Corporate & Compliance Digest October 26, 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. Government of Uttar Pradesh revises variable dearness allowance on minimum wages for the period from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027
The Labour Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, vide an Office Memorandum dated 21 October 2026, has revised the variable dearness allowance payable on minimum wages fixed in 74 scheduled employments under Notification No. 374/36-2-2026-2041256 dated 17 April 2026, issued under Section 3(b) of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 read with Section 21 of the Uttar Pradesh General Clauses Act, 1904. The minimum wage rates were fixed at 400 points of the All India Consumer Price Index (Base Year 2001=100), and variable dearness allowance is payable where the index exceeds this level. For the period from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027, the allowance has been calculated on the average index of 431 for January 2026 to June 2026, using the formula (431 – 400)/400 × basic wage. The Memorandum prescribes separate rates for unskilled, semi-skilled and skilled categories under three categories of employment, and provides that the daily wage shall not be less than one twenty-sixth of the monthly minimum wage, that part-time employees working less than 36 hours in a week shall receive not less than one-eighth of the daily rate for each day, and that contract labour engaged with or without a certificate shall be deemed to be directly employed by the employer.
1.2. Government of Gujarat counts two-year fixed-pay service appointed in 2001 for service benefits
The Government of Gujarat, through the Labour, Skill Development and Employment Department has issued a Resolution dated 21 October 2026 directing that the two-year fixed-pay service appointed in 2001-02 shall be counted as service for the purposes of promotion, seniority, higher pay scale and retirement benefits. These employees were initially appointed on a fixed-pay contractual basis and were placed in regular pay scales under the Fifth Pay Commission upon completion of two years of service. The counting is subject to the following conditions: (i) the fixed-pay period shall be considered only for calculating promotion, seniority, higher pay scale and retirement benefits payable at the time of retirement; (ii) no pay difference or arrears shall be payable for the period up to 8 October 2026, and the calculation for such period shall be notional only; and (iii) no increment shall be computed for the fixed-pay period, even for notional purposes. The Resolution has been issued pursuant to the approval of the Government of Gujarat dated 8 October 2026.
1.3. Haryana Labour Department directs submission of documents for data verification on Job Security Portal
The Labour Commissioner, Haryana, vide a letter dated 19 October 2026, has directed the Drawing and Disbursing Officer, District Faridabad (Labour Branch), to make available specified documents for the verification of data on the Job Security Portal, which is being undertaken to provide service security to employees working on a contractual basis. The documents required include proof of date of birth and a passport-size photograph of the employee, Aadhaar Card, Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card and Parivar Pehchan Patra (PPP) ID, the appointment letter and first joining letter in the Labour Department, the appointment letter of Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Limited (“HKRNL”), the experience letter of the Department and HKRNL, the sanction order or salary slips of the Department approving five years of service of the employee, and the pay slip for July 2024 paid in August 2024.
2. Securities & Capital Markets
2.1. NSE Issues Common Standard Operating Procedure for Approvals for Further Issues
On 21 October 2026, the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (“NSE”) issued a Common Standard Operating Procedure (“SOP”) for the grant of approvals by stock exchanges for further issues of securities. The SOP is relevant to companies undertaking further capital-raising activities and seeks to standardise the exchange approval process. Companies planning further issues should review the applicable procedural requirements and ensure that their applications and supporting documentation are prepared in accordance with the prescribed process.
2.2. BSE Revises RFQ Trading Hours for Corporate Bonds
On 19 October 2026, BSE issued a circular revising the trading hours for corporate bonds on its Request for Quote (“RFQ”) platform. The RFQ platform facilitates the negotiation and execution of debt-security transactions between market participants. The revision is relevant to market participants undertaking corporate bond transactions through BSE’s RFQ platform, including institutional investors, brokers and other eligible participants. Such participants should review the revised timings specified in the circular and align their trading and operational processes accordingly. Participants using the RFQ platform should ensure that their trading desks and settlement teams are aware of the revised schedule to minimise operational disruptions.
