RoDTEP Scheme availability continues until 31 December 2026 for exports by Domestic Tariff Area units, Advance Authorisation holders, Special Economic Zone units, and Export Oriented Units. Existing rates and value caps under Appendix 4R and Appendix 4RE remain unchanged, and all other scheme terms and conditions continue to apply to eligible exports.

Charitable exemption under Section 11 should not be denied solely because Form 10B was not electronically filed with the return where the audit report was obtained and furnished within the prescribed period or during assessment. Such filing constitutes substantial compliance with the audit-report requirement. Summary processing adjustments that disallow the exemption require prior written or electronic intimation and an opportunity to respond; an adjustment made without that notice is invalid. The exemption remains subject to verification of the audit report in Form 10B.

Central excise duty treatment under the exemption framework is amended by substituting the entry in column (4) against serial number 1 of the applicable table. The substituted entry fixes the relevant amount at Rs. 10.5 per litre. The revised table entry takes effect on 1st October 2026 and operates from that date.

Organisations operating Protected Systems must establish an Information Security Steering Committee and designate a senior-management Chief Information Security Officer. They must maintain an Information Security Management System, documented network architecture, access and asset inventories, annual Vulnerability/Threat/Risk Analysis, a Cyber Crisis Management Plan, periodic security audits, IT security service-level agreement processes, and monitoring through Cyber Security and Network Operation Centers. The Chief Information Security Officer must share specified security information, logs, monitoring records and cyber-incident communications with the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre.

Central excise exemption treatment is amended by substituting the entry in column (4) against serial number 2 of the applicable table with "Rs. 16 per litre". The revised rate forms part of the miscellaneous exemptions framework and applies for central excise purposes with effect from 1 October 2026.

Refund of the proportionate GST pre-deposit attributable to an issue allowed by the Commissioner (Appeals) may be claimed where the assessee pursues a GSTAT appeal only on a separate issue confirmed against it. Eligibility depends on the favourable relief attaining finality and on the Department not challenging that relief. The pre-deposit corresponding to the surviving adverse issue remains allocated to that dispute and is relevant to the pre-deposit requirement for the proposed GSTAT appeal.

Customs tariff values under section 14(2) of the Customs Act, 1962 are revised through substitution of Tables 1, 2 and 3 in the tariff-value framework. The revised values apply from 1 October 2026 and cover specified edible oils, brass scrap, gold, silver and areca nuts. Areca nuts retain a tariff value of US$ 11,574 per metric tonne without change.

Paragraph 7(1) of the Employees' Pension Scheme, 2026 receives a new eligibility category for persons who were members of the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 2026 but were not members of the pension scheme. Coverage depends on wages, on the date the new wage ceiling is notified, being less than or equal to the wage ceiling notified by the Central Government. The amendment takes effect from 17 September 2026.

Employees' State Insurance coverage extends from 1 October 2026 to establishments throughout Niwari district and designated areas of 24 partially implemented districts in Madhya Pradesh. Employers and employees of covered establishments become liable to pay contributions under section 29 of the Code on Social Security, 2020. Employees of these establishments become entitled to benefits under Chapter IV relating to the Employees' State Insurance Corporation, subject to the applicable statutory framework.

Joint Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) and Additional Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals) are placed under the control of the Principal Chief Commissioners of Income-tax or Chief Commissioners of Income-tax within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions. This substitutes the existing clause governing their subordination under the 1988 notification and takes effect from 30 September 2026, the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Minimum Import Price condition of USD 111 per kg on the CIF value of ATS-8 imports under specified Chapter 29 ITC (HS) codes is extended until 30 November 2026. All other terms and conditions imposed under the earlier MIP measure continue unchanged, so imports of the specified chemical remain subject to the existing minimum-price requirement through that date.

Eligibility and validity timelines under Component II of the Resilience & Logistics Intervention for Export Facilitation (RELIEF) intervention are extended until 31 March 2027 for shipments intended for delivery or transshipment. The extension applies under the Export Promotion Mission and is intended to improve utilisation, facilitate trade resilience, support Indian exporters, and mitigate logistics challenges linked to the continuing West Asia Crisis. All other provisions governing the RELIEF intervention remain unchanged.

