Export under Letter of Undertaking permitted for registered persons, subject to prescribed validity, bond and bank guarantee safeguards.
All registered persons may export goods or services without payment of integrated tax by furnishing a Letter of Undertaking (LUT), except those prosecuted in high-value tax-evasion cases. LUTs are valid for the financial year but can be withdrawn if exports are not completed within prescribed time and unpaid tax is not settled; payment restores the facility. Until electronic FORM GST RFD-11 is available, exporters must submit a physical FORM GST RFD-11 or LUT to the jurisdictional Deputy/Assistant Commissioner; bonds where required must be on stamp paper and accompanied by a bank guarantee. Self-declarations suffice for initial acceptance, which must occur within three working days or be deemed accepted.

Intra-day crystallised losses to be real-time blocked from free collateral, triggering risk-reduction if insufficient collateral.
Intra-day crystallised losses on transactions subject to upfront margining must be monitored and blocked in real time from a member's free collateral, with client-level offset against crystallised profits permitted; losses are to be calculated on weighted average prices and not adjusted from exposure free liquid networth. If losses exceed available free collateral, the member must be placed into risk reduction mode as specified by the regulator. Clearing Corporations must implement these measures within three months, notify members, publish the provisions, and report implementation status in monthly development reports.

College hostel mess food services attract GST without input tax credit, regardless of whether operated internally or outsourced.
GST applies at 5% without input tax credit to food or drink supplied through a college hostel mess or canteen for students and staff. The same tax treatment applies whether the facility is operated by the educational institution or students, or outsourced to an external contractor.

GST on college hostel mess services taxable without input tax credit regardless of who operates the service under notified rules.
Supply of food or drink by a mess or canteen, whether provided by the educational institution itself, students, or outsourced to a third party, is taxable under the notified concessional treatment for mess/canteen supplies and applies without entitlement to input tax credit; implementation difficulties may be brought to the notice of the Board.

Recovery of drawback for non realization of export proceeds - exporters urged to seek personal hearing or face adjudication on records.
Recovery of drawback is being pursued against exporters who failed to furnish proof of realization of export proceeds as required by prior circulars; notices under the Drawback Rules were issued, many returned undelivered. Exporters listed in the annexure must contact the Deputy Commissioner, Drawback BRC Monitoring Cell, Chennai IV for personal hearing during the stated period or the show cause notices will be decided on available records. Contact numbers for the BRC cell and officers are provided for clarifications.

Electronic book mechanism now governs private placements of specified debt securities, imposing platform, disclosure and bidding obligations.
The circular mandates use of an Electronic Book Mechanism for private placements of debt securities and NCRPS meeting specified thresholds and permits voluntary use for other debt instruments. Recognised stock exchanges acting as Electronic Book Providers (EBPs) must offer an anonymous, on-line bidding platform, maintain audit trails and IT resilience, publish standardized issue data, and coordinate KYC, enrollment, bidding, allotment (ascending-yield priority with pro-rata at cut-off) and pay-in through clearing corporations. Issuers, arrangers and participants have specified disclosure, enrolment, KYC and withdrawal obligations, with debarment and cooling-off provisions for defaults and withdrawals.

Self sealing and e sealing procedure extension: effective period for implementation has been extended; compliance guidance issued.
The procedure authorizing self sealing and e sealing of containerized export cargo at factory and approved warehouse premises under paragraph 6(iii) of the Public Notice is extended, maintaining the described mechanism for obtaining and applying self seals/e seals. This extension aligns with administrative amendments to Customs reorganisation timelines and stakeholders are asked to report implementation difficulties to the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner, FSP Cell, JNCH.

Sample forwarding to designated outside laboratories: direct transmission allowed, subject to prescribed sampling and procedural requirements.
Samples for testing of specified items may be forwarded directly by Customs field formations to designated outside laboratories as listed in the circular's annexure; field formations must follow the procedure in Para (3) and adhere to sampling instructions issued by the Commissionerate when dispatching samples.

Mutual fund scheme performance must be benchmarked to Total Return Index; use composite CAGR where TRI is unavailable.
Performance benchmarks for mutual fund schemes must be aligned with the scheme's investment objective and measured using the Total Return Index (TRI). If TRI data do not cover the entire history of a scheme, funds must compute a composite CAGR combining PRI values for the earlier period and TRI values thereafter, using the prescribed formula and disclosing the date ranges used. This requirement applies to all schemes from February 1, 2018.

Transporter recordkeeping obligations require production of transport and storage records on demand, permitting inspections and penalties.
Transporters, whether registered or not, must maintain records of goods transported, delivered, and stored in transit, including the GSTINs of registered consignors and consignees, and ensure stored goods are identifiable item wise and owner wise. Carriers of registered persons must keep true records and produce them on demand. Authorized officers have powers to inspect transporter premises and enforce compliance; other authorities must assist state tax officers. Failure to maintain or furnish records attracts statutory penalty, and obstructing officers is a punishable offence with enhanced penalty for repeat conviction.

