Repo participation by mutual funds: permitted on listed AA and above corporate debt, CPs and CDs; look through ratings apply.
Mutual funds may enter repos on listed AA and above rated corporate debt securities, Commercial Papers and Certificate of Deposits. Credit exposure for regulatory metrics shall be assessed on a look through basis to the underlying securities' ratings. Repos with settlement guaranteed by a Clearing Corporation shall be excluded from single issuer, group issuer and sector investment limit calculations. Other prior conditions remain unchanged and the provisions are effective immediately.

Import allocation of watermelon seeds limited and licensed on actual user basis; applications by deadline with specified documentation.
Imports of watermelon seeds under ITC(HS) 12077090 are capped for the period up to 31 October 2023 and allowed only on an Actual User basis. Applications from processors must be filed by the publicised deadline and exclude IECs issued on or after the notice date. Applicants must supply a pre-existing FSSAI licence showing processing capacity and a CA certificate of overall and watermelon-seed-specific turnover; one application per IEC and mis-declaration carries a two-year disqualification. The Exim Facilitation Committee will allocate quantities using 70% weight for processing capacity and 30% for average past imports, with DGFT reserving rights to set floors/ceilings and amend the process.

Amnesty scheme for export obligation defaults allows duty payment with prescribed capped interest to regularise shortfalls.
Scheme allows Advance Authorization and EPCG holders to regularise bona fide export obligation defaults by paying applicable Customs duty for the EO shortfall with interest as prescribed by the DGFT Public Notice; cases involving fraud, mis-declaration, or unauthorised diversion are excluded and duties paid under the scheme are not eligible for CENVAT credit or refund.

Pre-import condition enforcement: affected importers must pay IGST and may claim refund or input credit via prescribed procedure.
Mandatory enforcement of the pre-import condition in the Advance Authorization scheme requires imports failing that condition to be charged IGST and compensation cess with interest. Affected importers may apply to the jurisdictional assessment group at the port of import with documentary evidence to pay the tax, seek refund or claim input tax credit; customs will cancel OOC, reassess the bill of entry, accept payment via electronic challan, and make a notional OOC to transmit payment data to GSTN. ITC availability and refunds remain subject to statutory eligibility and rules.

Mandatory import/export qualifiers require chemical IUPAC/CAS, medicinal plant and formulation identifiers to streamline customs clearance.
Import declarations for Chapters 28, 29, 32, 38 and 39 must include IUPAC name and CAS number of constituent chemicals and constituent fields at the time of filing; export Shipping Bills must include medicinal plant names for Chapter 12 parts, formulation names for Chapter 30 formulations, and surface material identifiers for specified Chapter 84 items. These qualifiers are additional to existing declarations, enabled under the electronic Bill of Entry and Shipping Bill regulations, and detailed identifier tables and field formats are provided in Annexures for mandatory use.

Non-deliverable derivative contracts: onshore INR NDDCs now permitted for resident non-retail hedging, cash-settlement allowed in local or foreign currency.
AD Category I banks operating IFSC Banking Units may offer NDDCs involving the Rupee to resident non retail users for hedging, cash settled in the Rupee. Cash settlement of NDDC transactions between AD Category I banks and between an AD Category I bank and a person resident outside India is permitted in the Rupee or any foreign currency. The Master Direction is amended to define NDDC as an OTC foreign exchange derivative contract that is cash settled without delivery of the notional underlying currencies.

Electronic repairs services outsourcing enables streamlined import for repair and re export with expedited customs clearance and bond mechanism.
The ERSO pilot at ACC Bengaluru establishes a streamlined import for repair and re export regime requiring advance, error free filing, legible e Sanchit uploads, and use of a continuity re export bond without bank guarantee debited/credited via EDI. A nominated nodal officer and team will fast track consignments, ensuring immediate first check examination on arrival, coordinated faceless assessment, and involvement of an empaneled Chartered Engineer or appropriate technology for identity verification. Designated controlled examination areas and resource augmentation by the Bengaluru Customs Zone are mandated, with weekly progress reporting during a three month pilot.

RFQ platform obligation requires stock brokers to route a growing share of proprietary corporate bond trades via quotes to boost liquidity and transparency.
Stock brokers must increase use of the RFQ platform for proprietary secondary market trades in corporate bonds by meeting phased minimums through one-to-one or one-to-many quote modes, with compliance measured on a rolling basis across the current and two prior months; exchanges must notify members, amend rules, report implementation progress and file compliance reports with the regulator.

Electronic gold receipts framework mandates regulated creation, trading and conversion with vaulting, reconciliation and margining safeguards.
The Master Circular consolidates the operational, custodial and market framework for Electronic Gold Receipts (EGRs): physical gold meeting prescribed standards is deposited with registered Vault Managers who create ISIN identified EGRs via a common depository interface; Depositories, Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations coordinate trading, reconciliation and extinguishment on withdrawal; Vault Managers must maintain specified security, insurance, recordkeeping, inspection and indemnity arrangements; and Clearing Corporations must apply mandated MTM, VaR and Extreme Loss margining with defined liquid asset haircuts and reporting.

Online appointment facility enables exporters to request virtual or personal hearings with departmental offices and schedule hearings.
Introduction of an online appointment facility enabling exporters to request virtual meetings or personal hearings; Regional Authorities will schedule appointments and provide virtual hearing links. Access the service on the Department website via Services Request for video conference and consult the Help Manuals and Application Help & FAQs for guidance. Administrative approval and a contact email are provided for further communication.

