2026
The HSNS Cess Act and the HSNS Cess Rules commenced on 1 February 2026. The cess is levied on the machines installed or the processes used to manufacture specified goods, initially pan masala, and the Government may extend it to other goods by notification. Ev…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-02-01Source
- GST Appellate Tribunal launched; backlog appeals allowed up to 30 June 2026
The Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal was formally launched by the Union Finance Minister in New Delhi on 24 September 2025, together with a GSTAT e-Courts portal for online filing, case tracking and virtual hearings. The 56th GST Council had recommend…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-24Source
- GST exempted on all individual life and health insurance policies
The 56th GST Council recommended exempting GST on all individual life insurance policies - term, ULIP and endowment - and on all individual health insurance policies including family floater and senior citizen policies, together with the reinsurance of those p…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-22Source
- GST moves to a two-rate structure of 5% and 18% with a 40% de-merit rate from 22 September 2025
At its 56th meeting on 3 September 2025 the GST Council approved the 'Next-Generation GST' rate rationalisation, collapsing the four-tier 5/12/18/28 structure into a merit rate of 5% and a standard rate of 18%, with a special de-merit rate of 40% for a small l…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-22Source
- GST rates on services revised from 22 September 2025 (Notifications 15/2025 to 17/2025-Central Tax (Rate))
On 17 September 2025 CBIC amended the services rate and exemption notifications - 11/2017, 12/2017 and 17/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and their IGST and UTGST equivalents - through G.S.R. 663(E), G.S.R. 664(E) and connected notifications numbered 15/2025 to 17/202…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-2215/2025, 16/2025 and 17/2025-Central Tax (Rate); G.S.R. 663(E) and G.S.R. 664(E)Source
- Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate): new GST rate schedules for goods, effective 22 September 2025
CBIC issued Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) [G.S.R. 641(E)] on 17 September 2025, superseding the 2017 goods rate notification No. 01/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and reorganising goods across new rate schedules to give effect to the 56th GST Council dec…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-229/2025-Central Tax (Rate); G.S.R. 641(E)Source
- CBIC limits the documents officers may demand on a GST registration application
Responding to grievances about officers seeking documents outside the prescribed list, CBIC issued Instruction No. 03/2025-GST on 17 April 2025. Officers were directed to adhere strictly to the list of documents in the registration application form, not to iss…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-17Instruction No. 03/2025-GST dated 17 April 2025Source
- E-invoice 30-day reporting limit extended to turnover of Rs 10 crore and above from 1 April 2025
GSTN lowered the threshold for the 30-day e-invoice reporting window from an aggregate annual turnover of Rs 100 crore to Rs 10 crore. From 1 April 2025, taxpayers with an AATO of Rs 10 crore and above cannot report invoices, credit notes or debit notes on an …
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
- GST amnesty under section 128A: last date to pay tax dues was 31 March 2025
The amnesty under section 128A of the CGST Act waived interest and penalty on demands raised under section 73 for financial years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 where the taxpayer paid the principal tax. CBIC confirmed that the last date to pay the tax dues in o…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-03-31Notification No. 21/2024-Central Tax dated 8 October 2024; Circular No. 238/32/2024-GST dated 15 October 2024Source
- 57th GST Council meeting reported for 12 September 2026
Tax commentary reports that the 57th GST Council meeting was convened in New Delhi on 12 September 2026, with an agenda focused on compliance plumbing rather than rates - blocked input tax credit under section 17(5), registration simplification and automated c…
Indicative — not from the authority's own pageEffective date not confirmedSource
- GST returns cannot be filed more than three years after their due date
Sections 37, 39, 44 and 52 of the CGST Act, as amended by the Finance Act 2023, bar the filing of a GST return after three years from its due date. GSTN issued an advisory telling taxpayers to reconcile and file all pending returns before the portal begins enf…
Indicative — not from the authority's own pageEffective date not confirmedFinance Act, 2023; Notification No. 28/2023-Central Tax dated 31 July 2023Source
Income tax
- Budget 2026-27: buyback taxed as capital gains, MAT becomes a final tax at 14%, STT raised
The Union Budget 2026-27, presented on 1 February 2026, proposed taxing share buybacks as capital gains for all classes of shareholders, with an additional buyback tax on promoters taking the effective rate to 22% for corporate promoters and 30% for non-corpor…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-04-01Source
- Income-tax Act, 2025 in force from 1 April 2026; Income-tax Rules, 2026 notified on 20 March 2026
The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026. To operationalise it, the Central Board of Direct Taxes notified the Income-tax Rules, 2026 on 20 March 2026, along with the corresponding new forms, which the Government describes as simplified, standa…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-04-01Source
