Customs custodianship appoints the terminal operator to handle imported, export, and coastal cargo subject to compliance conditions.
Customs custodianship and Customs Cargo Service Provider status are conferred on Nhava Sheva Distribution Port Terminal Private Limited for the Shallow Water Berth and Coastal Berth terminal areas. The operator is custodian of imported goods until delivery to container freight stations or transhipment, and of export cargo until exportation; the Coastal Berth handles coastal goods only. The two-year approval requires compliance with customs cargo-area regulations, permits earlier review for non-compliance or governmental directions, and requires transfer of environmental consent into the operator's name.

Import of batteries and equipment containing batteries must be cleared only after verifying CPCB EPR registration certificate.
Customs must verify CPCB-issued EPR registration certificates when clearing imports of batteries and equipment containing batteries. Under the Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, importers are treated as producers and must obtain CPCB EPR registration via the centralised portal; CPCB publishes registered producers and issues EPR certificates for recyclers/refurbishers. Producers must file plans and returns, meet collection and recycling/refurbishment targets, and may use tradable EPR certificates to meet obligations; CPCB and State boards can suspend registrations and impose environmental compensation for non compliance.

Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents: consolidated master circular-registration, demat service rules, QRTA obligations.
SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular for RTAs rescinding listed prior circulars while deeming past actions and pending applications to continue under corresponding provisions. It mandates online registration via the SEBI Intermediary Portal, prescribes registration and change in control procedures, net worth and half yearly reporting, appointment of a Compliance Officer, and record retention. RTAs servicing over two crore folios are designated QRTAs with enhanced governance, risk, BCP, wind down, data protection and cyber audit obligations. Operational rules standardize issuance of a Letter of Confirmation for service requests, credit to Suspense Escrow Demat Accounts where demat requests lapse, and mandatory PAN/KYC/nomination with freezing of non compliant folios.

SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular setting uniform registration, supervision, client protection and cyber resilience rules for stock brokers.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI directives for stock brokers, superseding earlier circulars and prescribing: single registration across exchanges/clearing corporations; registration, conversion, merger and transfer rules; mandatory online application processing and document freshness; annual and risk triggered inspections, half yearly internal audits and system audits; standardized naming/tagging and reporting of bank and demat accounts; weekly and monthly uploads of client funds/collateral/securities for alerting; client onboarding standardization including UCC demat mapping, nomination and running account rules; segregation and handling of client funds and collateral; cyber security, system audit and QSB enhanced governance and continuity requirements.

Import hazardous goods: suspicious containers may be provisionally released for factory examination under conditions including a no use bond.
For imported hazardous goods, Classes 5, 8 and 9 require a cargo analysis report or Material Safety Data Sheet and limited examination at authorised CFSs under importer supplied trained supervision. Other higher risk classes must be scanned at the JNCH scanning site; opening on the yard is disfavoured and such containers may be provisionally allowed OOC only after a certified clean stamp on the movement slip. Containers marked suspicious may be released provisionally for factory examination under Customs supervision on submission of a no use bond, transported under Customs seal, with seizure and referral to investigation if tampering or contraventions are found.

E waste imports may be released on producer undertaking to submit EPR registration by 30.06.2023.
Customs shall release imported consignments of producers/importers of 85 specified EEE items on submission of a prescribed undertaking (emailed to the designated CPCB address) and a commitment to submit the online EPR Registration Certificate by 30.06.2023; producers of 21 specified EEE items with expired EPRA may secure release by providing an EPR Portal acknowledgement of application together with a copy of the expired EPRA. These interim measures are valid until 30.06.2023.

Annual return requirements clarified: GSTR-9 scrutiny must reflect historical audit and ITC matching law, not post-amendment rules.
For annual returns of FY 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20, scrutiny must follow the pre-amendment UPGST/CGST regime: where the audit obligation and accompanying audited accounts and reconciliation statement applied, those were to be filed; assessment units must not raise objections or demand records inconsistent with the law as it stood for those years, must not issue GSTR-9C-related queries to taxpayers for whom it did not apply or who opted not to file GSTR-9, must not invoke matching/reversal provisions where no ITC was claimed, and must not seek TRAN-1/TRAN-2 evidence where those forms were not filed.

Amnesty scheme for export obligation defaults permits regularisation via duty payment with capped interest, excluding fraud cases.
A one time amnesty allows Advance and EPCG authorisation holders to regularise bona fide shortfalls in export obligation by paying applicable Customs duty; interest on such duties is capped as specified in the public notice and is not payable on Additional Customs Duty or Special Additional Customs Duty. Cases involving fraud, mis declaration or unauthorised diversion are excluded; duties paid under the scheme are ineligible for CENVAT credit or refund. Authorisation holders must be registered under the public notice and Commissioners must monitor and expedite these regularisation cases.

Inclusion of AI-identified discrepancies requires issuing notices and hearing taxpayers before finalising tax-audit disposals.
Assessing officers must incorporate AI-based notice findings into disposal of tax-audit matters: if no prior notice exists, issue assessment notices including AI-identified objections; if notice issued but no order, notify taxpayers via the boweb portal and hear them on additional AI points before ordering; if order already passed, identify the tax periods to which AI-identified objections relate, issue separate notices for those periods, and pass orders after hearing. The same procedure applies to later years and strict compliance is required.

