Sea cargo manifest compliance requires phased replacement of erstwhile export messages with CIM messages, without implementation-phase penalties.
Sea cargo manifest compliance under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018 requires phased discontinuance of erstwhile export messages and adoption of CIM messages, with the transition extending through 31 January 2027. All stakeholders must adopt SCMTR-compliant software and message formats during the transition. Field formations may issue public notices and conduct stakeholder outreach in coordination with stakeholders, shall resolve system issues in coordination with DG Systems and bring policy issues to the Board. No penal action should be taken during the implementation phase; implementation difficulties may be brought to the Board.

RELIEF Sub-Committee will review implementation, fund utilisation and uptake, recommending measures for consideration by the steering committee.
RELIEF Sub-Committee is constituted under the Export Promotion Mission to improve fund utilisation and uptake of the Support for Indian Exporters, Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation. It must review implementation of RELIEF's three components, including claims processed and available balances, examine factors affecting uptake and utilisation of approved funds, and recommend improvement measures. Recommendations are placed before the EPM Steering Committee for decisions concerning review of RELIEF, while the EPM Section acts as the Sub-Committee's secretariat.

GST enforcement reforms suspend arrests, restrict transit interception, and bar low-value show-cause notices pending statutory amendments.
Pending statutory amendment, GST field formations must not make further arrests. Transit conveyances may be intercepted only on specific intelligence authorised in writing by an officer of at least Joint Commissioner rank. Inspection and detention generally depend on jurisdiction over the supplier or recipient; where neither falls within that jurisdiction, the conveyance must proceed and information be sent to the jurisdictional officer. Absence of both an e-way bill and origin or destination documentation permits inspection, detention or seizure irrespective of jurisdiction. Transit confiscation is prohibited, and show-cause notices cannot be issued below the aggregate threshold of Rs. 10,000.

Digital accessibility compliance deadlines are extended for regulated entities to appoint IAAP auditors, audit platforms and remediate findings.
Digital accessibility compliance deadlines for SEBI-regulated entities are extended to 31 January 2027 for appointing an IAAP auditor, conducting accessibility audits of digital platforms and remediating audit findings. The earlier digital accessibility directions concern the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 and the rules made under it, and require mandatory compliance by all regulated entities. All other provisions of the earlier digital accessibility circulars remain unchanged and must be complied with by regulated entities.

KYC review periodicity for foreign portfolio investors is extended while registration continuance no longer requires change declarations.
KYC review for FPIs follows a risk- and category-based schedule. Category I FPIs in non-high-risk jurisdictions, and high-risk Category I FPIs registered under Regulation 5(a)(i), are reviewed every eight years; other specified FPIs are reviewed every two years. Registration continuance requires fee payment to the DDP at least 15 days before expiry and no longer requires change intimation or a no-change declaration. GS-FPI and SWAGAT-FI KYC periodicity remains unchanged.

Certificate of origin declarations in shipping bills become mandatory for preferential tariff claims on exports to New Zealand.
Customs EDI filing for exports to New Zealand requires item-level Certificate of Origin declarations in Shipping Bills for preferential tariff treatment under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. Every item must carry Info_Type "ORC", Info_Qfr "EPT", and Info_CD "FTANZD"; exports outside a preferential trade agreement must use Info_CD "NCPTI". Non-declaration prevents Shipping Bill filing. Certificate of Origin numbers and dates must exactly match those issued by the designated issuing authority.

GST treatment of research grants, leasing recoveries, internal banking interest, and co-lending services is clarified.
Grant-funded research and development services supplied by specified Government entities and notified institutions may claim exemption on a certificate from the institution's head confirming that the activity is R&D rather than consultancy. Separately recovered registration, insurance, FASTag, and related expenses in motor-vehicle leases form part of the composite leasing supply and are taxable at the leasing-service rate. Notional interest under bank Fund Transfer Pricing for loans or advances falls within the interest exemption, while NBFC lending services to banks in co-lending arrangements are taxable at the contractually agreed value.

GST classification clarifications align toy coverage, margin-scheme input tax credit, and bio-stimulant treatment with prescribed rates.
Sublimation paper is classified under heading 4809 and attracts GST at 18%, while past disputes are recommended for regularisation on an "as is where is" basis. Toy entries cover all toys under heading 9503, with respective treatment for non-electronic and electronic toys. Under the old and used motor vehicle margin scheme, input tax credit restriction applies only to tax paid on procurement of second-hand vehicles; credit on other inputs and input services remains available subject to the CGST Act. Registered seaweed extract-based bio-stimulants are classified as fertilisers under heading 3101.

Interim stay of a shipping company's customs suspension precludes acting on the suspension order and related public notice.
Interim stay applies to the operation, implementation and effect of the suspension order concerning M/s Aegon Shipping India Pvt. Ltd.'s operations at Customs Station INNSA1 (JNCH), and to the operation and effect of the public notice issued pursuant to that order. The stay is subject to the Bombay High Court's order dated 16 October 2026 and applies only for the period and to the extent that the order remains operative. Officers, sections, stakeholders and others are requested to ensure that neither instrument is acted upon as operative while the stay remains in force. The stay does not set aside or cancel the suspension order or the earlier public notice on the merits and does not finally determine the proceedings concerning the company.

Separate business unit compliance for debenture trustees receives a further extension, while existing operational conditions remain unchanged.
Compliance timeline for registered debenture trustees to transfer activities outside the securities regulator's purview to separate business units is extended until April 27, 2027. The extension addresses operational difficulties in establishing implementation systems and processes, alongside an ongoing review of the debenture trusteeship and separate business unit framework. All other terms and conditions governing such activities remain unchanged.

