Inactive folio tracing platform enables investors to locate and claim dormant mutual fund holdings and update KYC.
Creates MITRA, a searchable industry-level platform to help investors trace inactive mutual fund folios-defined as folios with unit balance and no investor-initiated transactions in the last ten years-hosted jointly by the two Qualified RTAs as agents of AMCs; QRTAs are jointly and severally responsible for cybersecurity, system audits and BCP/DR compliance, must operationalise the platform within fifteen working days with a two-month beta, and AMCs' Unit Holder Protection Committees must review inactive folios to reduce unclaimed amounts.

Virtual personal hearings under GST to be conducted by video conferencing on taxpayer request, with emailed records and structured submission procedures.
Personal hearings under the GST Act may be conducted in virtual mode through video conferencing where a taxpayer requests that mode of hearing. The procedure covers notice of hearing, transmission of the video link by official email, participation of authorised representatives, preparation of a record of personal hearing, and submission of scanned additional documents within the prescribed period.

Import quota allocation for petroleum coke requires online applications under a specified import authorisation procedure.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade invites online applications for allocation of import quantities of Calcined Petroleum Coke for the aluminium industry and Raw Petroleum Coke for CPC manufacturing for FY 2025 26, exercising powers under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023. Applicants must apply via the DGFT Import Management System under Import Authorisation for Restricted Imports with Import Category 'Import of Pet Coke'; submissions under other categories face rejection, and conditions of Public Notice no. 49/2023 dated 11.03.2024 continue to apply.

Mandatory online submission and payment for show cause replies under FTDR Act required through DGFT portal to ensure digital compliance.
Mandatory online submission and payment procedures are instituted for enforcement and adjudicatory processes under the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, requiring all replies to Show Cause Notices and related information requests in Adjudication, Appeal and Review proceedings to be filed exclusively through the DGFT portal; paper-based submissions will not be accepted. Penalties arising from orders must be paid electronically against the corresponding online ECA, Appeal or Review file, and use of miscellaneous payment options is discouraged to ensure correct accounting.

Certificates of Origin issuance must be electronic; manually issued CoOs are void and may be rejected abroad.
Certificates of Origin must be issued electronically via the Trade Connect ePlatform; manually issued Certificates of Origin after the specified deadlines will be considered null and void and are liable to be rejected by recipient-country Customs. Instances of contravention should be reported to the Directorate at the designated email, and issuing agencies that continue to violate the mandate may be removed from the list of authorised agencies.

NDS-OM access via Separate Business Unit: SEBI-registered brokers must segregate SBU operations and net worth.
SEBI-registered stock brokers may transact on NDS-OM through a Separate Business Unit (SBU) that is exclusively engaged in NDS-OM activities, maintained at arms-length from the broker's securities market business, with separate accounts and segregated net worth; the broker's net worth for compliance shall exclude the SBU. The SBU's trading activities are subject to the other regulatory authority's framework for policy, eligibility, risk management, inspection and enforcement, and exchange grievance redressal mechanisms and the Investor Protection Fund (including SCORES) will not be available to SBU investors.

Petroleum dealer tax compliance requires timely quarterly returns, monthly tax payments, and default charges for unfiled returns.
Petroleum dealers must file quarterly returns by the prescribed quarterly due dates. Dealers are required to pay tax on sales for each month other than the final month of a quarter within 21 days after month-end, and must pay the balance tax due before furnishing the quarterly return. Return-filing defaults attract tax at 2% per month from the date tax became due until payment or assessment, whichever is earlier.

Intimation requirement for insolvency professionals: appointments must be recorded on the central portal and timelines imposed.
IPs must add assignments on the Board's electronic Assignment Module for specified capacities-IRP, RP, liquidator (liquidation and voluntary), RP and Bankruptcy Trustee for Personal Guarantors, and Administrator for financial service providers-using a unique username/password; after approval the IP must complete subsequent compliances like public announcements, EOIs and auction notices. New appointments require filing within three days; ongoing cases without entries by 28 February 2025; closed cases by 31 March 2025 (personal guarantor closed cases by 30 April 2025). Issued under section 196 of the Code.

Input tax credit treatment for electronic commerce operators under section 9(5) clarified for platform-based specified services.
Electronic commerce operators liable to pay tax under section 9(5) for specified services supplied through their platform are not required to reverse proportionate input tax credit on inputs and input services under sections 17(1) or 17(2) merely because such supplies are made under section 9(5). The clarification distinguishes those supplies from the ECO's own platform services and states that the tax on section 9(5) supplies must be paid only through the electronic cash ledger, while the related credit cannot be used for that liability but may be used for tax on the ECO's own services.

Input tax credit receipt rules cover Ex-works deliveries when goods are handed to a transporter at the supplier's premises.
Input tax credit under clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 16 of the Andhra Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is linked to receipt of goods, and the explanation deems receipt where goods are delivered by the supplier to the registered person or to another person on that person's direction before or during movement of goods. In an Ex-works contract, where the supplier hands over goods to a transporter at the supplier's factory gate and property passes at that stage, the recipient is treated as having received the goods at that time, even if physical receipt occurs later. Credit remains subject to the other conditions of sections 16 and 17.

