Agarwood oil, agarwood chips and allied products may be exported through Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport, Guwahati, in addition to the previously specified ports, subject to applicable statutory and regulatory requirements. Exports of CITES species require a CITES export permit. Exporters are not required to provide any state or central government authority with additional information, no-objection certificates or documents beyond those prescribed.

The National Social Security Board for unorganised workers is constituted under the Code on Social Security, 2020 for three years from publication in the Official Gazette. Its membership includes worker and employer representatives, parliamentary members, government officials and a member-secretary; one Rajya Sabha member remains to be nominated. The same Board also serves gig and platform worker welfare, retaining its chairperson and vice-chairperson but replacing the other members with platform company and worker representatives, social security officials, labour and worker education representatives, state officials and a member-secretary.

Registered concessionaires supplying road or highway operation and maintenance services to a concessioning authority under the Toll-Operate-Transfer model must pay central tax on amounts charged or debited from the escrow account towards those expenses, in the tax period of the charge or debit. The concession agreement must grant exclusive toll collection and appropriation rights, require operation and maintenance during the concession period, and require an upfront concession fee. The concessioning authority may be a government, local authority, governmental authority or government entity. The procedure takes effect on 1 November 2026.

Foreign portfolio investors' KYC reviews fall due every eight years for Category I investors in non-high-risk jurisdictions and those registered under Regulation 5(a)(i) in high-risk jurisdictions; other Category I investors in high-risk jurisdictions are reviewed every two years. Category II regulated entities in non-high-risk jurisdictions are reviewed every eight years, while other Category II investors are reviewed every two years. Government-securities-only investors retain the review periodicity applicable to their bank accounts, while SWAGAT-FI investors remain subject to a ten-year review. Registration continuance no longer requires change notifications or no-change declarations. Investors must pay continuance fees to their designated depository participant at least 15 days before registration expires. The changes take effect on 1 December 2026.

The RELIEF Sub-Committee is constituted with immediate effect under the Export Promotion Mission to improve fund utilisation and uptake of support for Indian exporters. It will review implementation of RELIEF's three components, including claims processed and available funds, examine factors affecting uptake and fund utilisation, and recommend improvements. Its recommendations will be placed before the EPM Steering Committee, which may make decisions on the review of RELIEF. The Sub-Committee may co-opt members or invite stakeholders, and the EPM Section will serve as its secretariat.

Until the recommended CGST amendments take effect, CGST field formations must not make GST arrests or confiscate goods or conveyances in transit. Interception requires specific intelligence and authorisation by an officer of at least Joint Commissioner rank, who must record reasons to believe the goods are being transported in contravention. Inspection is limited to movements involving a supplier or recipient registered or, if unregistered, located in the officer's State or Union territory. For suspected contraventions outside that jurisdiction, officers must allow transit and refer information to the jurisdictional officer. Inspection, detention or seizure is permitted regardless of jurisdiction if neither an e-way bill nor documents showi.....

Exporters and customs brokers seeking preferential tariff treatment in New Zealand under the India-New Zealand FTA must declare the ORC information type, EPT qualifier and FTANZD code at item level in the shipping bill. Where exports are not under any preferential trade agreement, the information code must be NCPTI. The declaration is mandatory for all items; without it, the shipping bill cannot be filed. The certificate of origin number and date declared in the shipping bill must exactly match the issued certificate.

Grant-funded research and development by eligible entities qualifies for GST exemption; certification by the entity head that the work is research rather than consultancy may suffice. Imports of services without consideration by Indian establishments of foreign shipping companies from related persons or other establishments outside India are exempt from 1 November 2026, with GST payments for 1 July 2017 to 31 October 2026 regularised on an as-is-where-is basis. Statutory and ancillary costs recovered by vehicle lessors form part of the composite leasing supply and attract its GST rate. TRAI is not Government under GST law. Notional interest on loans or advances under banks' fund transfer pricing mechanism qualifies for the interest exemption. Lending services provided by NBFCs to banks under co-lending arrangements are taxable, with their value determined by the contractual agreement.

Sublimation paper falls under tariff heading 4809 and attracts 18% GST. Toy entries cover all toys under heading 9503, including dolls, scale models and puzzles; non-electronic toys attract 5% GST and electronic toys attract 18%, including their parts and accessories. Under the used-vehicle margin scheme, the input tax credit restriction applies only to tax paid on procured second-hand vehicles; credit on other inputs and input services remains available subject to the CGST Act. Seaweed-extract bio-stimulants registered under Schedule VI of the Fertiliser Control Order fall under heading 3101. Past disputes concerning sublimation paper classification and rates and bio-stimulant classification are recommended for regularisation on an "as is where is" basis.

For exports to New Zealand, the Customs EDI system captures certificate of origin details at item level in shipping bills from 20 October 2026. Exporters or customs brokers claiming preferential tariff treatment under the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement must declare ORC as the information type, EPT as the qualifier and FTANZD as the code for each item. The declaration is mandatory for every item; NCPTI must be used as the code where exports are not under any preferential trade agreement. A shipping bill cannot be filed without the declaration. The declared certificate number and date must match the issued certificate of origin.

