ESG rating regulation: unified registration, disclosure and governance rules mandate transparency, auditability and conflict mitigation for providers.
SEBI establishes a unified regulatory framework for ESG Rating Providers requiring SEBI registration via the Intermediary Portal, prior approval for change in control with specified disclosures and timelines, procedures for transfer or surrender of registration ensuring orderly migration of client assignments, mandatory offering and disclosure of specified ESG products on a 0-100 scale, prohibition of hybrid business models, detailed governance and conflict of interest safeguards, yearly independent internal audits with prescribed scope and reporting, and extensive periodic and continuous public disclosures including transition rate studies and methodology transparency.

ESG disclosures via BRSR Core require phased assurance and mandated value chain reporting with specified KPIs and disclosure rules.
Introduction of a framework mandating standardized ESG reporting and assurance through the BRSR Core, a focused subset of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report comprised of key performance indicators across nine ESG attributes. The Core prescribes KPIs and a base methodology for reporting and reasonable assurance, requires phased applicability to top listed entities by market capitalization, and mandates disclosures for the value chain covering partners comprising seventy five percent of purchases or sales by value, with scope and assumptions disclosed.

Taxability of non-resident offshore investment income clarified: special regime applies only to Category I/II AIFs under securities or IFSC regulation.
The circular updates the investment fund definition in the special tax provisions to include funds regulated under IFSC fund management regulations, making the special tax regime applicable only to Category I and Category II Alternative Investment Funds regulated under securities law or IFSC fund-management regulations.

User ID consolidation enables institutes to recommend merging or deactivating legacy portal accounts to permit V3 access.
Institutes of professional members shall verify member credentials and forward recommendations by the President or Vice President to the MCA to enable either merger of duplicate V2 user IDs with a V3 ID or deactivation of old V2 IDs, permitting affected members to create or activate accounts on the MCA21 V3 portal.

SEBI master circular consolidates LODR compliance for listed entities, standardising disclosures, formats, and enforcement procedures.
SEBI issued a Master Circular consolidating compliance requirements under the LODR Regulations into a chapter wise framework, rescinding prior circulars with savings, and prescribing standardised formats, timelines and procedures for listing, periodic and event based disclosures, financial reporting, related party transactions, secretarial and sustainability reporting, e voting, MPS methods, auditor resignation protocols and enforcement including fines, freezing of promoter holdings, 'Z' category trading, suspension and delisting SOPs; recognised Stock Exchanges and Depositories must implement monitoring and systems.

Self-Customs Pass enables importers, exporters and employees to apply for customs passes online via CBLMS.
Launch of an online Self-Customs Pass application in the Customs Brokers Licensing Management System (CBLMS) enables importers, exporters and employees acting on behalf of persons or firms to apply electronically for customs passes in conformity with regulation 3(b) of CBLR 2018. A detailed user manual explaining the process flow is available under the Knowledge Centre tab on the CBLMS portal.

Mandatory additional qualifiers: implementation deadline for import/export declarations extended due to trade requests and testing mismatches.
Additional qualifiers mandated by Circular No. 15/2023 Customs for specified import and export declarations, originally effective 01.07.2023, have been deferred to 01.10.2023 following trade representations, a departmental request for a further three month implementation period, and testing phase mismatches in qualifier data; the extension aims to permit resolution of technical and data consistency issues prior to mandatory deployment.

GST Council: amendments for ITC reconciliation, strengthened registration, and 28% GST on casinos, racecourses and online gaming.
Council approved CGST/SGST rule amendments and new procedural rules/forms to implement e-way bill mandates for gold/precious stones, capacity based taxation and a special composition scheme, strengthened registration requirements (bank details, suspension/revocation, targeted physical verification, biometric Aadhaar pilot), and system-driven ITC reconciliation measures (proposed Rules 88D and 142B and FORMS DRC 01C/DRC 01D) to detect and recover excess ITC or reporting mismatches; clarificatory circulars were approved on interest for wrongly availed IGST credit, e invoice applicability to TDS registered government entities, refund linkage to GSTR 2B, inverted duty refunds, exporters' delayed claims (without interest), ISD and internally generated services, and the non taxability of mere shareholding by a holding company; Fitment Committee rate changes and the decision to tax casinos, race courses and online gaming at 28% on full face value were also adopted.

Tariff rate quota change: Cotton HS codes revised under Ind Aus ECTA, altering quota allocation and in quota duty treatment.
The DGFT amends Para 2.92 and Annexure V of Appendix 2A of the HBP 2023 to substitute ITC(HS) code 52010020 with ITC(HS) codes 52010024 and 52010025 for cotton TRQ under the India Australia ECTA, aligning DGFT entries with Customs Notification No. 38/2023 Customs; cotton described under ITC(HS) 52010024 (minimum 28 mm staple length) is identified at in quota zero percent duty with the TRQ quantity for calendar year 2023 onwards.

Sponsor eligibility expanded for mutual funds; new rules for capital deployment, PE sponsors, and self-sponsorship.
The circular revises sponsor regulation by requiring AMCs to deploy the minimum net worth in liquid, unencumbered instruments; permitting acquisition funding by borrowings only where sponsors have other encumberable assets and requiring incremental capitalization to be funded from acquirer net worth; restricting pooled vehicle sponsors to private equity funds subject to experience, track record and safeguards including prohibition of specified off-market transactions and lock-in of initial shareholding; and establishing conditions, reporting, trustee composition and timelines for voluntary sponsor disassociation and for an AMC to qualify as a self-sponsored AMC, with provisions for re-association and unitholder exit without exit load.