Titanium dioxide anti-dumping duty exclusions require electronic end-use declarations and allow recovery upon diversion from excluded uses.
Anti-dumping duty on titanium dioxide imports from China PR is limited to specified end uses, while goods intended for food, pharmaceutical, skin-care, textile, fibre, nano or ultrafine applications are excluded. Importers claiming exclusion must submit an electronic Bill of Entry declaration and undertake to pay duty and interest if goods are diverted to non-excluded uses. Diversion permits recovery of anti-dumping duty, differential duty and interest from the importer.

Cost audit report filings avoid additional fees through the deadline; later filings attract additional fees from their original due dates.
Companies may file cost audit reports for financial year 2025-26 in Form CRA-4, using XBRL format, up to and including 31 December 2026 without paying additional fees. Filings made after 31 December 2026 attract all applicable fees, including additional fees, under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014. Additional fees apply from the date on which the filing was actually due under Rule 6(6) of the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, rather than from the end of the relaxation period.

Export factoring support uses IEC-based claims, fixes data-filing timelines, and permits separate interest subvention without duplicated interest costs.
Support for Alternative Trade Instruments removes declarations of intent and UINs, requiring IEC-based identification for applications, claims and disbursals. Factors upload modality-specific transaction data, while exporters review eligible records and file digitally authenticated monthly consolidated claims within the prescribed period. Eligibility turns on the EGM filing date for underlying exports from 20 February 2026. Eligible MSME exporters may use both factoring support and interest subvention, but cannot claim the same invoice, receivable or interest cost under both interventions; ceilings apply independently and duplicate or excess claims attract recovery, interest and penalties.

Certificate of origin declarations in export shipping bills become mandatory for preferential tariff claims under the India-New Zealand FTA.
Customs EDI systems require exporters and Customs Brokers to declare Certificate of Origin details at item level in Shipping Bills for exports to New Zealand under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. The prescribed declaration is mandatory for every item, while exports outside a preferential trade arrangement must use Info_CD NCPTI. A Shipping Bill cannot be filed without the required declaration. The declared Certificate of Origin number and date must match the Certificate of Origin issued by the designated issuing authority.

Export refund eligibility broadens as removal of double-benefit restrictions applies to pending proceedings and earlier periods.
Rule 96(10) restricted IGST refunds on exports where exporters had availed specified concessional or exemption benefits on procurement, to prevent double benefit. Its omission is applied retrospectively from 23 October 2017 because no saving or sunset clause preserved pending proceedings. The General Clauses Act does not preserve proceedings following omission of a rule without an express continuation mechanism. Pending matters involving rule 96(10) are to be handled on that basis, with the same approach applying mutatis mutandis to omitted rules 89(4A) and 89(4B).

Export payment realisation through repatriable rupee accounts, permitted set-offs and net retention can satisfy GST export conditions.
GST export-of-services payment conditions are treated as fulfilled where consideration is received in convertible foreign exchange or through repatriable INR accounts, including SNRR, INR Nostro and NRE accounts, subject to applicable foreign-exchange requirements, foreign trade policy restrictions, RBI directions and other required permissions. Export receivables set off against import payables may satisfy the condition when undertaken in accordance with RBI directions. Net retention of an Indian reinsurance broker's commission may also satisfy the condition where foreign-exchange law extinguishes the obligation to realise and repatriate the relevant proceeds.

Input tax credit on demonstration vehicles remains available to authorised dealer-agents facilitating motor vehicle sales for manufacturers.
Input tax credit on demo vehicles used for customer test drives is not blocked for authorised dealers under the dealer-agency model, although manufacturers directly supply new vehicles to customers. Demo vehicles in both dealer-agency and traditional dealership models are purchased under tax invoices and serve the equivalent purpose of promoting vehicle sales through test drives. The expression "such motor vehicles" covers vehicles used to further the supply of similar motor vehicles, rather than only the identical vehicle sold. The previous restriction denying credit to dealer-agents is withdrawn.

Restricted input tax credit mechanism requires qualifying financial-service registrations to use consistent credit apportionment and return reporting.
Section 17(4) permits qualifying banking companies, financial institutions and non-banking financial companies to avail fifty per cent of eligible input tax credit instead of proportionate credit. A registration not engaged in deposit-taking, loans or advances cannot use the mechanism, while an election by one qualifying distinct-person registration requires all qualifying registrations of the same entity to comply. Same-PAN supplies receive the second-proviso relaxation only when both supplier and recipient have opted. Eligible credit must be reported, reversed, reclaimed and disclosed in FORM GSTR-3B through the prescribed non-IMS or IMS process.

Input Service Distributor credit allocation requires recipient-level eligibility and reversals, while intra-state credit transfers remain excluded from turnover.
Each registrant that receives input-service invoices for distinct persons and must distribute the related credit requires ISD registration. The ISD must distribute credit only to the recipient to whom it is attributable and must ascertain its prima facie eligibility before distributing it in the relevant month through FORM GSTR-6. Recipients remain responsible for credit eligibility and applicable reversals. Credit transferred by a same-PAN, same-State registrant to an ISD is a credit-transfer mechanism, not an outward supply, and is excluded from turnover and Net ITC refund computation.

GST appellate pre-deposits require full payment of admitted liabilities and prescribed deposit on disputed tax before appeals proceed.
GST appellate pre-deposit requirements require full payment of the admitted amount-tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty that the taxpayer accepts and does not challenge-before an appeal is filed. The contested balance is tax in dispute, and the statutory pre-deposit is calculated as ten per cent of that disputed tax. For an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal after modification of liability at the first appellate stage, the further pre-deposit is calculated on the disputed tax liability confirmed at that stage.