Land Customs Station designation: Sikta added as a notified LCS with the Sikta-Bhiswabazar road as the cross-border entry route.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs amends the notification under the Customs Act, 1962 by inserting Sikta in West Champaran District, Bihar as a Land Customs Station and specifying the road connecting Sikta (India) with Bhiswabazar (Nepal) as the cross-border entry route, thereby adding Sikta-Bhiswabazar to the list of notified land frontier points for customs operations.

Customs amendment expands authorised ICD/LCS locations by adding Village Jattipur near Samalkha for import unloading and export loading.
Amendment inserts item (ix) against serial number 5 for Haryana in Notification No.12/97 CUSTOMS (N.T.), designating "Village Jattipur, near Samalkha, Panipat" as an authorised location for unloading of imported goods and loading of export goods, under the powers conferred by clause (aa) of sub section (1) of section 7 of the Customs Act, 1962.

Service tax exemption for small businesses: government and local authority services to entities below turnover threshold exempted.
A new exemption entry is inserted in Notification No. 25/2012 exempting services provided by the Government or a local authority to a business entity with turnover up to the small business threshold in the preceding financial year. The amendment, made by Notification No. 07/2016 under the Finance Act, 1994, inserts the new entry after entry No. 47 and takes effect from 1 April 2016.

Taxability of government services: government and local authority supplies to businesses are made taxable, subject to exemptions.
Government and local authority services supplied to business entities are made taxable under service tax law from the appointed commencement, except for services specifically exempted or covered by the negative list; the notification fixes the statutory commencement date for the provision that brings such services within the service tax net.

Exit offer for dissenting shareholders required when control-related proposals are opposed, with prescribed pricing and procedural safeguards.
Regulations mandate that promoters or controlling shareholders must make an exit offer to dissenting shareholders when a specified minority votes against changes in objects or contract terms and funds utilised for the original objects fall below a threshold. Eligible dissenters are those holding shares on the relevant date. The exit price is determined by the highest of specified acquisition-based benchmarks or, for infrequently traded shares, a merchant banker valuation. The regime prescribes merchant banker appointment, escrow security, tendering period mechanics, withdrawal rights, settlement via recognised exchange mechanisms, prompt payment timelines, and detailed post-offer disclosures. Promoters must ensure non-public shareholding limits are not breached.

Promoter acquisition exclusion: promoter or controlling shareholder purchases fall outside takeover regulation under Chapter VI A ICDR.
The amendment inserts a sub regulation into regulation 3 providing that the takeover regulation does not apply to acquisitions of shares or voting rights by promoters or shareholders in control when those acquisitions are governed by Chapter VI A of the SEBI (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2009.

Special Public Prosecutors appointed to conduct Prevention of Money Laundering Act cases before Special Courts nationwide under statutory provisions.
Central Government designates Assistant Legal Advisors of the Directorate of Enforcement as Special Public Prosecutors to conduct all cases on behalf of the Directorate before Special Courts under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, identifying the appointees by name and specifying the statutory and procedural basis for the appointments.

Startup recognition: eligibility and certification required for tax benefits, portal registration and penalties for false documents.
A startup is an entity within five years of incorporation, below a prescribed turnover ceiling, and engaged in technology or IP driven innovation or significant improvement of products, processes or services; reconstructed or split businesses are excluded. Tax benefit eligibility requires certification by an Inter Ministerial Board. Recognition is granted via the Department's portal (or interim process) upon uploading prescribed documentary evidence, triggering a real time recognition number; verification revealing forged or improper documents attracts a capital linked monetary penalty with a statutory minimum. The notification is effective on Gazette publication.

Startup definition clarifies eligibility, recognition procedure, and penalties for obtaining recognition with false documentation.
An entity qualifies as a startup if within five years of incorporation, below the prescribed turnover ceiling, and engaged in technology or IP-driven innovation or significant improvement of products, processes or services; exclusions include reconstructions of existing businesses and activities lacking commercialization potential. Recognition requires portal-based application with prescribed documentary support or interim arrangements, issuance of a real-time recognition number, certification by an Inter-Ministerial Board for tax benefits, and a penalty for obtaining recognition through missing, different or forged documents.

Safe harbour rules amended to broaden tariff methodology recognition and extend Form 3CEFB compliance timelines for specified domestic transactions.
The notification amends the safe harbour rules for specified domestic transactions by inserting "supply" into the definitional rule, removing a generator-specific limitation, clarifying clause cross-references in tabular provisions, and adding that approval of the methodology for determination of tariff qualifies alongside a determined tariff. It also substitutes a proviso extending the period for furnishing Form 3CEFB for eligible specified domestic transactions (with a specified exclusion), and makes parallel edits to Appendix II Form 3CEFB to reflect the tariff methodology approval reference.

