Recovery of defaulter assets: exchanges and clearing corporations must liquidate member assets to satisfy client obligations and amend bye laws.
Stock Exchanges and Clearing Corporations must initiate recovery by liquidating movable and immovable assets of a declared defaulter member, including sale of securities of debit balance clients to the extent of their debit, and commence court proceedings where assets are not in SE/CC possession. Such actions are to be taken within six months of declaration of default. Exchanges and Clearing Corporations must notify members, amend bye laws as needed, and report implementation status monthly to the regulator.

Investment Adviser registration in IFSC now requires separate net worth per activity and annual compliance audit.
Eligibility permits entities recognised in their parent jurisdiction to form a company or LLP to operate in IFSC as Investment Advisers, with no separate formation required if already a company or LLP in IFSC. IAs must provide services only to persons specified in the IFSC Guidelines and comply with relevant overseas regulator requirements for non-resident clients. The IA or parent must meet the net worth requirement separately for each activity, and IAs must conduct an annual audit of compliance with the Investment Adviser Regulations and these Guidelines by a chartered accountant or company secretary.

Preferential issue pricing flexibility for listed REITs permits alternative VWAP-based floor with a three-year lock-in.
REITs may not undertake a subsequent institutional placement until two weeks after a prior institutional placement effected via special resolution. For preferential issues made until December 31, 2020, REITs may opt for a pricing floor equal to the higher of a 12 week or 2 week weekly high low VWAP average; units issued under this method will be locked-in for three years and all allotments from the same unitholders' approval must follow the same pricing method. Previously locked sponsor units may be counted for lock-in computation but will not be freshly re-locked if free of lock-in at the time of issue.

Preferential issue pricing revised: temporary two week or twelve week VWAP option with three year lock in for listed InvITs.
The circular permits listed InvITs to use, for preferential issues until December 31, 2020, a pricing method where the issue price is not less than the higher of a twelve-week or two-week VWAP-based weekly average, mandates a three-year lock-in for units issued under that method, and requires uniform pricing method across allotments from the same unitholder approval. It also provides that no subsequent institutional placement may occur until two weeks after a prior institutional placement, and that previously sponsor-locked units count toward lock-in computation without being re-locked if free of lock-in at the time of the preferential issue.

Certificate of Origin requirements: item wise COO details, eSanchit upload with IRN, CUF02 declaration, and mandatory defacement.
Importers claiming preferential duty must enter item wise COO details and the CUF02 self declaration in the Bill of Entry; upload the COO to eSanchit and declare its IRN per item; indicate transit country as issuing country or intervening country code; and ensure each uploaded COO is marked defaced in the system before Out of Charge, per ICES changes effective 21.09.2020 and Annexures mapping notifications to COO document codes.

Manufacturing and other operations in a Warehouse Regulations: ICES updated for mapping, Ex Bond BE fields, and interest waiver.
ICES now requires IEC-warehouse mapping and updated BE declarations for Ex Bond Bills of Entry for goods manufactured in Sec 65 warehouses: the system validates IEC and 10 digit warehouse code mapping; BE_ITEM_SW_CTRL must record warehousing date, GST invoice number and date, finished product description, quantity and unit code for each item; multiple invoices may be entered via serial controls. Items cleared from the mapped Sec 65 warehouse will attract no interest. A re crediting option for the Warehouse BE ledger on re export via Shipping Bill entry has been enabled.

E-office adoption encourages electronic submissions in searchable PDF with contact details for acknowledgement and diary tracking.
Launch of e-office in the Customs Commissionerate, ICD PPG and other ICDs to establish paperless electronic office work; taxpayers are encouraged to submit communications in PDF (preferably searchable), include mobile and email for immediate mail/SMS acknowledgement, and use the allotted Diary Number as a reference. Trade associations and advisory members must circulate the notice and report difficulties or suggestions.

Preferential origin declaration required when claiming FTA benefits; importer must sign and upload certified origin details at filing.
Where an FTA/PTA notification is claimed in the Bill of Entry, the importer must sign and upload the Annexure I Preferential Origin Declaration to e Sanchit at filing, including importer name, designation and stamp. Annexure I requires statements on invoice accuracy, absence or disclosure of alternative information affecting price or quantity, transaction basis, seller imposed restrictions, post import price adjustments, additional payments affecting valuation, related party status and SVB examination, and full particulars necessary to establish originating status under the applicable trade agreement.

Remote general meetings permitted: companies may use virtual platforms or postal ballots under extended COVID flexibility.
Companies are authorised to conduct extraordinary general meetings through video conferencing or other audio visual means, or to transact business by postal ballot, in accordance with the framework and conditions set out in the Ministry's earlier circulars; all other requirements in those circulars remain applicable and unchanged.

Extension of time for filing charge-related forms under Companies Act relaxed; deadline extended while prior conditions remain unchanged.
Extension of a scheme providing relaxation of time for filing forms relating to creation or modification of charges under the Companies Act, 2013 is effected by substituting the previously specified deadline figures with later dates; all other eligibility criteria and procedural requirements of the earlier circular remain unchanged.

