Brand Rate of Drawback applications must be received and processed by the Brand Rate Fixation Cell under the prescribed procedure. Original duty-paid documents are generally not required for post-facto endorsement or defacement; up to 5% of originals of self-attested copies may be selected for risk-based cross-verification, focusing on core, high-value, or higher-duty inputs. The Cell must scrutinise claims, obtain verification where required, apply the prescribed checklist, address deficiencies promptly, and prepare a clear recommendation through the designated approval channel. Proposals for fixation or determination must be submitted to the Commissioner within the stipulated time, whose approval constitutes final determination of the drawback amount or rate. The procedure takes immediate effect.

Section 49 storage facilitation for imported air cargo requires prompt written or email notice to importers when clearance is delayed by Customs or statutory processes, followed by custodial reminders where goods remain uncleared. Complete storage applications should ordinarily be decided within three working days; where another statutory authority is consulted, the request may be determined on merits after the prescribed response period, subject to revenue, security and regulatory considerations. Detention or demurrage waiver certificates may be issued only where legally admissible and after verification, specifying the attributable period, reasons, relevant status and reference number. These measures create no automatic right to storage permission or waiver, and procedures for disposal of uncleared goods remain unaffected.

Empty import containers manifested by shipping lines and international transshipment containers carrying cargo not intended for clearance in India are excluded from the container-scanning requirement. The exclusion applies as a trade-facilitation measure during phased enhancement of port container scanning. Containers within these categories may nevertheless undergo examination, including scanning, where specific intelligence is received from revenue intelligence or field formations. Containers in the excluded categories remain outside scanning even if selected through the National Committee for Targeting Cargo, and stakeholders must ensure compliance with these instructions.

Partial de-notification removes 11,525 square metres from the Customs-notified premises of a Container Freight Station, reducing the notified area from 94,325 square metres to 82,800 square metres. The revised layout plan identifies the retained Customs Area and excluded land. The operator's appointment as Customs Custodian and approval as a Customs Cargo Service Provider are confined to the retained area. The validity and other conditions of those existing approvals remain unchanged, and prior obligations continue unless expressly modified. The revised notified-area arrangement takes effect from issuance.

Seven obsolete FEMA circulars are withdrawn following a review of circulars issued since June 2000. The withdrawn directions concern external commercial borrowings, including overseas rupee-denominated bonds, infrastructure-sector liberalisation, service imports, technical know-how and licence fees, and ECBs by a development finance institution; rupee borrowing and lending through investments by non-residents in specified bonds; and the Money Transfer Service Scheme sub-agent list. Their withdrawal reflects subsequent regulatory amendments, redundancy, overlap or supersession by later directions. Authorised Persons must notify affected constituents, while any permissions or approvals required under other laws remain unaffected.

Suspension of 544 Standard Input Output Norms (SIONs) is proposed because they remained unutilised under the Advance Authorisation and Duty-Free Import Authorisation schemes during the preceding three financial years. DGFT invites exporters, importers, export promotion bodies, industry associations and other stakeholders to submit comments and supporting material within 15 days, particularly reasons for retaining any listed SION and details of actual or proposed scheme utilisation. Following the consultation period and consideration of submissions, the listed SIONs may be suspended; comments received after the deadline may not be considered.

Nationwide bank-union strike action is scheduled for 11 September to press for five-day banking and unresolved employee pension demands. Cash withdrawals, deposits and other branch operations at public-sector banks may be affected. Union demands include a five-day working week, improved pensions, a uniform dearness-allowance formula for pensioners, and an option for National Pension System employees to move to the old pension scheme. A further three-day nationwide strike has been threatened from 28 September.

GST registration is impermissible without biometric-based Aadhaar authentication, addressing allegations of fraudulent registrations obtained through misuse of PAN and Aadhaar credentials. The requirement strengthens taxpayer identity verification in the GST registration process. Related issues include allegedly defamatory online posts, film release pending certification, sporting guidelines for women athletes returning after maternity, and the importance of an independent, ethical and fearless Bar to judicial independence.

Arunachal Pradesh revises the State GST rate schedules by removing specified goods from Schedule I taxable at 2.5% and adding listed construction materials to Schedule II taxable at 6%, effective from 1 April 2022. The additions include fly ash bricks, fly ash aggregate with at least 90 per cent fly ash content, fly ash blocks, bricks of fossil meals or similar siliceous earths, building bricks, and earthen or roofing tiles.

