Ministry of Communications

21.03.2024

Media and Communication

Amendment to the existing KYC instructions for M2M connections

MANU/MCOM/0014/2024

1. This is in reference to this office letters of even number dated 16.05.2018 and 30.05.2019 vide which instructions for implementing restrictive features for SIMs used only for M2M communication services and related KYC instructions were issued. The telecom industry, vide its various representations, has requested for relaxation of restrictive features for SIMs used only for M2M communication services.

2. In this regard, the representations of the telecom industry have been examined and the undersigned is directed to convey the approval of competent authority for the following:

i. The restrictive features for M2M SIMs as mentioned in para 4 of DoT instructions dated 16.05.2018 (which was earlier relaxed vide letter dated 30.05.2019) shall be replaced as under:

a. Outgoing/Incoming calls shall be allowed to/from predefined set of maximum four (4) numbers only.

b. Likewise outgoing/incoming SMS shall be allowed to/from predefined set of maximum four (4) numbers only.

c. Data communication shall be allowed on a maximum of One Hundred (100) predefined public IP addresses/ URLs with fixed APNs or equivalent technology options by the Licensee.

d. These restrictions are not applicable to calls made to emergency numbers like police, fire, ambulance, etc.

Note: A list of such numbers/ IP addresses is to be provided to the licensee while obtaining M2M SIM cards. At a later stage, if the need arises, the licensee can be requested to change/reconfigure these numbers/IP addresses. These restrictive features shall be configured by the licensee in its network and shall not apply to data communication on private networks/VPNs.

3. The earlier instructions in respect of M2M SIMs are amended to above extent only and other terms & conditions of earlier instructions shall remain the same.

Tags : Amendment KYC instructions M2M connections

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Securities and Exchange Board of India

20.03.2024

Capital Market

Amendment to circular for mandating additional disclosures by FPIs that fulfil certain objective criteria

MANU/SMIS/0005/2024

1. SEBI vide Circular No. SEBI/ HO/ AFD/AFD-PoD-2/CIR/P/2023/148 dated August 24, 2023 mandated additional disclosures for FPIs that fulfil objective criteria as specified in the said Circular. Further, FPIs satisfying any of the criteria listed under Para 8 of the said Circular were exempted from the additional disclosure requirements, subject to conditions specified in the said Circular.

2. In this regard, in addition to the criteria listed under Para 8 of the said Circular dated August 24, 2023, it has been decided that an FPI having more than 50% of its Indian equity AUM in a corporate group shall not be required to make the additional disclosures as specified in Para 7 of the said Circular, subject to compliance with all of the following conditions:

i. The apex company of such corporate group has no identified promoter. For this purpose, the list of corporate groups based on the corporate repository published by the Stock Exchanges and their respective apex companies having no identified promoters shall be made public by Depositories.

ii. The FPI holds not more than 50% of its Indian equity AUM in the corporate group, after disregarding its holding in the apex company (with no identified promoter).

iii. The composite holdings of all such FPIs (that meet the 50% concentration criteria excluding FPIs which are either exempted or have disclosed) in the apex company is less than 3% of the total equity share capital of the apex company.

3. Custodians and Depositories shall track the utilisation of this 3% limit for apex companies, without an identified promoter, at the end of each day. When the 3% limit is met or breached, Depositories shall make this information public before start of trading on the next day.

4. Thereafter, for any prospective investment in the apex company by FPIs, that meet the 50% concentration criteria in the corporate group, the FPIs shall be required to either realign their investments below the 50% threshold within 10 trading days or make additional disclosures prescribed in the said Circular dated August 24, 2023:

Provided no such requirement, to realign or make disclosure, shall be applicable unless the 3% cumulative limit for the apex company continues to be met through the said 10 trading days.

5. All other provisions specified in the said Circular dated August 24, 2023 shall remain unchanged.

6. For FPIs that met the objective criteria specified under Para 7(a) of the said Circular dated August 24, 2023, as on October 31, 2023 and neither realigned their portfolio within the specified time-period nor were exempted, additional disclosures were required to be made on or before March 12, 2024. It is clarified that such FPIs who met the conditions specified under Para 2 above, as on March 12, 2024, shall not be subjected to actions consequent to non-disclosures, as specified in Para 12 and Para 13 of said Circular dated August 24, 2023.

7. The process flow to implement this circular shall be framed by the pilot Custodians and DDPs Standards Setting Forum (CDSSF) and adopted by all the DDPs/ Custodians, in consultation with SEBI.

8. The provisions of this circular shall come into force with immediate effect.

9. This circular is issued in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 read with Regulations 22(1), 22(6), 22(7) and 44 of SEBI(FPI) Regulations, 2019 to protect the interest of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities market.

