Digitization of bonded warehouse procedures enables mandatory online licensing, transfers and monthly returns via ICEGATE under Customs Act for stakeholders.
The ICEGATE Warehouse Module must be used for online filing of applications for a Warehouse Licence under the Customs Act, for submission and processing of transfer requests of warehoused goods to another person or warehouse (bond-to-bond movement), and for uploading monthly returns for Customs Bonded Warehouses; the procedures in Board Circular No. 19/2024 and Public Notices No. 17/2024 and No. 20/2024 are to be strictly followed, and difficulties communicated to the office email.

DTVSV Scheme eligibility clarifies which pending appeals and assessments qualify and how disputed tax is computed under the settlement mechanism.
The Guidance Note defines eligibility for settlement under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme by reference to appeal pendency as of the cut off date, clarifies exclusions (including specified search year assessments, review petitions and settlement commission matters), and explains that set aside issues admitted to appellate authorities are eligible to the extent set aside. It states that prosecution instituted before declaration disqualifies the relevant assessment year but not other years, that the payable amount depends on the declaration date with statutory timelines for payment, and that earlier taxes paid are creditable.

GST regularisation on as is basis clarifies treatment of competing rates, lower payments, nil-rate claims, and refunds.
Clarifies the scope of GST regularisation made on an "as is" or "as is, where is basis" under circulars issued on GST Council recommendations. The clarification states that, for the regularised period, the lower rate paid, including nil rate where an exemption entry was relied upon, is to be treated as full discharge of liability, while higher-rate payments are not refundable. It explains the treatment through examples involving competing rate entries, divergent interpretations, and past period regularisation, and notes that where no tax has been paid in a case not covered by the regularisation, the applicable tax remains recoverable.

GST classification clarifications for snack products, railway air conditioners, and vehicle seats set prospective rate treatment.
GST rate and classification were clarified for extruded or expanded savoury food products, RMPU air conditioning machines for railways, and seats used in motor vehicles and two-wheelers. Extruded or expanded savoury or salted products falling under HS 1905 90 30 attract GST at 12% prospectively, while un-fried or un-cooked snack pellets continue at 5% and the past period remains taxable at 18%. RMPU air conditioning machines are classifiable under HS 8415. Seats for two-wheelers fall under HS 8714, and car seats under HS 9401, with the revised rate on car seats applying prospectively.

Drawback claim procedure: shipping bills with no foreign exchange involved may be filed under temporary scheme code pending system update.
An addendum permits shipping bills claiming drawback where No Foreign Exchange Involved to be filed under the temporary scheme code until the DG system enables filing under the intended scheme with the GR waiver condition or a separate scheme code; procedural compliance with paras 4.1-4.5 of the original public notice is required.

Category I AIF classification confirmed for CDMDF, aligning its backstop role with market development regulatory treatment.
The CDMDF, established under Chapter III C of the AIF Regulations to act as a Backstop Facility for investment grade corporate debt and to enhance secondary market liquidity during stress, is clarified to fall within Category I AIF under Regulation 3(4)(a) of the AIF Regulations; this aligns the fund's market development objective with the regulatory treatment applicable to Category I funds.

ISIN restriction relaxation: converted grandfathered unlisted ISINs excluded from issuer ISIN maturity limits to encourage listing.
Issuers converting unlisted ISINs outstanding as on December 31, 2023 into listed ISINs pursuant to Regulation 62A will have those converted ISINs excluded from the maximum number of ISINs permitted to mature in a financial year under Chapter VIII of the NCS Master Circular, with clause 4A inserted to implement this exclusion to encourage listing of grandfathered unlisted ISINs.

Pro-rata rights required for AIF investors, with limited exceptions, standards for differential rights, and reporting obligations.
Investors in an AIF scheme must hold pro-rata rights to investments and distributions relative to commitments, with exceptions where an investor is excused/excluded, defaults on contribution, or shares returns with the manager/sponsor under agreement. Managers or specified public/development entities may subscribe to subordinate unit classes within limits and safeguards. Existing schemes with priority distribution that lack exemptions shall not accept fresh commitments or make new investments, and any consequent regulatory limit breaches must be recorded in the Compliance Test Report.

EPCG third-party export applicability clarified: amendment applied prospectively; export obligation counted only on realised payments.
The amendment to para 5.10(c) of the HBP 2015-20 is prospective: it applies to third-party exports made against EPCG authorisations issued on or after 05.12.2017, while prior exports remain under the earlier policy. Exports up to 04.12.2017 may count the full realised shipping bill value toward EPCG obligations (subject to single counting and Average Export Obligation rules); exports from 05.12.2017 onward count only the actual payment realised through the normal banking channel into the authorisation holder's account.

Timely response to FCRA portal queries required; failure to respond may lead to application denial.
All registration, renewal and prior-permission applications under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act are processed solely via the FCRA portal; applicants receive system-generated e-mails to view and answer portal queries and must upload complete information/documents on the portal. Failure to respond or to provide complete responses will result in denial of the application, so applicant associations should regularly monitor their portal and e-mail accounts and promptly reply to queries.

