Online dispute resolution: independent Indian-seat mediation, conciliation and arbitration required; enrolment, deposit and fee rules specified.
Amendment clarifies that online mediation, conciliation and arbitration for securities-market disputes must be conducted by independent institutions with seat in India (online proceedings permitted), that fees and costs are as prescribed or agreed, and that claims involving specified intermediaries and regulated entities fall within this framework; it also mandates immediate ODR Portal enrolment for newly registered intermediaries and listed issuers, sets deposit and participation obligations for market participants in online arbitration, revises fee slabs and expands Schedules A and B.

Business continuity for clearing corporations via SaaS RMS enabling one CC to operate risk management using another CC's RMS software.
The Circular mandates a SaaS contingency for Clearing Corporations' RMS where a client CC operates an instance using another CC's RMS software; the client CC is responsible for real time risk management and detecting performance issues while the service provider supplies functioning software. SaaS RMS must provide specified risk and collateral functions (intraday risk management, real time margining, violation messaging, custodial confirmations, collateral handling, member interfaces, and EPI handling). Invocation and activation timelines (30 minutes each), quarterly mock sessions, agreements, SOPs, interoperability enhancements, rule changes, member notice and reporting obligations are required, with revised Business Continuity Policies due to the regulator within two months.

Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures: strengthened PFMI compliance, risk management, and disclosure obligations for clearing corporations and depositories.
SEBI requires Recognized Clearing Corporations and Depositories to implement the 24 PFMI principles to strengthen legal basis, governance, and comprehensive risk management frameworks. CCPs face quantitative obligations on credit, collateral, margin, and liquidity and must adopt default management, segregation and portability, and sufficient financial resources for extreme but plausible stress scenarios. FMIs must undertake periodic self assessment and public disclosure-quarterly for quantitative and annually for qualitative items-while the ROC performs annual monitoring and reports to the board and SEBI. FMIs must amend rules, implement systems, and publish disclosures on their websites.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority assigns adjudication of specified show cause notices to Mumbai South officer.
The Board appoints the Pr. Commissioner/Commissioner, CGST & CX, Mumbai South Commissionerate as the Central Excise Officer to adjudicate the show cause notice dated 17.10.2006 issued to M/s Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., centralising adjudication of multiple office specific notices and naming the local officers to whom the Central Excise Officer will be answerable.

GST classification: imitation zari from metallised film qualifies as imitation zari yarn, attracting the Council-recommended reduced tax rate.
Imitation zari thread or yarn produced from metallised polyester or plastic film falls within the HS description for yarn combined with or covered by metal and is classified as imitation zari thread or yarn under Sl. No. 218AA of Schedule I, attracting the Council-recommended reduced GST rate. The Council also specified that no refund shall be permitted on metallised polyester/plastic film due to rate inversion, and the relevant notification has been amended accordingly; implementation issues may be notified to the Commissioner.

Related-party guarantees treated as taxable supplies; corporate guarantees valued under prescribed valuation rule, personal guarantees often valued zero.
Providing a personal guarantee by a director to secure company credit is a supply between related persons and valued under Rule 28; where RBI mandates no consideration, open market value may be zero, otherwise taxable value equals the consideration. Corporate guarantees between related persons or by a holding company for its subsidiary are supplies whose taxable value is to be determined under Rule 28 and, pursuant to an inserted sub rule (2), such valuation rule applies irrespective of input tax credit availability; sub rule (2) does not apply to personal guarantees.

Accreditation of investors: KYC-based certification enables extended multi-year validity and requires due diligence disclaimer and verification.
Accreditation Agencies may grant accreditation solely on applicants' KYC and financial information, accessing KYC records across KRAs where applicable; accreditation certificates must carry a disclaimer that such assessment does not exempt intermediaries or pooled vehicles from performing their own due diligence. Validity of certificates is extended to multi year periods depending on prior years' compliance or net worth for newly incorporated entities, and Annexures set out eligibility thresholds, documentary requirements and procedures for verification, client agreements, consent withdrawal and investor undertakings.

Secondment taxability requires case-specific GST analysis, and extended limitation applies only where fraud or suppression is shown.
Secondment arrangements between overseas group companies and Indian entities require a case-specific examination of the contract and factual matrix to determine GST taxability. The Northern Operating Systems judgment is not to be applied mechanically to all secondment cases, as different arrangements may attract different tax consequences. Section 74(1) of the Assam GST Act can be invoked only where there is material evidence of fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts to evade tax, and not merely for non-payment of GST.

E-invoicing compliance under Assam GST tightened for taxpayers required to issue invoices through the prescribed electronic system.
Mandatory e-invoicing compliance is reinforced for taxpayers required to issue e-invoices for B2B and export supplies under the Assam GST Rules. Exempted taxpayers must declare their exempted status on the portal, while field formations are directed to examine GSTN-listed cases of non-issuance, identify the reasons, and distinguish lawful exemption from non-compliance. Invoices issued otherwise than through the prescribed e-invoicing mechanism are stated not to be valid, and continued non-compliance may attract penalty under the Assam GST Act.

Crew and ship store declarations may be uploaded via E-Sanchit as PDFs with IRN referenced in SCMTR JSON.
The SCMTR now permits upload of crew effects, ship stores and person detail PDFs via the E-Sanchit application; each upload generates an IRN which must be referenced in designated JSON fields of SCMTR messages. Person details require prsnTypCdd='IRN', prsnFamilyName=IRN and document code 745000; crew effects require crewEfctDescCdd='IRN', crewEfctsDesc=IRN and document code 744000; ship stores require articleNameCdd='IRN', articleNameText=IRN and document code 799000.

