Alignment of interest of AMC designated employees: revised mandatory investment slabs, lock in, disclosure and compliance requirements.
Amendments require Designated Employees of AMCs to mandatorily invest slab wise minimum percentages of gross annual CTC (net of income tax and statutory contributions) into schemes they oversee, with two options for ESOP inclusion; role based slab assignment and a lower slab for liquid fund specialists. Up to seventy five percent of required liquid fund investments may be placed in higher risk AMC schemes based on the prior month's risk ometer. Lock in, redemption and insider trading rules are adjusted and governance requires committee led preliminary examinations and quarterly public disclosure of aggregate mandated employee investments.

Related party transaction information standards delayed to allow stakeholder feedback and revision by the industry forum.
Applicability of the Industry Standards on minimum information for audit committee and shareholder review of related party transactions has been deferred to a revised effective date to allow stakeholder feedback; the Industry Standards Forum must consider feedback, simplify and reissue the Standards on a time-bound basis, and stock exchanges are directed to inform listed entities. The circular is issued under the regulator's statutory powers and published on its website.

Review of SIONs for automobile tyres: stakeholders must submit modification proposals with certified supporting data to DGFT.
The Directorate has initiated a review of the SIONs for automobile tyres and requests Export Promotion Councils, exporters, trade bodies and other stakeholders to submit proposed modifications with detailed justification, production and consumption data, and wastage norms certified by a Chartered Engineer. Proposals and supporting documents must be emailed to the designated inbox for examination within the response period specified in the Trade Notice.

Online filing requirement for Regulation 10(7) reports via SEBI Intermediary Portal becomes the sole permissible mode, replacing email.
SEBI requires that reports for acquisitions covered by specified Regulation 10 exemptions be filed through the SEBI Intermediary Portal for the exemptions in Regulation 10(1)(a)(i) and 10(1)(a)(ii), with a transitional parallel filing period followed by portal only filing; fee payment must be made via the portal and a filing is complete only upon such payment, while reports for other Regulation 10 exemptions continue to be filed by email.

Disclosure of holding of specified securities: shareholding formats amended to require NDU, encumbrance and fully diluted share disclosure.
The Master Circular's shareholding pattern formats are amended: Tables I-IV must disclose Non Disclosure Undertakings, other encumbrances and total encumbered shares (including NDUs); underlying convertible securities include ESOPs; and a new column will capture total shares on a fully diluted basis (warrants, ESOPs, convertible securities). A Table II footnote provides access to promoter/promoter group entries with nil shareholding. Stock exchanges must notify companies and amend rules as needed; depositories must update systems. Amendments take effect from the quarter ending June 30, 2025.

Lab-grown diamond declaration: exporters may voluntarily omit additional qualifiers for small stones; mandatory qualifiers apply otherwise.
A concession makes declaration of additional qualifiers voluntary for exports of Lab Grown Diamonds (HPHT/CVD) weighing less than one carat, while mandatory additional qualifiers continue to apply for all other imports and exports of synthetic or reconstructed diamonds to ensure accurate identification and facilitation.

DigiLocker integration for investor holdings enables nominee notification and access to prevent unidentified unclaimed assets.
The circular directs AMCs (and RTAs) and Recognised Depositories to register with DigiLocker as issuers to enable investors to fetch holding statements, recent transaction statements and consolidated account statements into DigiLocker; KRAs must electronically share verified instances of investor demise and death-certificate information with DigiLocker to update user status and notify DigiLocker nominees, who may access fetched financial statements after authentication, while transmission norms for mutual fund folios and demat accounts remain unchanged.

Social Stock Exchange minimum application size for Zero Coupon Zero Principal Instruments reduced to Rs. 1,000.
The circular amends the SSE issuance condition for Zero Coupon Zero Principal Instruments by reducing the minimum application size from rupees ten thousand to rupees one thousand, replacing the earlier provision with: "(4) The minimum application size shall be rupees one thousand." The amendment is issued under the regulator's statutory powers and is effective immediately as part of the existing SSE framework.

RTI administration assigns CPIO and appellate jurisdictions across customs functions, with link officers ensuring continuity during officer absences.
Central Public Information Officers and First Appellate Authorities are designated under the RTI Act, 2005 for defined Airport and Air Cargo Complex customs functions. CPIO jurisdictions include establishment, administrative, airport, import, export, courier, intelligence, vigilance, adjudication, accounts, and laboratory matters. Appeals against CPIO decisions lie to the FAA having jurisdiction. First and second link officers shall act as the respective CPIO or FAA during the notified officer's leave or absence, and the notice specifies addresses and the channel for RTI fee payment.

Extension of RoDTEP annual return filing deadline announced, with a corresponding three month grace period for FY 2023 24 exports.
Extension of the deadline for filing RoDTEP Annual Return for Financial Year 2023-24 is announced, moving the last filing date to 30.06.2025 and extending the related grace period to 30.09.2025; the action is taken under powers in the Foreign Trade Policy and applies to Annual RoDTEP Returns referenced in the Handbook of Procedure and prior Public Notice.