Terminology correction clarifies export of mechanized jewellery includes manual processes and excludes imported mountings from net content.
The corrigendum amends Note 2 of Public Notice No. 30/2024-2025 by correcting the wording to state that the export of mechanized plain and studded jewellery also includes some manual process, and reiterates that weight of imported mountings and findings of gold or silver used in export products will not be included in determining net content of gold and silver.

Insurance requirement for CCSPs set to match average five day stored goods value, with bond exposure correspondingly reduced.
CCSPs must maintain insurance equal to the average value of goods likely to be stored in the customs area for a five day period based on projected capacity, with the Commissioner entitled to specify amounts considering goods already insured by importers or exporters. Custodian bond exposure for imported and exported goods is reduced to cover five days of storage rather than the previous ten. Approval and custodian bond validity for AEO LO CCSPs continue for the duration of their AEO authorization unless suspended or revoked.

Special Economic Zones governance: Board approves extensions, co-developer status, non-processing area demarcations, and other SEZ administrative actions.
The Board of Approval for Special Economic Zones considered multiple administrative and regulatory proposals, including extensions of approval validity, co-developer approvals, demarcation of non-processing area, partial de-notification, revival of a sick unit, duty-free procurement of a restricted item, revised notification after consolidation of plots, a new SEZ proposal, and one appeal. It granted several one-year extensions, approved co-developer status subject to standard SEZ conditions and tax examination rights, permitted numerous Rule 11B demarcations, recommended partial de-notification, and directed further examination of land-area norms for emerging sector SEZ proposals.

Import Management System governs authorised imports of restricted IT hardware, allowing multiple applications and amendments during validity.
Importers must apply for Import Authorisation through the DGFT Import Management System portal within the announced application window; authorisations issued under the IMS are valid until the end of the calendar year. The system permits multiple applications by the same importer and allows requests for amendment to an authorisation during its validity to be submitted on the DGFT website.

Capacity planning mandates enhanced infrastructure and continuous real time performance monitoring for market infrastructure institutions to prevent disruptions.
MIIs must adopt a proactive, future oriented Capacity Planning methodology and a comprehensive Real Time Performance Monitoring framework covering all critical IT systems and interdependent components; obtain SCOT and Board approval; ensure installed capacity exceeds projected peak demand; implement automated monitoring, alerts, asset registers, utilization thresholds, dedicated alert response teams, regular stress testing and vendor SLA provisions; and submit revised guidelines to the regulator within the prescribed timeframe.

Optional T+0 rolling settlement expands eligibility and participation, enabling parallel trading with T+1 under operational safeguards.
Expansion of an optional T+0 rolling settlement permits trading alongside T+1 by widening eligible scrips to a phased top 500 market capitalisation list, allowing all brokers to participate and to levy differential brokerage within limits, and obliging Qualified Stock Brokers, custodians and Market Infrastructure Institutions to implement systems for investor participation. A morning Block Deal window for T+0 will be available, MIIs must publish operational guidelines and FAQs, and provide fortnightly reports; phased applicability and modification of prior circular provisions are specified.

GST clarification on affiliation, composite supply, exemptions, and past liability regularisation across multiple service categories.
Clarification is issued on the GST treatment of multiple services, including affiliation services, DGCA-approved flying training courses, helicopter passenger transport, goods transport agency ancillary services, import of services by foreign airline establishments, preferential location charges, electricity utility support services, and film distribution transactions. The circular distinguishes exempt supplies from taxable supplies, treats certain ancillary services as part of composite supply, and regularises GST liability on an as is where is basis for specified past periods.

Preferential Certificate of Origin modernization: eCoO 2.0 requires new filings, multi-user access, e-sign and e-wallet features.
The eCoO 2.0 platform replaces the legacy system for Preferential Certificate of Origin filings from 21.12.2024, while pending applications up to 20.12.2024 remain on the legacy platform. Authorised agencies must designate an Administrator to manage users, regional offices, payment gateway parameters, upload background-cleared stamps and signatures, map issuing officers and enable e-wallets. Issuing officers must register with official emails, obtain Administrator approval, and register digital signature tokens. Data migration of CoOs and e-wallet balances will follow stabilisation and be notified separately; CoO verification is available via a pre-login verification tool or QR code.

Due diligence document repository required - merchant bankers must upload issue-related records to exchange platforms within specified timelines.
Merchant bankers must upload due diligence records and documents relied upon in public issue management to a stock-exchange operated Document Repository platform, using individual login credentials, ensuring documents are relevant, complete and legible, and enabling supervisory access by the regulator. Documents are to be uploaded to the repository of an exchange where listing is proposed and other exchanges informed; specified timelines for uploads apply after filing draft offer documents and after listing. Preservation obligations under merchant banker regulations remain applicable and the requirements cover draft offer documents filed on or after the effective date for mainboard and SME listings.

Casual taxable person registration governs event organisers, vendors and venue owners, requiring advance tax compliance and prior event clearance.
Event organisers and participants making taxable supplies in Delhi must obtain GST registration as casual taxable persons if not already registered there, while venue owners must ensure compliance. Casual taxable persons must register at least five days before the event and deposit estimated tax in advance. Organisers must give prior intimation at least fifteen days before the event, obtain a No Objection Certificate, disclose vendor, sponsor and venue information, issue tax invoices where applicable, cooperate with scrutiny, and submit post-event sales, payment and tax details. Exempt events also require prior intimation and an NOC.