Shri Piyush Goyal Reaffirms India's Commitment to Eliminating Forced Labour, Calls for Evidence-Based Trade Measures Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Piyush Goyal participated in the concluding day of the G20 Trade Ministers' Meeting in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and spoke in sessions on structural excess capacity and production, updating the Most-Favoured-Nation principle, ending forced labour in global supply chains, and the closing session. Speaking on structural excess capacity ... ... ...

Export-led Market Access Enhances Farmer Realisation and Expands Bihar's Makhana Exports The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the flag-off of a consignment of 1 MT of Popped (Phool) Makhana from Purnea, Bihar, for export to Greece, marking another step towards expanding international market access for Bihar's traditional Makhana and creating opportunities for improved farmer realisation through export-oriented value chains. The consi... ... ...

APEDA facilitated an FPO-led export of frozen food products to Canada by Aterna Foods Producer Company Limited, with support under its Financial Assistance Scheme. The export included frozen vegetables, sweet corn, samosa and other processed food products. Market-linkage initiatives connect Farmer Producer Organisations and Farmer Producer Companies with exporters and global buyers, promoting export-oriented value chains and integrating agricultural produce with processing and international markets.

Component II of the RELIEF intervention extends operational timelines for exporters affected by West Asia maritime-logistics disruptions. It encourages eligible exporters to obtain ECGC cover for upcoming shipments to specified regions with 95% risk coverage. Benefits apply to qualifying Stand Alone Policies and Whole Turnover Policies, covering full container load, less than container load, and reefer containers, but excluding energy shipments. Eligible exporters' insurance premium cannot increase beyond the pre-disruption level during the relevant period.

The Department of Commerce, has vide Notification No. 41/2026-27 dated 30^th September 2026 extended the continuation of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme upto 31^st December 2026  and shall be available for exports made by Domestic Tariff Area  (DTAs) Units, Advance Authorisation (AA) Holders, Special Economic Zone (SEZ) Units and Export Oriented Units(EOUs). The RoDTEP Scheme refunds embedded, un-rebated Central, State and local duties, taxes and l... ... ...

Illegal wildlife trafficking operations addressed alleged possession, transportation, and attempted sale of elephant ivory, leopard skin, live pangolins, and tiger parts. Possession without licence and trade in elephant ivory or ivory articles are prohibited under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972. Leopards, pangolins, tigers, and their body parts receive Schedule I protection, while pangolins are also listed in CITES Appendix I, prohibiting international trade. Recovered wildlife articles, live animals, and vehicles were transferred or seized for action by forest and specialised wildlife enforcement agencies.

Seizure of around 8.5 kg foreign-origin gold and more than 1,100 carats of diamonds worth over Rs. 13.5 crore; 8 arrested Airport staff found facilitating both smuggling of gold into India and illicit export of diamonds to Dubai Continuing its sustained crackdown on organised smuggling, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a sophisticated two-way smuggling syndicate operating through Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai, resulting in the seizure of ... ... ...

Authorised disposal of seized narcotic drugs under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 involved destruction of 10,842.150 kg of contraband through an approved process supervised by the Drug Disposal Committee and attended by a pollution-control representative. Seized opium was separately deposited with the Government Opium and Alkaloid Works as part of the disposal process, aimed at preventing contraband from returning to illicit drug trafficking and ensuring environmentally safe incineration.

Seizure under the relevant provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, covered hydroponic weed (ganja) recovered from an international parcel received from Thailand. The contraband was concealed in cake pouches placed among other packets and articles to camouflage its presence. Specific intelligence prompted examination, recovery, weighing and seizure following due legal procedure, with further investigation in progress.

Intelligence-based enforcement under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, resulted in the interception of a motorcycle and recovery of 4.240 kg of opium. The opium and motorcycle used for transportation were seized after legal formalities, and one person was arrested. Investigation continues to trace the contraband's source and intended destination and identify other persons connected with the suspected trafficking network.

Past-period construction ITC claims may be placed before the Adjudicating Authority with a request to exclude time spent in bona fide writ proceedings under Section 14 of the Limitation Act when applying the statutory ITC time limit. The claim is not automatic: eligibility requires factual application of the functionality test, compliance with other conditions, and consideration of the retrospective substitution of 'plant and machinery' in the own-account restriction.

