MASTER CIRCULAR HO/17/11/12(2)2026-DDHS-POD1/I/22420/2026 September 28, 2026 To, All Registered Debenture Trustees, Trustees Association of India (TAI) United Trustee Association of India (UTAI) All Registered Credit Rating Agencies, Issuers who have listed and/ or propose to list Debt Securities and Municipal Debt Securities, Recognized Stock Exchanges, and Recognized Depositories Madam/ Sir, Sub: 1. For effective regulation of Debenture Trustees, Secu... ... ...

Competition Commission of India approval covers a proposed combination under which BNP Paribas Cardif will acquire certain equity share capital in IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited. The transaction is an acquisition of an ownership interest in an Indian life insurer. IndiaFirst Life Insurance Company Limited is incorporated in India, is an IRDAI-licensed insurer, and provides life insurance in India.

Competition Commission of India approval covers the acquisition of certain equity shareholding in Continuum Green Energy Limited by Chubu Electric Power Company Netherlands B.V. The proposed combination comprises a primary subscription for, and secondary purchase of, the Target's equity shares from Continuum Green Energy Holdings Ltd., Singapore. The Target and its Indian subsidiaries primarily generate and sell renewable power from wind and solar sources.

Competition approval covers the indirect acquisition of a majority of the shares and voting rights in Everllence SE and its direct and indirect subsidiaries by funds managed or advised by Bain Capital Investors, LLC, from Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft through a share transfer. Nikolaus (BC) Bidco GmbH acts as the purchaser and is a special purpose vehicle ultimately controlled by Bain Capital-managed or advised funds.

Competition Commission of India approved Crystal Crop Protection Limited's acquisition of the entire, fully diluted shareholding of FMC India Private Limited from FMC Netherlands Holdings II B.V. and its affiliates. The approved combination comprises the acquisition of 100% of FMC India's shareholding by Crystal Crop. Crystal Crop is an Indian public limited company engaged in development, manufacture, and distribution of crop protection products, seeds, and agricultural equipment.

Refund of accumulated input tax credit is restricted to credit supported by invoices whose details have been uploaded by the supplier in FORM GSTR-1 and are reflected in the applicant's FORM GSTR-2A. This requirement modifies the earlier approach permitting refund claims on invoices absent from FORM GSTR-2A if invoice copies were uploaded. The restriction does not affect ITC relating to imports, Input Service Distributor invoices, or inward supplies liable to reverse charge; refund treatment for those categories continues on the prior basis.

India-U.S. economic engagement extends beyond conventional trade to investment, manufacturing, technology, innovation, resilient supply chains, and high-value capabilities. Business engagement with manufacturing and technology companies addresses opportunities in India and expansion of partnerships. The Government of India indicates readiness to facilitate corporate operations, expansion, and investments in India.

Monthly accounts up to August 2026 record total receipts of Rs.13,67,709 crore, comprising net tax revenue, non-tax revenue and non-debt capital receipts. Tax devolution to State Governments totals Rs.5,90,391 crore. Total expenditure is Rs.20,77,958 crore, divided between revenue expenditure of Rs.15,68,009 crore and capital expenditure of Rs.5,09,949 crore, with revenue expenditure including interest payments and major subsidies.

Joint Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) and Additional Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) are made subordinate to the Principal Chief Commissioners of Income-tax or Chief Commissioners of Income-tax within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions. The supervisory relationship is determined by the jurisdiction in which each appellate officer performs functions, and the revised arrangement takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Job work under heading 9988 is confined to treatment or processing performed on goods belonging to another registered person. Services falling within this definition are classified under item (id). Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others remain classified under item (iv), which excludes services covered by item (id) and applies where goods are owned by persons other than registered persons.

Eligibility and validity criteria under Component II of the Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation are extended until 31 March 2027 for shipments intended for delivery or transshipment. The extension facilitates utilisation of the intervention, strengthens trade resilience, supports Indian exporters, and mitigates logistics challenges associated with the continuing West Asia Crisis. All other provisions governing the intervention remain unchanged.