- Income-tax Act, 2025 replaces the Income-tax Act, 1961 - assented 21 August 2025
The Income-tax Bill, 2025 was passed by Parliament on 12 August 2025 and received the President's assent on 21 August 2025, becoming Act No. 30 of 2025. It consolidates and rewrites the direct tax law in place of the six-decade-old Income-tax Act, 1961, using …
Read at sourceEffective 2026-04-01Act No. 30 of 2025Source
- Finance Act, 2026 assented on 30 March 2026
The Finance Act, 2026 (Act No. 4 of 2026) was published by the Ministry of Law and Justice on 30 March 2026. It gives legislative effect to the Union Budget 2026-27 tax proposals, including the direct tax changes announced on 1 February 2026 and the customs ta…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedAct No. 4 of 2026Source
- Tax audit report date for AY 2025-26 extended from 30 September 2025 to 31 October 2025
CBDT extended the 'specified date' for furnishing a report of audit under any provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for previous year 2024-25 (AY 2025-26), for assessees covered by clause (a) of Explanation 2 to section 139(1), from 30 September 2025 to 31 Oct…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-10-31Source
- ITR filing due date for AY 2025-26 extended from 31 July 2025 to 15 September 2025
CBDT extended the due date for filing income tax returns originally due by 31 July 2025 to 15 September 2025, citing the extensive structural and content changes in the notified ITR forms for AY 2025-26 and the time needed for system readiness and rollout of t…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-15Source
- Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 amends the Income-tax Act 1961 and the Finance Act 2025
The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 (Act No. 29 of 2025) received the President's assent on 21 August 2025. It further amends the Income-tax Act, 1961 - including section 10, with effect from 1 April 2025 - and amends the Finance Act, 2025.
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedAct No. 29 of 2025Source
- No income tax up to Rs 12 lakh under the new regime from FY 2025-26
The Union Budget 2025-26 restructured the new personal income tax regime so that no income tax is payable up to a total income of Rs 12 lakh (other than special-rate income such as capital gains), and up to Rs 12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers after the Rs 75,…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
- TDS and TCS thresholds raised from FY 2025-26; higher TDS now only for non-PAN cases
The Union Budget 2025-26 rationalised TDS and TCS. The deduction limit on interest for senior citizens was doubled from Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh; the annual TDS threshold on rent was raised from Rs 2.40 lakh to Rs 6 lakh; and the TCS threshold on remittances und…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
- Updated income tax return (ITR-U) window extended from two years to four years
The Union Budget 2025-26 proposed extending the time limit to file an updated income tax return for any assessment year from the existing two years to four years from the end of the relevant assessment year. The stated aim is to encourage voluntary compliance …
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
Company law
- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 decriminalises 717 provisions across 79 Central Acts
The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2026 (Act No. 8 of 2026) received the President's assent and was published on 8 April 2026. It amends a schedule of Central enactments to replace criminal liability with monetary penalties determined by adjudicati…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedAct No. 8 of 2026Source
- Small company threshold raised to Rs 10 crore paid-up capital and Rs 100 crore turnover
By G.S.R. 880(E) dated 1 December 2025 the Ministry of Corporate Affairs substituted rule 2(1)(t) of the Companies (Specification of definition details) Rules, 2014 so that, for the purposes of section 2(85)(i) and (ii) of the Companies Act, 2013, the paid-up …
Read at sourceEffective 2025-12-01G.S.R. 880(E); Companies (Specification of definition details) Amendment Rules, 2025; F. No. Policy-01/5/2022-CL-V-MCASource
- Fast-track mergers widened: unlisted companies with borrowings up to Rs 200 crore can skip the NCLT
By G.S.R. 603(E) dated 4 September 2025 the Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended rule 25 of the Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Rules, 2016 to widen the section 233 fast-track merger route. Two or more unlisted companies (other than se…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-09-04G.S.R. 603(E); Companies (Compromises, Arrangements and Amalgamations) Amendment Rules, 2025Source
- Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2025 - new ADT forms and electronic fraud reporting from 14 July 2025
By G.S.R. 359(E) dated 30 May 2025 the Ministry of Corporate Affairs amended the Companies (Audit and Auditors) Rules, 2014 with effect from 14 July 2025. Rule 13(2)(d) was substituted so that an auditor's fraud report to the Central Government must be filed e…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-07-14G.S.R. 359(E); Companies (Audit and Auditors) Amendment Rules, 2025Source
Labour
- Karnataka Shops and Commercial Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2026
Karnataka amended its Shops and Commercial Establishments Act with effect from 4 September 2026. Reported changes include exempting establishments with ten or more workers already registered under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 20…
