Choice of nomination rules eased for existing investors as account freezing and payment restrictions are removed.
Non-submission of choice of nomination by existing demat account holders and mutual fund unitholders shall not lead to freezing of accounts or folios. Physical security holders may still receive corporate payments and access grievance or service requests even without nomination. New investors must continue to furnish choice of nomination, while intermediaries must encourage compliance through regular communications and login pop-ups, and only three fields are mandatory for updating nomination details.

Drawback disbursal to exporters via PFMS from 5 June 2024, replacing printed scrolls and consolidated cheques.
Duty drawback disbursal will be effected through the Public Finance Management System (PFMS) from 5 June 2024, replacing printed drawback scroll transmission and issuance of consolidated cheques. Authorized officers will process drawback scroll queues in CAS, which will automatically send scrolls to the Central Nodal eDDO; the central nodal eDDO will forward consolidated All India scrolls to the nodal ePAO for approval, after which amounts will be credited to exporters' bank accounts linked with PFMS.

PFMS-based disbursal of drawback payments streamlines crediting to exporters' bank accounts after central nodal approval.
Disbursal of duty drawback payments will transition to PFMS, effective 5th June 2024. Authorised customs officers will process Duty Drawback scroll queues in CAS; CAS will automatically consolidate and transmit scrolls to the Central Nodal eDDO, which will forward the All India consolidated scroll to the nodal ePAO. After nodal ePAO approval, drawback amounts will be credited to exporters' bank accounts linked with PFMS. This Public Notice is a Standing Order for departmental officers and staff.

Recovery proceedings under Assam GST require three months' notice unless early payment is justified by recorded revenue-risk reasons.
Initiation of recovery proceedings under the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act ordinarily follows a three-month period from service of the order. Early recovery before that period is allowed only in exceptional cases where the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner of State Tax, for recorded reasons, directs early payment in the interest of revenue. Recovery under section 79 is to be handled by the jurisdictional Deputy Commissioner or Assistant Commissioner, after considering credible evidence and the taxpayer's financial and business .

Taxpayer helpdesk services must support electronic return filing and GST/VAT registration across circles and wards.
Helpdesk operations at every circle and ward must be ensured by Deputy Commissioners (Administration) for smooth functioning within their jurisdiction. Helpdesks are to operate as service centres assisting taxpayers with electronic filing of returns and GST/VAT registration.

Portfolio Managers must follow consolidated SEBI rules on registration, client funds segregation, related party limits, disclosures and reporting.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI guidance for Portfolio Managers, updating and superseding prior master circulars while preserving past actions. It prescribes online registration (Form A), Compliance Officer designation, net worth and certification norms, segregation of client funds, direct onboarding and distributor supervision, written policies for order placement and allocation, cyber security requirements for larger PMs, investment permissions including derivatives and co investment, prudential limits and client consent for related party investments, credit rating constraints, uniform disclosure and benchmarking of Investment Approaches, mandatory monthly/quarterly/offsite reporting to SEBI and clients, audited firm level performance reporting, fee and exit load rules, and grievance redressal obligations.

Overseas Portfolio Investment expanded to include units or instruments of regulated overseas funds, widening eligible Indian investors.
Investment (including sponsor contribution) in units or any other instrument issued by an overseas investment fund or vehicle, duly regulated by the host jurisdiction (including where regulation is effected through a fund manager), shall be treated as Overseas Portfolio Investment (OPI). Outside IFSCs, such OPI may be made by listed Indian companies and resident individuals; within IFSCs, unlisted Indian entities may also make such investments, subject to applicable limits and schedule V of the Overseas Investment Rules.

Display Assembly classification clarified: integrated display components qualify for concessional customs duty; specific exclusions stated.
Clarification on customs classification: Display Assembly for cellular mobile phones comprises specified parts-touch panel, cover glass, brightness enhancement film, LED backlight, polarizers, mounted OLED/LCD driver IC, FPCs/FPCAs, LCM/OLED module, and integral sensors. Assemblies imported with attached auxiliary items such as support frames, receiver mesh, protective films, SIM socket/tray, antenna pin, or side keys remain Display Assembly and attract concessional BCD. Assemblies containing disqualifying components like PCBA (except display driver IC and display FPCs), camera modules, batteries, chargers, speakers, microphone/receiver, and other listed items lose the concessional treatment and are classed as general mobile phone parts.

Duty Free Shops and Special Warehouse at Visakhapatnam Airport must use computerized SKU records, bonded escort, and prescribed monthly returns.
Regulations require ITDC Special Warehouse (section 58A) to store goods destined for DFS or airline use, with transfers from public bonded warehouses (section 57) permitted only via prescribed removal procedures; DFS in customs area is a point of sale, not a locked warehouse. Licensee must maintain SKU-based computerized records with mandatory Form A data elements and audit trail, integrate sales records (Form C) every 24 hours with scanned passport and boarding pass linked to invoices retained five years, and file monthly returns (Form A) and expiry notices (Form B) with the Bond Officer. Bond Officers escort goods to DFS; customs presence at point of sale and signature on individual vouchers is not required.

KYC uploading requirement: KRAs must validate and upload client KYC to the central registry and integrate systems promptly.
Registered intermediaries must continue to upload, download and modify client KYC information on KRA systems with proper authentication. KRAs shall verify and validate KYC data received from intermediaries and upload verified records to the Central KYC Records Registry within seven days of receipt or within any timeline notified under AML rules, integrate their systems with the central registry and commence uploading from the specified start date; existing KYC records of legal entities and individuals must be uploaded within six months from that start point.

