Specialized Investment Funds (SIF) now require standardised application forms and a prescribed ISID disclosure format for launch and approval.
Registered mutual funds must apply to establish a Specialized Investment Fund using the Annexure I application format and meet eligibility under Route 1 (sound track record) or Route 2 (alternate route relying on specified CIO and fund manager experience/AUM) with prescribed supporting documents and undertakings. The Investment Strategy Information Document (ISID) format in Annexure II mandates front-page product labelling, PRC disclosure for debt strategies, concise Section I highlights (objective, benchmark, frequencies, NAV, loads, expenses, timelines) and Section II detailed disclosures (asset allocation tables with specified instrument exposures, investment approach, benchmark justification, fund manager credentials, holdings and governance disclosures), together with due diligence and trustee confirmations and specified operational, disclosure and investor-protection timelines.

Site reconfiguration separating clustered customs sites and remapping officer roles, causing temporary system outage and operational interruption.
The DG Systems will separate INTUT1 and INTUT6 from the consolidated INKAR6 and establish INTUT1 as master and INTUT6 as child, requiring a complete Tuticorin Port systems shutdown that will cause a temporary outage affecting trade. Roles assigned to officers at INTUT1 and INTUT6 will be removed during reconfiguration and officers will be remapped to the master INTUT1 and child INTUT6; during the interregnum none of the officers' roles will be active.

Non-Processing Area demarcation and SEZ approvals shape multiple approvals, extensions, de-notifications, and co-developer permissions in one meeting.
The Board of Approval for Special Economic Zones considered extensions of Letters of Approval, co-developer approvals, demarcation of processing built-up areas as Non-Processing Area under Rule 11B, restricted-item procurement, partial de-notification, area enhancement, appeals, and supplementary agenda matters. Several LoA extensions and co-developer requests were approved subject to standard SEZ terms, taxability examination by the Assessing Officer, and lease-period conditions. Multiple requests for Non-Processing Area demarcation were permitted, one relaxation was granted under the applicable instruction, and certain appeals were deferred or remanded for reconsideration.

Minimum investment threshold for Specialized Investment Funds clarified; applies at PAN level with limited exception.
Interval scheme maturity provisions of the Mutual Fund Master Circular are disapplied to Interval Investment Strategies under SIF. The AMC must ensure an investor's aggregate investment across all SIF strategies at the PAN level meets the Minimum Investment Threshold of ten lakh rupees, except for mandatory AMC employee investments under the Master Circular's designated employee provision.

FPI disclosure threshold increased, expanding mandatory reporting scope for large investors with immediate effect.
The circular raises the size-based disclosure threshold for FPIs and ODI subscribers who, individually or with their investor group, meet the revised asset-under-management criterion in Indian equity markets, thereby expanding the population subject to additional reporting and transparency obligations. Amendments are made to specified sub-paragraphs of Part C and Part D of the FPI Master Circular; the changes come into force immediately and are issued under statutory powers to protect investors and regulate the securities market.

Rescission of transhipment circular ends prior framework; in country cargo may still exit under former procedures.
The Circular No. 29/2020-Customs has been rescinded and JNCH Public Notice No. 101/2024 is withdrawn with immediate effect, ending the prior framework for transhipment of export cargo from Bangladesh to third countries via Nhava Sheva by rail or road; cargo already entered into India may nevertheless exit under the procedures set out in the rescinded circular and the withdrawn public notice.

Direct Port Entry: procedures for self-sealed export containers-EIR, seal verification, examination/scanning, re-sealing and Let Export Order issuance.
Procedures for Direct Port Entry at VOC Port require Terminal Operators to issue an Equipment Interchange Receipt, Customs in gate officers to verify the EIR and seal integrity, and permit container entry only if seals are intact. Containers selected for examination are moved to a CFS without breaking RFID self-seals, examined, re sealed by customs with both seal numbers reported; scanned containers follow prescribed scanning procedures. On completion, the Superintendent of Customs, DPE shall grant the Let Export Order or take action under the Customs Act. Port Trust must provide verification and inspection facilities and no extra conditions may be imposed on exporters to use DPE.

Assignment of appeals under excise and service tax rules: appeals reassigned to designated officers for Orders in Appeal.
The Board, invoking provisions of the Central Excise Rules, Service Tax Rules and transitional notification under the CGST Act, assigns appeals filed on or after 1 July 2017 under the Central Excise Act or the Finance Act (relating to pre CGST matters) to named Central Excise officers listed in the Annexure for the purpose of passing Orders in Appeal. The Annexure specifies appeal numbers, assessee names and registrations, and the designated officer (name, designation, station) for each appeal.

Interim Boards for Settlement operationalisation: members nominated for zonal settlement panels to administer procedural functions.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs nominates specified senior Central Excise and Customs officers as members of zonal Interim Boards for Settlement, designates the Secretary of each board as an Additional or Joint Commissioner holding charge of the Chief Commissioner's Unit in Member 1's jurisdiction to handle administrative duties, and empowers Member 1 to prescribe necessary ministerial staff to assist the board.

Monthly Reporting Requirement for Special Economic Zones mandates standardized submission of operational, export, and proposal data to the Department.
A monthly reporting requirement compels Development Commissioners to submit a prescribed report to the Department of Commerce by the ninth of each month, covering zone performance metrics (counts of SEZs and units, land vacancy, and detailed export data including port wise and sensitive commodity reporting with month on month comparisons and a defined threshold for surge or decline), governance actions (Unit Approval Committee outcomes, proposals for new SEZs and units, meetings with developers and authorities), and administrative items such as fund availability, pending litigation, vigilance measures, grievance redressal, and pending issues with governments or the Department.