GST valuation for accommodation, casino betting and horse racing applies transaction-value principles, with reverse charge for advocate services.
GST on accommodation is charged on the actual amount received, while declared tariff determines the applicable rate slab. Casino entry and gambling are separate taxable supplies, with gambling and horse-racing GST calculated on total bet value. Below-threshold accommodation providers using electronic commerce operators need not register where the operator pays GST. Sale of books is a supply of goods where the supplier owns and may sell them on its own account. Legal services supplied by advocates to business entities are taxable under reverse charge, payable by the recipient.

GST on betting and accommodation: gross transaction value taxed for casino entry, bets and actual accommodation charges.
Declared tariff determines the applicable tax slab but GST is payable on the actual amount charged for accommodation; declared tariff is the highest published rate and the tariff for the season or at time of supply applies. Casino entry and gambling (including horse racing) are taxed on the gross transaction value, with GST leviable on admission fees and on the total bet value. Legal services to business entities attract GST under reverse charge, with the recipient liable to pay.

Refinancing of external commercial borrowings: overseas bank branches may refinance eligible corporates and PSUs subject to specified conditions.
Overseas branches and subsidiaries of Indian banks may refinance External Commercial Borrowings of highly rated corporates and Navratna/Maharatna PSUs provided the outstanding maturity is not reduced and the all-in-cost of the fresh ECB is lower than the existing ECB; partial refinancing is permitted on the same conditions. Other ECB policy provisions remain unchanged and the Master Direction will be updated accordingly.

Foreign investment framework under FEMA sets entry routes, sectoral caps, pricing rules, and transfer conditions for non-resident investors.
Foreign investment in India is regulated under FEMA and the Non-Debt Instruments framework, with the Reserve Bank administering the rules through directions to authorised dealers and related reporting and payment requirements. The direction consolidates the legal meaning of foreign investment, foreign direct investment, foreign portfolio investment, investment vehicles, LLP investment, downstream investment, non-repatriation holdings, pricing, valuation, and transfer mechanics, while making the underlying NDI Rules and other FEMA notifications prevail in case of inconsistency. It also sets out prohibited sectors, Government-route restrictions for specified ownership patterns, and the permitted routes, instruments and transfer mechanisms for non-resident investors.

Delegation of recovery powers to Assistant Commissioner enables initiation of recovery under Customs Act and Finance Act.
The Commissioner of GST & Central Excise, Aurangabad delegated authority to the Assistant Commissioner, Tax Recovery Cell to initiate recovery proceedings for Central Excise arrears under the Customs Act and for Service Tax arrears under the Finance Act, to expedite arrears collection within the GST & Central Excise office in Aurangabad.

Transaction charge parity required: exchanges must cap fee differentials within turnover slabs to ensure uniformity and transparency.
The circular substitutes a provision requiring exchanges to ensure that the ratio between highest to lowest transaction charges in the turnover slab of any contract is not more than 2:1, standardising fee differentials. Exchanges must amend relevant bye-laws, notify members, and publish the provision on their websites, with implementation from the specified commencement period; the directive is issued under the regulator's powers to protect investors and regulate the market.

All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback amended with enhanced rates for select goods and reclassification for polypropylene mats.
Amendments adjust the All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback effective from 25.01.2018, increasing rates/caps for specified marine products, selected rubber articles, leather goods, wool yarns and fabrics, glass handicrafts, bicycles, and certain man made textile nets; reducing rates/caps for specified chemicals; and deleting tariff item 391802 so polypropylene mats are reclassified under tariff item 460101 with the existing rate/cap.

Outsourcing prohibition by insolvency professionals bans requiring third-party eligibility certificates for resolution applicants under the Code.
An insolvency professional is prohibited from outsourcing statutory duties under the Code; engaging assistants is permitted for support but does not transfer responsibility, and an insolvency professional shall not require third party certificates certifying a resolution applicant's eligibility.

Insolvency professional duty: ensure compliance with applicable laws; personal liability for non-compliance not recoverable as insolvency costs.
An insolvency professional acting as Interim Resolution Professional, Resolution Professional or Liquidator must exercise reasonable care and diligence and take necessary steps to ensure the corporate person undergoing insolvency or liquidation complies with all applicable laws; losses or penalties arising from non-compliance shall not form part of insolvency resolution or liquidation process costs, and the insolvency professional will be held responsible for non-compliance caused by their conduct.

Registered address and registration number requirement: insolvency professionals must use registered contact details in all communications.
Insolvency professionals must prominently state their registered name, address, email and registration number, and the capacity in which they are communicating, in all communications; they may add a process-specific address and email so long as those are additional to the registered details and are maintained for at least six months after conclusion of their role.