Gold ETFs must maintain at least 90% of assets under management in gold or eligible bullion instruments. Gold-based exchange-traded commodity derivatives are generally limited to 10% of assets, unless physical delivery is intended instead of rolling over derivative positions. ETFs must track an approved spot-gold benchmark with minimal tracking error. Physical gold must be responsibly sourced from certified refiners, stored in a registered vault, and independently verified every half-year, with reports submitted to the fund management entity and fiduciaries within two months.

GST refund applications must be decided within prescribed timelines, as delay beyond 60 days from receipt of an application may trigger interest liability. Refunds may be granted only after field verification of the applicant firm's registered premises to establish genuineness, with documentary records maintained by the proper officer. Signed fortnightly, ward-wise refund reports must record decisions, delayed and pending applications, sanctions, rejections and interest paid, and be consolidated for submission to the Commissioner, State Tax.

Commodity-based ETFs must invest at least 90% of their assets in the specified commodity or commodity-related security or instrument identified by the Authority. A Fund Management Entity launching a commodity-based ETF must designate a Key Managerial Personnel with at least five years' experience in commodities as the Fund Manager.

A Fund Management Entity may launch an ETF replicating a debt index of the IFSC, India, or a foreign jurisdiction. Replicating indices must generally contain at least five issuers, limit each issuer's weight, and comprise investment-grade constituents, subject to an exception for Government securities. The ETF must replicate its underlying index to at least 90 per cent of total assets. Deviations caused by unavailable constituent issuances must minimise tracking error and conform to offer document disclosures.

An ETF replicating a particular equity index must track an index comprising at least ten constituent stocks. In a sectoral or thematic index, any single stock's weightage must not exceed 35 per cent; in every other index, the corresponding cap is 25 per cent. The ETF must replicate its underlying index to at least 95 per cent of total assets.

Regulation 61 permits only Registered FMEs (Retail) to launch ETFs after filing a draft offer document and applicable fees at least twenty-one working days before launch. Authority comments must be incorporated before launch, and material changes must be immediately reported. ETFs must be listed and traded on a recognised stock exchange. Fiduciary approval is mandatory before filing, while actively managed and other approved ETFs require prior stock exchange approval. IFSC-listed ETFs must use the identifier "IFSC ETF" in their name, offer document, and advertising material.

Special situation funds must comply with the disclosure, valuation, NAV computation and fund management entity contribution norms applicable to close-ended restricted schemes under Chapter III. As a category of restricted schemes, they must additionally meet requirements specified from time to time for close-ended restricted schemes.

Borrowing by a special situation fund is prohibited, including leveraging activities, except where necessary to meet day-to-day operational requirements.

Special situation funds must maintain the minimum corpus, accept only eligible investors, and comply with additional investment conditions as specified by the Authority. The applicable corpus threshold, investor eligibility requirements, and supplementary investment conditions are determined by the Authority.

Special situation funds must invest exclusively in special situation assets under Regulation 57 of the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Fund Management) Regulations, 2025.

Special situation funds must be close-ended and constituted in an International Financial Services Centre as a company, limited liability partnership, trust, or another permitted legal form. Their tenure must be at least three years and disclosed in the placement memorandum. An extension of up to two years requires approval from investors holding two-thirds by value of investments. Any further extension requires express consent from willing investors and an exit opportunity for dissenting investors.

Special situation funds may be launched by a Registered FME through a private placement memorandum filed with applicable fees. Restricted schemes follow a green-channel process and may open for subscriptions once the placement memorandum is taken on record. The memorandum is valid for twelve months, within which the FME must achieve the prescribed minimum corpus and declare first close. A one-time six-month extension is available on payment of the prescribed reduced fee. Material changes must be immediately informed to the Authority.

Special situation assets include eligible stressed loans, security receipts issued by Reserve Bank-registered Asset Reconstruction Companies, and securities of companies connected with stressed loans, security receipts, insolvency proceedings, or continuing payment defaults. Default-related and insolvency-related securities require a "D" or equivalent downgrade. A special situation fund invests in these assets in accordance with its investment objectives and may act as a resolution applicant under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.

Regulation 53 permits a Registered FME to launch a special situation fund in accordance with Part D and the provisions of the governing Chapter. The authority to launch is qualified by compliance with that Chapter's applicable provisions, so the permission to establish the fund operates within the special situation fund framework.

An FME or its associate must contribute to a retail scheme at least one per cent of its assets under management or USD 200,000, whichever is lower. This obligation is excluded for relocated overseas funds or schemes and for fund of funds schemes investing in schemes with similar contribution requirements. The contribution must be made within forty-five days, maintained continuously, and may receive an extension. FME contributions may count towards applicable net-worth requirements.

Computation of NAV for retail schemes requires the Fund Management Entity to calculate net asset value daily for open-ended schemes and weekly for close-ended schemes, in the manner specified by the Authority. NAV calculation procedures and methodology must be fully documented, regularly verified, and amended as necessary.

Valuation of retail scheme assets requires the fund management entity and fiduciaries to comply with the investment valuation norms in the Sixth Schedule. Assets must be valued by an independent service provider, including specified registered intermediaries, a registered valuer, or another person specified by the Authority. This requirement does not apply to fund of funds schemes investing in regulated underlying schemes in IFSC, India or foreign jurisdictions where the underlying schemes are valued by an independent entity.

Borrowing by retail schemes is permitted only for temporary liquidity needs connected with redemption. The borrowing must not exceed twenty per cent of the scheme's assets under management and cannot remain outstanding for more than six months.

Retail-scheme offer documents must contain material investment information, including objectives, investor profile, scheme strategy, tenure, fees, risk-management practices, and relevant fund management entity details. Material changes to fund strategy require consent from at least two-thirds of investors by value. Net asset value must be disclosed daily for open-ended schemes and weekly for close-ended schemes. Portfolios must be disclosed quarterly within one month of quarter-end, while other material information must be communicated immediately.

Retail schemes are subject to limits on unlisted securities, single-company and sector exposure, associate investments, and scheme size. Open-ended schemes may invest up to 15% of AUM in unlisted securities, subject to an exception for eligible home-jurisdiction regulated investment funds. Single-company exposure is generally capped at 10%, extendable to 15% with fiduciary approval. Sector exposure is generally capped at 25%, and at 50% for financial services, subject to specified scheme exceptions. Retail schemes require a minimum size of USD 3 million, with transitional funding provisions for open-ended schemes.