GST classification clarifications define agriculturist exemptions and commodity-specific rates affecting pepper, popcorn and AAC blocks.
The circular clarifies that pepper of genus Piper is classifiable under HS 0904 at 5% GST and dried pepper or raisins supplied by an agriculturist are exempt and not liable for registration under Section 23(1) of the WBGST Act; ready-to-eat popcorn mixed with salt and spices is HS 2106 90 99 attracting 5% if unpackaged and 12% if packaged and labelled, while sugar-coated popcorn is treated as sugar confectionery at 18% GST; AAC blocks with over 50% fly ash fall under HS 6815 at 12% GST; and the amended Compensation Cess entry for utility vehicles applies from the notified effective date.

Late fee for delayed annual GST return applies until both GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C are filed, where required.
Where FORM GSTR-9C is required, the annual return is only complete when both FORM GSTR-9 and FORM GSTR-9C are furnished; the late fee under subsection (2) of section 47 is leviable for delay in furnishing the complete annual return, computed from the due date until the date both components are filed. If FORM GSTR-9C is not required, the late fee period runs until FORM GSTR-9 is filed. A specified waiver limits excess late fee for certain past years if FORM GSTR-9C is filed by the notified cutoff date, without entitlement to refund of amounts already paid.

GST exemption for payment aggregators covers low-value card settlements; acquiring bank definition applies to such aggregators.
Penal charges levied by banks and NBFCs under RBI directions replacing penal interest are charges for breach of loan terms and not subject to GST. RBI regulated Payment Aggregators that receive, pool and settle card payments from escrow accounts qualify as "acquiring bank" for the low value card settlement exemption, limited to settlement functions and excluding payment gateway services. Several past periods' GST treatments are regularised on an "as is where is" basis in line with GST Council recommendations, including R&D grants, NSDC training partner skilling services, incidental electricity service exemptions, reverse charge on certain rentals, and Goethe Institute services.

GST regularization of co insurance premium and ceding commission payments clarified and regularized retrospectively on an as is basis.
Exclusion from supply under Schedule III applies to co insurance premium apportionment where the lead insurer pays tax on the full premium, and to insurer to reinsurer services where the reinsurer pays tax on the gross reinsurance premium inclusive of ceding commission. The State has regularised GST payment for these specified transactions retrospectively on an as is where is basis and enacted the provisions by amendment brought into force by departmental notification.

Exporter grievance redressal through NIRYAT SAMVAAD enables individualized monthly resolution and escalation of exporter concerns.
NIRYAT SAMVAAD establishes a monthly grievance redressal mechanism focused on individual exporter complaints, operating in hybrid mode with submissions required by the prescribed monthly cut off via email using the specified subject format. The forum will attempt real time resolution of issues and escalate unresolved matters to relevant authorities. Systemic industry concerns remain within the Customs Clearance Facilitation Committee and Permanent Trade Facilitation Committee. The Appraising Main (Export) section is the designated nodal administrative unit to administer and execute the forum, and Export Promotion Councils and exporters' associations are encouraged to participate.

Enhancement of women participation in EXIM trade: outreach session and helpdesk offering skills training and AEO support.
An outreach programme by Import-II Commissionerate aims to enhance women's participation in the EXIM trade by informing importers, exporters and logistics operators about opportunities and skill upgradation initiatives. A facilitation helpdesk at the AEO Cell will assist with queries on skill improvement and AEO programme support, and a nodal officer has been appointed to coordinate the initiative; stakeholders are invited to participate and submit queries to the stated contact.

Mandatory coal import qualifiers required to specify ash content or calorific value, improving assessment and clearance efficiency.
Mandatory additional qualifiers must be declared in import declarations for coking and non coking coal (CTH 2701) at the time of filing the Bill of Entry under the Electronic Integrated Declaration and Paperless Processing Regulations, 2018. The Annexure prescribes qualifier codes mapping coking coal to ash content bands and non coking coal to gross calorific value bands to improve assessment, reduce queries and facilitate cargo clearance; the requirement is effective from 15.12.2024 and the Public Notice serves as a Standing Order for departmental officers.

Disclosure of carry forward losses mandated in Information Memorandum to aid resolution applicant assessment and plan formulation.
Insolvency Professionals must include a dedicated IM section detailing the quantum of carry forward losses available to the corporate debtor, a breakdown of those losses under the Income Tax Act, 1961, the applicable time limits for utilization, and an explicit statement where no carry forward losses exist; this requirement follows an amendment to Regulation 36 of the CIRP Regulations and is issued under section 196 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Local currency settlement permitted: Indian rupee and Maldivian rufiyaa allowed alongside ACU mechanism for bilateral trade.
India-Maldives bilateral trade may be settled in Indian Rupee and/or Maldivian Rufiyaa in addition to the ACU mechanism, pursuant to the November 2024 Memorandum of Understanding; the change applies to trade transactions governed by the specified provision of the FEMA (Manner of Receipt and Payment) Regulations, 2023, takes effect immediately, and is issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, with AD Category I banks required to inform their constituents and observe any other statutory permissions.

Compounding of offences: revised framework allows filing anytime, sequences affect compounding charges and payment terms.
Guidelines set the framework for compounding of offences under the Income Tax Act: all offences are compoundable, compounding is not admission, and applications may be filed at any time before the jurisdictional Principal CCIT/CCIT/Pr. DGIT/DGIT using the Annexure I affidavit format. Pending applications as on issuance are governed by the revised rules without fresh filing or fee; defective applications may be cured within one month. Compounding charges are re computed for pending matters as first applications and for subsequent applications are increased by multiplicative rates per sequence, with a 50% surcharge for applications filed more than 12 months after prosecution initiation; payment extensions up to 24 months are allowable without interest.