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October 2026
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GST57th GST Council: arrest power to go, prosecution threshold ₹5 crore, automatic refunds and wider input tax credit recommended
Prosecution: ₹1 crore → ₹5 croreReliefThe GST Council, in its 57th meeting on 8 October 2026, recommended omitting the arrest power in section 69 of the CGST Act, raising the prosecution threshold from ₹1 crore to ₹5 crore and cutting the general penalty from ₹25,000 to ₹10,000. It also recommended system-sanctioned refunds, refund of credit on capital goods and input services, a shorter list of blocked credits and a simpler registration for small e-commerce sellers. None of it is law yet: each item needs a circular, notification or amendment.
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LicencesGovernment approves cap on margins of non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs at 30% of MRP; NPPA to notify after DGHS expert committee finalises the list
Margin cap: 30% of MRPReliefThe Government has approved a cap on the margins charged in the supply and sale of non-scheduled anti-cancer drugs, limiting them to 30% of the Maximum Retail Price, according to a Department of Pharmaceuticals release of 8 October 2026. An expert committee under the Directorate General of Health Services will finalise the list of medicines, after which NPPA will take a decision and issue the notification. Manufacturers of these drugs will be required to maintain their current production levels.
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InsolvencyNCLT approves 107 resolution plans in July–September 2026, its highest in any quarter; 335 plan applications pending or reserved on 30 September
107 plans approved in Q2The National Company Law Tribunal approved 107 resolution plans in the second quarter of FY 2026–27, which it says is the highest in any quarter since its inception, with an aggregate approved plan value of more than ₹11,000 crore. As on 30 September 2026, 294 resolution plans were pending for approval and orders were reserved in a further 41. The Tribunal is working with 48 Members against a sanctioned strength of 62.
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LabourESIC revises constitution and functioning of Medical Boards under section 37 of the Code on Social Security, 2020: Fixed Medical Board to meet at least once a month
Board at least once every monthRule changeESIC has issued revised arrangements, with immediate effect, for the Medical Boards that examine and assess Insured Persons under section 37 of the Code on Social Security, 2020. A Fixed Medical Board is ordinarily to meet at least once every month, a Rotational Peripatetic Medical Board will sit at different ESIC/ESIS Hospitals as required, and the Special Medical Board for occupational disease cases continues at designated centres.
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SEBISEBI lets certain listed, regulated issuers skip the merchant banker for ₹10,000 face value privately placed debt rated AA- or above: Circular HO/17/11/24(7)2026-DDHS-POD1/I/23122/2026
Rated AA- or aboveReliefSEBI has relaxed the rule that an issuer must appoint at least one merchant banker when it privately places debt securities or non-convertible redeemable preference shares at a face value of ₹10,000. An issuer may now go without a merchant banker if it meets five conditions together, covering its regulator, listing record, default history, the security offered and a rating of at least AA-. The change took effect immediately on 7 October 2026.
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SEBISEBI makes a colour-coded Credit Risk-o-Meter mandatory in debt offer documents, advertisements and online bond platforms: Circular HO/17/11/22(1)2026-DDHS-POD1/I/23092/2026
Six risk levels, AAA to DNew facilitySEBI has introduced a Credit Risk-o-Meter, a colour-coded pictorial meter that maps credit ratings from AAA to D into six levels of credit risk. It becomes a mandatory part of offer documents, abridged prospectuses, private placement memoranda, all advertisements of issuers and Online Bond Platform Providers (OBPPs), and the web and mobile platforms of OBPPs. The circular comes into force after 45 days from its date of issuance, 7 October 2026.
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FEMA & RBIRBI raises repo rate by 25 bps to 5.50%, changes stance to calibrated tightening; SDF 5.25%, MSF and Bank Rate 5.75% with immediate effect
Repo rate 5.50%Rule changeThe Monetary Policy Committee, at its 63rd meeting on 5–7 October 2026, voted unanimously to increase the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 5.50 per cent and changed the stance to calibrated tightening. The SDF rate stands at 5.25 per cent and the MSF rate and Bank Rate at 5.75 per cent, all with immediate effect. RBI projects real GDP growth of 7.1 per cent and CPI inflation of 5.2 per cent for 2026-27.
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SEBINABKISAN lists India’s first WASH-focused social bond on NSE, raises ₹180 crore at 8.10% coupon
₹180 crore, 8.10%, 5 yearsNew facilityNABKISAN Finance Limited, a NABARD subsidiary, listed a social bond dedicated exclusively to the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector on the National Stock Exchange on 1 October 2026. The issue was oversubscribed 1.8 times and raised ₹180 crore. The five-year bond carries a coupon of 8.10 per cent, matures in September 2031 and is rated CRISIL AAA (Stable) and CARE AAA (Stable).
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Labour“Shram Samvad”: Labour Ministry’s 90-day outreach on the four Labour Codes reaches industrial clusters in Delhi, Haryana and Uttarakhand
316 districts, 90 daysThe Ministry of Labour & Employment held district-level Shram Samvad programmes at Haridwar, Naraina (New Delhi) and Sonipat on 1 October 2026. The campaign, launched on 28 September 2026, runs for 90 days across 316 districts to explain applicability and employer compliance under the new Labour Codes.
