India's foreign exchange reserves declined to USD 780.782 billion for the week ended September 11, driven by reductions in foreign currency assets and gold holdings. Foreign currency assets fell to USD 645.796 billion, with their dollar value reflecting movements in reserve currencies against the US dollar. Gold reserves also declined, while Special Drawing Rights increased to USD 18.845 billion. The reserve position with the IMF stood at USD 4.916 billion.

Under sub-rule (4) of rule 48 of the Arunachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, the first paragraph of No. 12/2020-State Tax is amended by substituting the monetary threshold of twenty crore rupees with ten crore rupees. The reduced prescribed threshold applies from 1 October 2022 and is confined to the stated monetary expression.

Reverse-charge payment by corporate recipients of manpower-supply services precludes a second service-tax demand on the proprietary supplier, as taxing the same service again would result in double taxation. Receipts disclosed in Form 26AS and income-tax returns do not establish suppression or wilful misstatement with intent to evade tax. Consequently, the extended limitation period under the proviso to section 73(1) of the Finance Act, 1994 is unavailable, and the service-tax demand and connected penalty cannot survive.

IIOs conducting direct insurance business must operate under a board-approved Product Oversight and Governance Policy covering product design, approval, review, distribution and corrective action. Products must suit the needs, characteristics and objectives of target prospects, with rates, terms and conditions justified and certified by a qualified actuary. IIOs must test products, manage intermediary-related conflicts, retain approval records and submit product information when required. Non-conforming or policyholder-adverse products may be suspended, modified or withdrawn, and their marketing must then cease.

Transfer-pricing analysis must account for material economic differences affecting comparability and margins, including capacity utilisation, working capital, customs duty and cash PLI. Functional comparability may be reassessed even for companies initially selected by the taxpayer, subject to factual verification. Comparable-company margin corrections require verification and appropriate incorporation. A corroborative approach using the associated enterprise as the tested party requires a comprehensive study under applicable law. Alternative arm's length price computations and related adjustment claims require reasoned consideration through a speaking order after an opportunity of hearing; unresolved matters require fresh determination.

Appointed actuary governance for IIOs requires the Board to appoint a qualified, independent Fellow actuary with a valid practising certificate, relevant post-fellowship insurance experience, and no misconduct, conflicting role, or concurrent appointment. The appointed actuary has access to relevant records, advises on products, pricing, investments and reinsurance, monitors solvency and reserves, certifies valuations and returns, and reports legal or regulatory non-compliance directly to the Authority. IIOs must provide resources, preserve direct reporting, and notify the Authority of appointments or changes.

Taxable value of online gaming, including actionable claims in online money gaming, equals the total amount paid or payable to, or deposited with, the supplier by or for the player in money, money's worth, or virtual digital assets. Amounts returned or refunded to the player, including unused deposits, cannot be deducted. Casino actionable claims are valued on payments for tokens, chips, coins or tickets, or for participation where such instruments are not required. Winnings reused without withdrawal are excluded from the player's amount paid or deposited.

Road and Infrastructure Cess on petrol and diesel cleared for export is set at nil by substituting the entry against serial number 2 in the table to Notification No. 11/2026-Central Excise. The amendment takes effect from 16 September 2026, the date of its publication in the Official Gazette. Consequently, export clearances of the specified petrol and diesel products receive a nil cess rate under the amended notification.

IIOs and IIIOs must maintain and produce records, information, documents, books, and registers for investigation and inspection. IIOs require Board-approved policies addressing electronic record maintenance, data security, cybersecurity, backups, business continuity, archival, and oversight, with policy, claims, and reinsurance records held in Indian data centres. Records must be reconciled with audited financials where relevant, retained for at least seven years or longer where legally required, and made accessible to authorised personnel. Officers and outsourced service providers must produce material in their custody when required.

Special additional excise duty on aviation turbine fuel cleared for export is revised by substituting the entry at serial number 1, column (4), with a rate of Rs. 15 per litre. The amendment updates the relevant duty table and applies from 16 September 2026, the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

The designated trial-court arrangement for money-laundering offences in Himachal Pradesh is amended. The Additional Sessions Judge (CBI), Shimla is specified to try offences punishable under section 4 of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 for the districts of Shimla, Kinnaur, Solan and Sirmaur at Nahan. The amendment substitutes the prior court and territorial-area entries for those districts, thereby defining the competent court and territorial jurisdiction for these trials.