Online payment for customs broker charges enabled on CBLMS, allowing digital settlement via integrated payment gateway.
Launch of online payment on the Customs Brokers Licensing Management System (CBLMS) permits digital payment via the integrated Bharatkosh Payment Gateway. The portal now allows online settlement specifically for new licence fees, penalty for renewal of an invalid licence, and G Category examination fees, with the payment option embedded in the corresponding CBLMS application workflows.

Faceless Assessment restructure: NACs reduced and FAGs reorganized to promote specialization and uniform examinations with anonymised escalation mechanism introduced
Faceless Assessment is restructured by consolidating eleven National Assessment Centres into eight and reconstituting Faceless Assessment Groups aligned to tariff chapters and zones based on assessable import value to promote commodity specific specialization. Each revised NAC will be convened by a single Principal Chief/Chief Commissioner responsible for coordination and duties previously assigned to co conveners. Complementary measures cited include an Anonymised Escalation Mechanism for delays and Standard Examination Orders to enhance uniformity; DG Systems will issue advisories and implementation issues are to be reported to the Board.

Deferral of appeals under identical question of law permitted; deferred grounds to be litigated after a favourable decision for Revenue.
Guidelines clarify that collegiums under Section 158AB will apply extant CBDT monetary thresholds and exceptions when deciding deferral of appeals. If Section 158AB applies to a single ground exceeding the threshold, filing may be deferred in Yo and pursued in Yf after a favourable decision in the other case. For multiple grounds, defer applicable grounds and file residual grounds in Yo; deferred grounds must be filed in Yf irrespective of monetary limits once Revenue obtains a favourable final decision. Judicial finality for Revenue in the other case requires contesting the relevant case on merits irrespective of thresholds; if the other case is adverse and not accepted, it may be contested on merits irrespective of limits.

Condonation of delay: delegation of authority for refund and loss carryforward claims revised to tiered monetary limits.
Condonation of delay for refund and carry forward/setoff of losses under Section 119(2)(b) is subject to revised monetary thresholds allocating acceptance or rejection powers among Principal Commissioners/Commissioners, Chief Commissioners, Principal Chief Commissioners, and the Board; the revised limits apply to applications filed on or after the stated commencement date, while other guidelines of the 2015 Circular remain unchanged.

RFN and REN verification facility introduced for offline taxpayer correspondence and authentication of GST communications.
Taxpayers' notices, orders and other communications generated through the GST portal ordinarily bear a system-generated DIN or RFN, and taxpayers may view such documents on their dashboard and verify authenticity through the RFN facility. For communications that are not system-generated but still need to be sent to taxpayers, the State tax authority may generate a REN through the BO web portal under the RFN generation module, and the resulting reference number is to be mentioned in the letter issued to the taxpayer. Taxpayers may verify the generated REN both before login and after login using the verification facility.

Manage CB Profile functionality enables nodal officers to correct OPS details in validated customs broker profiles.
The Manage CB Profile functionality in CBLMS authorises Nodal Officers of parent Policy Sections to edit or add incorrectly filled or wrongly validated Other Policy Section (OPS) details in validated Customs Broker profiles. Nodal Officers may add OPS office details and one contact person per office; thereafter brokers must update all employees of those OPS offices using the 'Add OPS details' application for validation. Requisitions to amend OPS details must be emailed to the Vijayawada policy Nodal Officer and include specified parent CB identifiers, full office particulars, contact person details, and required scanned proofs in prescribed formats.

Import for repair and re export procedures under ERSO require advance filings, mandatory first check and a continuity re export bond.
Pilot ERSO procedures require importers to file advance Bills of Entry with accurate descriptions and upload legible documents in e Sanchit, execute a running continuity re export bond without bank guarantee debited by the system, opt for mandatory first check examination on arrival with a Chartered Engineer certificate from empaneled CEs, and have assessment coordinated by Faceless Assessment Groups and expedited by a designated Nodal Officer and ERSO Customs team; movement to a Public Bonded Warehouse for deferred examination is permitted at importer's option.

Risk-based scrutiny of GST returns via online ACES-GST workflow; discrepancies communicated through prescribed ASMT forms for compliance.
Implements an online, risk-based workflow on ACES-GST for scrutiny of GST returns for FY 2019-20 onwards: DGARM selects GSTINs using risk parameters and publishes GSTIN-wise risk details on the scrutiny dashboard; proper officers must scrutinize returns relying on system data, issue quantifiable discrepancy communications via prescribed ASMT forms through the portal, and take further action including determination proceedings or referral to audit/investigation as provided by the SOP.

No Due Certificate verification requires current returns, settled liabilities, system-generated reference numbers, and timely reasoned responses for tender applicants.
No Due Certificates for contractors participating in tenders require verification of GST and legacy-tax compliance, including return filing, tax and interest payments, annual returns, unstayed arrears, and liabilities under other registrations using the same PAN. Certificates must be issued in the prescribed format with a system-generated Reference Number; certificates lacking that reference are invalid. Deficiencies require a reasoned rejection, and issuance or rejection must be completed promptly under supervisory monitoring.

Fair market value rules for unquoted shares expanded to non-resident investments, with prescribed valuation methods and safe harbour.
The amendment brings consideration from non-residents within clause (viib) of section 56(2) and revises rule 11UA to allow assessees to elect valuation methods by source of consideration: residents-clauses (a), (b), (c) or (e); non-residents-clauses (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e). Clause (a) prescribes a balance-sheet based formula; clause (b) allows merchant banker Discounted Free Cash Flow valuations; clause (d) allows specified alternative merchant banker methods. Transitional and procedural provisions include a deemed valuation date for merchant banker reports within ninety days and a safe harbour deeming issue price as fair market value where it exceeds specified valuations by a limited margin.