Section 128A provides conditional waiver of interest or penalty or both for eligible section 73 demands relating to financial years 2017-18 to 2019-20, subject to full payment of tax and prescribed applications in FORM GST SPL-01 or SPL-02. Pending appeals, writ petitions and special leave petitions concerning the demand must be withdrawn. Tax paid through FORM GST DRC-03 for an adjudicated demand must be adjusted through FORM GST DRC-03A before filing SPL-02. Waiver is limited to eligible periods and non-erroneous-refund demands; unpaid residual interest, penalty, or additional tax within the prescribed period renders the waiver void.

Natural justice requires an assessee to receive all documents, statements and other material proposed to be relied upon in assessment proceedings where the assessee has specifically requested them. Reliance on undisclosed material denies an effective opportunity to answer allegations and renders the assessment invalid. The assessment must be undertaken afresh only after supplying the relied-upon material, allowing a response and personal hearing, and assigning the matter to a different jurisdictional Assessing Officer.

Arunachal Pradesh brings sections 2, 3 and 7 to 15 of the Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2022 into force from 1 January 2022. The State Government fixes the appointed date under its statutory power to commence specified provisions of the Amendment Act within the State GST framework.

Sections 4 and 5 of the Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services (Amendment) Act, 2022 are brought into force from 1 August 2021. The State Government appoints this date for the identified amendment provisions to become operative.

Section 6 of the Arunachal Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2022 is brought into force from 1 June 2021. The commencement is made by appointing that date under the State Government's authority to bring specified provisions of the amending legislation into operation. The measure is limited to activating section 6 within the Arunachal Pradesh GST framework.

Share capital and premium received through banking channels cannot be treated as unexplained cash credits where the assessee establishes subscriber identity, creditworthiness and transaction genuineness through PAN and corporate records, tax returns, confirmations, bank statements and audited financial statements. The evidentiary burden then shifts to the Revenue, and non-production of subscriber directors alone does not justify an addition absent contrary material. Section 56(2)(viib) applies only from assessment year 2013-14 and cannot be invoked retrospectively for share premium received in an earlier assessment year. The subscription receipts therefore remain accepted as genuine capital receipts.

Intelligence-led customs enforcement against organised gold smuggling led to seizures of foreign-origin gold across airport, rail, road and Indo-Bangladesh border routes. Gold was concealed through melting, defacing, conversion into chains, dust or paste, and hiding in vehicles, baggage, machinery and body-worn articles. Seizures under the Customs Act, 1962 followed failures to produce documentation substantiating licit possession. The activity also identified transit passengers, airport staff, recipients and handlers involved in clandestine removal and movement of smuggled gold.

Office rent paid by a proprietor from a savings account recorded in the proprietor's books raises the accounting treatment and appropriate journal-entry issue for recognising the rent expense and reflecting payment through that account. The issue concerns bookkeeping for a proprietor's office-rent payment within an accounting and auditing context.

The amendments revise associate identification, pre-close deployment of contributor monies, investment conditions and investor protections across Venture Capital, Restricted and Retail schemes. NAV computation, valuation and portfolio disclosure obligations are aligned with commencement of investment activity and scheme type. Sponsor contribution rules, exemptions for relocated, passive, index and fund of funds structures, and sectoral-cap treatment are updated. FMEs and fiduciaries must maintain and approve compliance policies, verify key service-provider appointments before investor agreements, and ensure prescribed investor approvals or disclosures.

Eligible existing and new-to-bank customers may access a simplified Auto and Two-Wheeler financing journey through a fully digital, end-to-end paperless process. Automated decisioning, straight-through processing, digital documentation and dealer integration are intended to enable application-to-disbursement within 30 minutes, reduce financing friction and accelerate access to vehicle finance. The broader initiative uses customer engagement and employee capability-building measures to convert customer feedback into faster action and improved service experiences.

Wizzmoni Financial Services Limited and Appreciate are integrating global-investing infrastructure into the Wizz Financial App. Retail and high-net-worth customers may access US-listed stocks, exchange-traded funds and Global Mutual Funds through a digital experience with onboarding, a single-KYC journey and multi-bank remittance support. International investing is routed through regulated GIFT City IFSC infrastructure and is positioned as a compliant pathway under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme framework, alongside existing foreign-exchange and cross-border payment services.