GST audit framework under Assam law sets manual procedures, taxpayer duties, advance notice, record checks, and time-bound reporting.
GST audit under the Assam Goods and Services Tax Act is to verify turnover declared, taxes paid, refunds claimed, input tax credit availed and overall compliance by registered taxpayers. The instruction prescribes manual audit procedures until the electronic module becomes functional, including case allocation, advance notice in FORM GST ADT-01, examination of records and returns, confidentiality, peer review of draft reports and time-bound completion. It also sets out taxpayer rights, duties, indicative documents to be produced and record-maintenance requirements for audit monitoring.

Electronic filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin expands online, enabling digital submission and QR-based verification while paper options remain available.
Electronic filing of Non-Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) is enabled on the Common Digital Platform to accept online applications producing electronic, original and duplicate copies with image signature and stamp; QR code and certificate number verification are provided; attestation of supporting documents and wet ink signed printed copies remain available where required. Applicants must register and use a Class III Digital Signature Certificate, with IEC details auto populated from the DGFT database and existing credentials usable for registered e CoO users.

Change in control: family transfers and succession treated variably; prior approval and fit and proper checks govern new controllers.
Transfers among immediate relatives and transmissions of shareholding in unlisted corporate intermediaries do not constitute change in control; proprietary firm transfers or transmissions that alter legal formation or ownership do constitute change in control requiring prior approval and fresh registration; partnership firms permit inter se transfers among multiple partners without change in control, but induction of a new partner or alteration on death without deed provisions may constitute change in control. Incoming controlling persons must satisfy fit and proper person criteria under SEBI intermediary regulations.

Combating Financing of Terrorism: SEBI mandates intermediaries to implement revised UAPA Section 51A procedures for compliance.
SEBI directs all registered intermediaries, stock exchanges and depositories to strictly comply with the Government of India's revised procedure for implementation of Section 51A of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 concerning combating financing of terrorism, and to align their AML/CFT processes with this order while continuing to follow SEBI's existing AML/CFT guidelines.

Advance filing of Bills of Entry is proposed to enable pre-arrival assessment and reduce customs clearance time.
The proposed amendment to Section 46 of the Customs Act, 1962 would mandate advance filing of Bills of Entry for pre-arrival processing and assessment. Subject to enactment, importers would file Bills of Entry by the end of the day preceding arrival of the carrying vessel, aircraft or vehicle. Different deadlines may be prescribed for specified cases, but filing cannot be later than the end of the day of arrival. Possible relaxations for certain land, airport and short-haul imports may be considered after the amendment takes effect.

Duplicate PAN allocation: revised administrative rule ties re allotment to ITR filing status, with audit log review required.
The Directorate revises PAN duplication policy so outcomes turn on ITR filing status: if the first allottee has not filed ITR but the second has, the first receives a new PAN and the second keeps the original; if neither filed ITR, the first retains the original and the second is given a new PAN. Cases where both filed ITR for part years, and other uncategorised cases, require information on pending demands and refunds and approval of ADG(System)-1. Field officers must analyse PAN details and audit logs before applying the instruction.

Installation deadline extension for radiation portal monitors and container scanners allows additional time for compliance at designated sea ports.
Amendment extends the deadline for installation and operationalisation of Radiation Portal Monitors and Container Scanners at designated sea ports by amending Para 2.54(d)(v)(ii) of the Handbook of Procedures, 2015-2020, issued under powers conferred by Para 1.03 and 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, thereby providing additional time to comply with the installation and operationalisation requirement.

FETERS Cards reporting requires banks to submit detailed international card and UPI transaction data to the RBI portal.
Mandatory submission by Category I Authorised Dealer banks of FETERS-Cards returns on the RBI web portal detailing international credit/debit card and UPI transactions with MCC, country, currency, amount (payment/refund) and transaction modality (card present/not present; QR code scan). Reporting covers forex sales by card issuing ADs and forex purchases by merchant acquirer ADs across PoS, e commerce and account transfers, to be submitted within seven working days of month end, effective for transactions from April 1, 2021, under Sections 10(4) and 11(2) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Refund eligibility under GST clarified for deemed exports, zero-rated supply reporting errors, and adjusted total turnover calculation.
Clarifies that recipients of deemed export supplies may claim refund subject to prescribed undertakings, extends the relaxation for wrongly reported zero-rated supplies in FORM GSTR-3B for specified periods, and confirms that the amended valuation of zero-rated supply of goods applies equally while computing adjusted total turnover under Rule 89(4) for refund of unutilised input tax credit.

Tax audit reporting requirement for Form 3CD clauses 30C and 44 kept in abeyance due to COVID-19.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, invoking section 119 of the Income-tax Act, has ordered that the requirement to report under clause 30C and clause 44 of Form 3CD for Tax Audit reports under section 44AB/read with rule 6G shall be kept in abeyance in view of the COVID-19 pandemic; this continues earlier deferrals of those specific reporting obligations introduced by the Form 3CD amendment and successive circulars.

