Compounding proceedings expanded in ITBA Prosecution Phase 2 enabling initiation, fee recording, intimations and issuance of compounding orders.
Phase 2 of the ITBA Prosecution Module adds electronic workflows to initiate, record and process Compounding Proceedings-including work-item creation, decision recording, fee and expense capture, payment intimations and issuance of compounding orders-and to initiate, decide upon, and withdraw Grant and Withdrawal of Immunity, together with MIS reporting, user authentication requirements, browser prerequisites and training and helpdesk support.

Listing of non-convertible instruments through a scheme of arrangement requires specific eligibility, disclosure, and certification compliance.
Listing of NCRPS/NCDs issued under a scheme of arrangement is permitted only where the listed entity is a party to the scheme and the instruments are issued to holders of its listed specified securities; such instruments must have at least one year tenure, meet minimum credit rating applicable to comparable public issues, be dematerialised, comply with Companies Act reserve requirements, include valuation of the instruments in the valuation report, disclose face value, price, dividend/coupon terms, credit rating, tenure, redemption and embedded features in the draft scheme, and post-sanction applications for rule 19(7) relaxation must include a certified compliance report.

Registration under DVAT/CST: signed certificates to be issued after document verification without prior field inspection.
Assessing Authorities shall issue signed registration certificates (DVAT-06) to dealers with provisional registration after verification of DVAT-04, Form-A under the CST Act and requisite documents, without requiring prior field VATI inspection; dealers must be allowed to remedy any document deficiencies. Issuance and subsequent action must follow the DVAT Act and Rules, and Zonal Incharges shall monitor prompt issuance. VATI inspections may still be conducted after certificate issuance and appropriate action taken under DVAT/CST law.

Delivery of packing material allowed with de-stuffed consignments, removing need for separate permission and reducing dwell time.
Importers are not required to obtain separate permission to take delivery of packing material such as pallets when it is cleared together with the principal imported item on de-stuffed delivery at CFSs; this measure is to reduce dwell time and related detention and demurrage charges, and is to be treated as a standing order by officers with specified contacts for reporting difficulties.

Committee to recommend measures for expeditious recovery of tax arrears; report to be submitted within a prescribed timeframe.
Constitution of a Committee of senior Income-tax Department officers to recommend measures for expeditious recovery and management of arrears of direct taxes, including classification of arrears, class-specific collection measures, review of age profile and older demands, analysis of Charges/Regions prone to persistent uncollected demands with prevention and recovery proposals, review of top dossier monitoring, assessment of the 'naming and shaming' policy and possible data-sharing, co-option of expert officers, and submission of a report to the Board within the prescribed timeframe.

Late filing charges exemption for Bills of Entry affected by system outage, subject to evidence of attempted filing and cutoff adherence.
Exemption from late filing charges is provided for Bills of Entry delayed by an ICES system outage, allowing a short extension for presentation without charge where filing occurred by the extended cutoff and evidence proves the filing job was submitted but no acknowledgment was received; no exemption applies if filed after the cutoff or if evidence is absent.

Multiple assessment orders: require statutory review and rectification to prevent overlapping VAT/CST assessments and ensure compliance.
Assessing Authorities must address overlapping assessment orders for the same tax period under the DVAT or CST framework by applying the statutory review and rectification remedies when dealers present details of such multiple orders, observing the procedural safeguards in the applicable review rule before taking corrective action and ensuring that future assessment orders do not create overlapping assessments under the same Act.

Container bond automation in ICES: automatic debiting on entry inwards and re credit on verified re export.
Implementation of an ICES module mandates registration of a continuity Container Bond (CB) for imported containers through Kolkata/Haldia ports, to be managed in the existing ICES Bond Module with prescribed bond rates by container ISO code. Bond debiting is automated on grant of Entry Inwards-system locates a valid bond, calculates the bond amount and debits it without separate request. For loaded containers CB is additional to TP/TR bonds; empty container details must be filed in the IGM. Re credit is effected on verified proof of re export and authorized approval from the Superintendent (Container Cell).

Territorial jurisdiction amendment: DGFT Hyderabad designated regional authority for Telangana, updating Foreign Trade Policy coverage.
Amendment revises the territorial jurisdiction entry for the Regional Office at Hyderabad, specifying the office address and contact details and designating its territorial jurisdiction as the State of Telangana, thereby updating Appendix 1A of the Foreign Trade Policy under powers conferred by paragraph 2.04.

Permissible investments in IFSC expanded to include IFSC listed securities and India/foreign company securities, subject to RBI and government conditions.
SEBI amends the IFSC Guidelines to allow portfolio managers, alternative investment funds and mutual funds operating in IFSC to invest in securities listed in IFSC, securities of companies incorporated in IFSC, and securities of companies incorporated in India or foreign jurisdictions, subject to conditions or guidelines from the Reserve Bank of India and Government of India; such investments into India must be made through the foreign portfolio investor route.

Licensed customs broker verification required before registration of entry documents; only broker or verified employees may handle clearance and payments.
Only licensed customs brokers may perform customs clearance and must be authorized by the importer/exporter; brokers may operate in CFSs only personally or via employees holding valid H or G cards, which customs officers must verify and record when admitting Bills of Entry or Shipping Bills. Brokers may not transfer licences, must invoice importers/exporters for clearance services, and receive payments directly. Customs Cargo Service Providers shall admit only broker employees with valid cards, invoice the importer/exporter or broker, and accept payments by electronic or bank instruments.