Transshipment permission rescinded; shipments via land customs now barred, existing in-country cargo may exit under prior procedure.
The Central Board rescinds the Circular permitting transshipment of export cargo from Bangladesh via Land Customs Stations to ports and airports with immediate effect; consignments already entered into India may nevertheless exit Indian territory under the procedures specified in the rescinded Circular. Implementation difficulties are to be reported to the Board.

Registration under SCMTR mandatory for all sea cargo stakeholders; use published guidance to comply and report implementation issues.
All sea cargo stakeholders must obtain registration under the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transshipment Regulations (SCMTR); current registrations and e manifest filings are insufficient, particularly for freight forwarders, terminal operators and custodians. Published guidelines for registration and filing are available on the official portal for stakeholder reference. Parties facing implementation difficulties should report them to the issuing office. This Public Notice is to be treated as a standing order for officers and staff.

Air transshipment bonds enable nationwide cargo movement, while ICEGATE adds electronic filing for Air-to-Air and Air-to-ICD transshipment messages.
Air transshipment of imported goods may be covered by the TA (Transshipment Air Global) bond for Air-to-Air and Air-to-ICD movements. Registered at any Air Customs port, the TA bond may be used at other Air Customs EDI ports. The local TP transshipment bond remains available for carriers and airlines that prefer local bonds. Registered users may file Air Transshipment EDI messages through email or web upload on ICEGATE, while Service Centre filing continues unchanged.

Air transhipment: new All India TA bond and ICEGATE ATP message filing enabled for air-to-air and air-to-ICD.
A new nationwide TA (Transhipment Air Global) bond is implemented in ICES for air-to-air and air-to-ICD transhipments, registerable at any Air Customs port and usable across Air Customs EDI ports; the bond/BG is debited on TP approval at the gateway and recredited on Gate In at destination. The pre-existing local TP/IP bond remains optional. ICEGATE now accepts Air Transhipment (ATP) messages (CTM and TP, fresh and cancellations) via SMTP or web upload, with specified message formats and a new Bond Port field for TP requests.

Bonus share issuance to non-resident shareholders permitted where shareholding proportions remain unchanged under FDI restrictions.
An Indian company engaged in a sector prohibited for FDI may issue bonus shares to pre-existing non-resident shareholder(s) provided that the shareholding pattern of the pre-existing non-resident shareholder(s) does not change as a consequence of the issuance. Issuance must comply with applicable laws, rules, regulations and guidelines and the clarification will be effective from the date of the relevant FEMA notifications.

Validity period for prior permission under FCRA set for receiving and utilisation with extensions and penalties for violations.
The Central Government prescribes that prior permission to accept foreign contribution is valid to receive funds for three years and to utilise funds for four years from approval; for prior approvals with remaining periods exceeding three years these limits are reckoned from the date of this order. The competent authority may allow case-by-case extensions, and any receipt or utilisation beyond prescribed or extended periods constitutes a violation under the FCRA, 2010.

Classification of Interactive Flat Panel Displays: IFPDs attract higher basic customs duty while other monitors retain lower rate.
BCD on IFPDs was raised while other monitors retained a lower BCD and an IGCR anti circumvention condition was removed; both IFPDs and other monitors are classifiable under tariff item 85285900. Technical criteria (touch capability, screen size, resolution, interactivity, built in software/speakers, power characteristics) are provided to distinguish IFPDs from other monitors. Parts of IFPDs, including touch glass sheets and touch sensor PCBs, are to be classified under the HS heading for parts of video monitors and attract the lower duty rate applicable to such parts.

Pecuniary limits for adjudication under section 74A set, assigning officer-wise authority for GST notices and orders.
Implementation of Section 74A prescribes officer-wise pecuniary limits for issuance of show cause notices and adjudication orders where tax is not paid, short-paid, erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised, excluding penalty and interest from the monetary calculation; cross-references are amended to incorporate the new sub clauses and the circular is effective immediately.

Standardized System and Network Audit Format required for market infrastructure institutions to harmonize audit reporting and unique observation IDs.
Standardizes the format for System and Network audits of Market Infrastructure Institutions by prescribing a uniform audit-report template covering auditee/auditor details, audit scope and methodology, IT-environment overview, control-wise compliance matrices, regulatory-requirements checks for IT resilience, corrective-action reporting and documentation paths. Mandates assignment and use of a prescribed unique observation ID for each finding to enable traceability and consistent open-observation reporting across MIIs, and requires MIIs to implement systems and amend rules as necessary for applicability to the relevant audit period.

PaRRVA verification framework enables use of independently verified risk return metrics in regulated claims following prescribed standards.
The circular creates a regulatory framework recognising certain Credit Rating Agencies as PaRRVA and specified Stock Exchanges as PaRRVA Data Centres (PDCs), prescribing eligibility criteria, a two stage recognition process with implementation and site visit conditions, and clear principal-agent roles where PaRRVA defines methodology and retains responsibility while PDCs host and process verification systems and data. It mandates record retention, presentation guidelines and disclaimers for verified risk return metrics, establishes an Oversight Committee for governance and audits, and enables amendments allowing regulated persons to use PaRRVA verified metrics in claims subject to SEBI standards and enforcement.