Approval under section 45(4)(b) authorises the Indian Institute of Health Management Research, Jaipur, to conduct scientific research as a university, college or other institution for the specified income-tax purposes. The approval applies for tax years 2026-27 to 2030-31, conditional on continuing SIRO approval in each relevant tax year, compliance with prescribed conditions, annual submission of Form 15 by 31 May following the tax year in which donations are received, and issuance of Form 16 donation certificates to donors.

Scientific-research approval is granted to Bhartiya Sanskriti Darshan Trust under the university, college or other institution category for the statutory donation-related provisions. Its continued applicability requires uninterrupted Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation approval for each effective tax year, compliance with prescribed conditions, annual filing of Form No. 15 by 31 May following the tax year in which donations are received, and issuance of Form No. 16 donation certificates to donors. The approval applies for tax years 2026-2027 through 2030-2031.

Voluntary Health Services, Chennai is approved as an "other institution" for scientific research under the Income-tax Act, 2025, enabling the specified tax treatment for donations. The approval applies for tax years 2026-2027 through 2030-2031, subject to continued Scientific and Industrial Research Organization approval for each relevant year. The institution must comply with prescribed rules, submit an annual donation statement in Form No. 15 by the required deadline, and issue donors Form No. 16 certificates stating the donation amount.

Master Circular consolidates the regulatory framework for debenture trustees and rescinds the earlier master circular while preserving prior actions, rights, liabilities, penalties, proceedings and pending applications. It requires portal-based registration requests and prior approval for change in control, and regulates business transfers, surrender, regulatory communications, and non-regulated activities through ring-fenced separate business units. Trustees must independently conduct security due diligence, issue prescribed certificates, validate charge creation and registration, and continuously monitor security cover, covenants, payments, ratings and defaults through the depository-hosted Security and Covenant Monitoring System. Issuers.....

The standard operating procedure for moving domestic or customs-cleared cargo with EXIM cargo between port terminals and hinterland ICDs/CFSs now extends to Gateway Distriparks Limited. Its operations require separate identification and stacking of domestic and EXIM cargo, pre-advice and train/container details, verification of container and seal particulars, and immediate reporting of discrepancies. Suspected tampering bars further processing without the proper officer's permission and may require full examination. Reworking or repacking requires permission; at least 50% of outbound cargo must be EXIM cargo. Weekly reconciliation, random Customs checks, an indemnity bond and custodian compliance responsibility apply. Violations may trigger action under applicable customs law. The amendment takes immediate effect.

Outstanding receivables from an overseas associated enterprise require arm's-length interest benchmarking by reference to the enterprise's residence and the currency of the receivable; LIBOR plus 200 basis points is preferred over Indian lending or deposit rates. Remittances substantiated by board and remittance records as investments should not be recharacterised as loans for imputed-interest adjustments. Interest on delayed service-tax payment is compensatory rather than penal and is deductible. Where no return was filed and the notice period remained open on the search date, the assessment is pending and abated, permitting additions without incriminating material.

Unsecured loan credits are not treated as unexplained cash credits where loan confirmations, lender PAN and tax-return records, audited financial statements, ledger accounts and bank statements establish the lender's identity, financial capacity and the genuineness of payments. Funds sourced from fixed-deposit maturity proceeds supported the lender's capacity, resulting in deletion of the loan addition. Sales commission expenditure requires confirmation from recipients and evidence of services rendered. In the absence of such substantiation, the commission disallowance remains, while the taxable computation excludes the unsecured-loan addition.

Penalties for concealment of income or furnishing inaccurate particulars under Section 271(1)(c) are unsustainable where returns filed in reassessment proceedings are accepted without additions or modifications. Acceptance of the returned income removes the factual foundation for alleging concealment or inaccurate particulars. On these facts, failure to file original returns does not independently sustain the penalty, and deletion of the penalties follows.