Foreign Trade Policy implementation updates: changes to advance authorizations, EPCG exclusions, AEO linked eligibility and bank guarantee rules.
The Foreign Trade Policy 2023 and accompanying Customs notifications revise implementation of authorization and export promotion schemes: Special Advance Authorization permits specialised fabric imports on self declaration pending norms within 90 days; Self Ratification for Advance Authorization is extended to certain 2 Star manufacturers who secure AEO certification within 120 days or else face DGFT norm fixation; spices under Advance Authorisation require 25% minimum value addition; items with basic customs duty over 30% are excluded from self declaration imports; EPCG excludes project imports; bank guarantee exemptions are restricted for units with confirmed GST demands but extended to qualifying AEO units; EOUs lose tax benefits for captive renewable plants; conversion of DTA EPCG units to EOU requires export obligation fulfilment or duty payment.

Trust registration deadlines and provisional registration rules clarified, with extended filing windows and reporting obligations.
Clarifies registration, provisional registration and renewal procedures for trusts under sections 10, 12A/12AB and 80G, including Board extensions for filing Forms 10A and 10AB, treatment of pending or late applications, effect of amended section 115TD for unregistered trusts, timing and validity of provisional registration for three assessment years with conversion to five-year registration, extensions for donation reporting Forms 10BD/10BE, timing rules for Forms 10 and 9A on accumulation/deemed application, and revised audit-reporting requirements and electronic payment-mode treatment in Forms 10B/10BB.

Core Settlement Guarantee Fund computation aligned with other segments; excess contributions returnable after regulator approval and implementation required.
Alignment of Core Settlement Guarantee Fund computation in the Commodity Derivatives Segment with other segments is mandated; Clearing Corporations may adjust target corpus levels and, with regulatory approval, return excess contributions pro rata to stakeholders. Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations must amend bye laws, notify brokers, disseminate the circular, and report implementation status in monthly development reports.

Amnesty scheme for export obligation defaults permits one-time duty settlement with capped interest and registration/payment requirements.
Amnesty scheme permits one-time regularisation of export obligation shortfalls by Advance Authorisation and EPCG holders through payment of applicable customs duty and interest as specified in DGFT Public Notice No.02/2023, with interest capped at 100% of duties exempted where interest applies; no interest on Additional Customs Duty or Special Additional Customs Duty; registration and payment to jurisdictional customs required to avail the scheme.

Generation of RFN for offline tax communications enables taxpayers to verify document authenticity on the GST portal.
RFN must be generated for all physically issued communications (notices, adjournments, orders, reminders) via the GST Back Office RFN Generation facility, superscribed on the document, and enabling pre- and post-login verification of document authenticity on the GST Common Portal; officers must follow the prescribed generation steps and comply strictly, with the guidance characterised as procedural and not for statutory interpretation.

InvITs must hold HoldCo and SPV securities in dematerialized form; Investment manager responsible; deadline June 30, 2023.
InvITs must hold securities of their holding companies and special purpose vehicles in dematerialized form, and the investment manager is responsible for ensuring compliance. Existing securities held in physical form must be dematerialized on or before June 30, 2023. The requirement is issued under the regulator's statutory powers and Regulation 33 and is effective immediately.

Dematerialization requirement: REITs must hold and convert holdings in HoldCos and SPVs to demat form, enforced immediately.
REITs must hold securities of their Hold Cos and SPVs only in dematerialized form, and the Manager of the REIT is required to ensure dematerialization of any existing physical securities of Hold Cos and SPVs by the prescribed cut-off; the directive is issued under the regulator's powers and takes effect immediately.

IT system cutover affects cargo clearance-stakeholders must register perishable and critical shipments before downtime.
The incoming custodian will implement an IT system cutover that renders CCSP cargo IT systems unavailable from 23:59 hrs on 23 May 2023 until 02:00 hrs (one terminal) and 06:00 hrs (other terminal) on 24 May 2023, disrupting ICEGATE-cargo operator data transfer. Stakeholders must plan clearances and ensure import/export shipments, notably perishables, live animals, life saving drugs and other critical consignments, are registered in the shed before 20:00 hrs on 23 May 2023 to complete clearance prior to the downtime.

