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Practical guidance across business, capital and community. Explore our guides, organise your records and read regulatory developments in context.
Practical Insights Guides
Guide content reviewed 25 October 2026Trusts & non-profits
Trust & NGO Readiness
Organise governance and funding records, with tax registration, donor approval, CSR and FCRA assessed separately.
Read the trust & NGO guideCompanies & LLPs
Annual Compliance Readiness
Prepare accounting reconciliations, governance records and the information needed to scope tax, GST and audit work.
Read the compliance guideGeneral guidance only. Applicability depends on your facts and reporting period. Read each regulatory briefing with its source, scope and effective date; a Bill or recommendation is not an operative filing requirement.
GST & Indirect Tax — Official Updates
GST & INDIRECT TAX · COUNCIL RECOMMENDATIONS · 8 OCTOBER 2026
Regulatory reference: Official press release on the recommendations of the 57th GST Council meeting, dated 8 October 2026. This is not a numbered notification or circular.
Applicability & scope: The recommendations cover specified GST matters, including sections 107(6), 112(8), 54(3), 17(5), 125 and 132 of the CGST Act, 2017, and sections 2(6) and 13(3) of the IGST Act, 2017. They do not amend those provisions by themselves.
Effective date & jurisdiction: The press release sets no operative effective date. Any legal effect depends on subsequent Central instruments and, where applicable, State or Union Territory SGST/UTGST measures. The release itself does not establish retrospective operation.
Compliance action: Continue to follow current operative law. Do not treat a recommendation as a filing duty or deadline. Check the relevant CBIC and State/UT instrument before changing a return, refund claim or tax position.
Official sources: 57th GST Council recommendations (8 October) · Official FAQs (9 October; guidance only) · CBIC Tax Information Portal
GST registration — applicant guidance
CBIC CIRCULAR 257/03/2026-GST · 26 OCTOBER 2026
Added and verified: 2 November 2026.
Applicability & scope: Guidance for applicants filing FORM GST REG-01, with FAQs and document checklists. Special registration categories use their separately prescribed forms.
Practical action: Check the legal name, business constitution, signatory authorisation and exact premises address. Upload clear, complete documents suited to owned, rented, consent-based or co-working premises. Family-owned premises should not automatically be declared as the applicant’s own property. Follow the circular’s relevant annexures.
Date & jurisdiction: Central GST applicant guidance dated 26 October 2026; this briefing creates no separate filing deadline. Check applicable State/UT requirements and the registration category.
Official source: CBIC Circular 257/03/2026-GST (PDF)
Export receipts — repatriable INR and RBI-compliant set-offs
CBIC CIRCULAR 263/09/2026-GST · 26 OCTOBER 2026
Added and verified: 2 November 2026.
Applicability & scope: For export of services, receipts through permitted repatriable INR accounts, including SNRR or INR Nostro accounts, can satisfy the payment condition in section 2(6)(iv) of the IGST Act. RBI-compliant set-off of export receivables against import payables can also satisfy that condition. Other export-of-service conditions still require separate review.
Goods refunds: Rule 96B consequences depend on FEMA realisation periods, extensions and permitted write-offs. The circular also recognises qualifying write-offs by the Authorised Dealer bank.
Date, scope & action: Central GST clarification dated 26 October 2026, referring to the FEMA framework effective 1 October 2026. Retain invoices, bank evidence and set-off or write-off documentation; confirm the permitted route and transaction dates with the Authorised Dealer bank before taking a refund position.
Official source: CBIC Circular 263/09/2026-GST (PDF)
GST appeals — pre-deposit and refund clarification
CBIC CIRCULAR 259/05/2026-GST · 26 OCTOBER 2026
Added and verified: 2 November 2026.
Applicability & scope: Clarifies pre-deposits under sections 107(6) and 112(8) of the CGST Act. Admitted liabilities must be paid in full. The disputed-tax component is the basis for the applicable pre-deposit; for Tribunal appeals, compute it with reference to the Appellate Authority’s confirmed liability that remains disputed, in addition to the earlier appeal deposit, subject to statutory limits.
Refund action: A consequential refund claim is filed in FORM GST RFD-01 under “on account of order”. A departmental intention to appeal does not itself justify withholding refund without a stay. Interest dates are determined separately for deposits at each appeal level. Remand and partial-remand cases require separate adjustment review.
