Waiver of Late Fee for delayed bills of entry due to COVID-19 disruption; temporary relief with email regularization permitted.
Late fee liability for delayed bills of entry under the Bill of Entry regulations and the second proviso to Section 46(3) of the Customs Act is suspended for bills filed late to clear import consignments that arrived at the port/ICD on or after the start of the COVID-19 disruption, until further notice; the amendment modifies an earlier public notice, retains other provisions, and directs dissemination to trade bodies while permitting email-based regularization and designating the measures as a standing order for staff.

Central GST offices in Allahabad reopen from 20 April with appointment requirement and remote contact options.
Central GST Commissionerate, Allahabad, will open offices across the commissionerate from 20 April 2020 under CBIC and MHA COVID-19 guidelines; reopening is subject to lockdown-related restrictions. Offices will be sanitized, staff presence limited for social distancing, and taxpayers must obtain appointments before visiting. Taxpayers are encouraged to contact officers via mobile, e-mail or video platforms; a contact directory is attached and further guidance will be published on the Commissionerate website.

Relaxation of listing compliance timelines reduces prior board notice and eases filings, permitting digital signatures and advertisement exemptions.
SEBI grants temporary procedural relaxations under LODR: prior board meeting intimation periods are shortened to two days for the interim window; delayed intimation of loss and duplicate share certificates within the covered interval will not attract penal measures; digital signatures are authorised for filings; and newspaper publication requirements under Regulation 47 and analogous Regulation 52(8) obligations for NCDs/NCRPS are exempted during the specified relief periods. The circular is effective immediately and issued under SEBI's statutory powers, subject to the Companies Act.

Dividend declaration restriction: banks must conserve capital and defer payouts until regulatory reassessment based on quarterly results.
Banks are prohibited from making any further dividend payouts out of profits for the financial year ended March 31, 2020, as a prudential capital conservation measure during COVID-19; the restriction is temporary and will be reassessed by the Reserve Bank based on banks' financial results for the quarter ending September 30, 2020, and operates alongside existing dividend declaration guidelines.

Infrared thermometers: import clearance allowed subject to three month compliance with Legal Metrology Act and bond replacement.
Provisional release of imported infrared thermometers is allowed on an importer's undertaking to comply with the Legal Metrology Act and Packaged Commodities Rules within three months, to withdraw non complying models at their cost, and to replace the undertaking with a formal bond within the stipulated period, with PRO recording the undertaking and treating the procedure as a standing order.

Late-filing waiver for import manifest submissions extended; eligible delayed IGM filings may avoid late fees under amended timelines.
The Public Notice amends paragraph 3 of Public Notice No.54/2020 to extend the late fee waiver for Import General Manifest filings made on or after 20 March 2020 but on or before 03 May 2020, provided the late filing for clearance is submitted on or before 06 May 2020; all other provisions of the earlier notice remain unchanged.

Provisional assessment procedure permits clearance on electronic COO copies with bond/undertaking and conditional security exemptions during pandemic.
Provisional clearance is permitted where original Country of Origin Certificates cannot be produced due to COVID-19; importers may clear goods on photocopies/electronic COO under Section 18 subject to submission of a Bond or Undertaking in lieu and conditional security rules. Certain importer classes (AEO/status holders, eligible repeat beneficiaries, and specified manufacturers/institutional importers) are exempt from security while others must provide full security. The Undertaking must be replaced by a proper Bond by the stipulated date, with options of Bank Guarantee or revenue deposit and mandatory departmental recordkeeping of relaxations.

Electronic gatepass and eOoC emailed to importers and brokers, using digitally signed QR codes for document verification.
Enables electronic transmission of the Final eOoC copy of the Bill of Entry and PDF eGatepass to registered importers and Customs brokers, replacing paper printouts. PDFs will include digitally signed, encrypted QR codes with key BoE and cargo details and a version number for authenticity; eGatepasses will carry document- and container/package-level QR codes to control physical exit. Custodian registration on the electronic portal is required and implementation issues must be reported to the EDI helpdesk.

Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive prioritises processing of pending IGST refund and drawback claims for exporters.
A Special Refund and Drawback Disposal Drive mandates priority processing of pending IGST export refunds and duty drawback claims, requiring exporters to rectify reconciliation errors, submit corrected claims and supporting documents from official email IDs to designated Customs location addresses, monitor Shipping Bill status on ICEGATE, and forward scroll numbers and Shipping Bill details where drawback amounts remain uncredited or queries are outstanding.

Foreign investment from neighbouring-border countries now subject to government approval to curb opportunistic takeovers during pandemic period.
The FDI policy amendment requires that investments by entities of countries sharing a land border with India, or where the beneficial owner is situated in or is a citizen of such a country, be routed only through the Government route; the Pakistan-specific Government route restriction remains except for certain prohibited sectors. Additionally, any transfer of existing or future FDI that causes beneficial ownership to fall within this restriction will likewise require Government approval. The change is effective from the date of the relevant foreign exchange notification.