Tags : Amendment Additional disclosures FPIs

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Securities and Exchange Board of India

20.03.2024

Capital Market

Safeguards to address the concerns of the investors on transfer of securities in dematerialized mode

MANU/SSMD/0009/2024

1. Para 1.12 of SEBI Master circular for Depositories dated October 06, 2023 prescribed guidelines to address the concerns arising out of transfer of securities from the Beneficial Owner (BO) Accounts without proper authorization by the concerned investor.

2. To harmonize the classification of inactive/dormant accounts across Stock Exchanges & Depositories and to strengthen the measures to prevent fraud / misappropriation for inoperative demat accounts, based on consultation with depositories and the recommendations of SMAC, it has been decided to amend Para 1.12 as under:

1.12. Safeguards to address the concerns of the investors on transfer of securities in dematerialized mode

Following safeguards shall be put in place to address the concerns of the investors arising out of transfer of securities from the BO Accounts:

1.12.1. The depositories shall give more emphasis on investor education particularly with regard to careful preservation of Delivery Instruction Slip (DIS) by the BOs. The Depositories may advise the BOs not to leave "blank or signed" DIS with the Depository Participants (DPs) or any other person/entity.

1.12.2. The DPs shall not accept pre-signed DIS with blank columns from the BO(s).

1.12.3. If the DIS booklet is lost / stolen / not traceable by the BO, the same must be intimated to the DP immediately by the BO in writing. On receipt of such intimation, the DP shall cancel the unused DIS of the said booklet.

1.12.4. The DP shall also ensure that a new DIS booklet is issued only on the strength of the DIS instruction request slip (contained in the previous booklet) duly complete in all respects, unless the request for fresh booklet is due to loss, etc., as referred to in Para 1.12.3 above.

Further, in case the request for issuance of the DIS booklet is received in an inactive/dormant account, the DIS booklet shall be delivered at the registered address of the BO as per the DP records. This shall help ensure the genuineness of the BO's request for issuance of DIS. Such issuance of DIS shall be authorized by the Compliance Officer or any other designated senior official of the DP.

Explanation:

1. An inactive/dormant account refers to an account where no transaction has taken place for a continuous period of 12 months.

2. Further, a credit in the demat account through purchase of securities and voluntary corporate action (such as subscribing to rights issues/ systematic investment plans (SIPs) of mutual funds, etc.) may be considered as a transaction for assessing the dormancy. However, any credit due to involuntary corporate action (such as bonus, split, etc.) may not be considered as transaction for assessing the dormancy.

1.12.5. The DPs shall not issue more than 10 loose DIS to one account holder in a financial year (April to March). The loose DIS can be issued only if the BO(s) come in person and sign the loose DIS in the presence of an authorised DP official.

1.12.6. The DPs shall put in place appropriate checks and balances with regard to the verification of signatures of the BOs while processing the DIS.

1.12.7. The DPs shall cross check with the BOs under exceptional circumstances before acting upon the DIS.

1.12.8. The DPs shall mandatorily verify with a BO before acting upon the DIS, in case of an inactive/dormant account, whenever any security in such account is transferred at a time. Such verification by DPs shall require a recorded phone call on registered number of BO by the authorized official of the DP and shall be additionally authorised by the Compliance officer or any other designated senior official of the DP. The authorized official of the DP verifying such transactions with the BO, shall record the details of the process, date, time, etc., of the verification on the instruction slip under his/her signature.

However, in case of active accounts, such verification may be made mandatory only if the BO account has 5 or more International Securities Identification Number (ISINs) and all such ISIN balances are transferred at a time. The authorized official of the DP verifying such transactions with the BO, shall record the details of the process, date, time, etc., of the verification on the instruction slip under his signature. Such verifications shall be additionally authorized by the Compliance Officer or any other designated senior official of the DP.

3. This Circular amends Para 1.12 of SEBI Master circular for Depositories dated October 06, 2023.

4. The provisions of this circular shall come into effect from April 1, 2024.

5. The depositories are accordingly advised to:

a. make necessary amendments to the relevant bye-laws, rules and regulations for the implementation of the above decision immediately, as may be necessary/applicable.

b. bring the provisions of this circular to the notice of the DPs of the Depository and to disseminate the same on their website as well as monitor compliance by DPs.

c. communicate to SEBI the status of implementation of the provisions of this circular in the Monthly Development Report.

6. This circular is being issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11 (1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect the interests of investors in securities market.