Special additional excise duty on exports of petrol and diesel is amended by substituting the applicable rates: petrol at Rs. 0.5 per litre and diesel at Rs. 20 per litre. The revised rates apply to the specified petroleum exports from 16 September 2026, being the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

For completed and unabated assessment years, Section 153A permits interference with assessments that had attained finality only where incriminating material unearthed during the search relates to the relevant year. Valuation-difference additions unsupported by seized incriminating material cannot be sustained merely through a search assessment. Consequently, additions made for such years without identified incriminating search material are unsustainable, and deletion of those additions stands sustained in favour of the assessees.

The time limit for issuing orders under section 73(9) for recovery of tax not paid or short paid, or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised, is extended. For financial year 2018-19, the order issuance deadline is extended until 30 April 2024. For financial year 2019-20, the deadline is extended until 31 August 2024.

Export General Manifest errors identified in listed shipping bills require correction under the prescribed procedure, or filing of the relevant departure manifest, to enable post-export benefits and incentives. The person in charge of a conveyance carrying export goods must deliver a departure manifest to the proper officer before the conveyance leaves the customs station. Incorrect departure manifests can delay export incentives. Exporters, customs brokers, shipping lines, custodians and other concerned parties should rectify the identified EGM errors or file the required departure manifests.

Recognised pre-shipment inspection agencies may, during a one-time seven-day transitional period, issue backlog Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificates for inspections completed before 25 August 2026 where system restrictions prevented certificate issuance. Thereafter, each Pre-Shipment Inspection Certificate must be generated and issued within two days of inspection; the system permits issuance only within that period. Certificate uploads must be made from the same geographical location or country in which the inspection occurred. All other requirements governing the revised pre-shipment inspection agency and certificate process remain unchanged.

State GST officers may conduct initial document verification of inter-State consignments but cannot detain, seize or confiscate goods merely passing through their State. Cross-empowerment under CGST and IGST laws requires both administrative allocation of the taxpayer to the State and assignment of the relevant proper-officer function; it is not unrestricted authority. Coercive action under Sections 129 and 130 additionally requires territorial and fiscal nexus, including the State's entitlement to IGST apportionment under Section 17. For consignments originating and destined outside the intercepting State, discrepancies should be referred to the consignor's or consignee's proper officers. Confiscation requires statutory grounds, material supporting intent to evade tax where applicable, and notice and hearing; transit checks cannot become valuation assessments.

Sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act permit a common show cause notice covering multiple tax periods or financial years, as the expressions "for any period" and "such periods" do not impose a financial-year-specific bar. Financial-year references in the order-limitation provisions operate as separate limitation benchmarks for each demand component; consolidation cannot extend limitation or defeat period-wise objections. Section 74 requires disclosed material supporting fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax, and cannot be invoked merely because tax remains unpaid. Rule 142 and FORM GST DRC-01 regulate electronic notice communication without restricting consolidation. Notice-specific allegations, quantified demands, hearing rights, reasoned orders and limits on confirmation remain applicable.

Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act applies where a cheque issued for a legally enforceable debt is returned unpaid, statutory demand is served, and the drawer fails to pay within the prescribed period. Admitted signatures on the cheque, promissory notes and undertakings provide prima facie support for the complaint and engage the Section 139 presumption of liability. Return of a cheque because a clearing portal rejects its MICR code does not, on these facts, displace those requirements. Challenges to the underlying debt and consequences of a bank merger are matters for trial.

Revision under Section 263 requires an assessment order to be both erroneous and prejudicial to the interests of the Revenue. Where the Assessing Officer specifically examined delayed employees' PF/ESI contributions, obtained an explanation and allowed the deduction consistently with binding High Court precedent then in force, the assessment order cannot be revised merely because a later Supreme Court ruling adopts a contrary position. The subsequent ruling does not retrospectively make the earlier assessment erroneous or prejudicial. Revisional jurisdiction was therefore invalidly assumed, and the deduction remained allowable for the assessment under review.