Scope of notification broadened to include notifications or special orders issued under the specified subsections, altering application.
The amendment substitutes in the first proviso the phrase "notification issued under sub-section (1)" with "notification or special order issued under sub-section (1) or as the case may be under sub-section (2)", thereby broadening the instruments that determine applicability under the principal service tax notification.

Customs exemption amendment: adds Octreotide, Somatropin and Anti Haemophilic Factor Concentrate to exemption lists, effective immediately.
The Central Government amends Notification No. 12/2012 Customs by inserting Octreotide and Somatropin into List 3 and inserting Anti Haemophilic Factor Concentrate (VIII and IX) into List 4, expanding the enumerated categories of goods under the existing customs exemption framework as effected by the cited government notification.

Power plant location rules: fiscal relief limited to initial setup in non processing areas; captive processing units get full benefits.
Power plants by developers in SEZs must be sited in the Non Processing Area with fiscal benefits limited to initial setup and no O&M benefits; captive plants in the Processing Area qualify as units, remain subject to Net Foreign Exchange obligations, and are eligible for full fiscal benefits including duty free imports and O&M benefits, while DTA sales are subject to customs duty as determined by the Department of Revenue.

Customs duty on electricity: revised per unit rates for SEZ to DTA supply and a certificate requirement limiting prior tax benefits.
The notification amends exemption entries to set distinct customs duty rates for electrical energy supplied from SEZs to the DTA-differentiated by origin, SEZ area (Processing/Non Processing), plant capacity and fuel type-and inserts Condition 103 requiring a Development Commissioner certificate that no customs, excise or fuel transportation service tax benefits were availed for raw materials and consumables used in plant operation and maintenance.

Appointment of Common Adjudicating Authority designates officers to adjudicate listed show cause notices across multiple customs cases.
Officers are appointed to act as Common Adjudicating Authority under sub section (1) of section 4 and sub section (1) of section 5 of the Customs Act to exercise powers and discharge duties for adjudication of the listed show cause notices. A table maps each show cause notice and noticee to the originally designated adjudicating authority and to the officer appointed as Common Adjudicating Authority, thereby reallocating adjudicatory responsibility for those proceedings; a later substitution to the appointment text is recorded.

Export restriction exception for roasted gram in consumer packs permitted under amended export policy notification
The export prohibition on pulses is modified to exclude Roasted Gram (whole/split) in consumer retail packs, permitting its export under an amended proviso to the existing notifications and the ITC(HS) Classification, effective immediately under the Foreign Trade Policy.

Annual information return requirement mandates electronic filing of Form AIRF with specified annexures and administrative safeguards.
Annual information return requirement mandates specified persons to file Form AIRF annually reporting transactions of defined nature and value, using Annexure AIRA-I for foreign remittances and Annexure AIRA-II for electricity consumption, with data fields and verification specified. Returns must be filed electronically to the designated data management authority by the due date following the relevant financial year, subject to Board extensions and appointment of an Annual Information Return-Administrator; interim submission on computer readable media is permitted until electronic formats and secure transmission protocols are finalised.

FDI policy reforms clarify ownership, control, downstream investment and sectoral entry routes, altering compliance obligations.
Amendments clarify definitions and compliance for foreign investment in India by inserting a definition of Manufacture, redefining ownership and control (including LLPs and the right to appoint directors or designated partners), and tightening downstream investment and reporting requirements. Indian entities making downstream investments must notify authorities, comply with valuation and funding norms, and obtain annual statutory auditor certification of FDI conditionality compliance; investment vehicles and LLPs are subject to specified entry route, ownership tests and sectoral caps as reflected in revised Schedules.

Non Resident Indian investment regimes clarified: repatriation and non repatriation pathways, account routing and sectoral limitations.
The amendment revises the definition of Non-Resident Indian (NRI) and separates NRI acquisition of securities into repatriation basis under the Portfolio Investment Scheme and non repatriation basis. Schedule 3 permits specified purchases through designated authorised dealer branches subject to individual and aggregate ceilings, delivery and custody requirements, FDI sectoral caps, reporting to the Reserve Bank, and routing through an NRE (PIS) account with defined permitted credits and debits. Schedule 4 permits unrestricted non repatriation domestic investments except in prohibited sectors, mandates payment and credit routing rules, and disallows repatriation of principal and appreciation.

Tariff value fixation for imports sets administrative reference prices to guide customs valuation and clearance procedures.
Fixation of tariff values for specified imported goods is effected under Section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962, by substituting revised TABLE-1, TABLE-2 and TABLE-3 into the principal non-tariff notification. The amendment lists commodities (various palm and soybean oils, palmolein, brass scrap, poppy seeds, areca nuts, and specified gold and silver entries) with corresponding unit tariff values in US dollars to serve as administrative reference benchmarks for customs valuation at import clearance.