Trustees' core responsibilities clarified to ensure independent oversight of AMC fees, conflicts, systems and prevention of misconduct.
Trustees must exercise independent due diligence on core responsibilities including fairness of AMC fees, scheme performance review, systems to prevent mis selling and valuation issues, prevention of undue influence by sponsors/associates, avoidance of unfair advantage to group entities, management of conflicts between AMC stakeholders and unitholders, and controls against misconduct and market abuse; Trustees must obtain system based exception reports and automated alerts from AMCs, independently evaluate compliance, and review remediation for incomplete or outdated KYC attributes.

Warehousing under section 49 requires formal application, examination, ECTS sealing, and register-based monitoring of storage timelines.
Procedure requires importers to apply to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (Appraising Group) with prescribed documentation for permission under section 49, mandates Import Shed responsibility for 100% examination, ECTS sealing and manual gate passes, and maintenance of a Section 49 Register to monitor storage timelines and prompt Appraising Group action where extensions are not sought.

Deselection from Audit under section 65: removal of selected registered persons from GST audit for specified periods.
The Commissioner, State Tax deselected nine registered persons from audit under section 65 of the West Bengal GST Act for the specified assessment periods, effective from 1 July 2023. The administrative order cites reasons for each deselection in an annexure-including investigations by other authorities, insolvency proceedings, non existence, premises sealed, cancellation of registration, and seizure of books-thereby removing those persons from the section 65 audit process for the periods stated.

Extension of compliance deadline specified upto 30th September 2023 replacing prior three month phrase in corrigendum.
Corrigendum amends Order No. 02/WBGST/PRO/2023 by substituting the phrase describing a further three month extension with an explicit timeline, specifying the extension is upto the 30th day of September, 2023, thereby clarifying the operative deadline in the opening paragraph.

Extension of audit completion period under section 65 grants additional time where audits stalled by system glitches.
The Commissioner extended, under the proviso to sub-section (4) of section 65 of the West Bengal GST Act, the time for completion of audits for the period Apr 2018-Mar 2019 which commenced within 31 May 2023; having found delays caused by GSTN system glitches, the Commissioner granted a further three-month extension from the statutory due date, excluding cases already separately extended, effective immediately.

GST registration through registered rent deed requirement tightened to curb fake invoices and fraudulent input tax credit.
GST registration in Assam is to be granted only when the applicant furnishes a valid rent agreement or lease deed duly registered with the Sub-Registrar or other competent authority. This requirement is intended to prevent registration based on forged or unreliable documents, including unregistered rental agreements, and to curb fake invoices, fraudulent input tax credit, and loss of government revenue. Registering authorities are directed to follow this requirement strictly and refuse registration where the supporting rental or lease document is not duly registered.

Real Estate Investment Trusts: SEBI consolidates REIT circulars into master circular mandating compliance, filings, disclosures.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars for Real Estate Investment Trusts into a single instrument effective from issuance, superseding listed circulars while preserving prior actions and pending applications by deeming them to have been done under corresponding provisions. It mandates online filings via SEBI's intermediary portal, requires periodic and continuous reports and disclosures (including detailed public-issue, financial disclosure, audit and NDCF frameworks), prescribes governance, issuance and listing procedures, and sets out transitional, compliance and reporting obligations for REITs, intermediaries and stock exchanges.

Master Circular consolidates SEBI guidance for Infrastructure Investment Trusts, mandating online filings and consolidated compliance obligations.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars for InvITs up to July 6, 2023, takes immediate effect, supersedes listed circulars while preserving prior actions and pending applications, requires mandatory use of SEBI's online filing portal, and imposes consolidated compliance, reporting and disclosure obligations covering public offers, preferential and rights issues, financial and audit standards, continuous disclosures including NDCF statements, debt issuance rules, encumbrance and exit mechanisms, governance and specified reporting formats; issued under SEBI Act and InvIT Regulations and published on SEBI's website.

Export examination clusters streamline cargo processing by assigning designated CFSs and warehouses for faster handling.
Three separate export clusters were notified for Customs examination and processing of export cargo at Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House to speed up cargo handling. The notice assigns specified CFSs and warehouses to Cluster X1, Cluster X2 and Cluster X3, grouped by location around Uran, Nhava Sheva, Dronagiri, Panvel, Taloja and adjoining areas. The notice operates as a standing order for officers and staff, and implementation issues are to be reported through the specified contact details.

Election expenditure vigilance: enhanced CBIC preventive measures to detect and curb illicit cash, freebies and smuggled goods.
The SOP directs CBIC formations to intensify preventive vigilance during elections by designating Pr. ADG/ADG, DRI as State point persons and nodal officers, establishing Central Control Rooms and Flying Squads, collating and submitting daily reports to the ECI and CBIC investigation wings, mapping and monitoring warehouses and bonded premises, scrutinising e-way bills and stocks under Section 67 of the CGST Act, and increasing border and airport vigilance for illicit cash, contraband and goods used as voter inducements.