The reforms establish a judiciary-led National Tribunals Commission as a permanent mechanism for tribunal selections, performance review and disciplinary oversight. Judicially led search-cum-selection committees, transparent processes, expert assessment, financial and administrative independence, and a five-year tenure seek to reduce executive discretion and strengthen professional competence. A common framework governs qualifications, appointments, salaries and allowances, resignation, removal and other service conditions across sixteen specified tribunals and appellate bodies.

GST adjudication safeguards require personal hearing before an adverse decision, confinement of the adjudicated demand to the demand proposed in the show-cause notice, reasoned consideration of the taxpayer's reply, and service through legally valid modes. Personal hearing is mandatory where an adverse decision is contemplated. An adjudication order cannot confirm a demand beyond that proposed in the show-cause notice, and orders must address the taxpayer's response and disclose their factual basis and reasoning.

Post-import authorisation is available only through a warehousing route: the importer must file an into-bond Bill of Entry, execute the warehousing bond, and retain goods under Customs control while obtaining the authorisation. Clearance for home consumption requires an ex-bond Bill of Entry accompanied by the valid authorisation, with duty benefits assessed at that stage. The facility principally concerns freely importable goods and does not regularise prohibited goods; restricted and State Trading Enterprise imports are excluded unless specific relaxation is granted.

Where AMP expenses form part of operating costs and international transactions have been tested as arm's length under TNMM, separate benchmarking of AMP as an independent international transaction is not supported. Segregating AMP through an additional cost-plus analysis or bright-line approach may distort the operating-margin analysis. A receivables adjustment requires verification whether working-capital adjustments already account for the relevant impact.

An expired e-way bill does not by itself establish tax evasion, but expiry coupled with a vehicle wholly different from that recorded in Part B, unexplained delay or route deviation, and absent contemporaneous evidence may constitute substantive transit-documentation non-compliance. Part B must identify the vehicle actually transporting the goods and must be updated after transshipment. Minor-error relaxation does not automatically cover a complete vehicle mismatch. Credible records are required to rebut the presumption arising from movement without a complete and valid e-way bill.

Recognised PSIAs receive a one-time seven-day transitional window beginning September 16, 2026 to issue backlog PSICs for inspections conducted before August 25, 2026, where system restrictions prevented issuance. For applicable inspections, each PSIC must be generated and issued within two days from inspection, and the system permits issuance only during that period. Uploading must occur from the same geographical location or country as the inspection. Other provisions of the earlier framework remain operative.

GST appellate pre-deposit must be assessed against the tax actually remaining in dispute after first appellate relief. Although deposits at the first appellate and Tribunal stages ordinarily operate cumulatively, they do not create unrelated liabilities arising from the same tax dispute. Where the reduced demand is accepted and an earlier deposit exceeds the aggregate prescribed requirement for the surviving tax, the revenue stands sufficiently secured and no duplicate deposit is required. Tribunal fee compliance remains an independent condition, and further deposit is necessary where the earlier payment is insufficient.

Paragraph 2.57(c) of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 exempts an export consignment with an FOB value not exceeding Rs. 3,00,000 from the Registration-cum-Membership Certificate or Certificate of Registration requirement otherwise covered by paragraph 2.57. The exemption applies to each consignment, not annual turnover or aggregate exports. Consignments above the threshold remain subject to the existing registration requirement wherever applicable. The limited exemption does not displace other customs, foreign-exchange, tax, licensing, product-specific, shipping, or documentation obligations.

Article 226 judicial review examines the legality of a statutory authority's decision-making process and does not permit reappreciation of evidence or substitution of a plausible disciplinary assessment based on the record. The Board's closure of the disciplinary complaint therefore remains undisturbed where no illegality, mala fides, or deliberate facilitation is established. Absence of a fiduciary or professional relationship does not itself exclude other misconduct, but is material where the prima facie opinion depends on the existence of that relationship. Pending criminal proceedings do not bar independent disciplinary jurisdiction; disciplinary action may proceed on the available evidence.