Interest as foreign contribution must be credited to the FCRA utilization account; FD returns allowed if not speculative.
Interest and income earned from foreign contribution constitute foreign contribution and must be credited back into the foreign contribution account for utilization under the FCRA. Proceeds of fixed deposits or investments created from foreign contribution, on maturity or receipt of returns, may be credited into the association's FCRA utilization account with any bank provided such investments do not fall within the category of speculative activities under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Rules, 2011.

InvIT unitholders: nomination restriction waived if appointment right arises under debenture trustee regulation clause (e) proviso.
Paragraph 22.3.1(b) is amended to add a proviso that the restriction barring an entity from nominating a Unitholder Nominee Director-when that entity also has nomination rights as a shareholder or lender to the Investment Manager, the InvIT, its HoldCo(s) or SPVs-shall not apply if the right to appoint a nominee director is available under clause (e) of sub regulation (1) of regulation 15 of the SEBI (Debenture Trustees) Regulations, 1993.

Board nomination rights: proviso allows unitholders to nominate despite lender nomination rights under debenture trustees clause.
The Master Circular's restriction barring a unitholder from nominating a Unitholder Nominee Director when the same entity (or its associate) has director nomination rights as shareholder or lender is amended by a proviso: that restriction will not apply where the right to appoint a nominee director is available in terms of clause (e) of sub regulation (1) of regulation 15 of the Debenture Trustees regulation, permitting such unitholder nomination in those specified cases.

GST classification clarifications set rates for specified goods, exclude larger agricultural packages, and regularise eligible government-programme supplies.
Dual-energy solar cookers, all sprinklers including fire water sprinklers, and parts of poultry-keeping machinery are clarified as attracting 12% GST. Agricultural farm produce in packages exceeding 25 kilograms or 25 litres is excluded from "pre-packaged and labelled" supplies and does not attract 5% GST. Specified past-period issues are regularised on an "as is where is" basis. Regularisation for government-programme supplies of pulses and cereals requires a prescribed certificate and non-availment or reversal of Input Tax Credit.

GST exemption clarified for railway, SPV, RERA, reinsurance and digital payment incentive treatments with retrospective regularisation.
Supplies by Ministry of Railways to the public and between zones, SPV services to Indian Railways for concessioned infrastructure, statutory collections by RERA, specified sharing of digital payment incentives as subsidy, reinsurance (including retrocession) of certain exempt insurance schemes, and accommodation services meeting prescribed value and duration thresholds are clarified as exempt or regularised for past periods on an "as is where is" basis.

Refund entitlement for Canteen Stores Department: electronic filing required; portal validation and quarterly claim conditions govern processing.
CSD is entitled to fifty per cent refund of applicable State tax on inward supplies for subsequent supply to Unit Run Canteens or authorized customers; claims must be filed electronically in Form GST RFD-10A once per quarter (or for multiple quarters/FYs) with supplier and CSD GSTINs on invoices, accompanied by an undertaking and declaration, and are subject to portal validation of supplier GSTR-1/GSTR-3B reporting and invoice-level checks before sanction.

Refund mechanism for additional IGST enables exporters to claim post-export price revision tax recovery via GST RFD-01 portal.
A mechanism is prescribed for claim and processing of refund of additional IGST paid where export prices are revised upward after shipment. Exporters must file Form GST RFD-01 on the common portal (use "Any other" category with specified remarks until a separate category is available). Jurisdictional GST officers will process claims using submitted documentary proof-including shipping bills, invoices, debit notes, proof of IGST payment and FIRCs-and GSTN-provided validated shipping-bill and IGST details. Proper officers will verify GSTR-1/GSTR-3B reporting, scrutinize eligibility, and issue sanction and payment orders where appropriate.

Valuation of corporate guarantee services: GST due annually by guarantor based on prescribed rate or actual consideration.
Clarification explains that services of providing corporate guarantees between related persons were taxable prior to the insertion of rule 28(2) and that guarantees issued or renewed on or after the retrospective effective date must be valued under rule 28(2). The value of supply is the higher of actual consideration and the prescribed annual benchmark of the guaranteed amount, applied pro rata for shorter periods and multiplied for multi year guarantees. Valuation is independent of loan disbursal; domestic intra group guarantees follow forward charge while overseas guarantors attract reverse charge; assignment of loans does not itself trigger GST.

Pre-deposit mechanism mapped in Electronic Liability Register stays recovery pending filing of appeal before Appellate Tribunal.
Where appellate tribunal is not operational, taxpayers may pay an amount equal to the required pre deposit via Services Ledgers Payment towards demand, mapping it in the Electronic Liability Register Part II to the specific order; on providing an undertaking to file appeal when the Tribunal is constituted, such payment will be treated as the statutory pre deposit and the remaining confirmed demand will be stayed. Payments inadvertently made via Form GST DRC 03 may be adjusted against pre deposit once Form GST DRC 03A is filed, and until that portal functionality exists taxpayers should intimate the proper officer to avoid recovery.

Monetary thresholds for departmental appeals in legacy indirect tax matters preserve challenges involving constitutional validity and ultra vires instruments.
Departmental appeals in legacy Central Excise and Service Tax matters are governed by revised monetary thresholds for CESTAT, High Court and Supreme Court proceedings, with application to pending cases. Adverse judgments must nevertheless be contested where constitutional validity is challenged or a notification, instruction, order or circular is held illegal or ultra vires. Non-filing under these thresholds does not amount to departmental acceptance of the issue and does not bar proceedings in another matter involving the same or similar question of law.