LLP Settlement Scheme extension preserves existing scheme requirements and deadlines under ministry circular to support compliance continuity.
Extension of the LLP Settlement Scheme, 2020 continues the measures of General Circular No. 13/2020; the scheme period is extended to 31st December, 2020 and all other conditions and procedural requirements of the earlier circular remain unchanged to address COVID-19 related disruption.

Companies Fresh Start Scheme extended to provide additional compliance relief until 31 December 2020, terms otherwise unchanged.
The Companies Fresh Start Scheme, 2020 is extended to provide additional time for companies to regularise filings and fulfil statutory requirements; all procedural requirements, eligibility conditions and other stipulations of the earlier circular remain unchanged and continue to govern access to the Scheme's benefits.

Steel Import Monitoring System registration required for specified steel imports; prior online registration must be entered in Bills of Entry.
SIMS registration is compulsory for imports of additional steel HS codes under Chapters 72, 73 and 86 of the ITC (HS), 2017; Bills of Entry on or after 16 October 2020 must reflect prior online SIMS registration. Importers must submit advance information in the SIMS online system, obtain an automatic registration number on payment of a registration fee, apply within the prescribed advance window before expected arrival, and enter the registration number and its expiry in the Bill of Entry to enable customs clearance.

Verification of Rules of Origin: importers must document origin criteria and customs may seek exporting country verification to validate preferential claims.
Implementation of section 28DA and CAROTAR 2020 requires importers to retain and provide minimum information demonstrating compliance with Rules of Origin; customs officers must first seek this information from the importer before initiating verification with exporting countries. Verification requests must be complete, representative where multiple certificates exist, approved by the jurisdictional principal authority, and accompanied by legible COO, invoice and transport documents. Repeated failure to provide information or exercise reasonable care leads to compulsory verification of subsequent consignments until adequate controls are shown. A central nodal point and specimen repository support authentication and communications with partner countries.

Cancellation of Letter of Approval may be effected via General Clauses Act; SEZ Act should be amended to clarify powers.
Minutes record that cancellation of a co-developer's Letter of Approval may be effected by invoking the General Clauses Act, while the SEZ Act and Rules should be amended to provide explicit enabling provisions. The Board granted multiple one year extensions and regularisations of formal approvals and LoAs, approved conditional changes in developer identity and shareholding subject to continuity, eligibility, regulatory compliance and tax disclosure obligations, and authorised numerous co-developer approvals and operational permissions with conditions and agreements.

GST registration revocation timelines extend for specified return-default cancellations where electronic notice and earlier cancellation orders applied.
For GST registrations cancelled for return defaults, where notice was served through registered e-mail or the common portal and the cancellation order was passed up to 12 June 2020, the revocation application period is calculated from the later of the order's service date or 31 August 2020. The clarification applies to composition taxpayers failing to furnish returns for consecutive tax periods and other registered persons failing to furnish returns continuously for six months.

Resources for trustees compliance deferred; earlier trustee resource guidelines now applicable from January 1, 2021.
Compliance with prior guidelines on resources for trustees of mutual funds is deferred and shall apply from January 01, 2021; all substantive obligations and conditions of the August 10, 2020 circular remain unchanged. The circular emphasizes statutory authority to support investor protection and trustee governance standards applicable to Mutual Funds, Asset Management Companies, trustee companies and boards of trustees.

Client level segregation of advisory and distribution mandates single service choice within adviser groups and strict compliance obligations.
SEBI requires Investment Advisers to implement client-level segregation of advisory and distribution services within adviser groups using PAN as control, treat dependent family members as a single client where applicable, obtain annual auditor certification of segregation compliance, and advise direct (non commission) plans where available. Advisers must enter into prescribed written investment advisory agreements prior to rendering advice or charging fees, follow specified fee regimes under Assets under Advice or Fixed Fee modes with supporting documentation and restrictions, maintain verifiable client interaction records for prescribed retention periods, conduct annual compliance audits with reporting, and comply with registration, qualification, risk profiling and disclosure requirements within stated timelines.

System-Driven Disclosures require listed companies to provide promoter PANs to depositories, with prompt sharing and same-day updates.
Listed companies must provide PAN numbers of promoters, promoter group members, designated persons and directors to the designated depository in the prescribed format; for PAN exempt entities, investor demat account numbers are to be provided. The designated depository will share this information with the other depository. Listed companies must update the designated depository on the same day for any subsequent changes, and the designated depository will share incremental changes the same day. Other procedural requirements of the earlier SDD circular remain applicable.

Customs drawbacks: pending claims to be processed; exporter replies and EGMs due by 02-11-2020 or claims decided on records.
A "Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive" mandates priority disposal of all refund/drawback claims pending as on 31-08-2020. Exporters/CHAs must reply to queries by 02-11-2020 or claims will be decided on available records; EGM non-filing and EGM errors must be rectified and BRCs produced by 02-11-2020 or claims processed at zero drawback with rights to file supplementary claims preserved. Approval for EGM error rectification is delegated to the EGM Superintendent, subject to random checks; affected lists are uploaded on the customs website and the Notice is a standing order for staff.