3. Information Technology & Data Protection
3.1. CERT-In issues advisory on compromise of eMudhra Intermediate CA certificates
The Indian Computer Emergency Response Team ("CERT-In") has issued an advisory regarding the compromise of certain intermediate Certification Authority (CA) certificates issued by eMudhra under its global TLS certificate infrastructure. The incident was caused by insufficient cryptographic randomness during key generation, resulting in weak private keys that could potentially be recovered and misused to issue fraudulent TLS or code-signing certificates. According to CERT-In, the affected certificates relate only to eMudhra's international TLS certificate operations and do not impact its Digital Signature Certificate (“DSC”) and eSign services regulated by the Controller of Certifying Authorities (CCA) under MeitY. In response, eMudhra revoked the affected intermediate certificates, while Mozilla and Google implemented measures to block trust in the compromised certificate chains. CERT-In has advised organisations to update browsers and trust stores, review dependencies on affected certificate chains, replace impacted certificates where necessary, and verify certificate trust and revocation status to mitigate security risks.
3.2. CERT-In issues critical advisory on remote code execution vulnerabilities in PHP
CERT-In has issued an advisory highlighting multiple vulnerabilities in PHP that could allow a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code and compromise affected systems. The vulnerabilities impact PHP 8.5 versions prior to 8.5.12, PHP 8.4 versions prior to 8.4.27, PHP 8.3 versions prior to 8.3.36 and PHP 8.2 versions prior to 8.2.35. According to CERT-In, the vulnerabilities arise from memory corruption and improper resource control issues and may be exploited through specially crafted requests. CERT-In has noted reports of active large-scale exploitation in the wild and has advised organisations and individuals using affected PHP versions to immediately apply the latest security updates released by PHP.
3.3. CERT-In issues critical advisory on multiple vulnerabilities in Drupal Core
CERT-In has issued Vulnerability Note CIVN-2026-0513 highlighting multiple critical vulnerabilities in Drupal Core that could allow attackers to execute arbitrary code and inject malicious scripts into affected websites. The vulnerabilities include a remote code execution flaw in the Field UI module and cross-site scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities in the Link and Navigation modules. The vulnerabilities affect Drupal Core versions 8.9.0 to 10.6.18, 11.0.0 to 11.3.18, 11.4.0 to 11.4.9, and 12.0.0-alpha1 to versions prior to 12.0.0-beta2. According to CERT-In, successful exploitation could compromise website integrity, enable unauthorised operations and expose sensitive information. CERT-In has advised organisations and individuals using affected Drupal installations to immediately apply the security updates released by Drupal.
4. Taxation (Indirect & Direct)
4.1. CBDT notifies Form 173A for claiming tax exemption on income from Government securities
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (“CBDT”) has notified the Income-tax (Seventh Amendment) Rules, 2026 by Notification No. 137/2026 dated 19 October 2026. The rules came into force on the same date, when they were published in the Official Gazette. They insert Rule 281A into the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Under the new rule, an assessee claiming exemption under Schedule IV (Table: Sl. Nos. 13D and 13E) to the Income-tax Act, 2025 (“Act”) must furnish information in Form No. 173A. These entries exempt two types of income earned by Foreign Institutional Investors (“FIIs”) and the Bank for International Settlements (“BIS”) from tax year 2026-27. The first is interest on Government securities. The second is capital gains from transferring those securities. Form No. 173A requires details of the claimant, the securities held and traded during the year, and the interest and capital gains claimed. The exemption is available only if this information is furnished. FIIs and the BIS should therefore add the form to their annual tax compliance.
4.2. CBDT dispenses with TDS on interest paid by the New Development Bank on Maharajah INR Bonds
The Central Government has issued Notification No. 136/2026 dated 19 October 2026 under section 400(1) of the Act. The notification came into force when it was published in the Official Gazette. It provides that no tax shall be deducted at source (“TDS”) under section 393(1) or section 393(2) of the Act, as applicable, on interest paid by the New Development Bank (“NDB”) on its Maharajah INR Bonds. The relief applies to bonds issued during tax year 2026-27 and later tax years. It covers bondholders who are residents, and FIIs within the meaning of section 210(6) of the Act. NDB must continue to furnish information under Schedule VII (Table: Sl. No. 49) to the Act and the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The notification only removes the TDS obligation. It does not exempt the interest from tax, so bondholders should assess their own tax liability on it.