Briefing procedures for law officers and panel advocates ensure coordinated, timely conferences and case preparedness.
Procedures require field formations to monitor listings and hearing records on Supreme Court, CBIC and DLA websites, remain ready to brief Law Officers and panel advocates at short notice, and deputise suitable officers for conferences. DLA will coordinate notifications and arrange conferences where field formations or counsel request briefings; for CESTAT matters field offices must use Tribunal lists and LIMBS, coordinate with the DR and Office of CC (AR), and seek briefings through the DR with intimation to the Office of CC (AR) and JS Review.

Minor investment account rules: redemption proceeds must be credited only to the minor's verified bank account under guardian arrangements.
Payment for subscription may be accepted from the minor's, parent's or legal guardian's bank account or a joint account; AMCs must obtain a Change of Pay-out Bank mandate for existing folios before redemption. All redemption proceeds must be credited only to the minor's verified bank account after KYC completion. Other prior provisions remain unchanged.

Manual Out Of Charge now granted case-by-case with prior Commissioner approval after ECL issues largely resolved.
With Electronic Cash Ledger functionality on ICEGATE largely restored, manual Out Of Charge will be granted only on a case by case basis with prior approval of the concerned Commissioner of Customs, JNCH, effective 15.05.2023; difficulties should be reported to the Additional Commissioner, Appraising Main (Import), and earlier public notices on ECL are superseded.

Bogus GST registration enforcement requires identification, weekly reporting, consolidated monitoring, and jurisdictional review during the special campaign.
Special all-India action against bogus GST registrations requires identification and processing of suspected registrations using GST Network lists and departmental intelligence. Weekly action-taken reports in Annexure-A, together with information required under Annexures-B and C, must be submitted to headquarters every Friday through Divisional Joint Commissioners. Divisional Joint Commissioners must provide consolidated circle-wise reports, and senior officers must review progress within their jurisdictions.

Direct Market Access to FPIs permitted for commodity derivatives, subject to existing DMA framework and FPI participation conditions.
DMA is authorised for SEBI-registered FPIs to participate in ETCDs, subject to adherence to the existing DMA framework and the prior circular permitting FPI participation; stock exchanges and brokers must comply with procedural, operational and risk-management requirements including client authorisation and broker-client agreements, amend bye-laws, notify members, publish the provisions and report implementation status to the regulator, with immediate effect.

No objection certificate for beaching granted provisionally where duty challan generation is delayed, subject to duty credit and undertaking.
Provisional policy allows grant of No Objection Certificate for beaching where the Bill of Entry is filed, assessment queries complied with, but the customs duty challan is not generated due to delay; the importer must show available credit in the Electronic Cash Ledger, provide an undertaking to await Customs Out of Charge and payment before dealing with vessel material, and comply with the Customs Act, Rules and relevant Standing Orders. The relaxation is temporary pending amendment of the Ship Breaking Code and does not alter the requirement to pay assessed duties prior to Out of Charge.

Fake GST registration enforcement adopts uniform all-India verification guidelines under the state GST framework for coordinated compliance action.
Special all-India drive against fake GST registrations is implemented under the Chhattisgarh Goods and Services Tax framework by applying central GST guidelines, with necessary modifications, to ensure uniformity in addressing fraudulent registration practices. The central instruction and related provisions apply within Chhattisgarh as though issued under the State GST Act, supporting coordinated enforcement through a uniform GST compliance approach.

Fake GST registration detection drives verification, credit blocking, recipient action, coordinated referrals, and weekly reporting against invoice-based credit fraud.
GST fake registration detection and input tax credit fraud prevention require time-bound verification of suspicious GSTINs identified through analytics, intelligence, and field inputs. Non-existent or fictitious taxpayers may face registration suspension or cancellation, while input tax credit may be blocked in the Electronic Credit Ledger. Recipients claiming credit on invoices without underlying supplies must be identified through GSTR-1 data, with demand and recovery action or inter-jurisdictional referral supported by relevant evidence. Weekly reports and GSTIN-wise final feedback must record verification, enforcement action, detected evasion, recovery, and fraud patterns.

Pre-registration physical verification to prevent fake GST registrations, with suo-moto cancellation for functionally non-existent registrants.
Proper Officers must prevent any registration application from becoming deemed approved through inaction and are accountable for failures. Mandatory pre-registration physical verification is required where Aadhaar OTP authentication is not completed; where OTP is completed, verification is required on a risk-based data-analytics basis or discretionally with Circle Head approval. Post-registration, immediate physical verification is required for unverified registrants or on enforcement leads; adverse findings of functional non-existence trigger suo-moto cancellation proceedings following natural justice and may be applied retrospectively.

Fake GST registration detection requires coordinated verification, credit blocking, recipient action, inter-jurisdictional referrals, and structured reporting mechanisms.
The Special All-India Drive requires coordinated Central and State tax verification of suspicious GSTINs identified through GSTN analytics and field intelligence. Where a taxpayer is found non-existent or fictitious, officers may initiate registration suspension or cancellation, consider blocking input tax credit, identify recipients of credit passed through unsupported invoices, and undertake demand, recovery or inter-jurisdictional referral as appropriate. Weekly action-taken reporting, GSTIN-wise feedback, nodal-officer coordination and central monitoring support uniform detection of fake registrations and fraudulent input tax credit.

FINNET 2.0 registration required for SEBI-registered debenture trustees to report suspicious transactions and comply with PML rules.
SEBI directs all registered debenture trustees to register or re register on FIU India's FINNET 2.0 platform; FIU India's guidance, including red flag indicators under the Prevention of Money Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, requires migration from FINNET 1.0 and immediate registration by entities not yet registered in view of the FATF mutual evaluation. SEBI issues the advisory under its regulatory powers to protect investors and to regulate the securities market, and publishes the circular on its website.