Rights issue relaxation extended; issuers must obtain independent IT vulnerability tests for optional non cash application mechanisms.
The circular extends a prior procedural relaxation for Rights Issues while preserving the requirement that issuers and Lead Managers comply with the specified ancillary procedural obligation; it additionally requires issuer companies to obtain and submit to the stock exchange an independent IT auditor's Vulnerability Test report for any optional non cash application mechanism administered by the registrar, with issuers, Lead Managers, Registrars and intermediaries remaining responsible for implementing and complying with the relevant regulatory requirements.

Revocation of GST Registration: Special drive to expedite processing of pending applications and provide grievance redressal contacts.
Ahmedabad CGST Zone has initiated a focused administrative drive to expedite disposal of pending FORM REG-21 applications for revocation of cancelled GST registrations; jurisdictional Commissionerates must process pending applications on merits, communicate any deficiencies and a specific completion timeline to applicants, and follow the SOP and applicable law. Applicants may approach their CGST Division during the drive for status and deficiency information, and may escalate to designated Commissionerate-wise nodal officers and the Zonal Nodal Officer if grievances are not redressed.

Export of services: supplies by separate incorporated Indian companies to foreign group entities may qualify as exports if conditions met.
Condition (v) of section 2(6) IGST excludes supplies between establishments of the same legal person under Explanation 1 to section 8; branches, agencies and representational offices are establishments under Explanation 2 and therefore supplies by an Indian establishment of a foreign company to its foreign establishments do not qualify as export. Conversely, an Indian-incorporated subsidiary or related company is a distinct person from the foreign company, so services supplied by the Indian-incorporated company to the foreign company's establishments abroad may qualify as export of services if the other statutory conditions are met.

Input tax credit eligibility delinked from invoice to debit note date; e invoice QR and export duty refund rules clarified.
Section 16(4) (w.e.f. 01.01.2021) delinks debit note date from underlying invoice date for ITC eligibility, making the debit note's issuance date determinative and applying the amended rule to ITC availment on or after 01.01.2021. Where e invoices are issued, electronic production of the QR code with the IRN suffices instead of carrying a physical invoice during goods movement. The restriction on refund of accumulated ITC under section 54(3) applies only to goods actually subject to export duty; goods with NIL or exempt export duty are not covered by that limitation.

Intermediary services: facilitation between parties is an ancillary supply distinct from the principal supply, affecting GST characterisation.
Clarification explains that an intermediary under the IGST Act arranges or facilitates a main supply of goods, services or securities between two or more persons but does not include a person who supplies the main supply on his own account. It requires at least three parties, distinguishes the ancillary intermediary supply from the principal main supply, excludes subcontractors who provide the main supply, and limits invocation of the place of supply rule to cases where supplier or recipient is outside India.

Compliance audit timelines extended for investment advisers, permitting additional time to complete annual audits and submit adverse findings.
Timelines for Investment Advisers' annual compliance obligations under the IA Regulations are extended by three months for the financial year ending March 31, 2021: annual compliance audits to be completed by December 31, 2021; submission of adverse findings, if any, by January 31, 2022; and auditor's certificate on client level segregation to be obtained by December 31, 2021; other requirements remain unchanged.

Electronic platform for public notices centralises auction listings of liquidation assets and requires timely uploads upon publication.
Designates the Board's website as the electronic platform for hosting public notices of auctions of liquidation assets under the Liquidation Process Regulations and requires liquidators to upload every auction notice to that platform on the day of its publication in newspapers, in addition to other prescribed modes of publication; the direction is issued under section 196 of the Code for purposes of clause (5) of paragraph 1 of Schedule I of the Regulations.

FCRA registration validity extended to preserve continuity during transition to the amended legal regime and pending renewals.
Registration certificates under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 that were expiring during the transitional period and await renewal are declared valid until 31st December, 2021 to ensure smooth transition to the amended regime; the extension is issued in public interest under the Central Government's power under section 50, with reference to certificate duration in section 12(6) and amendments to section 16(1).

Processing of time-barred refund claims under section 143(1) extended to allow administrative completion for validly filed returns.
Processing of time-barred, validly filed returns with refund claims in non-scrutiny cases is administratively extended; returns up to Assessment Year 2017-18 that could not be processed under the statutory provision and had become time-barred are to be processed subject to the conditions and exceptions specified in the prior instruction, and all other contents of that instruction remain unchanged.

Remission of duties on exports: transferable duty credits issued in electronic ledgers, usable for basic customs duty on imports.
Scheme issues transferable duty credit maintained in an electronic duty credit ledger for eligible exported goods, computed as percentages of Free on Board value or specified amounts and issued through the customs automated system. Exporters must claim via shipping bill declarations, may convert scrolls into e-scrips within the prescribed period, and use e-scrips only for payment of basic customs duty on imports. E-scrips are uniquely identified, valid for a fixed period, transferable only in whole, and subject to suspension, cancellation or recovery where export proceeds are not realised or credits were excess.

Transferable duty credit under RoSCTL - e scrips usable for basic customs duty, subject to export proceeds realisation.
RoSCTL for apparel/garments/made ups from 01.01.2021 provides remission as transferable duty credit recorded in an electronic duty credit ledger under section 51B. Claims will be processed on filed shipping bills and, once systems are enabled, by item level declaration in the electronic shipping bill. Systems processing will generate a scroll with duty credits which exporters may combine to generate e scrips. E scrips are valid one year, transferable only in whole, usable solely for Basic Customs Duty payments on imports, and subject to export proceeds realisation and provisions for suspension, cancellation and recovery.

