Wastage norms for jewellery exports revised; input output norms amended, altering permissible input content calculations for exports.
Revised wastage percentages for specified categories of exported jewellery and corresponding modifications to Standard Input Output Norms (SION) M 1 to M 7: SIONs now tie one kilogram of export product to specified import quantities of gold, platinum, or silver per SION category, and imported mountings and findings used in the export product are excluded from net content determination. The amendment is issued under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 and Para 4.59(a)-(h) has been kept in abeyance by subsequent public notices.

Dynamic price bands tightened with higher flexing thresholds, phased smaller flexes, sliding bands and aligned cross-exchange implementation.
The circular enhances dynamic price bands by increasing preconditions for flexing to more trades, unique UCCs and trading members; implementing phased, smaller flex increments with longer cooling-off periods; requiring concurrent sliding of the opposite band and cancellation of orders outside the slid band; applying temporary option floors/ceilings linked to LTP or theoretical prices during cooling-off; and mandating cross-exchange alignment, operational procedures, infrastructure changes and phased implementation.

Real-time price data sharing restrictions require agreements, due diligence, and one-day lag for investor-education uses.
Sharing of real time price data with third parties is prohibited except for orderly market functioning or regulatory compliance. Permitted sharing requires a formal agreement detailing permitted uses and justification, annual board review of recipients and activities, due diligence, contractual safeguards against misuse, and best efforts to prevent misuse. Market price data may be shared for investor education only with a one-day lag and without monetary incentives. The circular becomes effective 30 days after issuance; MIIs must implement systems, amend bye-laws, and notify and publish the requirements.

Minimum duration of staggered delivery revised to at least three working days, altering scheduling for commodity futures contracts.
SEBI amends paragraph 11.1.3 of the Master Circular for Commodity Derivatives Segment to provide that the minimum duration of staggered delivery period shall be at least three working days. The change applies to contracts with staggered delivery scheduled after July 01, 2024. Recognised stock exchanges and clearing corporations must notify members and publish the amendment on their websites. The circular is issued under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 and operates within the Delivery and Settlement provisions of the Master Circular, with other conditions unchanged.

Audiovisual disclosures must present key offer document information bilingually, uploaded and maintained by issuers and lead managers.
Salient disclosures for main board public issues must be produced as bilingual Audiovisual (AV) presentations, approximately ten minutes per language, factual, non-promotional and compliant with Schedule IX publicity rules. AVs must equitably cover material sections of the DRHP/RHP (company, risk factors, capital structure, objects, business, promoters, management, financial summary, litigations, material developments, offer terms), include a caution directing reliance only on the Offer Document and Price Band Advertisement, be uploaded by issuers and AIBI within five working days of specified filings, made available across digital platforms and QR codes, updated upon RHP/prospectus and price band publication, and remain the responsibility of the Issuer and Lead Managers.

Mid-year Special Drive targets customs clearance delays, with daily monitoring, PGA coordination and ICES/ADVAIT tool use.
A three-week Mid-year Special Drive at JNCH will target assessment, examination and release delays to improve port logistics. Export monitoring will focus on Let Export Order issuance via daily reports and PGA liaison; import monitoring requires Appraising Group coordination, flags for Bills of Entry unattended for 24 hours (11 AM cutoff), RMS FC oversight of facilitated entries and AEO/non-AEO status updates, dock monitoring of examinations and Out Of Charge grants, and CRCL oversight of sample testing and ICES uploads. The MSD will institutionalize faceless assessment monitoring and request MIS enhancements for ICES/ADVAIT. The notice is a Standing Order for officers.