Indicative — not from the authority's own pageEffective 2026-09-04Source
- New EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes 2026 notified under the Code on Social Security
On 29 June 2026 the Ministry of Labour and Employment notified schemes under section 15 of the Code on Social Security, 2020. G.S.R. 527(E) makes the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026 in supersession of the Employees' Family Pension Scheme, 1971 and the Employee…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedG.S.R. 527(E) and G.S.R. 526(E) dated 29 June 2026; S.O. 3582(E) dated 1 July 2026Source
- Overtime allowance counts towards the 50% wage-floor calculation under the Code on Wages
In additional FAQs on the Labour Codes issued as on 16 March 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Employment clarified that overtime allowance payment forms part of the 50 percent wage calculation under the Code on Wages, 2019. The FAQ set addresses employer quest…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedSource
- Commencement notifications for the Code on Social Security and the Code on Wages
The Ministry of Labour and Employment issued commencement notifications on 21 November 2025 under section 1(3) of each Code. S.O. 5319(E) appoints 21 November 2025 as the date on which the provisions of the Code on Social Security, 2020 up to section 143 come …
Read at sourceEffective 2025-11-21S.O. 5319(E) and S.O. 5322(E) dated 21 November 2025Source
- Four Labour Codes brought into force on 21 November 2025
The Government made the Code on Wages 2019, the Industrial Relations Code 2020, the Code on Social Security 2020 and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020 effective from 21 November 2025, rationalising 29 Central labour laws. Key emp…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-11-21Source
- Standing orders and retrenchment permission thresholds set at 300 workers under the Industrial Relations Code
Under the Industrial Relations Code, 2020, the provisions on standing orders apply to industrial establishments employing 300 or more workers, and industrial establishments such as factories, mines and plantations employing 300 or more workers must obtain prio…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-11-21Source
- ESIC Amnesty Scheme 2025 runs from 1 October 2025 to 30 September 2026
ESIC, on the direction of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, is running an Amnesty Scheme 2025 for ESIC-registered employers from 1 October 2025 until 30 September 2026. Damages and interest can be waived in eligible cases; for the first time coverage-rela…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-10-01Source
- PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana: employer incentives for jobs created between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2027
The Employment Linked Incentive Scheme took effect on 1 August 2025 as the PM Viksit Bharat Rozgar Yojana, with an outlay of Rs 99,446 crore and a target of more than 3.5 crore jobs over two years. Benefits apply to jobs created between 1 August 2025 and 31 Ju…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-08-01Source
- Karnataka profession tax raised to Rs 2,500 a year for salaries of Rs 25,000 and above, from 1 April 2025
Karnataka Act No. 33 of 2025, the Karnataka Tax on Profession, Trades, Callings and Employments (Amendment) Act, 2025, received the Governor's assent on 10 April 2025 and was first published in the Karnataka Gazette Extraordinary on 15 April 2025. It amends th…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Karnataka Act No. 33 of 2025; Karnataka Gazette Extraordinary No. 232, Part IVA, dated 15 April 2025Source
MSME
- Udyam registrations pass 7.3 crore; credit cards for Udyam-registered micro enterprises
More than 7.30 crore enterprises had registered on the Udyam Registration Portal and the Udyam Assist Platform between 1 July 2020 and 17 December 2025 - 4.37 crore on Udyam and 2.92 crore on the Udyam Assist Platform. Registration remains free, paperless and …
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedSource
- MSME Online Dispute Resolution portal launched for delayed payments
The Ministry of MSME launched an Online Dispute Resolution portal on 27 June 2025 to reduce the incidence of delayed payments to micro and small enterprises. It provides a multi-layered, end-to-end digital resolution mechanism from case filing to final resolut…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-06-27Source
- Credit guarantee cover for micro and small enterprises raised from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore
From 1 April 2025 the ceiling of guarantee coverage under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises was raised from Rs 5 crore to Rs 10 crore, and the annual guarantee fee for guarantees above Rs 1 crore was rationalised. The Ministry reporte…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
- MSME classification limits raised 2.5x on investment and 2x on turnover from 1 April 2025
The revised MSME classification took effect on 1 April 2025. Investment in plant and machinery or equipment limits moved from Rs 1 crore to Rs 2.5 crore for micro, Rs 10 crore to Rs 25 crore for small and Rs 50 crore to Rs 125 crore for medium. Turnover limits…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
- CGTMSE concession for MSEs promoted by transgender entrepreneurs from 1 March 2025
A special provision was introduced under the Credit Guarantee Scheme for micro and small enterprises promoted by transgender entrepreneurs, giving a 10% concession in guarantee fees and enhanced guarantee coverage of 85%, effective from 1 March 2025.
