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.

Credit rating agencies: SEBI compiles a master circular standardising registration, rating operations, disclosures, audits and governance.
SEBI's Master Circular consolidates and updates regulatory requirements for Credit Rating Agencies: mandatory online registration and prior approval for change in control; procedures for transfer, suspension, cancellation or surrender of registration including client migration; standardized rating scales, mandatory Operations Manuals, rating criteria, and press release templates; monitoring, default recognition and non cooperation rules with timelines; withdrawal and provisional rating norms; PD benchmark and default/transition reporting; internal audit, outsourcing, firewall and conflict of interest safeguards; and enhanced disclosure, governance and reporting obligations.

Debenture trustees must validate and monitor security, report defaults promptly, and use a central monitoring system for investor protection.
The Master Circular consolidates SEBI directions for Debenture Trustees on registration, governance and detailed operational duties: perform and document independent due diligence at issuance, ensure creation and registration of charges, validate and monitor security cover and covenants using a depository hosted Security and Covenant Monitoring System, issue prescribed due diligence and NOC certificates, report payment/default status to CRAs, Exchanges and Depositories, convene investor meetings for enforcement/ICA with defined notice and majority thresholds, maintain Recovery Expense Fund procedures, publish mandated disclosures and complaint data, comply with outsourcing, conflict of interest and FINNET 2.0 reporting requirements.

e BRC receipt for exports: exporters must ensure bank EDPMS updates or submit e BRC/negative statements to Customs.
The notice directs exporters to ensure e BRCs for Shipping Bills with LEO on or after 01.04.2014 are updated via Authorized Dealer banks' EDPMS so data flows to ICES; where bank updates fail, exporters may submit realized e BRC certificates, prescribed half yearly negative statements, or bank certificates for outstanding shipments to the Assistant Commissioner, BRC Section for reconciliation. IEC holders listed with BRC alerts must approach the Tuticorin BRC Section to remove alerts; Customs may still conduct checks or take action for misrepresentation, and clearance may require ARC/DC approval or settlement of arrears.

Welcome-letter verification of new GST registrations triggers notice, site verification, and potential cancellation when postal delivery fails.
Territorial Joint Commissioners must send a signed bilingual Welcome Letter by Registered Post with Acknowledgement Due to every newly registered taxpayer and record despatch and delivery particulars in the portal. Where postal delivery fails, the task must be forwarded to the Registering authority, which must issue a Show Cause Notice and conduct immediate physical verification of the declared place of business. Registration may be dropped or cancelled on the basis of the taxpayer's response and the physical-verification report.

Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs): SEBI consolidates circulars, centralises compliance, reporting, and procedural requirements for issuers and intermediaries.
SEBI issued a Master Circular consolidating all InvIT-related circulars up to May 15, 2024, effective on issuance and superseding listed circulars. It deems prior actions, applications and proceedings under superseded circulars as valid under the corresponding provisions, maintains extant SEBI directions applicable to InvITs, and requires entities to submit periodic/continuous reports. The Circular compiles operative rules on online filing, public and private issue procedures, disclosure and audit requirements, NDCF computation, governance, investor grievance handling, unclaimed amounts framework and debt/preferential/institutional placement mechanics.

REIT master circular consolidates SEBI rules on filings, public-issue procedures, NDCF, disclosures and unclaimed amounts handling.
SEBI issues a consolidated Master Circular for REITs superseding listed circulars and requiring stakeholders to comply with a consolidated regime covering online filings; public-issue, preferential, institutional placement and rights issue procedures (including merchant banker duties, ASBA/UPI, anchor and strategic investor rules, allotment and listing timelines); dematerialization; governance, audit and continuous financial disclosures (Ind AS, project-wise cash flows, NDCF framework); handling of unclaimed amounts and transfer to IPEF; and interaction and precedence rules with other SEBI Regulations.

Duty drawback rates revised to clarify cotton yarn counts and adjust tariff items and caps, aiding targeted export sectors.
Amendments to All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback clarify that "counts" in Chapter 52 means counts in New English (Ne) and confirm historical use of Ne; raise AIRs and caps for selected marine products, bags, linens, radio/navigational apparatus and unmanned aircraft; rationalize caps and change descriptions and unit to "piece" for golf gloves; create new tariff items for breaded seafood and sports gloves; and add AIRs for specified defence-sector products, with implementation queries to be directed to the customs office.

KYC validation by KRAs enables portability of client records and conditions access to further transactions.
KRAs must verify PAN, Name and Address of all client KYC records and records verified with official databases and PAN Aadhaar linkage will be treated as Validated Records. Validated Records are portable across intermediaries and need not be re collected by another intermediary. Intermediaries and market infrastructure participants must update systems to implement validation and portability; clients may transact once KYC is completed, while clients whose attributes cannot be verified by KRAs will be restricted from further transactions until verification is achieved.

Certification requirement for key investment team: NISM certification now mandatory for AIF manager eligibility and compliance.
At least one member of the key investment team of an AIF Manager must obtain the NISM Series-XIX-C Alternative Investment Fund Managers certification as an eligibility condition for registration and scheme launches, with transitional compliance required for existing and pending schemes and inclusion of certification compliance in the Manager's Compliance Test Report.

Non-retrospective application: advance authorizations issued earlier remain under prior rules; no QCO amendment or clubbing allowed
Notification No. 71/2023 dated 11.03.2024 does not apply retrospectively: Advance Authorizations issued before that date remain governed by the provisions in force at issuance; amendments to include the QCO exemption on such pre existing AAs are not available, and clubbing of AAs issued under Notification No. 71/2023 with pre existing AAs is not permitted.