Companies may file cost audit reports for financial year 2025-26 in Form CRA-4, using XBRL format, up to and including 31 December 2026 without paying additional fees. Filings made after 31 December 2026 attract all applicable fees, including additional fees, under the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014. Additional fees apply from the date on which the filing was actually due under Rule 6(6) of the Companies (Cost Records and Audit) Rules, 2014, rather than from the end of the relaxation period.

From 1 January 2021, quarterly filers may use the invoice furnishing facility (IFF) for supplies to registered persons in the first two months of a quarter, up to Rs. 50 lakh cumulatively per month, from the first to the thirteenth day of the following month. Details furnished through the IFF are not repeated in the quarterly GSTR-1. A monthly auto-drafted input tax credit statement in FORM GSTR-2B draws on supplier filings and import data, with reporting periods linked to the relevant GSTR-1 and IFF due dates. Quarterly filers must deposit tax for each of the first two months by the twenty-fifth day of the following month using FORM GST PMT-06, subject to extension and specified cash-ledger adjustments.

The first proviso to section 149 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 restricts the new ten-year reassessment limitation period for assessment years beginning on or before 1 April 2021. A notice is barred if the six-year limitation period under the earlier regime had expired when it was issued. For assessment year 2014-15, the earlier period expired on 31 March 2021, before the notice was issued on 31 August 2024.

Appellate authority functions under Section 107 of the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, read with Rule 109A of the corresponding Rules, are assigned to specified Additional Commissioners (Administration and Enforcement). The assignment covers hearing and deciding appeals arising from orders passed by Deputy Commissioners, with the assigned officers exercising the powers and discharging the functions of the appellate authority.

Departmental vigilance officer nominations for the Jammu and Kashmir State Taxes Department replace Namrita Dogra and Rakesh Kumar following their transfers. The nominations, dated 18 September 2026, partially modify the earlier office order No. 08/Adm of 2026 dated 12 May 2026. Dhananter Singh, Additional Commissioner of State Taxes (Administration and Enforcement), Jammu, is nominated at the Jammu division level. Shazia Koser, Deputy Commissioner of State Taxes (IT, Data Analytics and Economic Intelligence), Jammu, is nominated at the district level for Udhampur and Reasi.

Section 73 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, as applicable to the proceedings, covers financial years up to 2023-24 and cannot be invoked for financial year 2024-25. An order under Section 73(5) for a financial year outside that temporal scope is not sustainable; proceedings may instead be initiated in accordance with law.

Re-credit of input tax credit attributed to the rejected portion of a GST refund is in question where services are exported with payment of IGST. The refund application was partly sanctioned and partly rejected, but the GST portal does not offer the PMT-03 re-credit option for the export-with-payment category. The taxpayer seeks restoration of the credit attributed to the rejected portion in the Electronic Credit Ledger (ECL). Questions arise whether the taxpayer may submit a manual representation to the jurisdictional officer seeking re-credit through a manual PMT-03 order or another mechanism, and whether an undertaking under Rule 93 of the CGST Rules, 2017, not to appeal the rejected portion, is sufficient.

Capital gains taxation under section 45(5A) is questioned where a landowner entered into a registered, area-sharing joint development agreement and the developer allegedly sold the landowner's allocated flats using a forged power of attorney, defaulted on construction and absconded before a completion certificate was issued. The issues include whether capital gains can be taxed in those circumstances and whether the loss of property rights is a capital loss eligible for set-off or carry-forward under sections 70 and 74, or a non-deductible personal loss. The questions, raised with reference to Notification No. 06/2019-CT(R), include whether development rights are a taxable service or a benefit arising from land covered by Schedule III, entry 5, and whether the landowner can be required to pay the reverse-charge liability when the developer absconds without delivering the units.

Permanent discontinuation of supplementary import general manifest (IGM) and export general manifest (EGM) filings takes effect on 12 August 2026 at all remaining ports, including Mundra. Following that date, amendments must be filed only through standard Sea Cargo Manifest and Transhipment Regulations (SCMTR) amendment messages, namely SAA and SDM; legacy or manual supplementary formats are not accepted after that date. Under Mundra customs jurisdiction, trade stakeholders, shipping lines and agents must use those messages for adjustments, amendments and supplementary details.

Customs procedures at Mundra must follow the practices of Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House (JNCH), with necessary adaptations, unless a specific requirement peculiar to Mundra necessitates a different approach, including because of infrastructural or geographical constraints. This approach reflects the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs' direction to adopt JNCH processes as a model for other ports and promote uniformity in customs procedures across India. Importers, exporters, customs brokers, shipping lines, terminal operators, custodians and other stakeholders are requested to bring processes they consider inconsistent with JNCH's documented processes to the attention of the Additional Commissioner, Mundra Customs, for examination and appropriate action.