Hazardous cargo declarations in Bills of Entry trigger verification alerts and require details when specified goods are identified as hazardous.
Importers must make an item-level hazardous cargo declaration in Bills of Entry for goods falling under Chapters 28, 29 and 38. Hazardous goods require disclosure of their nature through the prescribed Single Window information, while non-hazardous goods are separately identified. The system flags declared hazardous cargo for verification, assessment, examination and out-of-charge processing. Where a revised classification during assessment falls within the specified chapters, the assessing officer must record hazardous-cargo details through the prescribed mechanism.

Declaration of Stainless Steel Grade must be recorded in customs entries and shipping bills to enable export-input correlation.
Imports of stainless steel under Advance Authorisation endorsed with commercial grades (e.g., J1-J5) must declare the specific grade and the percentages of Chromium, Nickel and Manganese in the Bill of Entry and invoice, with Customs attestation; shipping bills discharging the authorisation must record the same chemical percentages to enable correlation between imported inputs and resultant export products. Importers may apply for amendment of previously filed Bills of Entry, which shall be granted without delay to permit OOC clearance.

Export incentives to postal exports extended; postal PBEs to flow through DNK to ICES for benefit processing and disbursement.
Export incentives including Drawback, RoDTEP and RoSCTL will apply to postal exports filed via Dak Niryat Kendra (DNK). Exporters must submit Postal Bill of Export on the DNK portal; Customs officers will process PBEs, push Post EGM data to ICES, and generate temporary and final scrolls. Drawback disbursement is transmitted to PFMS, while RoDTEP and RoSCTL scrips are enabled through ICEGATE. A postal ICES site has been created and exporters must register on ICEGATE, add bank details for DNK site code, and register an AD Code as required.

Commodity derivatives capacity planning requires installed capacity of 2x projected peak and action when utilization exceeds 75%.
SEBI establishes a revised Capacity Planning and Real Time Performance Monitoring framework for the Commodity Derivatives Segment requiring installed capacity of at least 2x projected peak load and a policy mandating action when any component exceeds 75% utilization, with SCOT oversight. MIIs must submit a Capacity Planning and Real Time Performance Monitoring Policy, approved by SCOT and the Governing Board, to SEBI within three months and implement required system, process and rule amendments.

GIA Laboratory in Dubai: suffix changed from DMCC to FZCO, effective immediately under Foreign Trade Policy authority.
The Director General of Foreign Trade amends the Handbook of Procedures, 2023 by replacing the suffix "DMCC" with "FZCO" for the GIA laboratory in Dubai, updating its recorded corporate designation; this administrative correction is issued by public notice and is effective immediately.

Credit rating agencies must segregate disclosures, obtain client consent, and disclose non availability of SEBI protections for other regulator ratings.
CRAs rating instruments under other financial regulators must segregate grievance channels and disclosures, preserve SEBI minimum net worth requirements (with any other regulator requirements being additional), separate advertising and label rating reports to identify the applicable regulator, disclose non availability of SEBI investor protection mechanisms, obtain upfront written disclosures and client confirmations for new engagements, notify existing clients and confirm such notifications to SEBI, and include a Board approved undertaking in half yearly internal audit reports confirming compliance; staggered implementation timelines apply.

Single Touch Point trade integration expands SWIFT connectivity to more PGAs, streamlining digital NOC and certificate processing.
Onboarding additional Partner Government Agencies onto SWIFT 2.0 standardises data fields, document codes and declaration requirements for electronic filing and processing of LPCOs/NOCs. New and updated document codes have been created and annexed for trade use. MeitY and Textile Committee certificates and test reports will be generated, digitally integrated with Bills of Entry and made available on the SWIFT dashboard to obviate physical production. PGA officers are collocated on Customs IT infrastructure to process NOCs and reduce dwell time, with initial functionalities released for stakeholder feedback and further advisories to follow.

Auto goods registration and auto Out of Charge expand to covered importers, subject to risk-based holds by officers.
System-driven auto goods registration will apply on arrival for AEO T2 and T3 entities and will be extended to notified Eligible Manufacturer Importers, longstanding supply chain importers, and Direct Port Delivery users. An expanded auto Out of Charge facility will be available to all importers subject to duty payment and absence of additional compliance requirements. Auto Out of Charge operates on risk-based evaluation while officers may invoke a system "HOLD" to override automation based on intelligence.

Digital trade documents gain legal effect if they use reliable methods to establish control, integrity, and auditability.
Provides statutory recognition for electronic trade documents and deems them legally effective if they contain required information and employ a reliable method to identify the document, establish and retain control, preserve integrity, and provide an auditable lifecycle; control established by a reliable method is treated as possession and confers holder rights, while identity management and trust services that meet reliability standards are admissible, subject to provider obligations, liability rules, and cross border equivalence determinations by the Central Government.

Foreign investment in insurance permits full automatic-route participation, subject to regulatory verification, governance conditions, licensing and disclosure obligations.
Foreign direct investment in Indian insurance companies and insurance intermediaries is permitted up to 100 per cent under the Automatic Route, subject to insurance regulatory verification, licensing, applicable insurance law and foreign-investment rules. Insurance companies with foreign investment must maintain a resident Indian citizen in specified senior leadership roles. Foreign-majority-owned intermediaries must be limited companies, maintain prescribed resident Indian leadership, bring skills and disclose specified related-entity payments. Foreign investment in the Life Insurance Corporation of India remains capped at 20 per cent under the Automatic Route.

