Auto goods registration and auto Out of Charge expand to covered importers, subject to risk-based holds by officers.
System-driven auto goods registration will apply on arrival for AEO T2 and T3 entities and will be extended to notified Eligible Manufacturer Importers, longstanding supply chain importers, and Direct Port Delivery users. An expanded auto Out of Charge facility will be available to all importers subject to duty payment and absence of additional compliance requirements. Auto Out of Charge operates on risk-based evaluation while officers may invoke a system "HOLD" to override automation based on intelligence.

Digital trade documents gain legal effect if they use reliable methods to establish control, integrity, and auditability.
Provides statutory recognition for electronic trade documents and deems them legally effective if they contain required information and employ a reliable method to identify the document, establish and retain control, preserve integrity, and provide an auditable lifecycle; control established by a reliable method is treated as possession and confers holder rights, while identity management and trust services that meet reliability standards are admissible, subject to provider obligations, liability rules, and cross border equivalence determinations by the Central Government.

Foreign investment in insurance permits full automatic-route participation, subject to regulatory verification, governance conditions, licensing and disclosure obligations.
Foreign direct investment in Indian insurance companies and insurance intermediaries is permitted up to 100 per cent under the Automatic Route, subject to insurance regulatory verification, licensing, applicable insurance law and foreign-investment rules. Insurance companies with foreign investment must maintain a resident Indian citizen in specified senior leadership roles. Foreign-majority-owned intermediaries must be limited companies, maintain prescribed resident Indian leadership, bring skills and disclose specified related-entity payments. Foreign investment in the Life Insurance Corporation of India remains capped at 20 per cent under the Automatic Route.

Investor protection through consolidated ICDR Master Circular streamlines ASBA, UPI, rights issue and listing procedures and disclosures.
A Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars under the ICDR Regulations, 2018, rescinds listed circulars relating to ICDR (while preserving prior actions), prescribes enforcement and fine mechanisms to be administered by stock exchanges, and sets uniform operational standards for offer document disclosures, Rights Issues, public issues (including mandatory ASBA and UPI processes), standardised application forms, ISD reporting, timelines for allotment and T+3 listing, audiovisual disclosure requirements and compensation protocols for investor losses arising from intermediary/SCSB failures.

HSNS Cess declaration: online filing mandates Form HSNS DEC 01 with process/machine details, documents, verification and submission lock.
Filing Form HSNS DEC 01 on the CBIC HSNS portal requires taxpayers to select category (machine based or manual), enter auto fetched basic details, list specified goods and brands, save row entries, upload up to five PDFs (max 2MB each), provide detailed machine or manual process particulars as applicable, furnish an authorised signatory verification acknowledging penal liability, and submit to obtain a declaration number; submitted declarations are immutable and no fresh declaration may be filed while a prior declaration is pending approval.

Input tax credit rectification under retrospective GST amendments enables reconsideration of demands linked to time-limit breaches.
Retrospective insertion of section 16(5) and section 16(6) of the CGST Act extends the time limit for availing input tax credit in specified cases and applies from 1 July 2017. Tax authorities must take cognizance of the amended provisions at the stages of investigation, adjudication, appeal, or revision, while taxpayers with unappealed orders confirming demand on this issue may seek rectification under the special procedure notified under section 148 within the prescribed period. No refund is available of tax already paid or input tax credit already reversed.

Refund of additional IGST on post-export price revision is allowed through prescribed GST procedure and documentation.
A uniform refund mechanism is prescribed for additional Integrated Tax (IGST) paid on account of upward revision in the price of goods after export. The exporter may file a refund application electronically in FORM GST RFD-01 on the common portal, to be processed by the jurisdictional GST officer under rule 89, with supporting statements and documents evidencing the export, the revised price, payment of additional IGST and interest, and receipt of additional foreign exchange remittance. The refund is subject to the statutory minimum threshold and the prescribed time limit, and the proper officer must verify the relevant returns, remittance and revised value before sanctioning refund.

GST regularization for co-insurance premium apportionment and reinsurance commission applies retrospectively on an as-is-where-is basis.
Regularization of GST payment applies to co-insurance premium apportionment and ceding or re-insurance commission transactions now treated as neither a supply of goods nor a supply of services under Schedule III. The lead insurer is to pay GST on the entire co-insurance premium, while the reinsurer is to pay GST on the gross reinsurance premium inclusive of commission. The payment of GST on these transactions is regularized retrospectively on an "as is where is" basis for the period from 01.07.2017 to 31.10.2024.

NPCI-based bank account validation now required for IEC applications; ensure PAN, name and account details match bank records.
NPCI integration requires declaration of all active bank accounts linked to PAN and matching of PAN, name and account details. Submitted bank details will be validated by NPCI with statuses Success, In Progress, or Failed. Success permits normal processing; In Progress triggers Automatic Review with potential auto-approval, deficiency marking for initial modification failures, and rejection on continued failure; Failed validation prevents submission until corrected. The system will periodically fetch updated statuses from NPCI and stakeholders must verify details before applying.

Sea Arrival Manifest filing changes: supplementary IGM amendments disabled before sea entry; use SAA/SCA and timely CSN required.
Supplementary IGM amendments before Sea Entry Inwards will be disabled from 20.02.2026; freight forwarders/consolidators must timely file CSN so SAM filings include complete BL/HBL details with required parameters. Additions/amendments before Sea Entry Inwards must use Sea Arrival Amendment (SAA) and Sea Cargo Amendment (SCA) messages and will be processed automatically; additions/amendments after Sea Entry Inwards will be routed to officers and may attract supplementary amendment charges. A single active Container Global (CG) Bond per PAN must be ensured prior to full CG bond automation.