Perquisite exemption for medical treatment: employer-paid expenses at approved hospital not treated as perquisite and exempt from TDS.
Approval is granted to M/s Maa Ram Pyari Super Specility Hospital, Ranchi, under sub-clause (b) of clause (ii) of the proviso to clause (viii) of sub-section (2) of section 17 read with Rules 3A(1) and 3A(2), permitting employer-paid sums for specified medical treatments at the approved hospital to be treated as non-perquisites for the purposes of sections 15, 16 and 17, and relieving the employer from TDS obligation for such payments while the hospital continues to satisfy the statutory conditions; the approval is limited to the stated premises and is subject to inspection, renewal and withdrawal conditions.

Pre-arrival filing requirement under Section 46 mandates advance Bills of Entry to enable pre-arrival customs assessment and faster clearance.
The amendment to Section 46 will mandate pre-arrival filing of Bills of Entry before the end of the day preceding arrival of the conveyance at the customs port/station to enable pre-arrival processing and assessment. The Board may prescribe different time limits in specified cases, but any relaxation can be notified only after the amendment comes into effect. Field formations must urgently issue Public Notices/Trade Notices to sensitize trade; a detailed clarificatory circular will follow enactment.

Import authorization centralization for restricted items: applications must be filed online and authorizations issued from headquarters.
Import authorizations for restricted items are to be filed via DGFT's new online module and issued centrally from DGFT(HQ). Pending applications have been migrated to the new system. Re-validation or amendment requests for authorizations issued before the transition must go to the Regional Authority and may be handled manually; those issued after the transition must be submitted electronically to DGFT(HQ) with original copies presented for endorsement. Help manuals, FAQs and helpdesk channels are provided for assistance.

Delivery default penalty updated for sellers in commodity futures, with replacement cost and apportionment mechanisms enforced.
Sellers who default on delivery will incur a penalty consisting of a fixed percentage of the settlement price plus a replacement cost component, with differing replacement cost calculations for agricultural and non agricultural commodities; Clearing Corporations may vary penalties in consultation with the regulator. Penalty apportionment requires a mandatory deposit into the Settlement Guarantee Fund, a limited retention by the Clearing Corporation for administration, and payment of the balance plus replacement cost to the buyer entitled to delivery. Buyer default penalties are to be levied based on losses to the non defaulting seller but capped at delivery margins collected from the defaulting buyer.

Metric Million British Thermal Unit as a commercial unit is accepted in Customs EDI declarations for natural gas trade.
Metric Million British Thermal Unit is added as a standard commercial unit of quantity for import and export declarations. Recognised for measuring natural gas by energy content, it is used in commercial negotiations, invoices and ship ullage survey reports. The unit is accepted in the Customs EDI System, and import and export declarations using it must apply the unit quantity code MBT.

Black Money appeals jurisdiction assigned to designated Commissioners to ensure specified appeals remain outside the faceless scheme.
Appeals under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) Act are excluded from the faceless finalisation mechanism; the Board approves notification of specified Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) to exercise jurisdiction region-wise, superseding its earlier letter. Principal Chief Commissioners must issue the notifications and forward copies to the Board. The approval is effective from 25 September 2020 or the date of creation of the designated post, whichever is later, reflecting repurposing of appellate posts for the National Faceless Appeal Centre.

Search case classification under Vivad se Vishwas clarified to include assessments or reassessments based on searches or requisitions.
A search case for Vivad se Vishwas means an assessment or reassessment made under sections 143(3), 144, 147, 153A, 153C or 158BC in respect of a person referred to in sections 153A, 153C, 158BC or 158BD, where the assessment is based on a search initiated under section 132 or a requisition under section 132A; FAQ 70 of Circular 21/2020 is modified accordingly.

Business continuity requirements mandate rapid failover to disaster recovery sites and zero data loss to protect market infrastructure operations.
MIIs must maintain a Primary Data Centre, a geographically separated Disaster Recovery Site and a Near Site to ensure data and transaction integrity and zero data loss; staffing at DR locations must be trained to operate independently; an Incident and Response Team/ Crisis Management Team chaired by the MD or CTO must declare disasters and invoke BCP. Technical parity between sites, synchronous replication to NS, unannounced live trading tests, documented DR drills with root cause analysis, and Board approved BCP DR policies subject to periodic review and system audit are required, with prescribed RTO and RPO targets for critical systems.

Deemed residual maturity for Basel III bonds revised into a phased schedule, impacting valuation and Macaulay duration calculations.
The circular prescribes a phased glide path for the deemed residual maturity applied to Basel III AT 1 and Tier 2 bonds for valuation, requiring Macaulay Duration to be calculated on those deemed maturities; if an issuer does not exercise a call option, all its ISINs are to be valued using 100 years' maturity for AT 1 and contractual maturity for Tier 2, with any issuer stress or adverse news reflected in valuation. AMFI must issue detailed valuation guidelines.

Deemed export refund entitlement clarified: recipients may avail input tax credit while claiming refund, subject to portal debit requirement.
Recipients of deemed export supplies may claim refund of tax paid and are not statutorily barred from availing input tax credit on invoices for which refund is claimed; paragraph 41 of the earlier circular is amended accordingly. The portal requires debiting the equivalent ITC from the electronic credit ledger to prevent dual benefit, and the claimant must furnish an undertaking limiting refund to invoices in the relevant statement and declaring the supplier has not claimed refund. The definitionally amended cap on turnover of zero rated supplies applies when computing Adjusted Total Turnover under Rule 89(4), affecting refund calculations.