Kerala Flood Cess refund procedures require manual Form KFC RFD-1 filing and treasury disbursal to GSTIN linked bank accounts.
Refunds of Kerala Flood Cess must be claimed by manual application in Form KFC RFD-1 to the jurisdictional Taxpayer Services Division within the prescribed two-year period. Proper officers will process claims and, if sanctioned, issue Refund Sanction Orders (Form KFC RFD-6) and Refund Payment Orders (Form KFC RFD-5) to be forwarded to the District Joint Commissioner, Taxpayer Services for treasury disbursal. Payments shall be released only to the bank account linked with the taxpayer's GSTIN, the head of account will mirror the excess payment head, and the prescribed refund register must be maintained while adhering to statutory time-limits.

Master Circular consolidates SEBI rules for stock brokers, updating registration, supervision, client protections and tech compliance.
SEBI's Master Circular consolidates and updates all applicable circulars for stock brokers up to March 31, 2024, superseding the May 17, 2023 Master Circular, rescinding specified prior circulars as they relate to brokers while preserving prior actions, applications and liabilities, and sets out comprehensive, domain wise operative requirements on registration, supervision, client dealings, technology, QSB designation and enhanced compliance, issued under Section 11(1) of the SEBI Act.

Master Circular standardizes issuance, listing, EBP/RFQ platforms, ISIN limits, LEI and green debt disclosure for corporate debt instruments.
Consolidated SEBI Master Circular prescribes standardized procedures for issuance, application (ASBA/UPI), validation, roles of SCSBs/sponsor banks/stock exchanges/registrars, timelines for allotment and listing (public issues T+6; private placements/EBP timelines), EBP and RFQ electronic platform rules, ISIN caps and reporting, LEI reporting, green debt disclosure and third party review requirements, nominee director and Settlement Guarantee Fund contribution mechanisms, and continuous monitoring and disclosure obligations.

Customs Broker Licensing digital features expand: continuation after proprietor death, offence processing and profile modifications enabled online.
CBLMS has been enhanced to allow a two part Application for Continuation of License after Death of Proprietor under Reg.12 (Part I for eligibility verification and account access; Part II to submit remaining continuation details), a comprehensive Offence Module to manage offence reports, hearings, submissions, notifications and online penalty payment, and applications to modify CB profile data, addresses and add OPS and employee details; ancillary features include Issue Document, public Search CB, QR code status updates, in portal notifications, account lockout protection and user manuals.

Assignment of new registrations to State tax administrations may increase intake; states should prepare for extra registration workload.
New registration applications submitted during 25 May to 31 May 2024 will be assigned to the relevant State tax administrations (with some routed as deemed approvals), and those taxpayers will remain assigned to States going forward; States are advised to prepare for an anticipated surge in registration workload and take necessary operational measures.

Nodal officer change communication for drone disposal must be sent to Customs, with updated Annexure contacts maintained.
The circular requires the MoD and MHA to notify the Commissioner (Investigation Customs) immediately of any change of Nodal Officers or authorised representatives at the specified CBIC email; the Nodal Officer should preferably be at Director/Deputy Secretary level. It substitutes Annexure C with an updated list of organisational nodal contacts, specifying names, ranks/designations and contact details for agencies involved in UAS/UAV/RPAS disposal, thereby formalising interagency contact points for Customs coordination.

Master Circular consolidates IA obligations: client segregation, fee limits, reporting, IAASB supervision, complaint disclosure and SaaS data safeguards.
SEBI's Master Circular consolidates IA-related circulars up to May 15, 2024, restates core obligations under the IA Regulations-client level segregation of advisory and distribution, mandatory written agreements, risk profiling and consent, fee modes and limits, recordkeeping, annual audits, and prohibition on cash/ free trial fee collection-while establishing a recognised IA Administration and Supervisory Body framework (IAASB/RAASB) with defined eligibility, supervisory responsibilities, reporting and transitional enlistment requirements; it also prescribes complaint disclosure, advertisement code, outsourcing principles, SaaS data security advisory, reporting formats and procedures for change in control.

