Management and advisory services by AMCs limited to specified FPI categories, with transitional continuance for existing agreements.
AMCs may provide management and advisory services only to specified FPI categories: government and government related investors, appropriately regulated entities (pension funds, insurance or reinsurance entities, banks and mutual funds), and appropriately regulated FPIs where those categories hold more than fifty percent. AMCs may continue pre existing agreements with other FPIs only for the agreement term or one year from the circular, whichever is earlier. The proviso to clause (vi) of Regulation 24(b) applies to these permitted categories and the provisions are effective immediately.

Mandatory electronic submission of supporting documents in customs declarations requires code and IRN inclusion, enforcing paperless Bills of Entry.
Electronic submission via e SANCHIT of specified supporting documents is mandatory for every Bill of Entry, and each declared invoice and transport document must include the e SANCHIT reference with the prescribed document code and IRN. Other supporting documents such as country of origin certificates and PGA licences should be uploaded electronically by beneficiaries or PGAs; physical copies are to be avoided and field offices must ensure compliance.

Extension of advance tax payment deadline granted for assessees in North Eastern States due to widespread internet disruption.
Extension of payment deadline for the December instalment of advance tax under the administrative powers conferred by section 119(2)(a) was exercised to address large-scale disruption of internet services in the North Eastern States, extending the last date for payment for all assessees, both corporate and non-corporate, in the affected States to relieve them from default consequences tied to the original due date.

GST appellate limitation periods clarified until the tribunal is constituted, preserving filing time from the later trigger date.
Clarifies the limitation periods for appeals and applications under the Tripura State Goods and Services Tax Act where the Appellate Tribunal has not yet been constituted. For an appeal under section 112(1), the three-month period is to be computed from the later of the date of communication of the order or the date on which the President or State President of the Tribunal enters office. For an application under section 112(3), the six-month period is likewise to begin from the later of those dates.

Custodian appointment for air transshipment: carrier authorised subject to bonds, bank guarantees and customs regulations.
M/S Spice Jet Limited is authorised as Custodian and Carrier for transhipment of import and export air cargo between Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai and eight specified destination Customs stations within India, subject to conditions including execution of export and import bonds and running bank guarantees; the permission is governed by Chapter VIII of the Customs Act, 1962, the Goods Imported (Conditions of Transshipment) Regulations, 1995, Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009, specified CBIC circulars and public notices, and remains valid until the earliest expiry of the required securities.

Toy import compliance: representative NABL lab testing and a No Use Bond required before market release of consignments.
Imports of toys will be cleared only after representative samples are drawn and tested by NABL accredited laboratories under BIS standards; importers must file a prescribed No Use Bond equivalent to the assessable value, upload documents on e sanchit, ensure testing and submit test reports within two months, after which bonds are cancelled on conformity or consignments are returned and adjudicated with destruction costs borne by the importer. Customs assessing and docks officers will record bonds, samples, and test reports and follow prescribed examination and adjudication procedures. A list of nominated NABL laboratories and a bond format are provided.

Withdrawal of circular: administrative rescission of GST guidance on ITeS supplies to ensure uniform implementation across field offices.
GST Circular No. 31/2019 on taxation of Information Technology enabled Services is withdrawn ab-initio by the Rajasthan Commercial Tax Department, pursuant to statutory power under section 168 of the Rajasthan GST Act, 2017, following representations expressing apprehensions, to ensure uniform implementation across field formations and to direct that the earlier clarifications no longer govern departmental practice.

Preferential Certificate of Origin must be filed and issued through the online platform for Nepal exports under SAFTA and SAPTA.
Preferential Certificate of Origin for exports to Nepal under SAFTA and SAPTA must be applied for and issued only via the DGFT online CoO platform. Exporters must register on the portal, use a Class II or Class III digital signature embedding the firm's IEC for electronic verification, and ensure IEC details in the DGFT-IEC database are up to date. The portal provides registration guidance, auto-populates certificate fields from IEC data, and offers support through manuals, FAQs, a complaint ticket system, a toll free helpline and an email helpdesk.

Mandatory eSANCHIT document upload required in Bills of Entry with document code and IRN; physical copies disallowed.
Every Bill of Entry must include uploaded Invoice or Invoice cum Packing List and the applicable Transport Contract uploaded on eSANCHIT, with the prescribed document code and the eSANCHIT generated IRN referenced in the Bill of Entry; other supporting documents (e.g., COO, PGA licences/permissions) must be submitted only electronically by beneficiaries or Participating Government Agencies and physical copies should not be accepted.

Legacy dispute resolution clarifications on eligibility, deposit adjustment, PAN waivers and the scope of discharge protection for declared matters.
Clarifications under the Sabka Vishwas Scheme address scope, eligibility and deposit treatment: additional enactments are included; deposits made after show cause notice but before adjudication may be adjusted when issuing the payable statement; deposits during enquiry or audit, including those paid under protest, are to be adjusted by the designated committee and excess deposits are not refundable where a declaration is filed; eligibility for categories is fixed as on the relevant date; PAN requirements may be waived in specific cases; discharge certificates cover only the declared matter and period.

