Body Worn Cameras mandated for customs officers at international airports to record Red channel passenger interactions and secure footage.
Mandates use of Body Worn Cameras by customs officers in the Red channel and during passenger interactions at international airports, requiring activation for the entire interaction, passenger notification, and use of stand alone devices. Supervisory officers must nominate wearers, maintain sign in/out records, and ensure daily transfer of encrypted recordings to a secured vigilance folder with HDD backup; batch data must be erased after transfer. Recordings are retained for 90 days unless needed longer for inquiries, external access requires Principal Commissioner/Commissioner approval, and operational exceptions must be documented and verified.

Compliance Officers of Managers of AIFs must obtain NISM Series III C certification; only certified persons allowed from Jan 1, 2027.
Compliance Officers of managers of Alternative Investment Funds must obtain the NISM Series III C: Securities Intermediaries Compliance (Fund) Certification Examination and, from January 01, 2027, only certified persons may be appointed or continue as Compliance Officer; managers must record this compliance in the manager's 'Compliance Test Report'.

Companies annual filings for FY 2024-25 may be completed without additional fees until 31 January 2026.
Companies may file specified annual returns and financial statements for FY 2024-25 - including MGT-7, MGT-7A, AOC-4, AOC-4 CFS, AOC-4 NBFC (Ind AS), AOC-4 CFS NBFC (Ind AS) and AOC-4 (XBRL) - up to 31 January 2026 without payment of additional fees; all other requirements of General Circular No. 06/2025 remain unchanged.

Revision of entries post-clearance allows IECs to electronically amend bills of entry and track requests via ICEGATE.
Voluntary post-clearance revision under section 18A permits registered IEC holders to electronically submit amendments to bill of entry entries via ICEGATE; submitted requests are made available to customs officers for processing and can be tracked through the ICEGATE enquiries service, with procedural steps in the User Manual and technical support available by email.

Format for Statement of Beneficial Ownership and notarised Affidavit required with every resolution plan under regulation 38(3A).
The circular prescribes mandatory formats: Annexure 1 for the Statement of Beneficial Ownership requiring PRA details and, for each Beneficial Owner, name, tax identifier, nationality, address, manner of ownership/control and documentary evidence; Annexure 2 for a notarised Affidavit by an authorised signatory declaring whether the PRA is eligible for the section 32A benefit with a brief factual basis. The Resolution Professional must ensure these documents form part of the plan submitted to the Committee of Creditors and filed under section 30(6).

GSTAT bench allocation for technical and judicial members notified, with members directed to join their allotted benches on 21.01.2026.
Allocation of benches to appointed GSTAT members is notified through an office order issued with the approval of the competent authority. The order lists the place of posting for members appointed as Technical Member (Centre), Technical Member (State), and Judicial Member, thereby assigning them to respective bench locations across different cities. All members are requested to join their respective benches on 21.01.2026.

Customs cargo custodianship approval transfers after amalgamation, subject to insurance, recordkeeping, infrastructure, cargo-control and regulatory compliance obligations.
Custodianship of Berth No. 15 for handling bulk cargo is approved in the name of Adani Power Limited following amalgamation of the earlier custodian. The entity is also approved as a Customs Cargo Service Provider for custody and handling of imported and export goods until January 31, 2028, or further orders. It must comply with customs-area cargo handling requirements, maintain prescribed bonds, guarantees and insurance, account for goods, obtain permission for transfers or alterations, display service charges, provide adequate facilities and manpower, and allow removal or handling of goods only with written customs permission.

Chennai Air Cargo will supply time-stamped import/export data for NTRS 2026 to measure air cargo release times.
The Chennai Air Cargo Commissionerate will participate in the National Time Release Study 2026, requiring collection of time-stamped regulatory and logistics data for Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills filed 01.01.2026-07.01.2026, continuing until out-of-charge/let-export or 07.02.2026. Stakeholders must supply complete, consistent data in the prescribed template and formats; manual records where needed; report anomalies same day; and coordinate with PGAs and Customs sections to identify bottlenecks and assess adherence to cargo release benchmarks for air shipments.

Issuance of duplicate securities certificates: threshold raised to Rs. Ten Lakhs, simplified affidavit format, notarisation waived under Rs. Ten Thousand.
The circular raises the simplified documentation threshold for issuance of duplicate securities to Rs. Ten Lakhs, prescribes a standard Affidavit cum Indemnity format and waives notarisation for claims up to Rs. Ten Thousand. Claims over Rs. Ten Lakhs require additional proof (FIR/e FIR/police complaint/court order/plaint) with security details and publication of loss by the listed company; processing timelines run from complete submission or advertisement date. The substituted Para 22.1.1-22.1.4 applies immediately and duplicate certificates will be dematerialised.

Basic Services Demat Account rules updated: certain securities excluded and quarterly eligibility reassessment required.
BSDA rules are amended to exclude Zero Coupon Zero Principal bonds and delisted securities from the threshold for BSDA eligibility; illiquid securities are valued at last closing price. DPs must reassess eligibility quarterly and convert eligible accounts to BSDA unless the beneficial owner provides active authenticated consent to retain a regular demat account through verifiable channels. These amendments replace specified prior paras and come into force on March 31, 2026, with depositories required to amend bye laws and implement systems within prescribed timelines.