Container detention and ground rent charges: waive extra charges during lockdown period as a humanitarian advisory.
Advises shipping lines and custodians of ICDs/CFSs to adopt a sympathetic, humanitarian approach by refraining from levying container detention charges and ground rent charges on import cargo during the COVID 19 lockdown period beyond the contractual free time, noting lockdown restrictions that impede release of goods and relying on Ministry of Shipping guidance and requests from importer and broker associations.

Import quota for pet coke restricts annual imports and imposes licensing, reporting, and redistribution obligations.
Procedure allocates and monitors annual quantitative import limits for calcined and raw pet coke under judicial and environmental guidelines, requiring applicants to submit SPCB/PCC capacity and consent certificates, apply online with fees by the deadline, and obtain authorizations from Regional Authorities following Exim Facilitation Committee allocation; licensees must report consignment details and consolidated import reports, notify DGFT of unutilised quota for redistribution, and complete imports before the fiscal year end.

Tariff Rate Quota allocation expanded for sugar, enabling additional duty free exports to USA under specified procedural conditions.
Additional allocation of raw cane sugar for export to the USA under the Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) is notified as an incremental non levy (Free Sale) quota for the US fiscal year 2020. Exports under this allocation are 'Free' subject to the Nature of Restrictions in Notification No. 3/2015 20; reporting to the promotion body must be followed. Certificates of Origin for preferential sugar exports to the USA will be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, and other specific certification requirements remain applicable through the fiscal period.

Import deadline extension for additional urad quota requires arrival before new deadline; no further extensions allowed.
Importers holding licences for the additional Urad quota must ensure shipments arrive at Indian ports before the revised cut-off of 15 May 2020; all licence holders are directed to complete imports by that date and no further extensions will be entertained.

Relaxation of compliance timelines excludes lockdown period, extending time to process demat and KYC obligations.
Processing timelines for demat request forms by issuers/RTAs and participants, and the obligation to upload KYC applications and supporting documents on KRA systems, are temporarily relaxed by excluding the lockdown period from computation of prescribed timelines, with an additional brief period provided after the exclusion to clear backlogs; exchanges and depositories must notify members and disseminate the relaxation.

Relaxation of compliance timelines extends filing deadlines for trading and clearing members amid pandemic disruptions.
Temporary extension of compliance timelines for trading members and clearing members due to the COVID 19 pandemic, moving prescribed due dates to later dates for enumerated regulatory filings-including client funding reporting, AI/ML reporting, margin trading compliance certificates, risk based supervision, internal audit reports for the half year ending March, system audits (including algo audits), and net worth certificates-with relaxations effective from original due dates until stated extended dates while certain reporting obligations, such as non collection/short collection of margins, continue to be required.

GST compliance relief: extended filing windows and conditional interest and late fee concessions to ease COVID 19 disruption.
Temporary GST compliance relaxations grant extended filing windows for composition scheme intimations and returns, CMP-08 and GSTR-4 filings, and defer certain return deadlines. Reduced or NIL interest rates and waiver of late fees are available for specified tax periods subject to prescribed timely filing and payment conditions; failure to meet conditions triggers standard interest and penalties. Rule 36(4) input tax credit restrictions are suspended for specified months but require cumulative adjustment in a later return. E-way bill validity is extended and specific extensions apply to TDS/TCS deductors, input service distributors and non-resident registrants.

Refund clubbing across financial years now permitted; refunds must be apportioned to original cash and credit payment modes under GST rules.
The circular permits clubbing of refund claims across financial years by removing the earlier restriction; clarifies that refunds for accumulated ITC due to rate reductions do not apply where input and output are the same; mandates that refunds for supplies other than zero rated be apportioned and discharged in the original modes of payment with cash refunds via FORM GST RFD 06 and credit re credits via FORM GST PMT 03; restricts ITC refunds to invoices uploaded in FORM GSTR 1 and reflected in FORM GSTR 2A; and requires HSN/SAC codes in Annexure B for invoice statements.

GST treatment for companies undergoing insolvency: IRP/RP must register, file first return and follow special ITC procedure.
Pre-CIRP GST dues are operational debt and claims must be filed before the insolvency forum; no coercive action or registration cancellation should occur. IRP/RP are not liable for pre-CIRP returns but must obtain new registrations within thirty days, file the first return under section 40, comply with GST obligations during CIRP, and may claim input tax credit in the first return for invoices bearing the erstwhile GSTIN under the special procedure; cash ledger deposits made by IRP/RP are refundable to the erstwhile registration.

Apportionment of input tax credit: apply State level asset ratio to transferor's total unutilized credit when filing ITC 02.
Clarification: apportion ITC on business reorganisation by applying the asset value ratio at the level of each distinct registration (State level); apply the ratio to the transferor's total unutilized ITC balance as on the date of filing FORM GST ITC 02, using the asset values as on the appointed date of the restructuring; FORM GST ITC 02 is required only where both transferor and transferee are registered in the State; the formula applies to all reorganisations involving partial transfer of assets with liabilities and allocation may be made across tax heads within available balances.