4.3. India notifies customs duty concessions for imports from New Zealand under the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement
The Ministry of Finance has issued Notification No. 32/2026-Customs dated 16 October 2026 under section 25(1) of the Customs Act, 1962. The notification grants concessional basic customs duty on specified goods originating in New Zealand. Where specified, it also grants relief from the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess and the Health Cess. The concessions apply from 20 October 2026, when the India–New Zealand Free Trade Agreement entered into force. For wines, Mānuka honey and kiwifruit, the concession depends on the value of the imported goods. Mānuka honey and albumins are also subject to tariff-rate quotas (“TRQ”). Imports under these quotas need an electronic authorisation from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (“DGFT”). Importers must prove New Zealand origin under the Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020. They must also meet the origin rules notified for this agreement on 12 October 2026. Importers should check the rate and conditions for each tariff item before claiming the concession.
4.4. Duty-free import window for raw sugar under TRQ extended to 31 December 2026
The Ministry of Finance has issued Notification No. 33/2026-Customs dated 22 October 2026. It amends Notification No. 30/2026-Customs dated 21 August 2026. The original notification allowed 10 lakh metric tonnes of raw sugar under tariff heading 1701 to be imported under a TRQ without customs duty until 31 October 2026. The amendment extends this deadline to 31 December 2026. The quota quantity and the other conditions remain unchanged. Each import must still be made against a TRQ authorisation issued electronically by the DGFT. That authorisation must be debited in the Indian Customs EDI System before the goods are cleared. Sugar refiners and importers holding TRQ allocations should read the new deadline together with the DGFT conditions on import, processing, sale and surrender of the quota.
4.5. GSTN enables e-invoicing for reverse charge self-invoices in a test environment
The Goods and Services Tax Network (“GSTN”) has issued an advisory dated 16 October 2026. It introduces an e-invoicing facility for self-invoices raised by recipients under the reverse charge mechanism. The facility follows a recommendation of the 57th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax Council. GSTN has added two new supply types. RCMDOM covers specified domestic supplies received from unregistered persons. RCMIMP covers import of services. The facility is aimed at registered persons with aggregate annual turnover of INR 5 crore (Indian Rupees Five Crore only) or more. At present, it is available only in the sandbox (test) environments of all six Invoice Registration Portals. The live rollout date will be notified separately. When the facility becomes mandatory will also be notified separately. Businesses that raise self-invoices under reverse charge, including for services imported from abroad, should begin testing their systems with their e-invoicing providers.
5. Regulatory Enforcement (Registrar of Companies)
Authority | Name Of The Entity | Amount | Contravention |
ROC- Ahmedabad | Nexa Evergreen Private Limited
| INR 47,000 (Indian Rupees Forty-Seven Thousand only)
| Failure to maintain a registered office in compliance with Section 12(1) of the Companies Act, 2013; penalty imposed under Section 12(8).
|
ROC- Ahmedabad | Sanix Formulation Private Limited
| INR 1,00,000 (Indian Rupees One Lakh only)
| Failure to maintain a registered office in compliance with Section 12(1) of the Companies Act, 2013; penalty imposed under Section 12(8).
|
ROC- Delhi (ii) | Locksworth Infrastructure Limited
| INR 200,000 (Indian Rupees Two Lakh only) on the company
| Incorrect disclosure in Form PAS-3 by reporting consideration as "cash" instead of "other than cash" in respect of allotment of shares against conversion of loan into equity, resulting in non-compliance with Section 42 read with Rule 14 of the Companies (Prospectus and Allotment of Securities) Rules, 2014. Penalty imposed under Section 42(10) read with Section 446B. |
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
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