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August 2026
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Trademark & IPIP Office’s mandatory e-KYC: last date was 30 September 2026, and the notice called it the final extension
e-KYC: 30 Sept was finalExtendedBy a public notice dated 31 August 2026, the Office of the CGPDTM moved the last date for completing mandatory e-KYC from 31 August to 30 September 2026 and said no further extension would be granted. That date has now passed. An earlier notice had warned of inconvenience or disruption in availing the Office’s services.
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FEMA & RBIIFSCA Fund Management Regulations amended again: “associate” set at a 20% test, pre-first-close money ring-fenced, differential distribution enabled
Associate = 20% holding testRule changeThe IFSCA (Fund Management) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026 redefine “associate” on a 20 per cent holding test, require money received before first close to be parked only in liquid, capital-preserving investments, let Venture Capital schemes make follow-on investments in companies older than ten years, enable senior and junior units, and reset NAV disclosure and FME contribution rules.
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Foreign TradeFree Sale and Commerce Certificates to be issued automatically on the DGFT portal: Trade Notice No. 24/2026-27
Automated FSC on DGFT portalNew facilityDGFT is enabling automated issuance of Free Sale and Commerce Certificates (FSC) on its portal, moving from manual verification by Regional Authorities to a rule-based, system-driven workflow. Applications that need verification may still go to the Regional Authority, and some auto-approved ones may be flagged for review later.
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LicencesLegal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 notified: IST to be the common time reference; Rules take effect 180 days after Gazette publication
IST Rules: 180 days to alignRule changeThe Department of Consumer Affairs notified the Legal Metrology (Indian Standard Time) Rules, 2026 on 27 August 2026. The Rules provide for Indian Standard Time as the common time reference across the country for legal, administrative, commercial and other official purposes, and come into force 180 days from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.
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SEBINPS Point of Presence charges from 1 October 2026: ₹200 one-time onboarding per PRAN and 0.20% of AUM a year for all schemes and NPS Lite; dormant accounts not charged
PoP: ₹200 + 0.20% of AUMRule changePFRDA has revised what Points of Presence can charge for all schemes under NPS and NPS Lite from 1 October 2026: a one-time onboarding charge of ₹200 per PRAN, recovered at ₹50 a quarter, and an annual charge of 0.20% of AUM adjusted through NAV. Dormant accounts are not charged. Fully digital onboarding may attract a reduced ₹100 charge. GST is extra.
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SEBINPS schemes re-classified into five types: MSF schemes get A-to-E equity categories and uniform names, pension funds limited to two schemes per category per tier
NPS: 5 scheme types, MSF A–ERule changePFRDA has set a standardised framework for classifying and presenting NPS schemes and told pension funds how to implement it. Schemes fall into five types; MSF schemes are slotted into categories A to E by equity exposure and renamed on a fixed pattern. Pension funds had 30 days from 28 August 2026 to re-classify and rename, and have 45 days to merge down to two schemes per category per tier.
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Foreign TradeBank Guarantee Repository on DGFT portal gets expiry alerts, status tracking and digitally signed notices: Trade Notice No. 23/2026-27
BG expiry alerts: 60 and 45 daysNew facilityDGFT has deployed new features in the Bank Guarantee Repository Module on its portal. Exporters must now indicate whether a BG is a fresh submission or a replacement, and will get system emails 60 days and 45 days before a BG expires. Regional Authorities can issue digitally signed renewal, encashment and return communications through the portal.
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CustomsRaw sugar imported under Advance Authorisation and moved to TRQ: IGST to be paid on a reassessed Bill of Entry, interest waived
Interest waivedClarifiedCircular 37/2026-Customs lays down how an Advance Authorisation holder pays the earlier-exempted IGST at the port of import after the one-time conversion to the Tariff Rate Quota scheme, so that input tax credit can flow to GSTN.
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SEBISEBI proposes to exempt certain listed issuers from appointing a merchant banker for privately placed debt of ₹10,000 face value; comment window closed on 17 September 2026
No merchant banker: draftComments invitedA SEBI consultation paper issued on 27 August 2026 proposes that an issuer of privately placed debt with a face value of ₹10,000 may be exempted from appointing a merchant banker if four conditions are met: it is regulated by a financial sector regulator, listed for at least one year, has no default in the last three financial years and the current year, and the debt is senior, secured and rated at least AA-. Comments were due by 17 September 2026; the window has closed.
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FEMA & RBIEvery Fund Management Entity in the IFSC must maintain a website or webpage from 1 December 2026: IFSCA lists the disclosures
FME website by 1 December 2026New facilityIFSCA has directed every Fund Management Entity registered under the Fund Management Regulations, 2025 to maintain a publicly accessible website or webpage with specified disclosures. Retail FMEs need an independent website. The URL must be intimated to IFSCA on or before 1 December 2026, the date the circular comes into force.