Date & jurisdiction: Central GST clarification dated 26 October 2026; this is not a new appeal-deadline extension. Review the order, payment records and applicable State/UT position before filing.
Official source: CBIC Circular 259/05/2026-GST (PDF)
Income Tax — CBDT Updates
Notification No. 120/2026 — registration update for authorised income-tax practitioners and valuers
Added and verified: 24 October 2026.
Regulatory reference: CBDT Notification No. 120/2026, G.S.R. 822(E), dated 17 September 2026; Income-tax (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026.
Applicability: Revises Forms 171 and 169 and extends the specified registration transition deadlines under Rules 256(4) and 246(4) to 31 March 2027. Applicants should check the applicable category and use the revised prescribed form.
Effective scope: The amendments to these deadlines and forms take effect on publication in the Official Gazette. The notification separately gives deemed effect from 1 April 2026 to its rules 2 to 4.
Official source: CBDT Notification No. 120/2026 (PDF)
DIRECT TAX · CBDT UPDATES · REVIEWED 13 OCTOBER 2026
CBDT Circular No. 07/2026 — limited AY 2026–27 filing-date extension
Regulatory reference: Circular No. 07/2026, F. No. 225/128/2026/ITA-II, dated 28 September 2026; issued under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, read with section 536 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Applicability & effective scope: For AY 2026–27 / PY 2025–26, the return date moves from 31 October to 21 November 2026 only for persons listed at Sl. No. 2 below Explanation 2 to section 139(1). The related specified audit-report date is 21 October 2026. This is not a general extension for all taxpayers.
Action: Confirm the filer falls within the stated class before relying on either date. No broader retrospective operation is stated.
Official source: CBDT Circular No. 07/2026 (PDF)
Notification No. 121/2026 — TDS reporting for specified immovable-property transfers
Regulatory reference: Notification No. 121/2026, G.S.R. 830(E), dated 22 September 2026; Income-tax (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026. Made under section 533 read with sections 395(4)(a) and 397(3)(a)–(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025; amends Rules 215(1), 218(3), 219 and Forms 132 and 141.
Applicability & effective date: Effective 1 October 2026. Concerns the specified section 393(2), Table Sl. No. 17 category where a resident individual or HUF deducts TDS on consideration for transfer of immovable property, including specified reporting for a non-resident seller. It does not apply to every property transfer. No state-specific or retrospective operation is stated.
Action: Check the transaction against the statutory category and use the current prescribed form before filing.
Official source: CBDT Notification No. 121/2026 (PDF)
Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme Rules, 2026 — limited eligibility
Regulatory reference: Notification No. 114/2026, G.S.R. 732(E), dated 14 August 2026, made under section 143 of the Finance Act, 2026. The Rules took effect on 16 August 2026 and operate within the scheme in sections 131–135.
Applicability & limits: Covers only specified foreign-asset and foreign-income categories. Section 133 sets a combined ceiling of ₹1 crore for the relevant undisclosed-asset/income category and a ₹5 crore ceiling for the specified other foreign-asset category. Section 140 exclusions apply; eligibility depends on the asset category, income history and residence facts. This is not a blanket amnesty.
Dates & action: Valuation date: 31 March 2026. Last date stated in the Rules: 31 December 2026. Obtain case-specific tax and cross-border review before making a declaration.
Official source: CBDT Notification No. 114/2026 and Rules (PDF)
Notification No. 134/2026 — revised Form 161 for a specified penalty-waiver application
Regulatory reference: Notification No. 134/2026, G.S.R. 871(E), dated 8 October 2026, Income-tax (Sixth Amendment) Rules, 2026; issued under section 533 read with section 440 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. It amends Rule 231 and substitutes Form 161.
Applicability & effective date: Effective on publication in the Official Gazette (8 October 2026). The form concerns an application under section 440(2) to seek waiver of penalty in the statutory circumstances stated there; it is not a general waiver or amnesty. The notification states no broader retrospective operation or state-specific effect.
Action: Review the order, demand, statutory eligibility and declarations in Form 161 with a qualified tax practitioner before applying.