Section 263 permits the Commissioner either to cancel an assessment and remit the matter for fresh adjudication or directly modify it by enhancing income. Where the Commissioner conclusively directs an enhancement and the Assessing Officer only implements that direction, no issue is freshly adjudicated in the consequential assessment order. Objections to the direct enhancement, including reliance on the proviso to section 12AA(2), cannot be raised through an appeal against that consequential order. The enhancement must instead be challenged directly against the revision order before the competent forum.

GST exemption for loading, unloading, packing, storage and warehousing applies only to agricultural produce meeting the prescribed cultivation, rearing and limited-processing criteria. Processed tea, coffee, jaggery, de-husked or split pulses, spices, dry fruits and cashew nuts are excluded, while whole pulse grains remain covered. Inter-State transfers of aircraft engines, parts and accessories between distinct persons are taxable even without consideration, with available GST credit usable for that liability. Specified government-funded or State-provided general insurance services to individuals are exempt.

Where a motor-vehicle insurance contract settles a total-loss claim after deducting agreed salvage or wreck value, ownership of the salvage remains with the insured. The deduction is a contractual deductible and is not consideration for a supply by the insurer; therefore, no GST liability arises for the insurer on that salvage value. Where the claim is settled for the full Insured's Declared Value without a salvage deduction, ownership passes to the insurer, and its subsequent disposal or sale of the salvage is an outward supply liable to GST.

Premium amounts allocated to investment or savings under life-insurance policies may be excluded from taxable value under Rule 32(4), but this valuation treatment does not create an exempt or non-taxable supply. Life-insurance services remain taxable, and the excluded premium portion is neither nil-rated nor wholly exempt. Accordingly, input tax credit reversal provisions applicable to exempt supplies do not require reversal of credit for the premium amount excluded from taxable value.

Statutory appellate remedy under Section 51 ordinarily requires VAT assessment challenges to proceed through appeal rather than Article 226 writ jurisdiction. Judicial review is confined to the legality of the decision-making process and ordinarily does not determine disputed facts or reappraise assessment material. Claims that an assessment overlooked grounds, clarifications, or precedents fall for examination by the appellate authority. Writ intervention is limited to exceptional circumstances involving urgent or irreparable prejudice.

Penalty for concealment or furnishing inaccurate particulars is not attracted merely because alleged bogus purchases are disallowed on an estimated basis. Where purchase vouchers and bank payments support the transactions, sales remain undisputed, and disclosed gross profit exceeds the estimated disallowance rate, non-production of suppliers does not by itself establish concealment or inaccurate particulars. In the absence of contumacious conduct, an estimated purchase disallowance does not justify penalty under Section 271(1)(c).

Roving squad officers must not levy penalty where the offence amount is below Rs. 5,000, or where tax-rate, classification, place-of-supply, or valuation disputes are referred for assessment without detention. Newly registered taxpayers who have failed to file returns for two or more tax periods may be subject to vehicle detention. Specified e-way bill errors, including limited name, PIN-code, document-number, HSN, and vehicle-number inaccuracies, do not require detention proceedings if other particulars are correct, but attract prescribed penalties through Form GST DRC-07.

Registered persons unable to submit FORM GST TRAN-1 by the prescribed deadline because of technical difficulties on the common portal may file until 31 March 2019 only where their cases are recommended by the Council. The extension is exercised under rule 117(1A) read with section 168 and supersedes the prior measure while preserving earlier acts and omissions.

Order XLI confines remand under Rule 23 to reversal of a decree disposing of a suit on a preliminary point. Rule 23-A permits remand in other matters only after reversal and where retrial is necessary. Where trial findings rest on the existing evidence, an appellate court must address them and give cogent reasons before reversal; inability to decide from the record alone does not establish necessity for retrial. Rule 27(1)(b) cannot admit additional evidence absent a party's request and identified necessity or substantial cause. A sufficient record requires appellate determination under Rule 24, not remand to cure evidentiary deficiencies.