Tags : Safeguards Transfer Securities

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Ministry of Finance 

19.03.2024

Commercial

Central Government directs specified modification in convention between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Spain

MANU/REVU/0012/2024

Whereas, the Convention between the Government of the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Spain for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital came into force on the 12th January, 1995, after the notification by both the Contracting States to each other of the completion of the procedures required under their laws for bringing into force the said Convention;

And whereas, the Central Government in exercise of the powers conferred by section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), had directed that all the provisions of the said Convention annexed to the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) number G.S.R. 356 (E), dated the 21st April, 1995, shall be given effect to in the Union of India;

And whereas, paragraph 7 of the Protocol dated the 8th February,1993, to the aforesaid Convention provides that if under any Convention or Agreement between India and a third State which is a Member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development , which enters into force after the 1st January, 1990, India limits its taxation at source on royalties or fees for technical services to a rate lower than the rate provided for in this Convention on the said items of income, the same rate as provided for in that Convention or Agreement on the said items of income shall also apply under this Convention;

And whereas, in the Convention between India and Germany, which entered into force on the 26th October, 1996, and Germany was a member of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development at the time of entering into the Convention with India, the Government of India has limited the taxation at source on royalties and fees for technical services to a rate lower than that provided in the Convention between India and Spain on the said items of income;

Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 90 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961), the Central Government hereby directs that the following modification shall be made in the Convention notified vide said notification number G.S.R. 356 (E), dated the 21st April, 1995, which are necessary for implementing the said Convention between India and Spain, namely:---

1. In the said notification, in the Convention annexed therewith between the Republic of India and Kingdom of Spain, in Article 13 relating to Royalties and Fees for Technical Services, for paragraph 2, the following paragraph shall be substituted, namely:---

"2. However, such royalties and fees for technical services may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties or fees for technical services, the tax so charged shall not exceed ten per cent of the gross amount of royalties or fees for technical services.".

2. The paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the said Convention, as amended by this notification, shall be applicable with effect from the assessment year 2024-25.

Tags : Modification Convention Direction

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Reserve Bank of India

19.03.2024

Banking

RBI organises Annual Conference of the RBI Ombudsmen

MANU/RPRL/0174/2024

The Reserve Bank of India organised the Annual Conference of RBI Ombudsmen, on March 15, 2024 in Mumbai. The theme of the conference was "Protecting the Consumers - Building Robust Systems and Procedures". The Conference was attended by Chairman/ Managing Director & CEOs of regulated entities from major banks, NBFCs, Non-bank Payment System Participants, NPCI, senior officials of RBI along with the RBI Ombudsmen and Deputy RBI Ombudsmen. Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, inaugurated the conference.

Shri Dipak Misra, former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India delivered the keynote address. In his address (highlights), he delved upon the unique features of Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2021 including a broadening of the facet of 'deficiency in service, engrafting the concept of centralisation and emphasis on procedural justice. He also emphasised the necessity of increasing customer awareness about the Scheme and its benefits viz. filing of complaint from anywhere, automatic acknowledgement on registration of online complaint, facility for real-time tracking of the status of complaint, and closure communication intimating the decision of the Ombudsman.

Referring to various court orders, Shri Misra stated that the nature of functioning of an Ombudsman is quasi-judicial and, as such, natural justice is key element of adjudication of customer grievances by the Ombudsman. Calling the principles of natural justice, the elan vital of any adjudicatory process, he highlighted the obligation of the Ombudsman to adhere to the principles of natural justice. Alluding to a few orders of Hon'ble Courts and experiences from his career, he emphasized that qualities such as fairness, independence, impartiality, humaneness, and absence of bias etc., are sine qua non for an Ombudsman while handling customer grievances.

Shri M Rajeshwar Rao and Shri Swaminathan J, Deputy Governors, Reserve Bank, in their addresses highlighted the Reserve Bank's initiatives in the areas of consumer protection and redress of grievances. They reiterated the importance of customer centric approach in designing of products and grievance redress mechanism at the Regulated Entities.

The Conference included sessions on global perspective on alternate grievance redress and developing resilient systems in fraud prevention and detection. The Conference concluded with an interactive session amongst the Ombudsmen.

Tags : Annual Conference Ombudsmen

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Ministry of Commerce and Industry

18.03.2024

Commercial

Changes in origin declaration for self-certification under UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme

MANU/DGFT/0043/2024

1. It is hereby informed to all concerned that the United Kingdom (UK) has replaced its existing origin declaration process under Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) with the UK Developing Countries Trading Scheme ( DCTS) effective from 19th June 2023. The transition period for this change was extended until 31st December 2023. Starting from 1st January 2024 onwards, Indian Exporters to the UK are required to adhere to the new rules under DCTS to avail concessions on their exports to the UK.

2. Goods that meet the UK DCTS Rules of Origin (RoO) requirements shall be eligible to claim a concessional rate of import duty for exports to the UK. Consequently, the origin criteria necessary for satisfying the Rules of Origin to avail tariff concessions on exports from India to the UK must be filled in through self-certification.

3. Indian Exporters accordingly are directed to use origin declaration wording under DCTS scheme, in place of origin declaration wording under GSP is filled through self-certification.

Tags : ChangesDeclaration Self-certification

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