Unclaimed hazardous cargo: disposal required within two months following disposal manual procedures and natural justice.
All unclaimed or uncleared hazardous and explosive consignments held by custodians must be disposed of within two months from arrival, following the Disposal Manual, 2019 and observing the principles of natural justice, pursuant to the procedure for disposal of unclaimed/uncleared cargo under Section 48 of the Customs Act referenced in Circular No. 49/2018.

Warehousing of industrial chemicals permitted in bonded warehouses subject to safety, licensing and customs compliance.
The DGFT permits warehousing of industrial chemicals in private and public bonded warehouses under Para 2.36(a) of FTP, 2023, provided facilities comply with all applicable safety laws, licensing or approval requirements under the Customs Act, and the conditions of the Import and Export Policy, and that all other provisions of Para 2.36 are observed.

RTA regulation: master circular consolidates registration, recordkeeping, dematerialisation and enhanced cyber and BCP requirements.
The Master Circular consolidates SEBI directions for RTAs: it mandates online registration/filing via the SEBI Intermediary Portal, prescribes recordkeeping for eight years, appointment of a Compliance Officer, standardized agreements with issuers, uniform PAN/KYC and investor service request norms, dematerialisation-first processing and Suspense Escrow Demat Account procedures, and enhanced governance, BCP/DR, cyber-security and reporting obligations for QRTAs, while rescinding earlier circulars as applicable and preserving actions taken under them.

Client level segregation mandated for investment advisers; fees, disclosures, AI use, audit and supervision framework clarified.
SEBI consolidates guidance for Investment Advisers: enforce client-level segregation of advisory and distribution activities, require standardized IA-client agreements including MITC, mandate disclosure of AI use, accept fees only through traceable banking channels or centralized mechanism, impose deposit and audit requirements, prescribe qualification and registration transition rules, establish administration and supervision framework via recognised stock exchange as IAASB/RAASB, set advertising, outsourcing and conflict of interest norms, and require periodic reporting and complaint disclosure.

Research analyst regulation consolidates registration, disclosure, client segregation and RAASB supervision for strengthened compliance.
The master circular consolidates SEBI guidance for Research Analysts, prescribing registration and NISM certification requirements, deposit and fee rules, client level segregation, disclosure of terms (including MITC) and mandatory KYC and recordkeeping, annual compliance audits with public disclosure of adverse findings, model portfolio and AI use disclosure obligations, cybersecurity and SaaS advisories, procedures for prior approval of change in control, an advertisement code, outsourcing principles, and operational supervision via an enlisted RAASB with specified reporting and grievance redressal mechanisms.

Alternative Investment Funds must upload unit NAVs to depositories by May 1, 2026 or within 30 days of valuation.
AIFs must upload the latest NAV for each unit ISIN into depository systems before May 01, 2026 or within 30 days of valuation, using the valuation date as the date of the independent valuer's report or the date valuation is documented for internal valuers. The AIF manager is responsible for timely and accurate uploads via RTAs. Depositories must provide upload infrastructure, display a prescribed NAV disclaimer, amend relevant rules, notify participants, and publish the change. Trustees/sponsors must include this requirement in the manager's Compliance Test Report.

Voluntary Retention Route investments will count under General Route limits; FPIs may exit after minimum retention period.
Investments made through the Voluntary Retention Route in Central Government securities (including Treasury Bills), State Government Securities and corporate debt securities shall be reckoned under the investment limits for those securities under the General Route; FPIs that had longer-than-minimum retention periods may liquidate fully or partly and exit VRR after the minimum retention period; existing VRR investments will be transferred to the General Route limits on commencement.

IGST refund processing faces validation errors; exporters must submit concordance tables and correct shipping bill issues.
Delays in IGST refund processing arise from Shipping Bill validation errors SB-005 (invoice mismatches), SB-000 (validated but excluded from final refund scroll due to ineligibility, mixed invoice outcomes, PFMS/IEC alerts or low IGST amount) and SB-004 (duplicate GSTN transmission). Exporters must submit a concordance table mapping GST invoices to Shipping Bill invoices and pay the prescribed fee per shipping bill for rectification; stakeholders should rectify identified conditions or contact the IGST Refund section for unresolved errors.

SEZ approvals and modifications: extensions, co developer recognitions, de notifications and area conversions authorised or deferred.
The Board granted extensions of Letters of Approval and formal approvals where developers/units demonstrated investment, construction or operational progress and recommended reliance on SEZ Rules' provisos for post expiry regularisation; approved co developer statuses subject to standard SEZ conditions and tax examination rights; authorised specified partial and full de notifications and conversions of processing area to non processing area after confirmation that duty benefits on the demarcated land were repaid and no dues certificates issued; approved cancellation of certain co developer statuses; and deferred a temporary gate proposal pending clearer DC recommendations on security and customs safeguards.

Single stock derivatives: calendar spread margin benefit not available on expiry day; exchanges must implement changes within three months.
The circular removes calendar spread margin benefit for single stock derivatives on a contract's expiry day: any spread pairing a contract expiring that day with another expiry will not receive offsetting margin treatment for that pairing, while spreads involving only later expiries remain eligible. Stock exchanges and clearing corporations must update systems and amend rules to implement the change; the measure is effective three months from the circular's date.