Corporate & Compliance Digest August 03, 2026

We are delighted to share this week's AKP Corporate & Compliance Weekly Digest. Please feel free to write to us with your feedback at info@akandpartners.in.

1.            Labour Law & Employment Law

1.1.         ESIC extends ABVKY Unemployment Benefit Scheme until June 2027

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation ("ESIC") has extended the Atal Beemit Vyakti Kalyan Yojana ("ABVKY"), an unemployment benefit scheme for insured workers, from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027. Under ABVKY, eligible insured persons must have been in insurable employment for at least 12 months immediately preceding unemployment and contributed for a minimum of 78 days during the relevant contribution period. The benefit is not available where unemployment arises due to misconduct, lock-out, superannuation, or conviction for making false statements under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948. ESIC has also streamlined claim settlement through online claim submission and processing, Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mechanisms, and regular monitoring to ensure timely disbursal.

1.2.         West Bengal Labour Department extends FAWLOI Scheme until March 2027

The Government of West Bengal, Labour Department, has extended the Financial Assistance to the Workers in Locked Out Industrial Units (FAWLOI) scheme for a further period of one year, effective from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The extension has been issued in continuation of the Department's earlier notification dated 6 May 2025 and is intended to continue financial support for workers affected by lockouts in industrial units across the State. The extension has been approved with the concurrence of the Finance Department.

2.              Securities & Capital Markets 

2.1.          CDSL enhances Transmission Processing Requirements for DPs.

Central Depository Services (India) Limited ("CDSL") has issued operational guidance to Depository Participants ("DPs") to streamline transmission request processing. DPs have been advised to complete Maker and Checker activities relating to transmission requests on the same day to facilitate efficient processing. CDSL has also standardised reason codes for both inter-depository and intra-depository transmission requests, namely: TS for transmission to surviving holder(s), TN for transmission to nominee(s), and TC for transmission to legal heir(s). The clarification follows CDSL’s earlier communication introducing Permanent Account Number (PAN) validations in the transmission process and is aimed at ensuring consistency and compliance across transmission requests.

2.2.          CDSL mandates DARPAN Registration ID for certain NPO Demat Accounts

CDSL has issued revised operational guidelines requiring DPs to mandatorily capture the DARPAN Registration ID for newly opened demat accounts of specified Non-Profit Organisations (NPOs). The requirement applies to demat accounts classified under the sub-status code for charitable institutions linked to trust and corporate status categories. For existing accounts falling within these categories, the DARPAN Registration ID must be captured at the time of account modification. CDSL has directed DPs to ensure compliance with the revised framework.

2.3.        BSE launches BSE Mid-Small IT index

BSE Index Services Private Limited (“BSE Index Services”), a wholly owned subsidiary of BSE Limited (BSE), has launched the BSE Mid-Small IT Index to track the performance of Information Technology companies within the BSE 500 Index, excluding constituents of the BSE 100 Large-Cap Total Market Capitalisation category. The index has a base value of 1,000 with a first value date of 20 June 2005 and will be reconstituted semi-annually in June and December. BSE stated that the index is intended to support passive investment strategies, including Exchange Traded Funds (“ETFs”) and index funds, while also serving as a benchmark for Portfolio Management Services (PMS), mutual fund schemes and investment portfolios, thereby providing investors with broader exposure to the mid and small-cap Information Technology segment.

2.4.        BSE revises constituents of select fixed income indices

BSE Index Services has announced changes to the constituents of the BSE 4-8 Year G-Sec Index and BSE 8-13 Year G-Sec Index, effective 31 July 2026. Under the rebalancing, the 7.02 Per cent (Seven Point Zero Two Per cent) GS 2031 security has been added to, and the 6.01 Per cent (Six Point Zero One Per cent) GS 2030 security removed from, the BSE 4-8 Year G-Sec Index. Further, the 7.54 Per cent (Seven Point Five Four Per cent) GS 2036 security has been added to, and the 6.33 Per cent (Six Point Three-Three Per cent) GS 2035 security removed from, the BSE 8-13 Year G-Sec Index. No changes have been made to the BSE India 10 Year Sovereign Bond Index or the BSE India 5 Year Sovereign Bond Index.

2.5.          NSE Clearing revises SLBS Position Limits for August 2026

NSE Clearing Limited (NSE Clearing) has revised the Market Wide Position Limits (MWPL) and position limits applicable to participants, institutional clients and non-institutional clients under the Securities Lending and Borrowing Scheme ("SLBS") for August 2026. The revised limits, issued pursuant to NSE Clearing's earlier circular dated 30 April 2026, will apply to securities and ETFs covered under the SLBS framework. Market participants and custodians have been advised to take note of the updated limits and ensure compliance.

