RFQ platform usage requirement increases exchange liquidity by mandating mutual funds to route a portion of corporate bond trades via RFQ.
Mutual funds must route a prescribed portion of secondary market corporate bond trades through the stock exchange RFQ platform in one to many mode (with a rolling three month average calculation); trades where a mutual fund is on both sides must use RFQ one to one mode, and inter mutual fund executions on RFQ one to many count toward the requirement. Debt scheme disclosures must be made fortnightly within five days of each fortnight and additionally include the yield of each instrument in the prescribed format.

Sovereign Wealth Fund tax exemption requires notification, application, audited return and quarterly investment reporting for compliance.
The Finance Act, 2020 provides an exemption under section 10(23FE) for dividend, interest and long term capital gains on investments by specified sovereign and pension funds in specified infrastructure businesses held for at least three years. Notified Sovereign Wealth Funds must apply using Form I (certifying government ownership, non commercial status and appropriation of earnings), file income tax returns with an audit report, and submit electronic quarterly investment intimations in Form II within one month of each quarter end, with verification and supporting documentation.

Mandatory e-payment of non-GST taxes shifts to the department portal as bank portal payment options are discontinued.
Mandatory e-payment of taxes other than GST must be made through the department's portal integrated with GRAS. Registered taxpayers are required to use the Assam taxation portal for electronic payment, with access through existing credentials, an online dealer profile, or the jurisdictional officer. The earlier facility of payment through the banks' portals of specified banks is discontinued from 1 October 2020, and taxpayers must shift to the department's portal. A helpdesk is available for guidance and payment-related issues.

Export of PPE medical coverall samples permitted under limited quantity with online licence procedure and three month validity.
Permission to export samples of PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 is authorized up to 50 units per IEC per country through online DGFT ECOM applications for non SCOMET restricted items. Applications must specify "PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19 Samples," include a copy of the IEC, documentary proof of manufacturing of textile/medical textile products or medical devices, and be self attested by an authorised person. Licences are valid for three months; incomplete applications, hard copy submissions, or email applications will not be considered.

Margin recognition for early pay in positions permits treating margin exemption or early paid in goods value as supporting margins.
For calculating residual losses under the stress testing methodology, where clients or brokers have given early pay in and margin exemptions are granted, Clearing Corporations may consider the margin exemption granted or the value of the early paid in goods, whichever is lower, as the margins supporting those positions.

Customs duty exemption review: public crowdsourcing portal invites stakeholder suggestions to reform exemptions and customs procedures.
An administrative instruction establishes an online public consultation to solicit suggestions for review of Customs duty exemption notifications and related customs laws and procedures, directs field formations to promote the portal and encourage stakeholder participation, and asks that any difficulties in implementation be reported to the Board.

Information sharing through NATGRID: income tax authority authorised to furnish taxpayer data to law enforcement under MoU safeguards.
The Principal Director General of Income tax (Systems) is designated as the specified income tax authority to furnish and receive PAN, TAN, bank account details, return and TDS summary information and other mutually agreed data through the NATGRID platform to listed investigative and intelligence agencies. The authority must form an opinion that sharing is necessary for the recipient agencies' statutory functions and will execute a Memorandum of Understanding with NATGRID covering data transfer mode, confidentiality, secure preservation, weeding out, and timelines, with the MoU forwarded to the CBDT division for record.

Information sharing under section 138(1)(a): map income tax payees to PM KISAN beneficiaries using Aadhaar for verification.
The Principal Director General of Income tax (Systems), New Delhi is directed to furnish information to the PM KISAN Nodal Officer and the Joint Secretary (Farmers Welfare) by providing a mapping of income tax payees for the relevant assessment years from the list of otherwise eligible PM KISAN beneficiaries on the basis of Aadhaar numbers, under the Board's power to require information under section 138(1)(a) of the Income tax Act.

CXL concessions quota allocation for sugar establishes export entitlement with Certificate of Origin and APEDA reporting requirement.
A preferential CXL concession quota of ten thousand metric tonnes of raw and/or white sugar is allocated for export to the European Union for 2020-21; exports are free subject to notified restrictions and APEDA reporting. Certificate of Origin for EU release will be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, and the EUR Form must be endorsed by Customs at the port of shipment, with consignments to EU countries permitted from the date of notification.

Export quota for PPE medical coveralls: revised application windows and documentation requirements govern monthly authorisations.
Revised procedure imposes a monthly export quota for PPE medical coveralls and allocates export authorisations from online applications filed within prescribed three-day windows, processed electronically via the DGFT ECOM system and examined under para 2.72 of the Handbook of Procedures. Export licences will be valid for three months and issuance is contingent on specified eligibility and documentary requirements: purchase order/invoice, Chartered Engineer's certificate confirming domestic manufacture of fabric, IEC (one application per IEC per month), and product standard certification (BIS IS 17423:2020 or ISO 16603/16604 from an NABCB-accredited or notified body), with all documents self-attested.

