Insider trading controls: updated clearance, cooling off and disclosure rules govern AMC employees' and trustees' securities transactions.
Regulatory controls require prior written clearance by the Compliance Officer for secondary-market transactions by defined Access Persons, mandate a non-speculation expectation including a 30-calendar-day rule on round-trip trades, prescribe a recorded pre-clearance process, and allow limited sale-only relaxations of the cooling off restriction subject to holding-period, frequency and non-possession of material non-public information conditions; disclosures of transactions, annual holdings and declarations against front running and self dealing are mandatory and Boards must review compliance.

RoDTEP rates for AA/EoU/SEZ exports: industry must submit certified product wise data on unrefunded tax incidence within three weeks.
The Drawback Division requests product wise data from Export Promotion Councils, Commodity Boards, trade associations and chambers to determine RoDTEP ceiling rates for AA/EoU/SEZ exports for 01.10.2019-31.03.2020. Submissions must list all inputs, quantify input use and indigenous ratios, and detail currently unrefunded central, state and local duties/taxes/levies (including embedded CGST/SGST, electricity duty, fuel and stamp duty) per unit. Data must be certified by the manufacturer and its Chartered Accountant/Cost Accountant, supported by invoices, shipping bills and notifications, limited to units consenting to inspection, and sent to the Drawback Division within three weeks.

Cloud kitchens taxed at 5% as restaurant service; ice cream parlors at 18%; several service GST clarifications issued.
Services by cloud kitchens/central kitchens involving cooking and supply of food are covered under restaurant service and attract 5% GST without ITC; ice cream parlors selling pre manufactured ice cream are supplies of goods and attract 18% GST. Government funded coaching under the Scholarships for Students with Disabilities scheme is exempt where total expenditure is borne by the Government. Satellite launch services to foreign customers qualify as export of service and are zero rated where place of supply is outside India.

Refund of wrongfully paid tax: entitlement where supply classification is later corrected, subject to filing within the prescribed limitation period.
The term subsequently held covers taxpayer self reclassification and officer determinations; refund claims require payment under the correct tax head and must be filed within the period prescribed by the amended procedural rule measured from the date of such payment, with transitional relief for payments made before the amendment; refunds are barred where tax was adjusted by issuance of a credit note.

Tariff Rate Quota access under India Mauritius CECPA: online TRQ applications extended and allocation mechanism clarified.
The Public Notice amends the TRQ framework under India-Mauritius CECPA by revising covered tariff lines and TRQ quantities and by prescribing that TRQ imports comply with the revised Annexure III and the applicable Customs notification. Applications must be submitted online via the DGFT portal with a pre purchase agreement from an eligible Mauritian exporter. Allocation will be made equally among eligible applicants; TRQ authorisations will be issued electronically, transmitted to the Customs EDI system and imports permitted only upon electronic debiting in that system.

Benchmarking of mutual fund schemes: two-tier total-return index framework standardizes category and style-specific benchmarks, with AMFI publication and phased applicability.
Mandates a two-tier benchmarking framework for mutual fund schemes: a mandatory first tier comprising a single broad market benchmark per index provider representative of the scheme category, and an optional second tier of bespoke benchmarks reflecting a fund manager's investment style. Requires all benchmarks to be Total Return Indices and prescribes single-benchmark approaches for hybrid, thematic, index funds, ETFs and specified treatment for fund-of-funds. Directs AMFI to publish first-tier benchmarks and debt-scheme benchmarks under the Potential Risk Class Matrix, with phased applicability.

Scrutiny of returns assigns designated officers to communicate accepted explanations and address resulting audit, inspection, search, seizure and adjudication.
Schedule A is revised, effective from 1 July 2017, to allocate proper-officer functions for scrutiny of returns. Assistant Commissioners and State Tax Officers are designated to intimate registered persons when an explanation is accepted. Where scrutiny results in audit or inspection, search and seizure, or adjudication, Joint Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners and State Tax Officers are designated as proper officers.

Import relaxation for genetically modified soya cake permits controlled imports through specified ports with mandatory GM status declaration and monitoring.
The Central Government relaxed Condition 6(b) of the General Notes on Import Policy to permit controlled import of crushed and de oiled GM soya cake (non living organism) under ITC(HS) codes 23040020 and 23040030 through specified ports only, subject to a time bound last shipment/document date, strict aggregate quantity monitoring, and mandatory Bill of Entry declarations of GM status and product grade; Customs must monitor and report clearances daily and publish permitted daily quantum to aid trade planning.

Authorised courier registration now has lifetime validity with provisions for deemed invalidity on prolonged inactivity and renewal.
Amendments grant lifetime validity to Authorised Courier registrations, allow voluntary surrender, and specify deemed invalidity for continuous one-year inactivity while enabling Principal Commissioners/Commissioners to renew such registrations; duplicate registrations across Customs Stations are to be rationalised by treating the first registration as the single registration with other locations regularised through the prescribed intimation and bond/security procedures, aided by DG Systems, and revocation communications must be coordinated to other stations and designated nodal officers.

Annual Information Statement: authorized upload of specified financial data into taxpayers' Form 26AS within prescribed timeframe.
Authorization is given to the Director General of Income tax (Systems) to upload specified categories of financial information held by that office into the Annual Information Statement in Form 26AS on the assessee's electronic filing account within three months from the end of the month in which the information is received, including foreign remittance reports, Annexure II TDS data, other taxpayers' ITR information, interest on income tax refund, Form 61/61A data where PAN is available, off market transaction reports from depositories, and mutual fund reports from registrars and transfer agents; the Director General shall specify procedures, formats and standards for such uploads.