3.            Information Technology & Data Protection

3.1.         CERT-In flags Apache Tomcat WebSocket vulnerability causing DoS risk

The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team ("CERT-In") has issued a vulnerability note highlighting a medium-severity denial-of-service (DoS) vulnerability in the WebSocket chat example application of Apache Tomcat. The vulnerability affects Apache Tomcat versions 11.0.0-M20 to 11.0.24, 10.1.24 to 10.1.57, and 9.0.89 to 9.0.120, and may allow attackers to consume excessive server resources, impacting application availability. CERT-In noted that the issue is limited to the example web application distributed with Apache Tomcat and does not affect deployments where the examples application has been removed in line with security guidance. Organisations have been advised to apply the security fixes released by Apache Tomcat to mitigate the risk. 

3.2.          CERT-In warns of high-severity vulnerabilities in Google Chrome

CERT-In has issued a high-severity vulnerability advisory concerning Google Chrome for Desktop, affecting versions prior to 151.0.7922.71/.72 for Windows and Mac, and 151.0.7922.71 for Linux. CERT-In has cautioned that the identified vulnerabilities could enable remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, bypass security restrictions, manipulate data, and cause denial-of-service incidents or browser crashes. Users and organisations have been advised to promptly apply the latest security updates released by Google to mitigate the risk of exploitation.

3.3.     CERT-In flags critical command injection vulnerability in Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator

CERT-In has issued a critical vulnerability advisory for Arista VeloCloud Orchestrator ("VCO") On-Prem deployments. The vulnerability, identified as CVE-2026-16812, could allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to execute arbitrary commands through the VCO web interface, potentially resulting in unauthorised access and complete system compromise. The affected versions include VCO On-Prem 5.2.x, 6.1.x, 6.4.x and 7.0.x releases prior to specified patched versions. CERT-In has advised organisations using the affected products to promptly apply vendor-issued security updates to mitigate risks relating to confidentiality, integrity and availability of systems.

4.              Taxation (Direct & Indirect)

4.1.          GSTN keeps proposed e-Way Bill Enhancements on hold

The Goods and Services Tax Network (“GSTN”) has deferred the implementation of the proposed enhancements to the e-Way Bill system that were scheduled to take effect from 1 August 2026. GSTN clarified that the enhancements, previously announced through advisories dated 9 June 2026 and 17 June 2026, have been kept on hold until further notice. Consequently, stakeholders are not required to make any changes in their production environments based on the earlier advisories, and the related advisories and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) will be withdrawn from the GST Portal pending further communication.

4.2.          CBDT notifies ITR-BN for Block Assessments Under the Income-tax Act, 2025

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has notified the Income-tax (Third Amendment) Rules, 2026, introducing Form ITR-BN for filing returns relating to block assessments in search and requisition cases under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Effective retrospectively from 1 April 2026, the amendment inserts Appendix IV into the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and prescribes a comprehensive return format for reporting undisclosed income identified during block assessment proceedings. The new framework applies to searches initiated under section 247 or requisitions made under section 248 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 on or after 1 April 2026, and includes detailed disclosure requirements relating to income, assets, transactions, taxes paid and computation of undisclosed income for the relevant block period.  

5.              Corporate Law & MCA

5.1.          MCA Extends Deadline for Submission of Expression of Interest Under Insolvency Project

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has extended the last date for submission of Expression of Interest ("EoI") under EoI No. Insol-30/8/2025-Insolvency-MCA-Part (2) dated 17 July 2026. The submission deadline has been revised from 27 July 2026 (5:00 p.m.) to 7 August 2026 (5:00 p.m.), providing interested stakeholders additional time to submit their proposals.

6.               Regulatory Enforcement MCA

Authority	Name of the Entity	Amount	Contravention
ROC, Bangalore	Aliferous Technologies Private Limited	INR 3,00,000/- (Indian Rupees Three Lakh only)	Failure to disclose a Board Meeting held on 26 March 2021 in the Board's Report annexed to Form AOC-4 for FY 2020-21, resulting in non-compliance with Section 134(3)(b) of the Companies Act, 2013,
ROC, Chennai	Annammal Nidhi Limited	INR 10,000 (Indian Rupees Ten Thousand only)	Failure to disclose the occupation of allottees in the list of allottees attached to Form PAS-3, resulting in violation of Rule 12(2) of the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014, punishable under Section 450 of the Companies Act, 2013.
ROC, Cuttack	Malook Chand Foods Private Limited	INR 2,00,000/- (Indian Rupees Two Lakh only)	Failure to file Form CSR-2 for FY 2020-21 by the prescribed due date of 30 June 2022, resulting in violation of Rule 12(1B) of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014, punishable under Section 450 of the Companies Act, 2013.
ROC, Kolkata	Cogenthub Private Limited	INR 10,000 (Indian Rupees Ten Thousand only)	Filing Form AOC-4 for FY 2024-25 with incorrect particulars by erroneously selecting "No" instead of "Yes" for the requirement to file consolidated financial statements, resulting in a violation of Rule 8(3) of the Companies (Registration Offices and Fees) Rules, 2014.

Disclaimer

The note is prepared for knowledge dissemination and does not constitute legal, financial or commercial advice. AK & Partners or its associates are not responsible for any action taken based on its contents.

For further queries or details, you may contact:

Mr Anuroop Omkar

Founding Partner, AK & Partners

info@akandpartners.in