Withdrawal of bonded trucking authorization ends appointed provider's road transshipment authority for export cargo.
The Commissioner of Customs, Visakhapatnam, has withdrawn the prior designation of M/S T. T. Aviation Handling Services Pvt. Ltd. as the authorised Customs Cargo Service Provider for Bonded Trucking Operations facilitating road transshipment of export cargo from the Visakhapatnam Air Cargo Complex to other customs notified Air Cargo Complexes, effective immediately.

Advance passenger manifest transmission required: carriers must send outbound manifests shortly before departure and implement earlier pre-check-in manifests.
Carriers must transmit the final outbound passenger manifest electronically in flat file format shortly before departure, using the same format as inbound manifests. Carriers are also required to modify their systems to generate and submit an additional pre-check-in passenger manifest to Customs within the prescribed implementation period.

Centralised export assessment to verify exporters' self assessment via EDI for classification, valuation and scheme eligibility.
Creation of a Centralised Export Assessment Cell (CEAC) at JNCH, Mumbai Zone II centralises verification of self assessment for all non facilitated shipping bills. CEAC officers, supervised by the Additional/Joint Commissioner and including an administrative DC/AC, will verify classification, valuation, drawback, scheme eligibility and exportability via the EDI system; queries must be specific, consolidated and EDI based. Work is allocated by Customs Tariff Heading groups, hard copy checklist presentation is discontinued, samples are called only in exceptional cases with approval, and Parking Plaza officers handle holiday/weekend assessments.

Indian Customs EDI (ICES 1.5) at Porbandar mandates electronic filing, registration, and automated duty and licence processing.
Launch of ICES 1.5 at Porbandar Port mandates electronic filing and processing of Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills; requires registration of IE Codes, Customs Brokers, Shipping Agents, ICEGATE/RES and bank accounts; prescribes standard coding and data conventions; automates valuation, duty calculation, assignment to Appraising Groups, RMS risk based facilitation, and concurrent audit; provides detailed procedures for registration and electronic debiting of DGFT licences, DEPB/TRA, EPCG/DEEC/DFIA, Bond/BG management, ex bond/warehousing transactions, and Drawback/ROSL/STR export processes; and sets rules for amendments, reassessment, examination, payments and document flows.

GST implementation: Council approved interest rates, portal, TCS, committees and fitment of goods/services rates, plus rules amendments and exemptions.
The Council fixed statutory simple interest rates for delayed tax payments and refunds (18%, 24%, and 6-9%), approved TCS by e commerce operators (0.5% CGST/SGST, 1% IGST proviso), notified www.gst.gov.in as the Common GST Electronic Portal, constituted a three tier project management framework with Standing Committees and Sectoral Groups, nominated the Additional Secretary as ex officio GSTN Director, approved targeted amendments to Registration/Payment/Refund/Invoice/ITC/Valuation/Composition Rules, and authorised fitment of goods and services into Nil/5/12/18/28% slabs with specified modifications, Compensation Cess measures and IGST exemptions.

Online NOC verification requirement: Out of charge granted only after SWIFT-confirmed NOC; physical NOCs are not accepted.
Clearances, permissions and NOCs from Participating Government Agencies must be transmitted and verified online via SWIFT; customs officers shall grant out-of-charge and release orders only after online verification of the PGA NOC, and physical hard-copy NOCs will no longer be accepted. If a PGA issues a physical NOC due to technical problems, the reason must be stated on the face of the NOC.

Position limits for cross-currency contracts set for IFSC exchanges; caps apply to trading members, institutional and foreign investors, and other clients.
Position limits for cross-currency futures and options (excluding Indian Rupee) on IFSC exchanges set per currency pair per exchange: Trading Members, Institutional Investors, and Eligible Foreign Investors face gross open position limits of 15% of total open interest or an equivalent USD threshold, whichever is higher; Other Clients face limits of 6% of total open interest or a smaller equivalent USD threshold, whichever is higher. Stock exchanges must enforce these limits and impose penalties for violations.

SCOMET export permission for stock & sale requires exporter-stockist EUC, inventory reporting, and prior re export approval.
SCOMET Stock & Sale exports are permitted only from an Indian principal/wholly owned subsidiary to their overseas subsidiary/principal (stockist) on the basis of an End Use cum End User Certificate specifying destination countries and documentary proof of relationship. Exports must be transferred to final end users within authorization validity; authorizations may be revalidated. Annual inventory and transfer statements and a consolidated post expiry statement are required. Applications for re export/re transfer must use ANF 2O(a) with EUCs from each supply chain link, invoices/purchase orders and technical specs; Category 0, 1C, 6 items and all Technology are excluded.

Digital payments requirement: intermediaries must submit payment details to SEBI after remittance, ensuring identification and accounting.
Intermediaries and other entities remitting fees, penalties, remittances or other payments by digital transfer must provide the Annexure I remittance information (date, SEBI department, intermediary name/type, registration number if any, PAN, amount, purpose and period, remitting bank and account, and UTR number) and email it to the relevant SEBI department and to the Treasury & Accounts division at [email protected] to enable identification and accounting of direct credits.