Anti money laundering obligations require securities intermediaries to implement CDD, reporting, sanctions screening and risk based controls.
Registered securities intermediaries and stock exchanges must implement written AML/CFT procedures under the PMLA and SEBI Master Circular, encompassing client acceptance policies, client identification and beneficial ownership verification, ongoing CDD with enhanced measures for high risk clients, risk based monitoring and documented risk assessments. They must preserve transaction and identification records to enable audit trails, promptly report suspicious and reportable cash transactions to FIU IND in prescribed formats, maintain sanctions/designated lists and freeze or suspend transactions as required, and appoint designated compliance officers (Principal Officer and Designated Director) with independent audit and training arrangements.

Financial disincentives for surveillance lapses to penalize MIIs for non implementation of surveillance decisions and reporting failures.
The framework defines Surveillance Related Lapses as non implementation, partial or delayed implementation of surveillance meeting decisions or SEBI communications, failures in performing agreed surveillance activities, and inadequate or non reporting of surveillance activity. It prescribes monetary disincentives on a sliding scale tied to the MII's annual revenue band and number of SRL instances, requires pre imposition opportunity to submit, mandates payment to the Investor Protection and Education Fund within a specified timeframe, and requires public disclosure of imposed disincentives, while excluding matters of market wide impact or minor procedural lapses.

Coastal goods compliance: stakeholders must follow prescribed circulars and manifest regulations, plus E-way bill and licence requirements.
The notice consolidates CBIC/CBEC circulars prescribing stakeholder obligations for carriage of coastal cargo, duty collection on ship stores, and use of imported or local containers, and directs strict compliance with those circulars. It also requires persons filing arrival or departure manifests to follow the Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations, 2018, and to comply with E-way bill and other registration or licence requirements under applicable laws.

Exemption from mandatory Quality Control Orders expanded to include chemical and petrochemical sector inputs for export manufacturing.
The DGFT amended Appendix 2Y to add the Department of Chemicals & Petro-chemicals to the list of departments whose mandatory Quality Control Orders are exempted for goods utilised in manufacture of export products, applicable to imports by Advance Authorisation holders, Export Oriented Units and Special Economic Zones. The amendment takes immediate effect and specifies that the EO Period for textile and chemicals & petrochemical products is regulated under para 2.03(A)(i)(g) of the FTP, 2023.

Deemed export compliance revised to simplify EODC applications by reducing documentary and certification burdens for suppliers and exporters.
Amendment to Para 2(b) of ANF 4F sets required evidence for Deemed Exports EODC applications: system generated GST e invoices and e way bills (with certified alternatives where unavailable); shipping bill copy endorsed with intermediate supplier name and file/authorisation numbers where applicable; e BRCs; and a supplies/consumption statement certified by an independent Chartered Accountant.

Direct payout of securities now mandatory to credit client demat accounts with auto-pledge for margin-funded stocks, enhancing client protection.
SEBI mandates direct payout of securities by Clearing Corporations to respective clients' demat accounts; funded stocks under margin trading must be held only by pledge in a separate demat account tagged 'Client Securities under Margin Funding Account' and, upon transfer to client accounts, followed by an auto-pledge without specific client instruction. CCs must identify unpaid and funded securities; unpaid securities follow Master Circular processes. Internal shortages from inter se netting are to be resolved through CC-specified auctions with no additional broker charges to clients. Custodian-arranged clients are excluded.

Post-registration securities disposal: new framework permits sale windows with a financial disincentive and escrow sale mechanism and reporting obligations.
SEBI amends FPI and Custodian Master Circulars to allow FPIs who lapse or fail to re activate registration defined disposal windows: 180 days post lapse (no disincentive), an additional 180 days subject to a 5% financial disincentive on sale proceeds remitted to the IPEF, subject to KYC/AML/CFT compliance. Unsold securities after the combined 360 days are deemed written off, losing beneficial interest; custodians must transfer written off securities to escrow accounts operated by exchange empanelled brokers for sale, with net proceeds transferred to the IPEF and prescribed reporting by custodians and exchanges.

Material change disclosures for FPIs now require expedited notice for critical events and mandatory DDP re-assessment.
Revised disclosure regime requires FPIs to notify material changes to DDPs/SEBI under two categories: Type I critical events affecting registration, eligibility or exemptions-examples include change of jurisdiction, ownership/control, cessation after corporate transactions, legal-form restructuring, and regulatory-status change-subject to expedited reporting and documentation; all other material changes are Type II with a longer notification and documentation window. DDPs must reassess eligibility, require fresh registration for specified Type I events, and inform SEBI of delayed intimation with reasons.

Public Finance Management System disbursal of duty drawback to exporters' PFMS-linked bank accounts replaces bank cheque mechanism.
Disbursal of duty drawback payments will migrate from bank-mediated cheque payments to direct credit through the Public Finance Management System (PFMS). The Customs Automated System will automatically transmit processed drawback scrolls to a central nodal eDDO, which will forward a consolidated All-India scroll to the nodal ePAO; following nodal ePAO approval, amounts will be credited to exporters' PFMS-linked bank accounts. Legacy scrolls must be processed and communicated to PAO and banks prior to the transition.

Prior approval for change in control required for bankers to an issue; SEBI mandates online applications, disclosures and reporting obligations.
SEBI consolidates guidance for Bankers to an Issue, centralising registration and filings on the SEBI Intermediary Portal, requiring online applications for registration, surrender and prior approval for change in control with prescribed disclosures and fit and proper compliance. BTIs must designate non person e mail IDs for investor and regulatory communication, submit half yearly activity and compliance reports in prescribed formats, maintain specified records, enforce outsourcing principles while remaining liable for third party performance, and comply with PAN identification, AML/CFT, FATCA/CRS reporting and a CERT In SaaS data localisation advisory.