Voucher GST treatment clarified for trading, commission-based distribution, ancillary services, and unredeemed voucher breakage.
Clarification is issued on the GST treatment of vouchers, including whether transactions in vouchers constitute a supply of goods or services, the tax position for distribution through distributors, sub-distributors or agents, ancillary services connected with voucher distribution, and the taxability of unredeemed vouchers or breakage. Pure trading of vouchers on a principal-to-principal basis is not leviable to GST, while commission-based distribution and separate ancillary services supplied for consideration are taxable as services. Amounts retained on account of unredeemed vouchers are not taxable because there is no underlying supply.

Place of supply clarification for online services to unregistered recipients requires mandatory State-name recording on invoices.
Clarification is issued on the place of supply for online services supplied to unregistered recipients. For online money gaming, OIDAR services and other online/digital services supplied directly or through an electronic commerce operator, the supplier must record the name of the State of the unregistered recipient on the tax invoice, irrespective of value. That State name is deemed to be the recipient's address on record for determining place of supply under section 12(2)(b)(i) of the IGST Act.

DPD registration contact update: authorities will align registered emails and mobiles with IEC records and require OTP verification.
DPD Registration contact details will be aligned with Importer IEC records and the online OTDI module will verify authenticity by sending an OTP to the registered mobile; on successful verification, change-of-CFS requests update in real time. Suspected duplicate e-mail usage prompted a suo-moto update using IEC data, while importers may request changes with requisite documents via their registered e-mail and report issues to the Additional Commissioner; officers must treat this as a standing order.

Container scanning portal status check now available at csd.jnpa.in; enter container, IGM number and date.
A new container scanning status portal (csd.jnpa.in) enables stakeholders to check whether a container is selected for scanning and whether it has been scanned and examined by entering the container number, IGM number and IGM date in the "Check Container Status" tab.

Waiver of interest and penalty: department urged to withdraw appeals limited to interest or penalty when tax paid.
Where the taxpayer has fully paid the tax under demands made under Section 73 and only interest and/or penalty remain in dispute, and the taxpayer otherwise satisfies the conditions of Section 128A and rules, the proper officer may withdraw departmental appeals or accept review-stage orders when the department's appeal concerns only interest calculation or imposition/non-imposition of penalty.

Export conditions for Wheat Flour with Millets: new SION allows such exports subject to composition, sourcing and documentation rules.
SION E-136 is amended to allow export of Wheat Flour (Atta) with Millets provided the export item meets minimum composition requirements of Whole Wheat Flour and Millets, import entitlement under Advance Authorization for Wheat is computed proportionately to the Whole Wheat Flour content using the prescribed conversion factor, Millets and other added ingredients are domestically sourced, the shipping bill specifies percentage composition of ingredients, and all earlier conditions in prior public notices continue to apply.

Late fee waiver for Bills of Entry affected by system downtime, applying to vessel entries and treated as standing order.
Waiver of late fees is authorised for Bills of Entry affected by electronic filing unavailability during the Union Budget updation; it applies to Late Fee under the Bill of Entry (Forms) Amendment Regulations, 2017 for Bills of Entry for vessels with entry inward at INTUT1 and for those filed on or before restoration, and the Public Notice is issued as a Standing Order with implementation difficulties to be reported to the Commissioner of Customs.

SION amendment updates input-output norm for erythromycin stearate tablet exports with immediate effect; pro-rata applicability noted.
Amendment to SION A-222 sets the input-output requirement for export of Erythromycin Stearate tablets: one 250 mg erythromycin-equivalent tablet requires 334 mg of Erythromycin Stearate input; norms for other strength variants may be determined on a pro-rata basis; the amendment is effective immediately.

Extension of e BRC submission deadline to facilitate exporters, conditional on compliance with Public Notice 21/2024.
The deadline for submission of electronic Bank Realisation Certificates (e-BRCs) by exporters is extended from 31.01.2025 to 15.02.2025, conditional on compliance with documentary requirements specified in Public Notice No. 21/2024 dated 31.12.2024. Exporters and brokers must submit proof of realisation of sale proceeds within the extended period. A dedicated BRC Cell with contact email [email protected] and named officers is designated to handle pending cases and provide assistance; implementation difficulties should be referred to the Assistant Commissioner, BRC Cell, ACC.

Safer participation of retail investors in algorithmic trading through broker led API controls, empanelment, surveillance, and algo categorisation.
The framework requires brokers to act as principals for API-based algo trading, tag API orders with exchange identifiers, empanel and due diligence algo providers, restrict API access through client specific keys and static whitelisted IPs, adopt OAuth and two factor authentication, handle investor grievances, and ensure disclosure of fees and conflict free arrangements. Exchanges must supervise algos with SOPs, surveillance, kill switch capability, empanelment criteria, confidentiality safeguards, data flow rules, and specified turnaround times. Algos are categorized into white box and black box, with black box providers required to register as research analysts and maintain detailed research reports.