Searchable ad-hoc norms database enables Advance Authorisation applications on a no-norm repeat basis without committee ratification.
A searchable database of Ad-hoc Norms under Para 4.07 of the Handbook of Procedure permits applicants to identify pre-fixed norms by item description and ITC(HS) codes and, where a norm matches item description, specified wastages and HBP validity, to apply for an Advance Authorisation on a No-Norm Repeat basis without Norms Committee ratification, subject to other FTP/HBP provisions and the norm's validity.

State excise and VAT licence requirement: bond to bond liquor purchasers must hold licences and submit proof before warehousing.
The notice mandates that any purchaser engaging in bond to bond purchases of imported liquor must hold valid State excise and VAT licences and submit self attested copies when executing the triple duty bond; sellers/importers must verify buyer licences prior to bond to bond transfers. It prescribes additional documentary conditions for supplies to State liquor corporations, brand registration, and specified requirements for Haryana and Uttarakhand, repeatedly requiring clean past bonding records (no outstanding expired B2B bonds). Exemptions include original importers and holders of special bonded warehouse licences.

SEZ import exemption: specified gold HS code imports excluded from recent notification restrictions under Rule 27(1) of SEZ Rules.
Imports made by SEZ units under the HS codes identified in Notification No.19 are outside the purview of that Notification under Rule 27(1) of the Special Economic Zone Rules 2006; the DGFT policy circular instructs customs, SEZ regulatory authorities and trade stakeholders to implement this clarification.

E waste registration requirement: interim release of imported EEE consignments on EPR portal acknowledgement, extended to 31 August.
Imported consignments of 106 notified EEE items may be released on production of an acknowledgement from the CPCB EPR Portal confirming the producer has applied for registration; this interim release arrangement is extended until 31 August 2023 and applies only to producers who have submitted applications on the EPR Portal.

SOFTEX forms: physical invoice submissions by SEZ units dispensed; electronic verification authorised, with limited physical sampling.
SEZ Division dispenses with submission of physical SOFTEX forms and invoices by SEZ units where filings are made online; DCs may obtain documents electronically for verification and permit sample physical invoices in exceptional cases. RBI revised FETERS reporting from April 1, 2012: AD banks must use the revised purpose codes, report purpose codes for all forex transactions (including small non-export receipts), increase amount fields to 15 digits, and adopt 6 digit port codes, submitting prescribed ASCII files fortnightly with required consistency checks.

Material event disclosure requires prompt stock exchange reporting with prescribed content, timelines, and materiality guidance.
The circular prescribes enhanced disclosure obligations for listed entities under Regulations 30 and 30A by specifying required content for Part A events, precise timelines for initial and follow up disclosures (including prompt post board meeting reporting), criteria and computation guidance for materiality under regulation 30(4), and rules on when an event is deemed to have occurred, while requiring listed entities to update exchanges as material particulars evolve.

Condonation of delay in installation certificate under EPCG Scheme: RAs may accept certificates till year-end on payment of late fee.
Regional Authorities may accept installation certificates under the EPCG Scheme for authorizations issued under FTP 2009-14 and FTP 2015-20 up to 31.12.2023 for regularization on payment of a late fee of Rs. 10,000 per authorization (in addition to composition fee where applicable), provided the certificate was obtained within the prescribed period but not submitted on time, bonafide reasons for delay are given, and the authorization is not under investigation or adjudication.

Skilling and Mentorship Obligation requires status holders to provide industry-led export training and report actions through DGFT portal.
DGFT notifies a model curriculum to implement the Skilling and Mentorship Obligation for Status Holders under Para 1.30(b) FTP 2023: an industry led minimum six week training program with indicative annual mentoring targets, covering international trade fundamentals, regulatory framework, product identification, logistics, trade finance, practical in company exposure and field visits, with DGFT/IIFT resources recommended. DGFT Regional Authorities will facilitate engagement, beneficiary identification and stakeholder liaison, while Status Holders design selection criteria, assessments, feedback, certifications and report actions via an online portal.

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.