Investor protection through consolidated ICDR Master Circular streamlines ASBA, UPI, rights issue and listing procedures and disclosures.
A Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars under the ICDR Regulations, 2018, rescinds listed circulars relating to ICDR (while preserving prior actions), prescribes enforcement and fine mechanisms to be administered by stock exchanges, and sets uniform operational standards for offer document disclosures, Rights Issues, public issues (including mandatory ASBA and UPI processes), standardised application forms, ISD reporting, timelines for allotment and T+3 listing, audiovisual disclosure requirements and compensation protocols for investor losses arising from intermediary/SCSB failures.

HSNS Cess declaration: online filing mandates Form HSNS DEC 01 with process/machine details, documents, verification and submission lock.
Filing Form HSNS DEC 01 on the CBIC HSNS portal requires taxpayers to select category (machine based or manual), enter auto fetched basic details, list specified goods and brands, save row entries, upload up to five PDFs (max 2MB each), provide detailed machine or manual process particulars as applicable, furnish an authorised signatory verification acknowledging penal liability, and submit to obtain a declaration number; submitted declarations are immutable and no fresh declaration may be filed while a prior declaration is pending approval.

Input tax credit rectification under retrospective GST amendments enables reconsideration of demands linked to time-limit breaches.
Retrospective insertion of section 16(5) and section 16(6) of the CGST Act extends the time limit for availing input tax credit in specified cases and applies from 1 July 2017. Tax authorities must take cognizance of the amended provisions at the stages of investigation, adjudication, appeal, or revision, while taxpayers with unappealed orders confirming demand on this issue may seek rectification under the special procedure notified under section 148 within the prescribed period. No refund is available of tax already paid or input tax credit already reversed.

Refund of additional IGST on post-export price revision is allowed through prescribed GST procedure and documentation.
A uniform refund mechanism is prescribed for additional Integrated Tax (IGST) paid on account of upward revision in the price of goods after export. The exporter may file a refund application electronically in FORM GST RFD-01 on the common portal, to be processed by the jurisdictional GST officer under rule 89, with supporting statements and documents evidencing the export, the revised price, payment of additional IGST and interest, and receipt of additional foreign exchange remittance. The refund is subject to the statutory minimum threshold and the prescribed time limit, and the proper officer must verify the relevant returns, remittance and revised value before sanctioning refund.

GST regularization for co-insurance premium apportionment and reinsurance commission applies retrospectively on an as-is-where-is basis.
Regularization of GST payment applies to co-insurance premium apportionment and ceding or re-insurance commission transactions now treated as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services under Schedule III. The lead insurer is to pay GST on the entire co-insurance premium, while the reinsurer is to pay GST on the gross reinsurance premium inclusive of commission. The payment of GST on these transactions is regularized retrospectively on an "as is where is" basis for the period from 01.07.2017 to 31.10.2024.

NPCI-based bank account validation now required for IEC applications; ensure PAN, name and account details match bank records.
NPCI integration requires declaration of all active bank accounts linked to PAN and matching of PAN, name and account details. Submitted bank details will be validated by NPCI with statuses Success, In Progress, or Failed. Success permits normal processing; In Progress triggers Automatic Review with potential auto-approval, deficiency marking for initial modification failures, and rejection on continued failure; Failed validation prevents submission until corrected. The system will periodically fetch updated statuses from NPCI and stakeholders must verify details before applying.

Sea Arrival Manifest filing changes: supplementary IGM amendments disabled before sea entry; use SAA/SCA and timely CSN required.
Supplementary IGM amendments before Sea Entry Inwards will be disabled from 20.02.2026; freight forwarders/consolidators must timely file CSN so SAM filings include complete BL/HBL details with required parameters. Additions/amendments before Sea Entry Inwards must use Sea Arrival Amendment (SAA) and Sea Cargo Amendment (SCA) messages and will be processed automatically; additions/amendments after Sea Entry Inwards will be routed to officers and may attract supplementary amendment charges. A single active Container Global (CG) Bond per PAN must be ensured prior to full CG bond automation.

Unclaimed hazardous cargo: disposal required within two months following disposal manual procedures and natural justice.
All unclaimed or uncleared hazardous and explosive consignments held by custodians must be disposed of within two months from arrival, following the Disposal Manual, 2019 and observing the principles of natural justice, pursuant to the procedure for disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo under Section 48 of the Customs Act referenced in Circular No. 49/2018.

Warehousing of industrial chemicals permitted in bonded warehouses subject to safety, licensing and customs compliance.
The DGFT permits warehousing of industrial chemicals in private and public bonded warehouses under Para 2.36(a) of FTP, 2023, provided facilities comply with all applicable safety laws, licensing or approval requirements under the Customs Act, and the conditions of the Import and Export Policy, and that all other provisions of Para 2.36 are observed.

RTA regulation: master circular consolidates registration, recordkeeping, dematerialisation and enhanced cyber and BCP requirements.
The Master Circular consolidates SEBI directions for RTAs: it mandates online registration/filing via the SEBI Intermediary Portal, prescribes recordkeeping for eight years, appointment of a Compliance Officer, standardized agreements with issuers, uniform PAN/KYC and investor service request norms, dematerialisation-first processing and Suspense Escrow Demat Account procedures, and enhanced governance, BCP/DR, cyber-security and reporting obligations for QRTAs, while rescinding earlier circulars as applicable and preserving actions taken under them.