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Startup & MSMEGOBARdhan compressed biogas scheme launched: ₹23,731 crore outlay, capital assistance up to ₹2 crore per TPD and credit guarantee for MSME plants
CBG price ₹2,110 per MMBtuNew facilityGOBARdhan, the unified scheme for compressed biogas (CBG), was approved by the Union Cabinet on 6 August 2026 with an outlay of ₹23,731 crore for FY 2026-27 to FY 2035-36 and launched on 1 October 2026 with a Handbook and a Unified GOBARdhan Portal. It offers an administered CBG price of ₹2,110 per MMBtu, capital assistance and a credit guarantee for MSME projects.
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LicencesSugar stock limits: dealers capped at 1,000 quintals and 15 days from 15 October to 30 November 2026; bulk consumers may hold 30 days’ stock using imported sugar
Sugar dealers: 1,000 qtl, 15 daysRule changeThe Government has fixed the sugar dealers’ stock limit at 1,000 quintals and the holding period at 15 days from 15 October to 30 November 2026, with 2,000 quintals for Kolkata and its extended metropolitan areas and Assam. Separately, bulk consumers may hold 30 days’ stock instead of 15, but the extra quantity must come only from sugar imported under Advance Authorisation or TRQ.
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CustomsICEGATE now verifies AD Code and incentive bank accounts directly with banks through API; no document upload for API-integrated banks
Bank verification by APINew facilityICEGATE has integrated with participating banks to verify AD Code and incentive bank account details electronically. For API-integrated banks, the user need not select a document type or upload a document with IRN. The advisory of 1 October 2026 lists what must match across ICEGATE, DGFT and bank records, and the common reasons a verification fails.
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FEMA & RBIRBI issues Master Circular on credit facilities to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes: what banks must do
Master Circular, 1 Oct 2026RBI has issued its Master Circular consolidating instructions to banks on credit facilities to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. It covers credit planning, help with applications, no insistence on deposits, rejection of loan applications only at the next higher level, the 40 per cent share under the DRI scheme, the credit guarantee scheme for SC entrepreneurs, and monitoring through a special cell at Head Office.
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FEMA & RBIForm A2 remittances: authorised dealers’ internal guidelines can now be approved by a Board committee or management committee, says RBI
A.P. (DIR) Circular 23ReliefRBI has modified its July 2024 circular on online submission of Form A2. Authorised dealers may now frame their internal guidelines for outward remittances with the approval of the Board or of any Board Committee / Management Committee to which the Board has delegated powers. All other instructions of the 2024 circular remain unchanged.
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CustomsImport permit now a statutory requirement for insecticides imported for non-insecticidal use, including acrylonitrile: CBIC Instruction 18/2026-Customs
Form IA, fee ₹5,000Action neededCBIC has told Customs field formations that an import permit from the Registration Committee is a statutory requirement for importing any substance in the Schedule to the Insecticides Act, 1968 for non-insecticidal use. The requirement comes from the Insecticides Third (Amendment) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 597(E) of 8 July 2026): application in Form IA with a fee of ₹5,000.
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GSTGST portal opens “Multistate Registration”: apply for several States under one PAN in one go
One PAN, many StatesNew facilityGSTN has added a Multistate Registration tab on the portal home page. Common details are entered once through a Master TRN and flow into each State application. For now it is only for normal taxpayers.
September 2026
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Foreign TradeRoDTEP continues till 31 December 2026. Rates and caps stay as they are.
31 December 2026ExtendedDGFT has kept the export remission scheme open for another three months. It covers DTA units, Advance Authorisation holders, SEZ units and EOUs, at the Appendix 4R and 4RE rates that applied on 30 September.
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Accounting & AuditNFRA lists 35 questions an audit committee may put to the statutory auditor on going concern under SA 570 (Revised)
Going concern: 35 questionsNew facilitySeries 6 of NFRA’s Auditor–Audit Committee Interaction papers deals with the going concern assessment. It sets out six situations under SA 570 (Revised) with the reporting outcome of each, explains why the CARO 2020 clause 3(xix) answer can differ from the SA 570 conclusion, and lists 35 questions an auditor may expect.
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Startup & MSMEPRIP scheme second call open: new discovery track of up to ₹50 crore for startups and MSMEs, alongside early-stage and later-stage tracks
PRIP: up to ₹50 crore new trackNew facilityThe Department of Pharmaceuticals has opened the PRIP portal for the second call of the ₹5,000 crore Promotion of Research and Innovation in Pharma & MedTech scheme and added a New Discovery track: up to ₹50 crore for startups and MSMEs doing NCE/NBE projects at TRL 1–3, with at least 25% co-funding from bona fide institutional investors.
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CustomsSAED on diesel exports cut to ₹16 per litre and on ATF exports to ₹10.5 per litre from 1 October 2026: Notifications 52 and 53/2026-Central Excise
Diesel ₹16, ATF ₹10.5 per litreReliefTwo Central Excise notifications dated 30 September 2026 revise the Special Additional Excise Duty on exports of diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel with effect from 1 October 2026: diesel from ₹20 to ₹16 per litre and ATF from ₹15 to ₹10.5 per litre. The notifications issued since 3 August show the rate on diesel falling from ₹24 and on ATF from ₹22.
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