Yield to Call valuation: Mutual funds must value AT 1 bonds on YTC basis under regulatory guidance.
Mutual funds must value Additional Tier 1 bonds on a Yield to Call basis, consistent with NFRA's view that market practice and Ind AS 113 market based measurement support YTC. This valuation mandate is confined to valuation only; deemed maturity for other regulatory purposes and the capture of liquidity risk for perpetual bonds remains governed by clause 9.4.2 of the Master Circular.

Market abuse deterrence mechanism required for asset managers to detect alerts, process investigations and report regulatory actions.
AMCs must implement an institutional mechanism to identify and deter market abuse, including front running and fraudulent transactions, combining alert based surveillance, internal controls and escalation processes. Accountability lies with the CEO/MD (or equivalent) and Chief Compliance Officer. Procedures must provide for timely alert generation and processing, review of recorded communications, access logs and CCTV, board approved SOPs, personnel actions on suspicious activity, an escalation route to board and trustees, a documented whistle blower policy and periodic system reviews. Exchanges and depositories shall enable data sharing; AMCs must report examined alerts and actions in the Compliance Test Report and Half yearly Trustee Report.

Exchange Rate Automation Module automates SBI-derived exchange rate publication on ICEGATE, effective from the following midnight.
ERAM on ICEGATE automates receipt of SBI card rates, adjusts them to the nearest five paise, integrates them into ICES and publishes them online at prescribed times; published rates take effect from midnight of the following day and are retained for historical reference, while designated nodal officers and contingency procedures govern failures, with the last updated rates remaining in force until corrected.

Higher TDS/TCS non-applicability: deductor/collector not liable where deductee/collectee died before PAN-Aadhaar linkage, normal provisions apply
Higher rate of TDS/TCS under section 206AA/206CC will not be applied where higher deduction/collection related to transactions entered up to 31.03.2024 and the deductee/collectee died on or before 31.05.2024 before PAN-Aadhaar linkage; the deductor/collector shall not be liable to apply those higher rates and normal deduction/collection under Chapter XVII-B or Chapter XVII-BB shall apply.

Export policy harmonisation: Chapters 40-98 mapped to 8 digit ITC(HS) codes; comments due 11 Aug; no substantive changes.
DGFT proposes harmonising Chapters 40-98 of Schedule II (Export Policy) by mapping the description based export policy to 8 digit ITC(HS) codes as a concordance without substantive policy change; stakeholders may comment by 11.08.2024 and, subject to comments, the chapters will be re notified. The draft retains existing export statuses (Free/Restricted/Prohibited) and chapter specific policy conditions, including documentary, certification and authorisation requirements for selected items (for example forest products, sawn timber from imported logs, and items produced from animal by products).

Drawback defaulter hearings require exporters to submit remittance evidence and attend, with nonappearance permitting ex parte determination.
Exporters who missed the first hearing in drawback-related proceedings are scheduled for a second personal hearing and may appear personally, through an authorised representative, or by video conferencing. They must file a written reply with foreign remittance and export-proceeds documents, including BRCs. Virtual participants must provide identification and contact details in advance. Exporters may waive the hearing in writing. Absence of representation by the scheduled date may result in an ex parte decision on available records and evidence.

Exemption for university funds from additional FPI disclosure obligations when qualifying AUM allocation and nonprofit status criteria are met.
SEBI exempts University Funds and University related Endowments eligible as Category I FPIs from certain additional disclosure requirements provided they maintain Indian equity AUM below 25% of global AUM, have global AUM above the prescribed threshold, and submit tax filings evidencing non-profit status; eligible jurisdictions will be specified by SEBI via the Standard Operating Procedure, and the amendment takes effect immediately.

Women's participation in international trade: promote representation and gender-responsive infrastructure to enhance inclusion and safety.
Directs stakeholders to ensure female representation in trade facilitation committees, include women-focused agenda items, create dedicated helpdesks and processing mechanisms for women traders and logistics service providers, and provide targeted upskilling. Requires Custodians and Custodian CCSPs at CFS/AFS/ICD under Regulation 5 of the HCCAR, 2009 to adopt gender-responsive infrastructure (lighting, panic buttons), provide creches per the Maternity Benefits Act, constitute Internal Complaints Committees under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment law, conduct gender-sensitization training, and periodically upgrade facilities to foster a safe, inclusive workplace for women.

Verification Unit enquiries: sets when electronic verification can be bypassed and physical checks may be undertaken immediately.
The order specifies three circumstances permitting the Verification Unit to conduct enquiries: non availability of a digital footprint for the assessee or any other person; inability to perform electronic or online verification due to non response to notices; and the need for physical verification of assets, premises or persons regardless of any digital footprint. The instruction directs that these circumstances govern the enquiry and verification functions and that the order takes immediate effect.

Demarcation of SEZ processing areas as non processing areas permitted, conditional on submission of finalized checklist and compliance.
The Board recorded approvals, de notifications, co developer grants and cancellations, and extensions of approvals under the SEZ Rules. Demarcations of processing built up area to non processing area were permitted conditionally, requiring submission and adherence to a finalized checklist issued by the Department of Commerce/Department of Revenue. Co developer approvals were subject to standard SEZ Act and Rules terms and assessment rights for taxation of lease-related income; several de notification recommendations and LoA validity extensions were also made.