Waiver of bank guarantee extended for carriers transhipping EXIM cargo via Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, subject to existing eligibility criteria.
Waiver of Bank Guarantee is extended for carriers undertaking transhipment of EXIM containers through Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, applying the waiver conditions of Circular No.45/2005: carriers meeting the volume-based eligibility qualify for exemption, and jurisdictional Commissioners may exempt lower-volume carriers with good track records; the relief applies across modes of carriage and to shipping lines, ICDs, CFSs and other carriers.

AGM through video conferencing permitted for companies with delayed meetings, subject to compliance with prescribed procedural requirements.
AGMs may be conducted via video conferencing or other audio visual means for companies with meetings due in 2020 or becoming due in 2021, subject to compliance with the procedural requirements in paragraphs 3 and 4 of General Circular No. 20/2020. This clarification does not extend the statutory time for holding AGMs under the Companies Act, 2013, and non-compliance with timelines may attract legal action.

CSR funding eligibility for vaccination awareness permitted, subject to compliance with Companies (CSR Policy) Rules and related circulars.
Spending of CSR funds for awareness campaigns and public outreach on the COVID-19 vaccination programme is an eligible CSR activity under Schedule VII entries concerning promotion of health care, preventive health care and sanitization, promoting education, and disaster management; companies may undertake these activities subject to compliance with the Companies (CSR Policy) Rules, 2014 and Ministry circulars.

Waiver from recording of UIN on invoices allowed where attested invoice copies are submitted to the jurisdictional officer.
A waiver permits suppliers who omitted the UIN on invoices for the specified months to rely on attested invoice copies for refund claims, provided the copies are attested by an authorised representative of the UIN entity and submitted to the jurisdictional officer; the State has adopted the central circular mutatis mutandis and treats the instruction as clarificatory while inviting reports of implementation difficulties.

Quarterly return monthly payment scheme allows eligible taxpayers to file quarterly GSTR-3B with monthly tax deposits.
The QRMP Scheme allows registered persons with aggregate turnover up to five crore rupees to file FORM GSTR-3B quarterly while making monthly tax payments for the first two months of each quarter. Eligible taxpayers may use the Invoice Furnishing Facility to report selected invoices in the first two months, and must deposit monthly tax by the 25th day of the next month using either the Fixed Sum Method (portal pre-filled amount based on prior cash tax) or the Self Assessment Method. Deposits are adjusted against the quarterly GSTR-3B; interest and late fee rules apply as specified.

Input tax credit cumulative applicability restricts ITC claimed across months, requiring reconciliation and reversal where records lag.
Clarification prescribes cumulative application of sub-rule (4) of rule 36 for February-August 2020: taxpayers must reconcile ITC claimed in FORM GSTR-3B for those months with invoices uploaded by suppliers until the due date of FORM GSTR-1 for September 2020. The cumulative ITC claimed must not exceed 110% of the cumulative eligible credit reflected in supplier uploads; excess ITC must be reversed in Table 4(B)(2) of FORM GSTR-3B for September 2020, otherwise it will be treated as ineligible ITC.

MSME AEO accreditation: reduced eligibility thresholds, simplified annexures, faster processing, and lower bank guarantee requirements.
MSME applicants with a valid MSME certificate receive relaxed AEO T1/T2 accreditation: document-handling threshold reduced to ten with minimum five per half-year, business activity period reduced to two years, legal/financial compliance period shortened to two years, annexures consolidated into MSME Annexure 1 (general compliance), Annexure 2 (legal, records, financial solvency) and Annexure 3 (security for T2 only), processing times shortened (T1: 15 working days; T2: 3 months), and bank guarantees reduced to 25% (T1) and 10% (T2) of non-AEO levels; continuous MSME certification must be maintained.

Section 119 order corrigendum updates table entries for Singapore and Brazil and inserts authoritative source footnotes.
Corrigendum under section 119 amends the table at paragraph 7 by replacing the Singapore and Brazil rows with revised 2019 filing-related date entries, and inserts a footnote beneath paragraph 7 listing nine web sources as the basis for the updated table information.

FCRA registration validity extension preserves expiring certificates during the amendment transition, keeping them valid through the designated extension period.
The Ministry of Home Affairs, invoking executive authority under the Act, extends the validity of FCRA registration certificates that would expire during the transitional period following the amendment notified on 29 September 2020, so that such certificates remain valid until 31 May 2021 to ensure a smooth transition to the amended regime; stakeholders are advised to take appropriate action.

Correction under section 119: updated due-date entries for Singapore and Brazil and insertion of source footnote.
Corrigendum under the administrative power revises the paragraph 7 table by replacing rows for Singapore and Brazil with corrected date sequences, and directs insertion of a footnote beneath paragraph 7 listing the internet sources relied upon for the compiled dates and references.

