Fast-track rights issue eligibility tightened with specified listing, disclosure, complaint and audit qualification conditions for InvITs.
Introduces a fast-track rights issue option for listed InvITs subject to detailed eligibility criteria (listing tenure, dematerialisation, minimum public market capitalisation, disclosure compliance, investor complaint redressal, absence of regulatory prosecutions or settlements, no trading suspensions or audit qualifications, and no lead banker conflicts), requires filing a letter of offer and paying fees, mandates statutory-auditor-certified pro forma financials where material asset transactions occur after the last disclosed period, specifies sponsor lock-in regimes for preferential/institutional placements, and requires lead merchant bankers to ensure financial particulars are current within six months.

Fast track rights issue eligibility clarified for listed REITs; adds compliance, disclosure and lock-in rules.
A new fast track rights issue route requires listed REITs to satisfy specified eligibility conditions immediately prior to the record date (including listing tenure, dematerialisation, minimum public market capitalisation, listing and disclosure compliance, investor complaint redressal, absence of regulatory or disciplinary actions and audit qualifications, sponsor subscription, and no lead banker conflicts). REITs using fast track must file the letter of offer and pay fees under REIT Regulations. Preferential and institutional placement rules amend sponsor lock-in, require pro forma audited financials for post-disclosure material asset changes and ensure placement financials are recent.

Disruption response: banks to create assistance cells, accept self-certification, and insurers to cover shipment delay losses.
Department of Financial Services directed Public Sector Banks to set up special assistance cells for industry segments and MSMEs affected by coronavirus, require banks to convey document/procedural requirements in one communication and accept self-certifications where applicable to facilitate remittances, and to identify and support import substitution and production ramp-up. DFS also asked the insurance regulator to review and permit modification of insurance products to cover losses from abnormal shipment delivery delays.

Electronic sealing by RFID OTLs mandated for bonded warehouse movements, with data capture and tamper-response procedures.
Extension of RFID-based electronic sealing is mandated for goods deposited in and removed from customs bonded warehouses where one-time locks are prescribed. Importers/owners must use RFID anti-tamper one-time-locks from CBIC-listed vendors meeting ISO 17712:2013 and ISO/IEC 18000-6 Class 1 Gen2 standards; vendors must submit certifications, capture TID and link warehouse codes. Licensees must procure readers; specified data elements (IEC, bill of entry/shipping bill, RFID OTL number, sealing date/time, container/vehicle identifiers, warehouse and customs codes) must be uploaded. Tampered seals trigger examination or denial of unloading; exceptions and commissioner discretion are preserved. Effective 15 March 2020.

Export transhipment permission lets Indigo Cargo move bonded export cargo from Pune airport to other customs ports under customs supervision.
Permission authorizes M/S Indigo Cargo to perform export transhipment of bonded general cargo from AAI Pune bonded cargo warehouse to other Indian Customs ports by air, with electronic ICES documentation, and is valid for one year from 18.03.2020. The procedure requires EGM and Shipping Bill filing, issuance of Let Export Order, Transhipment Permit and Transhipment Bond executed by AAI, storage in double locked custodian warehouses, verification by Customs, EFO certification, Customs supervision of loading, submission of manifest/airway bill/shipping bill copies to origin, sealed bonded truck procedures, and compliance with prior circulars, recordkeeping, cost recovery charges, bank guarantee maintenance, and non outsourcing unless permitted.

Waiver of late-filing penalty for Bills of Entry due to holiday system omission; affected filings accepted without charge.
A waiver of late-presentation charges for Bills of Entry is granted where the Import General Manifest was filed on 09.03.2020 and the corresponding Bills of Entry were filed on 10.03.2020, because the Holi Festival holiday was not updated in the customs system. No late-filing charge will be levied for those consignments; affected parties may report implementation difficulties to the Additional Commissioner of Customs (Technical), ACC Import, New Customs House, New Delhi.

Relaxation of additional fees for company annual filings extended for companies in UT J&K and UT Ladakh.
The ministry extended the last date for electronic filing of e-form AOC-4 (including AOC-4 (CFS) and AOC-4 XBRL) and e-form MGT-7 for companies within the jurisdiction of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh, granting waiver of additional fees due to internet disruptions and operational difficulties, as authorised by the competent authority and as a continuation of a prior circular.

Electronic Contract Note consent streamlined to allow electronic email updates without physical form, easing investor receipt of contract notes.
The amendment substitutes the handwritten physical ECN declaration requirement for commodity derivatives clients with the electronic consent procedure used in other segments, allowing clients to provide an appropriate email and to change it via secured electronic access where internet trading is enabled; the prior ECN declaration retention clause is rescinded.

Electronic sealing: RFID one-time-locks required for transport into and out of bonded warehouses with defined seals and data capture.
Electronic sealing is mandated for transport into and out of customs bonded warehouses: importers, owners and warehouse licensees must use RFID anti-tamper one-time-locks sourced from CBIC-listed vendors conforming to ISO 17712:2013 and ISO/IEC 18000-6 Class 1 Gen 2. Readers and a web application capturing defined data elements (IEC, bill/shipping document numbers, RFID OTL number, sealing date/time, container or vehicle registration, warehouse and customs location codes) are required; the trip report from scanning at destination will serve as the statutory acknowledgement of due arrival. Licensees procure Readers and seals; vendors link TID to warehouse codes and enable data upload.

eSANCHIT paperless processing: PGAs must upload LPCOs; beneficiary uploads disabled from 28 Feb 2020, ensure ICEGATE email registration.
PGAs must upload digitally signed Licenses/Permits/Certificates/Other Authorizations (LPCOs) to eSANCHIT; three additional PGAs are onboarded bringing enabled PGAs to fifty. From 28 February 2020 beneficiaries cannot self upload previously issued LPCOs; PGAs are required to upload LPCOs issued in the preceding 15 days and may upload earlier documents. Communications and IRNs will be sent to email addresses registered in ICEGATE, so beneficiaries must ensure correct ICEGATE email registration.