Research Analyst regulations: consolidated master circular updates procedural, supervision, disclosures, grievance redressal, advertising, outsourcing and reporting requirements.
SEBI's Master Circular consolidates all circulars to Research Analysts up to May 15, 2024, supersedes the prior Master Circular, and rescinds listed circulars to the extent they relate to RAs while preserving prior actions and pending applications by deeming them under the new circular. It compiles procedural guidelines for proxy advisors (policy disclosure, methodology, conflicts, timelines), establishes a framework recognising a stock exchange as RAASB/IAASB for administration and supervision with enlistment requirements and transitional provisions, prescribes investor grievance disclosure and SCORES/ODR usage, sets advertising, outsourcing, AML, SaaS compliance and reporting obligations, and details change-in-control procedures and annexures.

Verification of market rumours: standards mandated for top listed entities with phased applicability and exchanges to ensure compliance.
Industry standards formulated by an Industry Standards Forum, in consultation with the regulator, require listed entities to follow published standards for verification of market rumours under the Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements. The verification obligation applies in a phased manner to the top 100 listed entities from June 1, 2024 and to the next top 150 from December 1, 2024. Stock exchanges must notify listed entities and ensure compliance.

Unaffected price framework: adjusted VWAP replaces rumour-affected prices when rumours are promptly confirmed, altering pricing norms.
Framework prescribes computing an adjusted VWAP by attributing the variation in daily WAP from the day of material price movement until the end of the next trading day after rumour confirmation to the rumour, replacing those days' daily WAPs with the pre-movement daily WAP, and subtracting the measured WAP variation from subsequent daily WAPs to derive an adjusted VWAP for the regulatory look-back period. The unaffected price applies only if the rumour is confirmed within twenty-four hours and operates for a defined applicability window based on transaction stage; repeated confirmations generate separate unaffected-price periods.

Issuance of partly paid units: regularisation via compounding permitted subject to FIRMS reporting and AD bank compliance.
Regularisation is directed for issuances of partly paid units by Alternative Investment Funds to persons resident outside India made prior to the amendment, to be accomplished through compounding under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999; before approaching the Reserve Bank for compounding, Authorised Dealer Category I banks must ensure reporting of such issuances on the FIRMS Portal and issuance of conditional acknowledgements, and notify their customers accordingly.

Extended producer responsibility compliance allowed for imported EEE consignments pending portal restoration, conditioned on undertaking and EPR submission.
Customs Instruction No.14 (17-05-2024) relays CPCB approval to permit release of imported consignments of producers of 106 specified EEE items pending restoration of the CPCB EPR portal, until 30 06 2024, provided the importer/producer gives an undertaking and submits proof of that undertaking to [email protected] and undertakes to furnish the online EPR registration certificate to Customs on or before 30 06 2024, failing which actions under the E Waste (Management) Rules, 2022 may follow.

Extended Producer Responsibility for used oil requires producers and importers to register, undertake compliance and submit EPR certification.
Producers (including importers) of base oil, lubrication oil and other oils used as lubricants must register on the CPCB EPR portal and fulfil phased used-oil recycling obligations; until the portal is launched, Customs may clear specified HS-coded consignments on receipt of a producer/importer undertaking to comply and to submit EPR registration when available. The rules mandate registration of producers, collection agents, recyclers and used oil importers, set certificate-based compliance, prescribe portal-based reporting, provide for audits and environmental compensation for violations.

ESG rating providers must follow SEBI's master circular on registration, product standards, disclosures, governance and audits.
SEBI's Master Circular mandates registration and procedural requirements for ESG Rating Providers, prescribes designated ESG rating products (including ESG Rating, Transition/Parivartan Score, Combined and Core variants) on a 0-100 scale, detailed rating process and rationale disclosures, governance and board composition norms, conflict of interest controls and trading/disclosure rules for access persons, comprehensive periodic and continuous disclosure obligations including transition matrices and income breakdowns, yearly internal audit requirements with eligible auditors and reporting timelines, and principles for outsourcing and firewalls between ERPs and affiliates.