COMPLIANCE AND REGULATORY
RBI Tweaks Reference Date For Fortnightly Reporting By Scheduled Banks
The Reserve Bank of India has tweaked the cut-off date for fortnightly reporting by scheduled banks, without changing the reporting frequency itself. The change has been brought by the notification of the Reserve Bank of India Scheduled Banks' (Amendment) Regulations, 2025.Banks, which were already filing returns on a fortnightly basis, will now report their statement of position as on the last day of the fortnight, instead of the earlier practice of reporting figures as on a Friday. The change...
What Is MF-Lite? SEBI Introduces New Mutual Fund Category Under 2026 Regulations
In a sweeping overhaul of the mutual fund regulatory regime, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has notified the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 2026, which introduces Mutual Fund-Lite (MF-Lite) as a separate category of mutual funds. Notified on 14 January, the regulations have repealed the nearly three-decade-old SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations, 1996 and are scheduled to come into force with effect from 1 April 2026. Under the new regime,...
RBI Issues New Internal Ombudsman Rules For Credit Bureaus, NBFCs And Prepaid Payment Companies
The Reserve Bank of India has rolled out a fresh set of rules that make it mandatory for several financial sector players to appoint an internal ombudsman, a senior, independent official who will review certain customer complaints before they are finally rejected. Through three separate notifications issued on January 14, 2026, the RBI notified the Internal Ombudsman Directions for Credit Information Companies, eligible Non-Banking Financial Companies, and large non-bank Prepaid Payment...
SAT Mumbai: Termination of SPA in Financial Notes is 'No Disclosure' Under SEBI Regulations
The Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT) held that termination of a Share Purchase Agreement, when camouflaged in the notes appended to financial results and not disclosed in the main minutes of the board meeting, amounts to no disclosure at all under the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015.Tanzania Bottling Company (TBC) has successfully challenged SEBI's dismissal of its complaint against Varun Beverages Limited (VBL), alleging that a 'camouflaged' disclosure regarding a terminated deal led to a...
CBIC Revises Tariff Values For Gold, Silver, Edible Oils And Brass Scrap
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has updated tariff values for edible oils, brass scrap, gold, silver and areca nuts. By a notification issued on 15 January 2026, the CBIC notified revised tariff values effective from 16 January 2026, fixing the tariff value of gold at USD 1,483 per 10 grams and silver at USD 2,950 per kilogram. The CBIC has also notified that there is no change in the tariff value of areca nuts falling under tariff item 080280. Further, revised tariff...
New Tariff Values Set For Imported Gold And Silver
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued a notification on 13 January 2026, updating the tariff values for several imported commodities. These changes, which were made under the powers of the Customs Act, 1962, officially came into effect on 14 January 2026.According to the sources, the tariff value for gold has been set at US $1485 per 10 grams. Silver is now valued at US $2724 per kilogram.The notification also clarifies that for many other essential imports, there has...
SEBI Limits Technical Glitch Reporting Norms To Stockbrokers With Over 10,000 Clients
SEBI has revised its technical glitch reporting framework, limiting its applicability to larger stockbrokers and easing compliance for smaller firms. In a circular issued on January 9, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Board of India said the rules apply when failures in electronic trading systems, such as login problems, order placement issues, or app outages, last for five minutes or more during market hours and disrupt trading. The revised framework will apply only to stockbrokers with...
Hotels Can Now File Specified Premises Opt-In Online On GST Portal: GSTN
The Goods and Services Tax Network has enabled online filing of opt-in declarations for hotel accommodation service providers to declare their properties as “specified premises” on the GST Portal. This shifts the process from manual filing before jurisdictional officers to an electronic system on the portal. The facility follows Notification No. 05/2025 Central Tax (Rate) and is available from January 1, 2026. “Specified premises” is a classification used to determine the GST treatment of...
Taxpayers To Be Barred From Filing GSTR-3B Return For Excess GST ITC Claims: GSTN Issues Advisory
The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has announced that taxpayers will soon be barred from filing Goods and Services Tax (GST) Return GSTR-3B if they attempt to claim or reclaim input tax credit (ITC) in excess of the balance available in the relevant electronic ledgers. In the advisory issued on December 29, 2025, GSTN stated that negative balances and excess ITC availment will no longer be permitted in the Electronic Credit Reversal and Re-claimed Statement (ITC Reclaim Ledger)...
Centre Extends Anti-Dumping Duty On PET Resin Imports From China Till June 2026
The Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue has extended imposition of Anti-Dumping Duty on imports of “imports of “Polyethylene Terephthalate” (PET) resin having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 decilitres per gram or higher” from China PR till June 26, 2026. The Anti-Dumping Duty Notification applies to PET resin having an intrinsic viscosity of 0.72 decilitres per gram or higher” falling under tariff items 3907 61 90 and 3907 69 90 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act. ...
Securities Markets Code, 2025: What Is New In the Government's Proposed Overhaul of Capital Markets Law
The Central government on Thursday introduced the Securities Markets Code, 2025 in the Lok Sabha, proposing a single, consolidated law to govern India's securities markets. The proposed bill repeals the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956, the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992, and the Depositories Act, 1996.Beyond consolidation, It also introduces introduces several substantive changes to existing regulatory mechanism Expanded Definition of 'Securities'One of the...