Automatic issuance of Status Holder Certificates from export data streamlines certification and removes routine application requirements.
Automatic IT-driven issuance of electronic Status Holder Certificates (e-SHC) will classify exporters into five Status categories using merchandise export data from DGCI&S for the preceding three financial years (with a sectoral exception for gems and jewellery) and deliver e-SHCs to registered emails and the DGFT dashboard, removing the need for exporters to file applications or submit CA export performance certificates where data is available. Exceptions for services, deemed, and double-weighted exports require affected exporters to apply via the existing IT module with CA support or to file amendment applications under HBP for upgrades; Regional Offices must expedite processing and limit additional document requests.

Pet import documentation requires advance quarantine clearance, with airlines barred from carrying animals lacking prescribed documents.
Pet and live-animal imports require pre-arrival veterinary documentation and an advance No Objection Certificate from Animal Quarantine and Certification Services. Eligible transfer-of-residence passengers may bring up to two dogs or cats after establishing baggage-rule eligibility. Re-imported pets also require the earlier AQCS export health certificate. Short-stay pets and specified commercial-dog imports additionally require an import licence from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade. Airlines must not carry pets without the required documents, and Passenger Clearance Groups must maintain prescribed registers.

Automatic issuance of Status Holder Certificate streamlines certification using export data, removing application requirement in most cases.
System-generated electronic Status Holder Certificate will be issued based on merchandise export data in the government database without exporters needing to file an application in most cases; exporters may nevertheless file ANF IB with a CA certificate for recognition or up gradation, and jurisdiction for filing remains determined by Registered Office or Head Office location as per Appendix 1A.

Substantial contribution reporting clarified: include contributors exceeding threshold for audit reports and related persons if available.
For assessment year 2023-24, audit reports in Form No. 10B and Form No. 10BB should list persons qualifying as making a substantial contribution where their total contribution during the previous year exceeds fifty thousand rupees; additionally, details of relatives of such contributors and of concerns in which they have substantial interest may be provided, if available.

Separate notices for fraud-based and non-fraud tax determinations required, with adjudication and closure proceeding independently.
Separate notices must be issued when a taxpayer has distinct subject matters requiring non-fraud and fraud-based tax determinations; officers must clearly delineate which matters fall under each category, and adjudication and closure shall operate independently at the notice level rather than by individual subject matter.

Relaxation of LODR meeting compliance extended; listed entities must comply with prescribed Master Circular conditions and statutory provisions.
The circular extends the relaxation from Regulation 36(1)(b) for Annual General Meetings and Regulation 44(4) for electronic general meetings until the date specified, permitting continued reliance on prior exemptions. Listed entities availing the relaxations must comply with the conditions in paragraph 5.1 and 5.2 of section VI-J of the Master Circular, including procedural and disclosure safeguards. The relaxations are issued under SEBI's regulatory powers and remain subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and rules thereunder.

Ex-bond shipping bill records warehoused exports in ICES, updates ledger balances, and disallows export incentive claims.
Implementation of an ex-bond shipping bill in ICES requires declaring the warehouse code to identify re-exported warehoused goods and entering item-wise into-bond bill details; only one warehouse code per shipping bill is permitted, and items under different into-bond bills may be declared separately. Filing and verification will debit exported quantities from the ICES warehouse ledger, with automatic re-crediting on cancellation or purge and ledger updates on amendments. The ex-bond shipping bill applies only to exports of warehoused goods exported as such and excludes entitlement to export incentives.

GST Council updates cover tribunal appointments, guarantee valuation rules, ISD credit distribution, appeal condonation, ENA and rate changes.
The Council approved amendments aligning GST Appellate Tribunal appointments with Tribunal Reforms, clarified taxability and valuation for personal and corporate guarantees (treating gratuitous personal guarantees as zero value unless remuneration is paid and deeming corporate guarantee value at 1% of guaranteed amount or actual consideration), established a one time condonation procedure for delayed appeals subject to pre deposit, mandated mandatory ISD registration and detailed distribution rules for input tax credit (including RCM service credits), issued place of supply and export receipt clarifications (including Vostro INR receipts) and prospectively narrowed inverted duty refund restriction to constructions intended for sale; multiple Fitment Committee rate and procedural changes were also approved.

Base Minimum Capital deposit requirement for Category 2 execution-only platforms established, with non-additive segment application.
Category 2 Execution Only Platforms, registered as stock brokers and acting as agents of investors for direct mutual fund transactions, are required to maintain a Base Minimum Capital (BMC) deposit with the stock exchange; for members with multiple segment registrations on the same exchange the BMC is non-additive and the highest applicable BMC across segments applies. The circular modifies earlier SEBI BMC prescriptions, leaves other BMC provisions intact, and directs immediate implementation with stock exchanges required to update systems, amend relevant bye-laws, and disseminate the change.

Master Circular for Depositories consolidates SEBI rules on KYC, demat account processes, DP duties and cybersecurity safeguards.
SEBI's Master Circular for Depositories consolidates depository-related circulars up to August 31, 2023, rescinds listed prior circulars while preserving prior actions' legal effects, and organizes obligations across Beneficial Owner Accounts, Depository Participants, Issuer related and Depositories related domains. Key operative provisions include uniform KYC requirements (PAN as sole identifier and authorised Aadhaar e-KYC), simplified account opening and online closure procedures, BSDA eligibility and charges, safeguards for DIS and transmission, DP supervision and outsourcing principles, cybersecurity and IT governance, CAS generation, and coordination mechanisms for deactivation/reactivation of accounts for inadequate KYC.