Official source: CBDT Notification No. 134/2026 (PDF)
Official Regulatory Sources
Browse official sources by practice area. CSR and FCRA awareness briefings were added on 24 October 2026 using the government announcements linked below. Earlier items retain their individual source and review dates.
Corporate & MCA
CSR funding through the Social Stock Exchange
Added: 24 October 2026 · Official announcement: 29 May 2026.
MCA’s May 2026 amendments enable qualifying CSR expenditure through Zero Coupon Zero Principal instruments on the Social Stock Exchange. Expenditure through this route cannot exceed 10% of the company’s total CSR expenditure for that financial year, subject to the applicable rules and SEBI framework.
Reference: MCA’s official announcement identifies Notifications G.S.R. 415(E) and 416(E), dated 27 May 2026.
Official source: MCA announcement — CSR through ZCZP instruments
Trust & FCRA Governance
FCRA Rules, 2026 — registration and reporting changes
Added: 24 October 2026 · Official explanation: 22 July 2026.
The Government confirms that the amended Rules are in force. Changes cover purpose- and State/UT-specific registration, a one-year intimation requirement for existing associations, renewal utilisation requirements and enhanced annual disclosures. Organisations should review their registration scope and reporting readiness.
Legislative distinction: The amended Rules and the separate FCRA Amendment Bill are different instruments. The verified government explanation and subsequent Parliamentary committee record do not establish enactment of the Bill; its proposals should not be treated as operative law without confirmation.
Official sources: Government explanation — FCRA Rules and Bill · Lok Sabha Joint Committee communiqué — 18 September 2026
Cross-Border & Trade
RBI export-proceeds realisation periods — FEMA amendment effective 1 October 2026
Regulatory reference: Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026, Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB, dated 22 September 2026; made under sections 7, 8, 10(6) and 47(2) of FEMA, 1999. It amends regulation 5 of the principal 2026 Regulations.
Applicability & territorial scope: Applies to persons in India to whom the export realisation requirements in regulation 5 apply. The general period changes from 15 to 9 months; the specified rupee-invoiced/settled proviso changes from 18 to 12 months. This concerns export proceeds, not import-payment timelines.
Effective date & transition: Effective 1 October 2026. Exporters on the RBI caution list as at 30 September 2026 remain governed by their existing caution-list orders until removed. Authorised Dealers handle specified pre-1 October transactions that previously required RBI approval under the transition provision. No broader retrospective operation is stated.
Action: Exporters and Authorised Dealers should identify transaction date, settlement currency, applicable proviso and any caution-list order before applying the revised period. FEMA and DGFT consequences require transaction-specific review.
Official source: RBI Notification No. FEMA 23(R)/(1)/2026-RB and corrigendum
DGFT: No new policy brief is published in this review because the complete instrument scope, effective date and transition were not verified to publication standard.
Reserve Bank of India · Directorate General of Foreign Trade
Capital & Commercial Advisory
No additional current capital-market or banking instrument is published in this review. Check the regulator’s primary circular for its affected entities, instruments and operative date.
Portal content and rules can change. Confirm the applicable law, notification, form, scope, state or Union Territory requirements and deadline for the relevant client, tax year and transaction before acting.
RBI notifications — automatic feed
Headlines and source dates below are read automatically from the RBI notification feed and cached for up to one hour when this page is accessed. This feed covers RBI notifications only. Tax, GST, corporate, FCRA and other departmental updates remain in the reviewed briefings and official-source links above. Private client notices and intimations are not published here.
RBI: notifications
- Foreign Exchange Management (Export and Import of Goods and Services) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2026
Source date: 3 Nov 2026 - Implementation of Section 51A of UAPA, 1967: Updates to UNSC’s 1988 (2011) Taliban Sanctions List: Amendment of 05 Entries
Source date: 30 Oct 2026 - Implementation of Section 51A of UAPA, 1967: Updates to UNSC’s 1267/ 1989 ISIL (Da'esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions List: Amendment of 03 Entries
Source date: 27 Oct 2026 - Implementation of Section 51A of UAPA, 1967: Updates to UNSC’s 1267/ 1989 ISIL (Da'esh) & Al-Qaida Sanctions List: Removal of 03 Entries
Source date: 27 Oct 2026
Last checked: 5 Nov 2026, 9:56 am IST
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