Lease tenure amendments in SEZs may be approved by the Development Commissioner, subject to state policy compliance.
Amendments to lease-tenure clauses for developers, co-developers and units in SEZs not owned by the Government of India may be considered and, if suitable, approved by the jurisdictional Development Commissioner, subject to compliance with extant rules and State/UT policy; Development Commissioners are directed to ensure immediate compliance and implementation.

Offer document filing location tied to estimated issue size; large issues file at head office, others at regional offices.
SEBI requires draft offer documents to be filed at the SEBI Head Office for issues above the specified size threshold and at the regional office having jurisdiction over the issuer's registered office for issues at or below the threshold; the circular lists regional mappings, modifies an earlier 2012 circular, is effective for filings on or after its issuance date, and is issued under SEBI's statutory authority, with a later rescission noted.

PMLA reporting requirement: Customs must submit ML I and ML II monthly to Enforcement Directorate for predicate offences.
Instruction requires Customs formations to report predicate offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act to the Enforcement Directorate monthly using prescribed ML I and ML II formats. It lists scheduled offences for Part A, identifies higher value Customs offences for Part B, and requires reporting of cross border predicate offences under Part C. ML II specifies detailed case particulars including FIR data, investigator contacts, accused and property details, and current case status.

Withdrawal of trade circular rescinds prior ITeS GST clarification, restoring uniform implementation across field formations.
The Commissioner withdraws Trade Circular No. 28/2019 ab-initio, which contained clarifications on supply of Information Technology enabled Services under GST, in response to representations and apprehensions, to ensure uniform implementation across field formations, exercising powers under section 168(1) of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

Job work classification limits reduced GST treatment to processing of goods owned by registered persons, excluding services on inputs owned by others.
Clarification confines the job work entry to treatment or processing undertaken by a person on goods belonging to another registered person, while the manufacturing services entry applies only to services on physical inputs owned by persons other than registered persons, thereby maintaining a clear distinction for GST applicability under heading 9988.

Group exposure limits: excess debt holdings grandfathered to maturity; AMCs and AMFI must publish and quarterly disclose lists.
The circular revises rules on group exposure by allowing investments in excess of prescribed limits made on or before October 1, 2019 to be grandfathered only until the instruments' maturity as applicable on that date, and requires AMCs to publish lists of their group companies while AMFI must publish a consolidated list with group identifiers and sector classification; these disclosures are to be updated on the first working day of each calendar quarter beginning January 1, 2020.

Mandatory eSANCHIT upload requirement: invoices, transport contracts must be uploaded and document codes plus IRNs declared in Bills of Entry.
For every Bill of Entry the Invoice (or Invoice cum Packing List) and the relevant Transport Contract must be uploaded to eSANCHIT, with the prescribed document code and the eSANCHIT-generated Image Reference Number (IRN) declared in the Bill of Entry; all other supporting documents (e.g., Country of Origin certificates, PGA licences/permissions) must likewise be submitted electronically via eSANCHIT and physical copies are to be avoided.

Optional annual GST returns allow eligible taxpayers to file before due dates while permitting voluntary correction of tax shortfalls.
Eligible registered persons with aggregate turnover not exceeding two crore rupees may elect not to furnish annual returns for financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19, with non-filing by the due date treated as deemed furnishing. Eligible composition taxpayers may file FORM GSTR-9A, and other eligible registered persons may file FORM GSTR-9, before the due date only. Taxpayers identifying short-paid tax or ineligible input tax credit during reconciliation may voluntarily pay the liability through FORM GST DRC-03.

Electronic GST refund processing centralises filing, scrutiny, disbursement, and credit revalidation through a portal-based single-authority workflow.
GST refund claims must be filed electronically in FORM GST RFD-01 for eligible categories, with prescribed electronic statements, undertakings and supporting records and without physical submission. An Application Reference Number is generated only after completion and relevant ledger debit, marks the filing date, and triggers electronic transfer to the jurisdictional officer. Within fifteen days, the officer must issue either an acknowledgement or a deficiency memo. A deficiency stops processing, automatically restores debited credit or cash, and requires a corrected fresh application. Refund payments under every tax head are issued by the single assigned tax authority after bank-account validation.

GST refund process now fully electronic via FORM GST RFD-01 with single PFMS disbursement and prescribed timelines.
From 26.09.2019 all specified categories of GST refund applications must be filed and processed electronically through FORM GST RFD-01 on the common portal; ARN is generated only after completion of filing, uploads and required ledger debits. Applications are forwarded electronically to the jurisdictional proper officer who must issue FORM GST RFD-02 or FORM GST RFD-03 within 15 days; provisional refunds (typically 90%) and final orders follow prescribed rules, disbursement is effected via PFMS after bank validation, interest accrues if refund is not credited within 60 days, and specific documentation and computation rules apply for ITC, compensation cess, deemed exports, inverted duty refunds and other categories.