Designation of Taxation Inspector expands proper officer roster, adjusting delegated authority and Schedule rule links under GST.
Amendment designates Taxation Inspector as an additional proper officer by inserting ",Taxation Inspector" after specified officer entries across several serial numbers, expands one serial to add a roster of officers including Deputy Commissioner, Excise and Taxation Officer, Assistant Excise and Taxation Officer and Taxation Inspector, and omits certain rule references while inserting a new serial linking Rules 6, 16, 17, 21A and 23 to those specified officers.

Secondment taxability: determine GST exposure by contract and factual matrix; extended limitation requires evidence of fraud or concealment.
Secondment may constitute a taxable manpower supply service, but taxability under GST must be determined by a nuanced, fact-specific examination of the contract and working arrangements between the overseas company and the Indian entity. Extended limitation for assessment or recovery may be invoked only where investigations produce material evidence of fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts to evade tax; mere non-payment is insufficient and such evidence should be included in any show cause notice.

Import Monitoring for Yellow Peas requires online pre-arrival registration; single registration limited to one origin and one port.
Importation of Yellow Peas requires online submission of advance information and payment to obtain an Automatic Registration Number via the DGFT portal; registration must be completed at least five days before expected arrival and the ARN produced to Customs. Each ARN is valid for multiple consignments only for a specified limited period and applies to one country of origin and one port of import.

Upstreaming of client funds mandates brokers to remit clear balances to clearing corporations by EOD via cash, FDRs or MFOS.
SBs/CMs must upstream all clients' clear credit balances to CCs on End of Day basis only as cash, lien marked FDRs created from USCNBA, or pledged MFOS units created from client funds; FDRs must meet CC exposure norms, be lien marked with CC precedence, be pre terminable, tenor not exceeding one year and one day, and not be used as security for borrowing. MFOS units must be dematerialized, held in a dedicated Client Nodal MFOS Account and pledged/re pledged to CCs identifying end clients. USCNBA and DSCNBA account nomenclature and operational, monitoring and reporting requirements apply.

Container scanner operation at Kattupalli and Ennore expanded; selected import containers to be scanned under prescribed procedures.
Drive-through and mobile X ray container scanning facilities at Kattupalli Port and Kamarajar Port Limited, Ennore will operate daily for the scanning of selected import containers. Operations at Kattupalli must follow the procedures set out in the earlier public notice for the drive-through scanner, and operations at Ennore must follow the earlier public notice for the MXCS. Stakeholders facing difficulties are to notify the Commissioner of Customs, Chennai IV.

Veterinary health certificate requirement: integrated VHC mandated for milk imports, certified by exporting Official Veterinarian and subject to post import checks.
Imports of milk and milk products must be accompanied by an integrated Veterinary Health Certificate certified by the exporting country; a single certificate or certificate with annexure is acceptable, but single agency certificates must be certified by the exporting Official Veterinarian. The VHC must attest to DAHD sanitary conditions and FSSAI food safety requirements, includes specified processing and animal treatment attestations, and is time limited. Consignments are subject to post import examination and sampling by Animal Quarantine and Certification Services and/or FSSAI officers, and non conforming consignments will face action at the importer's cost.

BIS registration requirement enforced for notified electronics imports; random sampling and compliance testing determine customs clearance.
Imports of goods notified under the Electronics and Information Technology Goods (Requirement of Compulsory Registration) Order, 2012 require BIS registration or a MeitY exemption; Customs must verify registration, use the Risk Management System to select consignments for random sampling, and send samples to BIS recognized labs to test defined non destructive safety parameters. Out of Charge clearance is granted only if samples comply; failing consignments may be re exported or destroyed at the importer's cost. MeitY authorises Customs to deform and dispose of non compliant or unregistered notified goods.

Related party guarantee treated as taxable supply; corporate guarantee valuation set under amended Rule 28 irrespective of ITC.
Personal guarantees by directors are a supply of service between related persons and are valued at open market value under Rule 28; where RBI precludes any lawful consideration the open market value may be treated as zero and no tax payable, except in exceptional remunerated cases where taxable value equals the remuneration. Corporate guarantees between related companies, including holding subsidiary situations, are also supplies of service and their taxable value is to be determined under Rule 28, with newly inserted sub rule (2) prescribing valuation for such corporate guarantees irrespective of the recipient's ITC; sub rule (2) does not apply to personal guarantees.

Dematerialisation of AIF units requires use of an Aggregate Escrow Demat Account until investors provide demat details.
Mandates dematerialisation of AIF units and requires units for investors who have not provided demat details to be credited to a designated Aggregate Escrow Demat Account; transfers from that account are restricted to transfers into investors' demat accounts upon receipt of demat details within five working days, with investor wise KYC, bank details, audit trail, and monthly reporting to Depositories and Custodians, and adherence to implementation standards jointly formulated by industry and depositories.

Drive-through container X ray scanning at Chennai now 24x7; selected containers must be scanned and mismatches examined.
Drive-through X Ray Container Scanner at Chennai will operate 24x7; selected containers are identified by the Container Scanning Module and must be endorsed "Selected for scanning" on EIRs. At CSD, container and seal numbers are verified, images are classified as "SCANNED CLEAN" or "SCANNED MISMATCH", and mismatches trigger NOC or 100% examination at CFS/ICD in presence of DC/AC. Failures to mark, present or scan selected containers expose terminal operators and custodians to penal action; scanned images and examination outcomes must be uploaded to the CSD portal and weekly reports produced.