National Time Release Study measures EXIM cargo clearance times and seeks stakeholder cooperation to improve release processes.
National Time Release Study, 2026 will measure average end-to-end clearance and release times for import and export goods and use the findings to optimise EXIM cargo release processes. Air Cargo Complex, Mumbai, is a selected study location. Importers, Customs Brokers, trade participants and other stakeholders are requested to participate and cooperate, with an awareness meeting scheduled to support effective conduct of the exercise.

Interest and penalty waiver under Section 128A requires full tax payment, prescribed applications, and withdrawal of pending challenges.
Section 128A permits waiver of interest, penalty, or both for eligible section 73 demands for financial years 2017-18 to 2019-20, conditional on full payment of tax and filing the prescribed waiver application. FORM GST SPL-01 applies to unadjudicated notices or statements, and FORM GST SPL-02 applies to demand, appellate, revisional, and eligible redetermination orders. Pending appeals, writ petitions, or special leave petitions concerning the demand must be withdrawn. Full tax payment is required even where a demand includes non-covered periods or erroneous refunds, although waiver remains limited to eligible periods and issues. Eligible credit no longer payable under section 16(5) or section 16(6) may be deducted where it was denied solely under section 16(4).

Retrospective input tax credit eligibility permits rectification of pending demands, subject to procedural conditions and refund limitations.
Retrospective eligibility for input tax credit applies to specified invoices and debit notes for financial years 2017-18 through 2020-21 and to eligible credit following revocation of cancelled registration. Pending investigations, adjudications, appeals, and revisions concerning denial solely for the former time limit must apply the revised position. A special electronic rectification procedure is available for unappealed demand orders involving such credit, subject to the prescribed period and supporting proforma. Tax already paid or credit reversed is generally not refundable, except for appeal pre-deposits where the appeal is decided in favour of the taxpayer.

GST regularisation on an as-is basis accepts lower-rate or exempt treatment but excludes refunds and unpaid tax.
GST regularisation on an "as is" or "as is, where is" basis accepts the tax position reflected in filed returns where genuine doubt existed between competing rates or an exemption entry. Payment at the lower competing rate, or nil-rate treatment based on a genuine exemption doubt, is treated as full discharge for the regularised period. Taxpayers who paid at a higher rate cannot claim a refund. The regularisation does not protect cases of complete non-payment where no nil-rate or exemption position forms part of the competing tax treatments.

GST classification of savoury products, railway air conditioners and vehicle seats determines applicable prospective and continuing rate treatment.
Extruded or expanded savoury or salted products, excluding un-fried or un-cooked snack pellets manufactured through extrusion, fall under HS 1905 90 30 and attract 12% GST from 10 October 2024; the lower treatment is prospective and earlier supplies attract 18% GST. Roof Mounted Package Unit air-conditioning machines for Railways fall under HS 8415 and attract 28% GST. Car seats under HS 9401 attract 28% GST prospectively from 10 October 2024, while two-wheeler seats under HS 8714 attract 28% GST.

GST classification clarifications define taxable affiliations, exempt recognised flying training, composite transport supplies, and regularised historical liabilities across services.
University affiliation services supplied to constituent colleges remain outside the educational-institution exemption and attract GST at 18%. Affiliation supplied by educational boards, councils and similar bodies to schools is taxable, while supplies to government schools are exempt from 10 October 2024; liability for all schools from 1 July 2017 to 17 June 2021 is regularised on an "as is where is" basis. DGCA-approved flying courses supplied by approved Flying Training Organisations, where completion certificates are mandated, are exempt as education leading to a qualification recognised by law.

IGST export refund regularisation applies after import taxes and cess, interest, and customs reassessment requirements are satisfied.
IGST paid on exported goods and refunded to an exporter is not treated as contravening the export-refund restriction where the exporter initially imported inputs without IGST and compensation cess under the identified Customs notifications, later pays those levies with interest, and obtains reassessment of the relevant Bill of Entry by jurisdictional Customs authorities. Payment of IGST and compensation cess on inputs, with exemption confined to basic customs duty, means the specified notification benefit is treated as not availed for the restriction.

Data hosting services supplied independently to overseas cloud providers are governed by recipient-location rules and may qualify as exports.
Data hosting providers operating data centres and associated infrastructure on their own account supply services to overseas cloud computing providers on a principal-to-principal basis. The services are neither intermediary services, services in relation to recipient-made-available goods, nor services directly related to immovable property. As no specific place-of-supply rule applies, the default recipient-location rule governs the supply. Where the cloud computing provider is located outside India, the place of supply is outside India and the supply may be treated as export of services subject to fulfilment of the remaining statutory export conditions.

Input tax credit on demo vehicles remains available when test drives promote dealers' own further vehicle supplies.
Input tax credit on demo passenger vehicles is available where an authorised dealer uses them for trial runs and demonstrations that promote the dealer's own further supply of similar motor vehicles. Credit is blocked where vehicles are used for employee or management transport, or where the dealer only provides marketing or facilitation services for a manufacturer that directly sells vehicles to customers. Capitalisation does not itself affect credit eligibility, subject to restrictions where depreciation is claimed on the tax component and to prescribed tax obligations on subsequent sale.

Advertising services for foreign clients may receive export treatment when agencies supply on their own account.
Comprehensive advertising services supplied on an agency's own account to a foreign client constitute principal-to-principal supplies rather than intermediary services, even where the agency procures media space from media owners. The foreign client remains the recipient; an Indian representative or target audience does not. As the services are not performance-based, the default place-of-supply rule applies, locating supply with the foreign recipient and allowing export treatment subject to applicable conditions. A mere agent facilitating a direct media-owner and foreign-client supply is an intermediary, with place of supply at the agency's location.