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LabourCode on Wages: bonus for employees drawing up to ₹21,000 a month, to be calculated on ₹7,000 or the Central minimum wage — S.O. 4711(E) and S.O. 4710(E)
Bonus: ₹21,000 limit, ₹7,000 baseRule changeTwo Labour Ministry notifications dated 25 August 2026 under section 26 of the Code on Wages, 2019 fix the bonus numbers: every employee drawing wages not exceeding ₹21,000 a month is to be paid bonus, and where the wage is above ₹7,000 a month the bonus is calculated as if the wage were ₹7,000 or the minimum wage fixed by the Central Government, whichever is higher. Both are deemed to have come into force on 21 November 2025.
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FEMA & RBIIFSCA notifies its own market-abuse code for the IFSC: insider trading and unfair trade practices barred; SEBI’s 2015 and 2003 regulations cease to apply there
Insider trades: disclose in 2 daysRule changeThe IFSCA (Prohibition of Market Abuse in Securities Markets) Regulations, 2026 bar insiders from communicating or trading on material non-public information and prohibit manipulative, fraudulent and unfair trade practices in the IFSC securities market. From their commencement, SEBI’s insider trading regulations of 2015 and PFUTP regulations of 2003 do not apply in the IFSC.
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FEMA & RBIInfrastructure Debt Fund-NBFCs under Upper Layer regulation to follow the large exposure limits of NBFC-IFCs: RBI amends concentration risk Directions
IDF-NBFC: IFC exposure limitsRule changeRBI has inserted paragraph 39A in its concentration risk Directions for NBFCs. The large exposure limits that apply to Infrastructure Finance Companies (NBFC-IFC) now also apply to Infrastructure Debt Fund-NBFCs (IDF-NBFC) that are subject to Upper Layer regulations. The amendment is dated 25 August 2026 and is in force with immediate effect.
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Company LawMCA FAQs on foreign companies and Indian subsidiaries: FC-1 within 30 days, FC-2 for every RBI extension, apostille rule turns on the place of signing
FC-1 within 30 daysClarifiedThe Ministry of Corporate Affairs has put out FAQs on registration of foreign companies and on Indian subsidiaries of foreign body corporates. They cover Forms FC-1 to FC-4, name reservation under rules 8 and 8A, the documents ROC-CRC expects, and when notarisation, apostille or consularisation is needed.
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LabourShram Suvidha Portal: Labour Ministry may verify users through Aadhaar authentication, but only voluntarily — S.O. 4831(E) replaces the May 2026 notification
Aadhaar check is voluntaryNew facilityBy notification S.O. 4831(E) dated 24 August 2026, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has notified Aadhaar authentication for verifying user details for modules on the Shram Suvidha Portal. It is voluntary, uses only Yes/No and/or e-KYC authentication, needs the Aadhaar holder’s consent, and no service can be denied for refusing it. The notification supersedes S.O. 2523(E) of 15 May 2026.
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LicencesMedical Devices Rules, 2017: no separate loan licence for outsourced sterilisation; EU added for clinical-investigation waiver, says Health Ministry
No loan licence for sterilisationRule changeThe Health Ministry says the Medical Devices Rules, 2017 have been amended. Under amended rule 44, a manufacturer that outsources sterilisation to a facility holding a valid licence under the Rules no longer needs a separate loan licence for that activity. Rule 63 now includes the European Union among the jurisdictions recognised for waiver of clinical investigation.
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SEBISEBI aligns its Cyber Incident Reporting Portal with the FIRE format: portal to take incident reports in stages, from first report to closure
Cyber reports in FIRE formatAction neededSEBI has aligned its Incident Reporting Portal with the Format for Incident Reporting Exchange (FIRE) developed by the Financial Stability Board. Regulated entities report cyber incidents through the Cyber Incident Reporting Portal at siportal.sebi.gov.in, which will facilitate reporting in stages from initial report to final closure. The existing timelines — email within 6 hours and portal within 24 hours — are restated.
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Foreign TradeWheat, atta, maida and suji can be exported again: DGFT moves them from “Prohibited” to “Free”
Prohibited → FreeReliefTwo notifications of 24 August 2026 revise the export policy of wheat under HS codes 10011900 and 10019910, and of wheat flour and related products under HS code 11010000, to “Free” with immediate effect.
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LabourEPFO Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2026 open till 31 October 2026: one-time window to enrol employees left out of EPF between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2026
EEC 2026 closes 31 October 2026ReliefEPFO has urged establishments to use the Employees’ Enrolment Campaign, 2026, notified with effect from 29 June 2026 and open up to 31 October 2026. Employers can declare and enrol eligible employees who stayed outside EPF coverage between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2026. The Campaign includes waiver of the employee’s share where it was not deducted earlier, subject to its conditions.
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Trademark & IPDraft Trade Marks Manual: what counts as proof of prior use, and how a mark gets on the well-known list
Draft Trade Marks ManualComments invitedThe Trade Marks Registry’s draft Manual of Trade Marks — Practice & Procedure runs to seven chapters, from filing to renewal. Chapter 7 sorts user evidence into “primary” and “secondary” documents and sets out the well-known mark procedure under rule 124. It is a draft, not final practice.
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