Supply chain resilience group operationalised to monitor disruptions and coordinate mitigation with stakeholders and agencies.
Operationalisation of Inter-Ministerial Group (IMG) for Supply Chain Resilience establishes a Department of Commerce coordination mechanism to monitor global developments affecting supply chains, assess sector-wise export and critical import vulnerabilities, facilitate inter-ministerial coordination, engage stakeholders including Export Promotion Councils, recommend mitigation measures, and receive reports of specific disruptions through a designated DGFT email for consolidation and monitoring.

Voluntary post-clearance Bill of Entry revision is enabled electronically, with risk-based review and refund workflow integration.
Voluntary post-clearance revision of Bills of Entry under Section 18A is available through the ICES module. Importers must submit requests on ICEGATE for amendment, deletion or addition of records. Requests undergo Risk Management System treatment and may be facilitated or referred to a Revision Officer, who may approve, query or reject them. Revisions resulting in refund claims are flagged for officer processing and, upon approval, automatically transferred to the Refund Officer under the existing refund workflow.

IEC hold prevents grant of Let Export Order until revoked by the site that inserted the hold.
ICES now includes an EXP_HOLD role allowing authorised officers to insert and revoke an IEC-level hold that blocks grant of Let Export Order for all shipping bills pending LEO; the system displays a prohibition message at LEO generation and records the inserting officer and site in SB Enquiry. A corresponding HOLDDRI role permits DRI holds. Revocation is limited to the site that inserted the hold, and holds from both field and DRI roles must be removed before LEO can be granted.

Automated Let Export Order enabled - system grants Auto LEO based on risk flag, streamlining export clearance.
Implementation of an Automated Let Export Order (Auto LEO) in ICES enables system-driven grant of LEOs based on a flag from NCTC that supersedes other treatment codes. After shipping bill submission and goods registration, ICES will grant Auto LEO and move the shipping bill to the EGM/stuff queue only if NCTC has selected the shipping bill for Auto LEO. The facility applies to facilitated shipping bills that are not selected for assessment/examination, require no PGA NOC, and have duty/cess paid where applicable.

Automated Out of Charge allows release of import consignments when risk-based clearance, assessment and duty payment conditions are satisfied.
Automated Out of Charge (Auto-OoC) is enabled for Bills of Entry assigned Auto-OoC treatment based on risk criteria, provided the BE is not selected for examination, scanning or PGA NOC, assessment is complete, and applicable duty is paid; any officer-imposed hold will override Auto-OoC.

Deferred import duty payment period extended to 30 days, with holidays excluded from due-date and interest calculations.
The deferred payment period for import duty is extended from fifteen days to thirty days for Bills of Entry filed on or after 1 March 2026. The enhanced system excludes public holidays, all Sundays and local notified holidays from due-date and interest calculations. System Managers must annually update local holidays via Holiday Management (ADN role) so the system correctly applies the exclusion. The Public Notice functions as a standing order for Kolkata Customs (Port) and stakeholders are instructed to publicise the change and report issues to EDI/ICEGATE contacts.

Supplementary IGM amendment under SCMTR extended to allow pre-entry amendments; stakeholders urged to test and adopt compliant messaging.
Continuation of the facility for filing Supplementary IGM amendment prior to grant of Entry Inwards under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations is permitted until 31st March, 2026 to allow trade to test amendment scenarios and for activation of the BL Enquiry Module; stakeholders are advised to familiarise with SCMTR-compliant amendments, file messages for smooth clearance (notably Nepal & Bhutan transhipment cargo), and report implementation difficulties to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner (EDI).

Deferred payment of customs duty extended to eligible manufacturer importers with portal registration and ICEGATE authentication.
The circular extends the deferred payment of Customs import duty to "Eligible Manufacturer Importer" (EMI) from 01.04.2026 until 31.03.2028, governed by the Deferred Payment of Import Duty Rules, 2016. EMIs must meet multi-part eligibility criteria (manufacturer/importer status or job-work arrangement; valid IEC; customs filing footprint; active GST registration with declared manufacturing where applicable; turnover threshold; two years' business continuity; GST compliance; no tax collected but not deposited; solvency certified by a Chartered Accountant; and absence of specified arrests, convictions or prosecutions). Applications are electronic on the AEO portal; approval by DIC, CBIC triggers ICEGATE-based nodal authentication and OTP-enabled Bill of Entry acknowledgement for deferred clearance; non-compliance may lead to suspension or revocation.

System-based cargo examination scheduling and Body Worn Camera recording strengthen transparency, traceability and controlled rescheduling for imported goods examinations.
Customs examination of imported goods will use system-based e-scheduling on ICEGATE 2.0 and Body Worn Cameras during physical examination. Recordings must cover critical examination stages and interactions, be securely retained for two years, and be preserved until final disposal in investigation, dispute or litigation matters. Importers, IEC holders and authorised Customs Brokers may electronically schedule, view and reschedule examinations, while automated notifications support officer allocation and custodial placement of goods. Any rescheduling, hold or removal from the schedule requires recorded and justifiable reasons by the competent officer.

Independent third party review required for green debt securities to verify eligibility and be disclosed in offer documents.
SEBI requires issuers to appoint an independent third-party reviewer/ certifier to confirm that issuance of green debt securities meets the regulatory definition and to review processes including project evaluation, selection criteria and eligible project categories. The reviewer must be independent of the issuer and its management, remunerated to avoid conflicts of interest, and have expertise in ESG debt securities. The review scope must be set out in the offer document, reviewer details disclosed, and the external review may take forms such as Second Party Opinion, Verification, Certification, or Scoring/Rating per ICMA guidance.