Refund of wrongly paid tax: taxpayers may claim refund after correcting classification and payment under the correct tax head.
Clarification explains that refund for tax wrongfully paid because a supply was misclassified is available whether the taxpayer reclassifies the supply or a tax authority does so, provided the taxpayer pays tax under the correct head. The refund claim must be filed within two years from the date of payment under the correct head, or, for payments made before the notification, within two years from the notification date. Refunds are not available where the tax has been adjusted by issuance of a credit note.

GST classification of specified services clarifies restaurant treatment, exemptions, export status, and standard-rate liability across sectors.
Cloud kitchens and central kitchens supplying cooked food through takeaway or delivery are treated as restaurant services taxable at 5% without input tax credit. Ice-cream parlours selling pre-manufactured ice cream without cooking or preparation make a supply of goods taxable at 18%. Government-funded coaching under the scholarship scheme for students with disabilities is exempt where the entire expenditure is borne by the Government. Overloading charges at toll plazas receive the same exemption as toll charges, while qualifying vehicle rentals to State Transport Undertakings or local authorities are treated as giving vehicles on hire and are exempt.

GST classification clarifications differentiate fresh produce, seed use, composite supplies and concessional treatment across specified goods and projects.
GST classification depends on product condition, tariff coverage, intended use, and whether supplies are separately identifiable. Fresh fruits and nuts are exempt only when neither frozen, dried, nor otherwise processed, while dried products attract the applicable scheduled rate. Tamarind seeds are classified as seeds for sowing, with non-sowing supplies taxable at 5% from 1 October 2021. Copra, pure henna products, specified residues, pharmaceutical goods under heading 3006, and laboratory goods under heading 3822 receive the stated classifications and rates. Interstate petroleum stock transfers may use the original essentiality certificate subject to record-based nexus verification.

Export of services by Indian subsidiaries remains available where the foreign parent is a separately incorporated legal entity.
Services supplied by one establishment of the same person in India to another establishment of that person outside India do not satisfy the export of services condition concerning distinct establishments. However, a company incorporated in India and a body corporate incorporated outside India are separate persons and legal entities for GST purposes, even where they are related as parent, subsidiary, sister concern or group concern. Services supplied by the Indian-incorporated entity to establishments of the foreign company outside India are not barred by that condition and may qualify as exports if the remaining statutory conditions are fulfilled.

Input tax credit on debit notes follows their issue year, while e-invoices permit electronic verification during transport.
Input tax credit on debit notes is governed, from 1 January 2021, by the financial year in which the debit note is issued, rather than the financial year of the underlying invoice. For credit availed on or after that date, the amended rule applies to debit notes issued both before and after that date; credit availed earlier remains subject to the pre-amendment position. The applicable outer limit remains the due date for the September return following the relevant financial year or filing of the annual return, whichever occurs earlier.

Intermediary services require facilitation between distinct principals, excluding suppliers and subcontractors providing the main supply on their own account.
Intermediary services require three parties, a distinct main supply between two principals, and an ancillary service arranging or facilitating that supply. The intermediary must act in a supportive broker-, agent- or similar capacity and cannot itself supply the main goods, services or securities on a principal-to-principal basis. Subcontractors performing all or part of the main service on their own account are excluded. Classification depends on the contractual terms and actual role performed. The special place-of-supply rule applies only where either the intermediary supplier or recipient is located outside India.

Registration revocation timelines extend for eligible cancellation cases, with staged discretionary extensions based on the elapsed statutory period.
Time limits for applying to revoke cancellation of GST registration are extended until 30 September 2021 where the original due date falls between 1 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 and cancellation arose from specified defaults. The benefit applies to unfiled, pending, rejected and appellate-stage revocation matters. Fresh applications may be filed after rejection in prescribed circumstances. Further extensions beyond the extended date depend on whether 30, 60 or 90 days had elapsed, with discretionary extensions available to the Joint or Additional Commissioner and Commissioner where the statutory conditions are met.

Exemption eligibility for sovereign and pension funds clarified: borrowing for investments disqualifies, general borrowings do not.
The Board clarifies that a specified fund (or any group concern) that has taken loans or borrowings specifically for the purpose of making investment in India shall not be eligible for the exemption. If loans or borrowings were not taken specifically for making the investment in India, it shall not be presumed that the investment was made out of such borrowings and the specified fund remains eligible for the exemption, subject to fulfilment of all other conditions and provided the source of the investment is not from those borrowings.

Late filing relief for LLPs: additional fees waived for Statement of Account and Solvency filings.
LLPs may file Form 8 (Statement of Account and Solvency) for the financial year 2020-2021 without payment of additional fees until 30th December, 2021, as a temporary relief addressing COVID-19 related filing difficulties, aimed at easing compliance burdens for MSMEs operating as LLPs.

Refund of wrongly paid GST available when supply classification is subsequently corrected, subject to the prescribed limitation period.
Refunds for tax paid under an incorrect GST head are available where the supply is subsequently reclassified either by the taxpayer or by a tax/adjudicatory authority, provided the taxpayer pays tax under the correct head. The refund claim must be filed within two years from the date of payment under the correct head; for payments made before the refund rule amendment, the two year period runs from the amendment's effective date. Refunds are not available if tax was adjusted by issuance of a credit note.