Upfront margin verification required - exchanges to monitor EOD and peak client margins with phased compliance and penalties
Clearing Corporations shall send multiple intra-day snapshots and client-wise margin files specifying EOD and peak margin obligations; members must report margins collected at EOD and peak during the day. Verification compares EOD obligation against EOD client margin available and peak obligation across snapshots against client peak margin available; the higher shortfall is used for penalty. Exchanges/Clearing Corporations will verify member books weekly. Adoption of peak-margin comparison is phased, and members must show any remaining peak obligation during the phase is funded from their own funds and not from other clients.

Eligibility criteria repeal for selection of underlying commodity futures removes turnover ranking requirement and requires exchanges to amend rules.
The circular repeals the eligibility requirement that underlying futures be among the top five contracts by trading turnover for listing options on commodity futures, while retaining all other prior product-design provisions. The repeal is effective immediately; stock exchanges must amend bye-laws, notify brokers, publish the change, and report implementation to the regulator. The directive is issued under Section 11(1) to protect investors and regulate the market.

First-time importer verification: documentary and address checks require submission of registration, bank certification, and payment proof.
First-time importer verification requires submission one week before consignment arrival of GST/VAT/Sales Tax registration, a bank certificate confirming account maintenance and remittance purpose, proof of payment through the importer's account, last year balance sheet, and last tax return; customs brokers must assist and SIIB/ICD/CFS authorities will conduct document and physical address verification, trigger alerts on adverse findings, and supervise examinations, with manufacturer-exporters exempt from SIIB NOC but traders subject to SIIB verification.

Import of livestock products: no customs sealed samples for No Testing lines; clearance on Veterinary Health Certificate via SWS.
Consignments of livestock products classified in the No Testing category will not require customs sealed samples for AQCS clearance; instead AQCS clearance will be granted on the Single Window System based on a Veterinary Health Certificate uploaded with the Bill of Entry, while Customs must ensure physical identification of those consignments under existing laws. This change takes immediate effect for the listed tariff lines mapped under the Risk Management System.

Deemed GST registration approval resumes after lockdown pendency clearance, with verification permitted for applications approved through technical glitches.
Deemed approval of GST registration applications was withheld during the COVID lockdown because the period was treated as having no working days and misuse was apprehended. Pending applications were to be cleared through a special drive before the three-working-day deemed-approval mechanism resumed. Applications remaining pending on the specified date were to receive deemed approval, while cases approved during lockdown because of technical glitches could be subjected to physical verification of business premises where required.

TDS on cash withdrawals: specified pre amendment exemptions remain valid under the amended proviso, subject to conditions.
Three pre-amendment notifications exempted specified entities-cash replenishment agencies and WLATMO franchisees for ATM cash replenishment; APMC commission agents/traders registered under state APMC laws; and authorised dealers/FFMCs and their agents for specified foreign exchange purchases and remittance disbursements-from TDS under section 194N subject to conditions. Following amendment, the proviso became the fourth proviso; the Board clarifies that the three notifications shall be deemed issued under the fourth proviso and the exemptions continue to be subject to their stated conditions.

Refund of Input Tax Credit limited to ITC matching supplier-filed GSTR-1/GSTR-2A; imports and RCM treatment unchanged.
Refund of accumulated Input Tax Credit is restricted to ITC supported by supplier invoices uploaded in FORM GSTR-1 and reflected in the applicant's FORM GSTR-2A, modifying earlier practice that allowed refunds based on applicant-uploaded missing invoices. Treatment of ITC for imports, ISD invoices and inward supplies under Reverse Charge remains unchanged and continues as before.

Refund of Input Tax Credit: clubbing across financial years allowed; ITC refunds limited to GSTR 2A matched invoices.
The circular removes the restriction on clubbing refund claims across financial years, clarifies that accumulated ITC due to a rate reduction on the same goods is not refundable as inverted structure accumulation, mandates proportional refund in original modes of payment with ITC amounts re credited to the electronic credit ledger, restricts ITC refunds to invoices uploaded by suppliers and reflected in GSTR 2A, and requires HSN/SAC codes in Annexure B where provided by suppliers; effective March 31, 2020.

Corporate insolvency GST rules: registration continuity, first-return ITC claims, and cash ledger refunds clarified under special procedure.
Pre-insolvency GST dues are operational debt and must be claimed before the insolvency tribunal; coercive recovery is barred during the moratorium. GST registration of a corporate debtor undergoing CIRP should not be cancelled and may be suspended; revoked cancellations within the revocation period should be restored. IRP/RP need not file pre-insolvency returns but must obtain new registrations where required and file the first return covering their period of liability, during which they may avail input tax credit on invoices bearing the erstwhile GSTIN under the special procedure, subject to general input credit conditions and limited exceptions.

Apportionment of input tax credit: apply state-level asset-value ratio as on appointed date to determine transferable ITC.
Clarification requires apportionment of unutilized input tax credit in reorganisations by applying the asset-value ratio specified in the demerger scheme; "value of assets" means entire business assets. Apportionment is to be performed at each State registration level, applies to the aggregate ITC (CGST, SGST/UTGST and IGST) and cess, and transfers use the ITC balance on the date of filing Form GST ITC-02. The asset ratio is to be taken as on the appointed date of demerger.