Relaxation of physical dispatch requirement under SEBI Listing Regulations extends relief for listed non-convertible securities issuers.
Regulatory relaxation is granted for the requirement to dispatch hard copies of statements containing salient features of documents to holders of non-convertible securities who have not registered for electronic delivery, by relaxing Regulation 58(1)(b) of the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements up to September 30, 2024. The circular takes immediate effect and directs recognised stock exchanges to notify issuers with listed non-convertible securities and publish the circular on their websites, issued under the powers of Section 11(1) read with Regulation 101.

Additional Liquid Cargo Jetty at Jawaharlal Nehru Port notified as authorised place for unloading liquid cargo; commencement certificate required.
Notification designates the Additional Liquid Cargo Jetty at Jawaharlal Nehru Port as a place for unloading liquid cargo (108m x 50m platform, four mooring dolphins, pump house 49m x 20m) subject to the Customs Act, related rules and CBIC/Commissioner directions; Schedule I specifies the Boarding Station and the Customs Area limits with precise coordinates and operations are conditional on a Commencement Certificate.

Restriction on export of specified goods requires export under LUT; IGST-paid shipping bills with restricted items will be blocked.
Restriction under Section 16(4) of the IGST Act prohibits export of the goods listed in Notification No. 01/2023 on payment of IGST; such goods must be exported under LUT. Automated system controls at the shipping-bill level block filing or amendment and prevent IGST-refund claims where any invoice in a shipping bill includes a notified restricted item, including exports by post or courier.

Centralized investor death reporting enables KRAs to validate deaths and block account debits pending transmission procedures.
Intermediaries receiving intimation of an investor's death must obtain and verify the death certificate (online or OSV), record notifier identity, and submit a same-day KYC modification request to the KRA with supporting documents; they must block all debit transactions in the deceased's accounts while preserving allowed surviving joint-account operations. KRAs must independently validate requests, update KYC to "Blocked Permanently" or "On Hold" as appropriate, notify linked intermediaries, and coordinate resolution or rejection. Intermediaries must notify notifiers/nominees about transmission procedures and perform additional due diligence before allowing transactions on "On Hold" accounts.

Bill verification requires online GST return matching and enforcement action on detected mismatches.
Mobile Squad units must collect and upload bills/tax invoices found during vehicle inspections to the departmental Bill Module within 48 hours and forward them to the Sector Office within one week; the Sector Officer shall match uploaded bills with registered taxpayers' GST returns and mark each stored bill from 01.04.2023 as Verify or Not Verify on the MS/SIB module, and where Not Verify/mismatch occurs issue notices under the SGST Act read with CGST/IGST provisions and take enforcement action to prevent revenue loss.

Verification of market rumours requirement extended for top listed entities, deferring implementation to later specified dates.
The circular extends the effective dates of the proviso to Regulation 30(11) of the LODR Regulations, delaying mandatory verification of market rumours to February 1, 2024 for the top 100 listed entities by market capitalization and to August 1, 2024 for the top 250 listed entities, and notifies that the circular is issued under the regulator's legal powers and is available on its website.

Restriction on export of specified goods requires export under LUT and blocks IGST refund at the shipping bill level.
CBIC has implemented backend functionality to block the IGST refund route at shipping bill level for goods excluded by Notification No. 01/2023, such that goods listed (notably specified tobacco products, pan masala and certain essential oils) may be exported only under a Letter of Undertaking and any shipping bill containing an invoice with a restricted item will not be permitted for filing for IGST refund.

Mandatory additional qualifiers require CAS and IUPAC details or a supplier-confidentiality declaration for chemical shipment declarations.
Import declarations for specified chemical chapters must state the Chemical Category and provide constituent identifiers: Bulk and Basic Chemicals require CAS number and IUPAC name; Formulations and Mixtures and Proprietary/R&D/Others require at least one Main/Active ingredient's CAS number and IUPAC name (or either identifier where allowed). If supplier confidentiality prevents provision of CAS/IUPAC details, the importer must submit a self-undertaking in the bill of entry. Declared constituents will be printed as masked fields and these qualifiers supplement existing declaration requirements.

Ex-bond Shipping Bill in ICES 1.5 links warehouse BE details to ledger and permits single-warehouse warehoused exports.
ICES 1.5 adds an ex-bond Shipping Bill to permit export of warehoused goods by linking the Shipping Bill to the original warehousing Bill of Entry; filing requires warehouse code and BE particulars, the system debits exported quantities from the imported ledger and re-credits on cancellation or purging, and only one warehouse may be cited per Shipping Bill.

Ex-bond shipping bill: ICES links exports to into-bond warehousing, mandates item-wise BE linkage, updates warehouse ledger.
A new ex-bond shipping bill format in ICES 1.5 links the shipping bill to into-bond warehousing BE details via a required warehouse code and mandates item-wise entry of originating into-bond BE (site, number, date, invoice serial and item number). One warehouse code per shipping bill is permitted; identical goods warehoused under multiple into-bond BEs must be declared as separate line items. Upon verification the system debits exported quantities from the warehouse ledger and re-credits on cancellation or purging; amendments update the ledger. The format applies only to export of warehoused goods exported as such and excludes goods from section 65 operations; export incentives are not available.