Line of credit for solar projects imposes India-content requirement, EDF declaration and FEMA-based export compliance for exporters.
Exim Bank's Government-supported Line of Credit finances exports for specified solar energy projects subject to Foreign Trade Policy eligibility and Exim Bank approval; contracts must have at least 75 percent India content with a possible reduction up to 10 percent only upon prior borrower request and Government of India approval before procurement, and reduced content must not be sourced from countries other than India or the Borrower. The LoC is effective from September 2021 with a terminal utilization period of 60 months from the contract's scheduled completion date; shipments require Export Declaration Form compliance.

Line of Credit for export financing permits predominantly Indian supplies and a multi year utilisation period, with EDF shipment reporting.
A Government supported Line of Credit finances exports for potable water rehabilitation in Sierra Leone, requiring that a substantial portion of each contract be supplied from India while permitting a limited portion to be procured abroad. The LoC has an effective date and a terminal utilisation period from project completion. Shipments must be declared in the Export Declaration Form. No agency commission is payable from the LoC; exporters may use own funds or EEFC balances to pay commission after full realisation. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must inform exporters and may permit such remittances subject to existing rules.

Export of services: Supplies by Indian-incorporated group companies to related foreign-incorporated entities may qualify as exports.
Condition (v) of the IGST Act excludes supplies between establishments that are "merely establishments of a distinct person" per Explanation 1 to section 8. A foreign company's branch/agency in India supplying its foreign establishment is treated as supply between establishments of a distinct person and not export. Conversely, an Indian-incorporated subsidiary or group company is a separate "person" from a foreign-incorporated company; supplies by the Indian-incorporated entity to related foreign-incorporated establishments may qualify as export of services, subject to other conditions in section 2(6).

Input tax credit on debit notes now tied to debit note date, altering eligibility for credit under amended GST provision.
Amendment to section 16(4) delinks debit note date from underlying invoice date for ITC: the relevant financial year for ITC on a debit note is the debit note's issuance date, and the amended rule governs ITC availment on or after January 1, 2021. E-invoices issued under rule 48(4) may be verified by producing the electronic QR code with IRN instead of a physical invoice. The refund restriction in the first proviso to section 54(3) applies only to goods actually subject to export duty; nil-rate or exempt goods are excluded.

Intermediary services clarified: arranging or facilitating supplies is distinct from supplying the main service, exclusions specified.
Clarification defines an intermediary as one who arranges or facilitates supply of goods, services or securities between two or more persons and excludes any person who supplies the main goods, services or securities on his own account. It requires at least three parties, two distinct supplies (main and ancillary), a subsidiary agent/broker role for the intermediary, and excludes subcontracting. The place-of-supply provision for intermediary services applies only when the supplier or recipient is located outside India. Classification depends on contractual facts and the characteristics listed.

Revocation of registration cancellation deadlines clarified under Assam GST, with extended filing timelines and fresh application treatment.
Extension of the time limit to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration under the Assam GST framework is clarified for cases where the due date for filing such application falls within the specified COVID-affected period. The benefit applies to cancellations under clause (b) or clause (c) of section 29(2), regardless of whether the revocation application is unfiled, pending, rejected by the proper officer, pending in appeal, or rejected in appeal. The circular also clarifies how the general extension notification interacts with the additional extension powers under the proviso to section 30(1).

Swing pricing for open ended debt funds: optional partial swing in normal times, mandatory full swing during market dislocation.
A regulatory swing pricing framework for open ended debt mutual funds (excluding certain gilt and overnight funds) mandates a hybrid approach: AMCs may apply partial swing in normal times following AMFI prescribed thresholds and disclose the mechanism in SIDs, while SEBI declared market dislocation triggers mandatory full swing for high risk schemes identified by risk o meter and PRC matrix placement. A minimum swing factor matrix by credit and interest rate risk applies; NAVs for incoming and outgoing investors are adjusted, disclosures and AMC/trustee approved policies are required, and scheme performance is reported on unswung NAV.

Internal file routing for tax administration standardised by subject-matter, with audit and law matters assigned to designated headquarters officers.
Internal file processing under the Tax Organisation is standardised by routing specified matters through designated headquarters officers to ensure administrative uniformity. Audit, adjudication, recovery files, and all Act and Rules or law-related files, are to be processed through Sri Badal Baidya, Assistant Commissioner of Taxes-I (CDC), Headquarters, while all other files are to be routed through Sri Dibakar Chandra De, Assistant Commissioner of Taxes-II (CDC), Headquarters. Corresponding reporting responsibilities are also allocated on the same subject-matter basis, and compliance is required without deviation until further order.

GST refund oversight requires verification, zonal review, analytics, and disciplinary or criminal action against detected malpractice.
GST refund controls require verification of ward-transfer applications and review of refunds for indicators of malpractice, especially where refund volumes are unusually high. Zonal in-charges must report suspicious cases and confirm where no cases are found. Vigilance must initiate departmental and criminal action when malpractice is detected, develop safeguards with the Systems and EDP branches, and use data analytics to identify abnormal refund patterns. Zonal officers must periodically review ward-level refunds and act against detected malpractice.