External Commercial Borrowing reporting formats updated; revised ECB 1 and ECB 2 now mandated and effective immediately.
The Reserve Bank has revised the External Commercial Borrowing reporting formats in the Master Direction by substituting Part V - Annex I and Part V - Annex II with revised Form ECB 1 and Form ECB 2, respectively. The new forms require detailed borrower and lender information, borrowing terms, end use, interest and fee particulars, receipts, utilisation, debt servicing, hedging and LRN closure details. Authorised Persons must notify customers, and the directions-issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act-are effective immediately and subject to any other statutory permissions.

Health Security and National Security Cess: registration, payment and declaration procedures required on the CBIC Taxpayers' Portal.
The Health Security and National Security Cess (HSNS Cess) is levied on notified goods under the Act, effective from 1 February 2026; Advisory No. 1/2026 covers CBIC Taxpayers' Portal login, new registration and payment procedures, Advisory No. 2/2026 specifies the Accounting Head for HSNS Cess payments, and Advisory No. 4/2026 sets out the declaration filing procedure on the Portal; the advisories are enclosed for action and circulation to trade associations listed in Annexure I.

Automated Goods Registration for e sealed exports enables auto movement of validated Shipping Bills to registration without exporter presence.
Automated Goods Registration enables ICEGATE to notify ICES when RFID e-sealed, self-sealed factory stuffed containers arrive so that, provided Annexure C has been filed and all required goods registration fields validate, the Shipping Bill will automatically move to the goods registration queue without exporter presence; mismatches or missing information will trigger ICEGATE notice and require the exporter to follow manual registration procedures.

Split Indicator Flag update requires final split record designation to avoid validation errors and ensure system closure.
The SCMTR application now requires a Split Indicator to be declared: Y where an MBL/BL is split across multiple filings (all split records must use Y and collectively match the original BL), N where the BL is a single complete filing, and F for the last split record only, which is mandatory to enable system validation and closure. Incorrect or inconsistent use may produce validation errors, delays, or rejections, and stakeholders must ensure accurate, consistent declaration at filing.

Registration forms for stock brokers and clearing members specified; exchanges must implement, notify members, and amend rules.
Specification of standardised Form A (stock broker application), Form B (clearing member application) and Form C (certificate of registration) under the SEBI (Stock Brokers) Regulations, 2026, detailing required particulars (entity and trade details, net worth, PAN, particulars of proprietors/partners/directors, experience and supporting documents), required undertakings including compliance with the Fit and proper person criteria, declaration exposing registrants to cancellation for false information, procedural requirements on organizational documents, MoUs, fees, and directions to exchanges/clearing corporations to notify members and amend governance rules; effective retrospectively from the Regulations' notification.

Hazardous cargo declaration required at item level; system flags entries and officers must record nature when applicable.
Importers or customs brokers must declare hazardous cargo at the item level in the Bill of Entry for goods under Chapters 28, 29 and 38 using the Single Window BE_SW_INFO_TYPE table with fields for info type (CHR), info qualifier (HZRDS), an info code (Y/N) and mandatory info text when 'Y' is selected. The system flags declared hazardous Bills of Entry to prompt officer verification; no flag appears when 'N' is declared. If an officer changes the CTH to a heading in Chapters 28, 29 or 38, the officer must likewise record hazardous cargo details in the prescribed format.

External Commercial Borrowing framework revised; authorised dealer banks must apply amended FEMA borrowing and lending regulations when facilitating transactions.
The amendment updates the External Commercial Borrowing framework and directs Authorised Dealer Category I banks to follow the Foreign Exchange Management (Borrowing and Lending) (First Amendment) Regulations, 2026 when facilitating FEMA-governed borrowing and lending transactions. It consolidates provisions by deleting specified paragraphs from two Master Directions and removing Part I of the ECB and Trade Credits FAQs, and requires banks to notify affected customers. The directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act and do not affect other statutory permissions or approvals.

Large Taxpayer Unit jurisdiction shifts qualifying GST registrants from local wards after annual review, with continuing exclusive control.
State tax administration in Goa is reconstituted from 1 April 2026 into three districts and eight territorial wards. A separate Large Taxpayer Unit exercises exclusive statewide jurisdiction over registered taxable persons otherwise assigned to those wards where cumulative SGST liability discharged through the electronic cash ledger exceeds Rs. 1.5 crore during a financial year, or where services of specified actionable claims are supplied. New GST registrations must first be allocated to a territorial ward. Qualifying persons are shifted after each financial year and remain under LTU jurisdiction until an LTU proper officer directs placement under a local ward.

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.

GST recovery after first appeal follows central guidelines pending Appellate Tribunal operationalisation under the Delhi GST framework.
Recovery of outstanding GST dues after disposal of a first appeal, pending operationalisation of the Appellate Tribunal, follows the recovery guidelines issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. That framework applies mutatis mutandis under the Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, to ensure uniformity in recovery administration. Implementation difficulties may be referred to the Commissioner of State Tax, Delhi.