Transshipment of cargo by rail to Nepal now governed by amended ECTS regulations, expanding eligible routes and procedural compliance.
The substituted application provision under the Electronic Cargo Tracking System defines the specific ports and multimodal routes covered for transshipment to Nepal: Kolkata and Haldia to Birgunj by rail; to Batnaha by rail with road onward to Biratnagar; direct rail to Biratnagar; and rail to Jogbani with road onward to Biratnagar. All other transshipment procedures remain governed by the ECTS Regulations as amended, with operational queries directed to the Nepal/Bhutan Unit at the port customs office.

Average Export Obligation reduction for EPCG authorizations where sector exports declined; regional offices to re-fix and endorse.
Regional Authorities must re-fix the Annual Average Export Obligation for EPCG authorisations for 2024-25 proportionate to sectoral export declines identified in the annexed table, endorse any EO reduction in the licence file and issue amendment sheets to authorisation holders. While considering EO discharge requests, Regional Offices must apply prior policy circulars before issuing demand notices or EODC, and include this stipulation in the EODC check-sheet.

Scheme Categorization: Mutual funds must align scheme names, investment characteristics and portfolio overlap limits to prescribed standards.
Mutual funds must classify schemes into Equity, Debt, Hybrid, Life Cycle and Other Schemes with specified minimum asset allocation thresholds, permitted residual investments, and uniform type-of-scheme descriptions; portfolio overlap limits, methodology for computing overlap, glide-paths for realignment, duration rules for debt schemes, lifecycle glide-path allocations and standardized Fund of Funds categories and nomenclature are mandated, and AMCs must modify scheme nomenclature, objectives and disclosures to comply within prescribed timelines and publish monthly overlap disclosures.

Valuation of physical gold and silver: mutual funds must use polled spot prices from recognised exchanges for domestic valuation.
Mutual funds shall value physical Gold and Silver by using the polled spot prices published by recognised stock exchanges used for settlement of physically delivered Gold and Silver derivatives contracts; the spot polling mechanism must comply with SEBI's spot polling guidelines and the valuation is subject to the investment valuation norms in the Seventh Schedule. This change takes effect from April 01, 2026 and AMFI, in consultation with SEBI, shall prescribe a uniform implementation policy.

Disclosure of registered name and registration number on social media required for securities intermediaries to ensure transparency and investor protection.
Persons registered under the securities law and their agents must prominently disclose their registered name and registration number on social media home pages and at the beginning of each securities-related content; single-registered entities state their SEBI registered name and number directly, multi-registered entities must provide a home-page weblink to a list of registrations and disclose the specific registration relevant to each content, and agents must disclose the principal's registration details followed by their own where applicable.

GST registration processing rules limit document demands, restrict speculative queries, and set strict approval timelines.
GST registration applications must be processed only on the basis of the indicative document list in Form GST REG-01, without demanding additional papers, unnecessary clarifications, or speculative information. The circular specifies the documents sufficient for owned, rented, consent-based, shared, and other premises, and also prescribes the proof required for partnership firms and other entities. Officers must verify uploaded documents for legibility and relevance, approve complete non-risk applications within seven working days, and conduct physical verification for risky or selected cases within thirty days. Notices in Form GST REG-03 may be issued only for specified deficiencies, with replies in Form GST REG-04 to be decided within the prescribed time.

Re-import IGST payment: re-import Bills of Entry may be recalled without senior approval when importer opts to pay IGST.
Standing Order 01/2026 amends para 4 of Standing Order 11/2019 to allow recall and reassessment of re-import Bills of Entry for levy and payment of IGST without prior approval of the Joint/Additional Commissioner when the importer elects to pay IGST, while retaining prior-approval for other substantive revenue-impacting amendments.

Export General Manifest compliance requires airlines to rectify Shipping Bill errors for timely RoDTEP benefits and IGST refunds.
Shipping Bills carrying SB002 or Error Code 7 in the electronic system require EGM filing or error rectification through the concerned airlines. SB002 denotes non-filing of EGM, while Error Code 7 denotes non-filing of gateway EGM. Incorrect or absent EGM filing delays post-export RoDTEP benefits and IGST refunds. Exporters and Customs Brokers should address the listed Shipping Bill discrepancies to enable timely processing of export-related benefits.

Tariff Rate Quota deadline extended - TRQ applications for specified FTAs must be filed by the revised deadline.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade extends the last date for submission of Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) applications for specified products under multiple FTAs/PTAs notified in Appendix 2A of the FTP, 2023 to 15.03.2026 for FY 2026 27. The extension covers TRQs under India-Sri Lanka, India-Mercosur, India-Mauritius CECPA, India-Nepal Treaty and India-UAE CEPA with specified tariff lines and aggregate quantities. Imports under each TRQ are subject to the procedural arrangements and eligibility conditions set forth in the respective Annexures of Appendix 2A, and all other Appendix 2A terms remain applicable.

Export authorization procedures for wheat: monthly online applications, non-transferable short-term permits, and EFC-based allocation with documentation requirements.
Applicants with active Importer Exporter Code must apply online through the DGFT portal during the first ten days of each month while the notified national quantity remains available. Applications must include past export performance, confirmed export contracts/orders and a chartered accountant certificate of five year export turnover. Export Authorizations are non transferable and valid for a limited period, with extensions considered by the Special Exim Facilitation Committee. Allocation and reallocation of quantities are recommended by the Special EFC based on prior export history or confirmed orders; disqualified applications include those below minimum shipment size, submitted outside the portal or window, or containing misdeclaration.