Zonal jurisdiction for AEO applications: file in the customs zone used for your import or export activity to avoid delays.
Applicants must submit online AEO registration to the Customs Zone where they carry out import or export activity; applications should not be filed in Zones with no site or branch presence. If an applicant uses multiple Zones, the Zone with higher import/export activity should be selected. This approach, consistent with CBIC AEO FAQs, is reiterated to avoid delays in processing and to ensure applications are handled by the concerned Customs Zone.

TDS on online gaming winnings: net winnings computation and withholding rules govern withdrawals and year end tax treatment.
TDS on winnings from online games under section 194BA requires deduction on net winnings at withdrawal and year-end as computed by Rule 133. Each registered user account (including multiple wallets) is aggregated for deposits, withdrawals and balances unless technological separation by platform is necessary, in which case aggregation applies within each platform. Non-taxable deposits (including borrowed funds) reduce net winnings; bonuses and incentives are taxable deposits unless play-only non-withdrawable, which are excluded until recharacterised. Valuation rules and procedures for in-kind winnings, withdrawal treatment, and a limited concession for insignificant withdrawals are specified.

Export of iron ore fines: prescribed bank guarantee levels tied to exporter category and CRCL-confirmed Fe test results.
Notice prescribes bank guarantee security amounts for provisional assessment of iron ore fines under Section 18, varying by exporter category (nil for AEO T3; reduced percentages for other recognised categories; full duty for others). A consignment has a clean test record only if the CRCL test report confirms the declared Fe content below 58%; only shipments with received CRCL reports are considered. Departments must maintain a database of CRCL reports, report adverse actions to the Commissioner, and review guidelines half yearly; the notice is effective immediately.

Risk disclosures for equity F&O trading require brokers to display prominent pop-up notices and retain client P&L data.
Brokers must display SEBI's prescribed Risk disclosures (Annexure I) to individual clients on login, require acknowledgement before trading, and ensure the disclosures occupy at least fifty percent of the screen. Qualified Stock Brokers must maintain client Profit and Loss data continuously in the Annexure II format and retain such records for at least five years; exchanges and depositories must notify members and publish the disclosures with a link to the SEBI study. These requirements are effective July 1, 2023.

Mutual funds: SEBI issues a consolidated master circular standardising filings, categorisation, risk management, segregation and disclosure.
SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular for Mutual Funds effective from its issuance date, rescinding earlier circulars while preserving prior actions. It prescribes uniform requirements for SID/SAI/KIM filings, scheme categorization and benchmarks, standardizes offer and rebalancing procedures, and sets minimum AUM/NFO norms. The circular mandates a Risk Management Framework, stress testing, internal credit assessment, cybersecurity and systems audit, permits creation of segregated portfolios on specified credit events with valuation and disclosure rules, and establishes swing pricing, liquidity and ETF/GOLD/SILVER product specific norms alongside investor protection, two factor authentication and reporting obligations.

Indian Customs EDI System Electronic Cash Ledger: importers must verify ICEGATE payments and follow reporting procedure.
CBIC clarifies ECL operations: challans are shown on ICEGATE once ICES integrates them; ECL top ups post only after successful bank/RBI-ICEGATE transactions; ledger download and broker tracking functions are being developed. With system issues resolved, PN14/2023 is withdrawn. Importers must verify payment status via ICEGATE e payment enquiry, confirm ECL wallet entries, re initiate payment with interest if duty appears in IEC ECL but not integrated, and email ICEGATE Helpdesk with prescribed documents and consent where payments via PAN need crediting to the IEC ECL.

Special investigation campaign on pan spices and tobacco transport to curb tax evasion through bogus registrations and e way misuse.
Campaign directs targeted vehicle checks and intelligence led verification of e way bills for pan spices, tobacco, related raw materials and packing materials following a shift of cess liability to Maximum Retail Price (MRP). It mandates statewide transit inspections, continued regular enforcement, interagency notification for counterfeit or food safety incidents, and daily zonal reporting to the Sachal Dal section with details of traders, GSTIN, goods, e way bill verifications, evasion modes and taxes/fines.

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.