RFID sealing required for bonded warehouse movements to secure transit, ensure data capture and trigger inspections if tampered.
RFID anti-tamper one-time-locks (RFID OTL) are required wherever Warehousing Regulations prescribe a one-time-lock for deposit into or removal from customs bonded warehouses, with specified physical seal types and reader standards, vendor certification requirements, and mandated data capture (including IEC, entry/shipping number, RFID serial, sealing date/time, vehicle/container identifiers, and warehouse/customs codes). Licencees must procure readers and supply or ensure procurement of seals, vendors must link TID to warehouse codes and enable data upload, tampered seals trigger refusal to unload or mandatory examination, and RFID scans generate trip reports to satisfy statutory acknowledgement requirements; exceptions and Commissioner permissions apply.

Empanelment of Chartered Engineers for valuation of secondhand machinery invited; applicants must meet qualifications and submit required documents.
Invitation for empanelment of Chartered Engineers to inspect and value imported second hand/old/used machinery and related goods in Mangalore Customs jurisdiction. Applicants affiliated to the Institution of Engineers (India) must submit the prescribed proforma, undertaking, Chartered Engineer certificate, proof of experience, GST (if applicable), and at least two reference letters; incomplete applications will be rejected. Selection involves verification by the Institute of Engineers, formal interview by senior Customs officers, vetting for adverse records, half yearly self appraisals by empanelled Engineers, and publication of empanelled names. Fees are payable by importers; wrong information or negligent valuation attracts de panelment and penal consequences.

Authentication of DGLL payment receipts: officers must verify online via ICEGATE; stamping or signing not required.
Downloaded DGLL lighthouse-dues receipts are sufficient proof of payment and do not require stamping or signing by officers; officers must authenticate payments electronically by verifying the receipt on the DGLL website through ICEGATE, and any verification difficulties should be reported to the Assistant Commissioner of Customs at New Customs House, Panambur.

Filing obligations for insolvency professionals require electronic submission of appointment orders and documentary attachments via the designated general filing form.
Insolvency professionals must upload their NCLT appointment order in Form INC-28 selecting the IBC option and, while affixing DSC, designate themselves as "CEO" for filing purposes. Thereafter, all statutory filings while a company is under CIRP-including AOC-4 and MGT-7-must be submitted as attachments through e form GNL-2 using the "Filings under IBC" option and recording the NCLT/NCLAT/Court order date for event fields.

Automated clearance extended nationwide, enabling electronic Bill of Entry release after CCV confirmation and duty payment.
The Board extended automated clearance of Bills of Entry to all customs formations with Customs EDI from 05.03.2020. The facility is limited to ICES locations with the Risk Management System enabled. Designated proper officers must perform Customs Compliance Verification (which may occur before duty payment) and confirm completion in the Customs System; after confirmation of payment the system will electronically clear the Bill of Entry. Implementation issues are to be reported to ADC/JC, Import and the notice serves as a standing order for staff.

Document Identification Number requirement: all CBIC communications must carry a verifiable DIN or be treated as invalid.
The notice mandates electronic generation and quoting of Document Identification Number (DIN) on all communications (including emails) by any CBIC office, extending prior DIN use on enforcement documents to all correspondence to create a digital audit trail and allow online verification via the Directorate of Data Management portal; communications without an electronically generated DIN, except as previously exempted, will be treated as invalid unless regularised per the stated procedure.

Tax Deduction from Salaries: TDS not required unless estimated salary is taxable after exemptions and deductions.
The corrigendum replaces a gross threshold rule by stipulating that no tax shall be deducted at source unless the estimated salary income, including perquisites, is taxable after giving effect to the exemptions, deductions and relief as applicable; Circular No.04/2020 is modified accordingly.

Reverse charge on motor vehicle rentals: corporate recipients must pay tax when suppliers do not charge the higher GST rate.
RCM applies to renting of motor vehicles with fuel included when the supplier is other than a body corporate, does not charge the higher GST rate that carries full input tax credit, and supplies to a body corporate; if the supplier charges the higher rate, the recipient is not liable under RCM. The state notification was amended to clarify these conditions and the amendment is clarificatory with retrospective effect for the earlier specified period.

Non-filing procedure: notice requiring return within fifteen days, then best judgment GST assessment and recovery follow-up.
Five days after the due date the proper officer shall electronically issue Form GSTR-3A under section 46 requiring the return within fifteen days; if the return is not filed the officer may assess tax by best judgment under section 62 and issue Form GST ASMT-13, uploading the summary in Form GST DRC-07. The officer may use GSTR-1, GSTR-2A, e way bills, inspection findings or other material for assessment. A valid return filed within thirty days of ASMT-13 leads to withdrawal of the assessment; otherwise recovery and further proceedings may be initiated and provisional attachment or registration cancellation considered where appropriate.

Optional annual return filing for small taxpayers permitted before the due date; portal blocks late submission.
Clarification states that eligible small taxpayers may optionally file annual returns for specified past years-composition taxpayers in Form GSTR-9A and other registered persons in Form GSTR-9-before the due date, after which the common portal will not permit filing; taxpayers may also voluntarily pay any short-paid tax or reverse ineligible input-tax credit through Form GST DRC-03.