Electronic issuance of Preferential Certificate of Origin enables exporters to claim GSP duty preference for UK-bound goods.
Addition of the United Kingdom on the e CoO Platform permits electronic issuance of Preferential Certificate of Origin (CoO) under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences. Valid proofs of origin are either electronic GSP Form A or an origin declaration; a physical stamp and signature are not required by UK guidance. The DGFT will not issue pre printed Form A stationery, and electronically submitted certificates will be processed through the platform's online approval process with image sign and signature. Exporters should use the e CoO landing page and designated support channels for registration and assistance.

Volatility Scan Range mandated: exchanges must adopt minimum VSRs by commodity class and conduct monthly backtesting and adjustments.
Prescribes minimum Volatility Scan Range (VSR) thresholds for option contracts by volatility category and commodity type; requires clearing corporations to backtest VSR monthly using three years' data, employing appropriate volatility estimation models (such as EWMA and implied volatility) over the relevant Margin Period of Risk; changes identified by the 15th must be implemented from the first trading day of the following month; circular effective from the first trading day of April and issued under SEBI's regulatory powers.

Daily price limits for commodity futures revised to slab-based mechanism with cooling-off, VWAP base rules and exchange reporting.
The circular revises Daily Price Limits for commodity futures by fixing the base price as prior closing (with VWAP-based rules for first trading day), prescribing initial, enhanced and aggregate slab mechanics with a fifteen-minute cooling-off period after breaches, permitting staged or exceptional relaxations tied to international price movements with immediate reporting to SEBI's surveillance, detailing VWAP-based daily settlement calculations, allowing exchanges to impose narrower DPLs based on surveillance or liquidity, and requiring system, bye-law and disclosure changes prior to implementation.

Extension of tax filing deadlines: further extensions rejected to preserve filing discipline and timely revenue collection.
The Government issued successive extensions for filing returns and tax-audit reports during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the audit-report due date linked as one month prior to return due dates; cumulative filing data and international comparison show substantial relief already granted. Considering public interest in timely revenue collection and administrative continuity, and applying deference to executive fixation of cut-off dates absent blatant arbitrariness, requests for any further extension are rejected.

Transfer of excess Stock Exchange contributions between Core SGFs permitted, subject to direct inter clearing transfer and Minimum Required Corpus compliance.
Transfers of a Stock Exchange's excess contribution are permitted from the Core SGF of one Clearing Corporation to the Core SGF of another in an interoperable scenario. Transfers must be initiated on request of the Exchange, effected directly by the Clearing Corporation receiving the request to the destination Core SGF, with intimation to the Exchange, and must preserve compliance with the Minimum Required Corpus of Core SGF prescribed by the regulator.

Exemption from proviso compliance requires investor waiver in prescribed format under SEBI AIF regulatory framework.
Exemption from applicability of clauses (i) and (ii) of the first proviso to Regulation 20(6) of the AIF Regulations is subject to specified conditions, including each investor furnishing a waiver to the AIF in the manner prescribed by SEBI; the circular provides the waiver format at Annexure I and issues the guidance under SEBI's investor-protection and regulatory powers.

Monthly reporting by portfolio managers: detailed AUM, inflows/outflows, transactions, performance and complaints required each month.
SEBI requires portfolio managers to submit monthly reports on the Intermediaries Portal within seven working days after month-end using the revised Annexure A format. The template collects detailed data by service type-discretionary, non-discretionary, advisory-covering client break-ups, AUM by asset class and approach, funds inflows/outflows (monthly and fiscal YTD), transaction data including portfolio turnover ratio, performance metrics with benchmark comparisons, and a complaints matrix showing pending, received and resolved counts.

MSME AEO accreditation receives simplified eligibility, compliance, security documentation, faster processing and enhanced bank-guarantee concessions for T1 and T2 applicants.
MSME applicants for Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) T1 and T2 accreditation receive relaxed eligibility, compliance, security, documentation, processing and bank-guarantee requirements. Eligibility and legal and financial compliance periods are reduced to two financial years. Rationalised MSME Annexures 1 and 2 apply to T1 and T2 applicants, while MSME Annexure 3 sets consolidated safety and security criteria for T2 physical verification. Complete applications receive shortened processing timelines and priority processing. Applicants must hold a valid MSME certificate and approved entities must maintain continuous MSME status during AEO certification.

Rule 86B authorisation empowers designated State Tax officers to act only within their respective territorial jurisdiction.
Proper officers holding the rank of Joint Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, or Assistant Commissioner of State Tax are authorised to exercise powers for the purposes of Rule 86B of the Rajasthan Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017. This authority may be exercised only within their respective territorial jurisdiction and is deemed effective from 1 January 2021.

Certificate of Origin authorization: association authorized to issue non-preferential certificates under foreign trade policy from Haryana.
M/s The All India Plastics Manufacturers' Association (North Zone), Gurugram is authorized to issue Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential) under the Foreign Trade Policy and has been added to Appendix 2E as an agency authorized to issue such certificates, listed under Haryana.