Read at sourceEffective 2025-03-01Source
Startup schemes
- DPIIT issues operational guidelines for Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0
On 25 April 2026 DPIIT issued the operational guidelines for the Rs 10,000 crore Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0. The scheme is deployed through SEBI-registered Category I and II Alternative Investment Funds investing in DPIIT-recognised startups. AIFs are seg…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-04-25Source
- Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 notified with a Rs 10,000 crore corpus
By S.O. 1860(E) dated 13 April 2026 the Ministry of Commerce and Industry notified the Startup India Fund of Funds 2.0 with a total corpus of Rs 10,000 crore to mobilise venture capital for the startup ecosystem. The scheme comes into force from the date of th…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-04-13S.O. 1860(E) dated 13 April 2026Source
- Startup recognition criteria revised: turnover limit raised to Rs 200 crore and a Deep Tech Startup category created
DPIIT notification G.S.R. 108(E) dated 4 February 2026 supersedes the 2019 startup definition notification (G.S.R. 127(E) of 19 February 2019). An entity qualifies as a startup if it is a private limited company, a registered partnership firm, an LLP, a Multi-…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-02-04G.S.R. 108(E) dated 4 February 2026Source
- Section 80-IAC startup tax holiday extended to startups incorporated before 1 April 2030
The Union Budget 2025-26 extended the period of incorporation for the section 80-IAC startup tax holiday by five years, so startups incorporated before 1 April 2030 are eligible to apply. The benefit is a 100% deduction of profits for any three consecutive yea…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-04-01Source
Customs and trade
- DGFT introduces an inventory-based cross-border e-commerce export framework
DGFT Notification No. 27/2026-27 dated 5 August 2026 introduces an Inventory-based Cross-border E-Commerce Export Framework under the Foreign Trade Policy.
Read at sourceEffective 2026-08-05Notification No. 27/2026-27 dated 5 August 2026Source
- India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in force from 15 July 2026
The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement entered into force on 15 July 2026, together with the Agreement on Social Security, also called the Double Contribution Convention. CETA was concluded on 6 May 2025 and signed on 24 July 2025 in London; t…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-07-15Source
- DGFT prohibits import of goods produced using forced labour
DGFT Notification No. 23/2026-27 dated 13 July 2026 inserts Para 2.20B and Para 11.64 into the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 to prohibit the import of goods produced using forced labour.
Read at sourceEffective 2026-07-13Notification No. 23/2026-27 dated 13 July 2026Source
- DGFT clarifies QCO and BIS requirements for SEZ units and developers
DGFT Notification No. 20/2026-27 dated 2 June 2026 amends Para 2.03(A)(iii) of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023 on the applicability of Quality Control Orders and BIS requirements to imports by Special Economic Zone units and developers.
Read at sourceEffective 2026-06-02Notification No. 20/2026-27 dated 2 June 2026Source
- DGFT syncs the ITC(HS) import and export schedules and the RoDTEP schedule with the Finance Act, 2026
Following the Finance Act, 2026 dated 30 March 2026, DGFT issued a series of alignment notifications: No. 15/2026-27 dated 30 April 2026 aligning the RoDTEP Schedule to changes in the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 as amended by the Fourth Sche…
Read at sourceEffective 2026-05-01Notification Nos. 15/2026-27, 24/2026-27 and 26/2026-27Source
- Union Budget 2026-27 customs proposals: personal-use import tariff halved and courier export value cap removed
The Union Budget 2026-27, presented on 1 February 2026, proposed reducing the tariff rate on all dutiable goods imported for personal use from 20% to 10%, exempting basic customs duty on 17 drugs or medicines, and adding 7 more rare diseases for duty-free pers…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedSource
- Union Budget 2026-27: customs tariff simplification, export input schemes widened, SEZ sales to DTA
The Budget proposes removing long-standing customs duty exemptions on items now manufactured in India or with negligible imports, and incorporating certain effective rates into the tariff schedule itself. The duty-free import limit for specified inputs used in…
Read at sourceEffective date not confirmedSource
- India's FTA network reaches nine agreements across 38 countries; EFTA TEPA in force from 1 October 2025
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry set out India's FTA position for 2025-26: nine FTAs spanning 38 countries. The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement, signed on 10 March 2024, entered into force on 1 October 2025. The India-UK CETA was signe…
Read at sourceEffective 2025-10-01Source
Researched 2026-09-13. Where a date could not be confirmed on a government page we say so rather than publish one — a wrong deadline on a compliance site is the most damaging thing we could print.