TaxTMI Updates e-Newsletter
Oct 24,2025

Summary: Interest under Section 56 of the CGST Act is mandatorily payable where a refund is not made within sixty days of the refund application; the entitlement is compensatory and arises by lapse of the statutory timeline, and administrative or technical system errors do not negate interest unless taxpayer fault is affirmatively established.

Summary: Whether share allotments effected without an enabling clause in the Articles or valid amendment by special resolution, and without compliance with pre-emptive offer obligations and reliable service of notices, amount to oppression and mismanagement. The article emphasizes that conflicting EGM notices, sole reliance on certificate of posting, absence of renunciation rights, and backdated or fabricated minutes vitiate corporate approvals and can justify annulment of the allotments and restitution to affected investors.

Summary: STPI registration allows Indian-incorporated software and IT/ITES units to obtain a Letter of Permission authorising export-focused activities with benefits such as duty-free import of eligible capital goods and streamlined foreign exchange compliance. Applicants must be engaged in qualifying activities, predominantly export-oriented, and submit incorporation documents, PAN/GST/IEC, a project report, premises proof, and board resolution to the regional STPI centre. Post-approval steps include executing legal agreements, Customs bonding and a bond instrument for duty-free imports, SOFTEX certification of export invoices, and regular Monthly, Quarterly and Annual reporting to maintain compliance.

Summary: Adjudication orders that fix a period for payment crystallise the liability to pay penalties under the SEBI Act; under Section 28A read with Section 220, interest on unpaid penalties accrues from the date the amount became payable (expiry of the specified compliance period), and subsequent recovery demand notices do not alter that commencement date.

Summary: Section 238A of the IBC imports the Limitation Act into insolvency proceedings, and Article 137 supplies a three-year limitation. Entries in audited financial statements can amount to an acknowledgement of debt under section 18 of the Limitation Act where context-continuity across balance sheets, cash flow disclosures, and a dated board-signed statement-demonstrates a subsisting liability, thereby recomputing limitation from the date of that acknowledgement.

Summary: The party reaffirmed the president's core leadership and the guiding role of his political thought, ordered closer unity behind the Party Central Committee, and emphasized internal consolidation. The plenum reported expulsions and removals of senior military officers for corruption and disciplinary breaches, promoted a replacement to the Central Military Commission, and signalled intensified anti graft enforcement in the armed forces. It also endorsed a new multi year plan to bolster domestic market resilience, pursue self reliance in science and technology, and accelerate development amid external trade tensions.

Summary: Customs intercepted a passenger arriving from Bangkok, seized a brown trolley bag containing six polythene pouches of a green substance that diagnostic testing indicated was prima facie ganja/marijuana weighing 2495.5 grams (net), valued at Rs 2.49 crore, and arrested the passenger pending further investigation.

Summary: Sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil bar commercial dealings and require winding down transactions by November 21, prompting Reliance and other direct purchasers to recalibrate or curtail Russian crude imports to avoid penalties, while state refiners buying via intermediary traders assess contracts for sanctioned footprints; an EU ban on fuels refined from Russian crude effective January 21 further constrains exports and may reduce Russian oil purchases.

Summary: Proposal to mandate a Unique Transaction Identifier (UTI) for all OTC derivative transactions, to serve as a single unique reference enabling global aggregation and monitoring; the draft circular invites comments from banks, market participants and other interested parties and provides contact details and a submission deadline for feedback.

Summary: A Memorandum of Understanding between the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade and Primus Partners establishes a framework to support early- and growth-stage product startups through capacity-building, mentorship, market access initiatives, policy awareness drives, and technology integration, emphasising industry-led engagement to promote innovation, self-reliance, inclusive growth and job creation.

Summary: A Memorandum of Understanding between DPIIT and Kotak Mahindra Bank establishes a framework for enhanced financial and non financial support to DPIIT recognised startups, requiring the bank to provide tailored banking solutions (zero balance accounts, working capital and term loans, API banking, digital payments, and startup cards) and to facilitate mentorship, investment advisory, incubation support, networking, capacity building, technology enablement, and market linkages to assist startups from ideation to scale.

Summary: Nomination provisions effective 1 November 2025 permit up to four nominees for deposit accounts, articles in safe custody, and safety lockers. Deposit accounts allow simultaneous or successive nominations; simultaneous nominations require specified shares totaling 100 percent, while successive nominations create a priority order activating the next nominee only upon the earlier nominee's death. For safe custody and lockers only successive nominations are allowed. The Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 2025 will set out procedures and forms to operationalise these nomination provisions uniformly across banks.

Summary: Rupee appreciated seven paise to close at 87.86 against the US dollar, supported by positive domestic equities and risk on sentiment amid optimism over an India-US trade deal; investors are watching global cues, US economic data and FEMA/RBI monetary signals for further direction, with concurrent movements in the dollar index, crude futures and foreign institutional flows affecting the exchange rate.

Summary: Prime Minister Modi will attend the ASEAN and ASEAN India summits virtually due to scheduling constraints; opposition leaders allege the decision reflects diplomatic distancing to avoid a physical encounter with a visiting former US president, citing political and reputational risk and circulating his public claims about India's energy purchases and regional mediation as supporting evidence.

Summary: Deloitte India projects FY26 GDP growth of 6.7-6.9% (6.8% midpoint), supported by buoyant domestic demand, accommodative monetary policy, and structural reforms such as GST 2.0, with consumption and private investment driving near-term strength while risks include persistent core inflation, global trade uncertainties, restricted access to critical minerals, and tighter external liquidity that could spur capital outflows.

Summary: Hindustan Unilever reported Q2 consolidated net profit of Rs 2,694 crore with revenue of Rs 16,034 crore, Underlying Sales Growth of 2% and flat Underlying Volume Growth, attributing muted volumes to a transitory GST rate rationalisation and prolonged monsoon; EBITDA margin was 23.2% (down 90 bps) amid higher investments, and a one off positive tax impact partly supported Profit After Tax. The board declared an interim dividend of Rs 19 per share.

Summary: A two year investigation identifies at least ten US exporters sending over 10,000 containers of potential electronic waste valued at more than USD 1 billion to Southeast Asia and other destinations; shipments are often declared under non e waste trade codes, many exporters hold industry recycling certifications, and the exports overwhelm recipient countries, expose workers to toxic metals, and reveal gaps in export controls, certification integrity, trade code enforcement and downstream verification.

Summary: India urged fulfilment of developed countries' climate finance and technology transfer commitments and warned that unilateral environmental measures and restrictive technology controls undermine the rules-based trading system and disproportionately harm developing countries. It promoted South-South cooperation on critical minerals, fertilizers, and supply-chain resilience, and emphasised strengthening domestic transport, manufacturing and pharmaceutical capacity to build inclusive, resilient supply chains while preserving special and differential treatment and advancing equitable technology and capacity-building through multilateral cooperation.

Summary: Canada will pursue a policy to substantially increase exports to non US markets as a strategic response to elevated US tariff measures and investment uncertainty, targeting sector vulnerabilities in autos, steel, aluminium and lumber while expanding ties with major markets and leveraging energy and critical minerals to reduce reliance on a single foreign partner.

Summary: Equity benchmarks rallied as reports of a prospective US-India trade deal and fresh foreign fund inflows drove buying in IT and select financial stocks, lifting the Sensex and helping Nifty regain the 26,000 level; commentators cited tariff reductions improving trade competitiveness, festival-season sales, short-covering and recent FII purchases as key drivers while global cues were mixed.

Summary: Imports under ITC (HS) Code 60053600 remain Restricted and subject to a Minimum Import Price of USD 3.5 per kilogram; imports with CIF value of USD 3.5/kg or above follow the existing CIF threshold rule. Fabrics falling within the 28-48 GSM range are exempt from the MIP condition. MIP conditions for other notified HS codes remain unchanged. Inputs imported under Advance Authorisation, by Export Oriented Units, and into SEZs are exempt from MIP provided they are not sold into the Domestic Tariff Area.

Summary: Amendment revises import policy conditions for specified ITC (HS) codes in Chapters 29 and 38, making imports of listed pesticides subject to an import permit or a Certificate of Registration issued by the insecticide registration authority and compliance with the Insecticides Act; certain items are designated restricted and one specific formulation is subject to differentiated value based treatment, with the policy to be reviewed after one year.

Summary: The Commissioner, on the Council's recommendation and under the statutory powers, extends the electronic filing deadline for FORM GSTR 3B: for the month of September 2025 to the twenty fifth day of October 2025, and for returns covered by the proviso to sub section (1) of section 39 for the quarter July-September 2025 to the twenty fifth day of October 2025; the extension applies to registered persons and maintains electronic filing via the common portal.

Summary: The amendment restates that export obligations under Advance Authorisation must be fulfilled within 120 days from import per consignment, except that imports of findings and mountings of gold, platinum and silver and exports of jewellery have a 180 day export obligation; no further extensions are permitted, and gold may be imported as replenishment after completion of exports.

Summary: Reinstatement and amendment of Standard Input Output Norms (SION) C-676 restores input and wastage specifications for export of hot dipped galvanised tension bar/gate rods/truss rods/drop rods, listing permissible inputs (re-rollable usable scrap/billet cuttings, MS billets/blooms, non-alloy steel wire rods, zinc 99.99% purity) and specific wastage and consumption rates per kilogram of net weight of the ungalvanized export product; effective immediately under paragraph 1.03 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.

Summary: Companies may file specified annual e forms for FY 2024-25 (MGT 7, MGT 7A, AOC 4 variants and AOC 4 XBRL) without payment of additional fees until 31 December 2025 to accommodate deployment of revised forms. This relief does not extend statutory time for holding AGMs; noncompliance remains liable to legal action. Filings after the circular's currency will attract all fees, including additional fees, under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014, from the original due date.