Notifications & Circulars
Securities and Exchange Board of India
18.04.2024
Capital Market
Circular on Standardization of the Private Placement Memorandum (PPM) Audit Report
MANU/SMIS/0006/2024
1. In terms of Regulation 28 of SEBI (AIF) Regulations, 2012 and Clause 2.4 of SEBI Master Circular SEBI/HO/AFD/PoD1/P/CIR/2023/130 dated July 31, 2023 (Master Circular) it is mandatory for AIFs to carry out an annual audit of compliance with the terms of Private Placement Memorandum (PPM). In terms of Clause 2.4.2 of Master Circular, AIFs are required to submit Annual PPM Audit Reports to the Trustee or Board of Directors or Designated Partners of the AIF, Board of directors or Designated Partners of the Manager and SEBI, within 6 months from the end of the Financial Year.
2. In order to have uniform compliance standards and for ease of compliance reporting, standard reporting format for PPM Audit Report applicable to various categories of AIF has been prepared in consultation with pilot Standard Setting Forum for AIFs (SFA).
3. The said reporting format shall be hosted on the websites of the AIF Associations which are part of SFA within 2 working days of issuance of this circular. The associations shall assist all AIFs in understanding the reporting requirements and in clarifying or resolving any issues which may arise in connection with reporting to ensure accurate and timely reporting.
4. The PPM audit reports shall be submitted to SEBI by AIFs online on the SEBI Intermediary Portal (SI Portal) as per the aforesaid format.
5. In terms of Clause 2.4.1 of Master Circular audit of sections of PPM relating to 'Risk Factors', 'Legal, Regulatory and Tax Considerations' and 'Track Record of First Time Managers' shall be optional. In addition, 'Illustration of Fees and Expenses' and 'Glossary and Terms' shall also be optional.
6. All other provisions with respect to the filing of the PPM audit report specified in the Master circular shall remain unchanged.
7. The reporting requirement mentioned at paragraph 3 above shall be applicable for PPM audit reports to be filed for the Financial Year ending March 31, 2024 onwards.
8. To keep pace with the fast-changing landscape of AIF industry and for policy and supervision purposes, the aforesaid reporting format shall be reviewed periodically by pilot SFA in consultation with SEBI. In case of any revisions in the reporting format, revised format shall be made available on websites of the Associations which are part of SFA.
9. This Circular is issued in exercise of powers conferred under Section 11(1) of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 to protect the interest of investors in securities and to promote the development of, and to regulate the securities the securities market.
Tags : Standardization PPM Audit Report
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Ministry of Commerce and Industry
18.04.2024
Commercial
Discontinuation of Safeguard measures on import of Isopropyl alcohol (IPA), under Chapter 29 of ITC (HS) 2022, Schedule - I (Import Policy)
MANU/DGFT/0063/2024
1. Reference is invited to DGFT Notification No. 64/2015-20 dated 31.03.2023 and Public Notice No. 04/2015-20 dated 11.04.2023 whereby country-wise Quantitative Restrictions (QR) on import of IPA was notified, for a period of one year i.e. 2023-24, effective from 01.04.2023 upto 31.03.2024, subject to any review by the Government at any point of time, as deemed fit.
2. Through Para 5 of the said Notification dated 31.03.2024, it was clearly mentioned that the country-wise quantitative restrictions shall be effective for a period of one year only and will cease automatically on 31.03.2024. However, there are inquiries from the trade & industry and other agencies regarding official termination of the said safeguard measures on IPA.
3. Accordingly, it is informed that country-wise QR measures imposed on import of Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) under HS code 29051220, in terms of Notification No. 64/2015-20 dated 31.03.2023, have discontinued wef 01.04.2024 and import of IPA is now "Free" without any Policy Condition.
This issues with the approval of the competent authority
Tags : Discontinuation Safeguard measures IPA
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Reserve Bank of India
18.04.2024
Banking
RBI imposes monetary penalty on Rajdhani Nagar Sahkari Bank Limited, Lucknow
MANU/RPRL/0253/2024
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed, by an order dated March 30, 2024, a monetary penalty of ₹5.00 lakh (Rupees Five lakh only) on Rajdhani Nagar Sahkari Bank Limited, Lucknow (the bank) for non-compliance with directions issued by RBI on 'Income Recognition, Asset Classification, Provisioning and Other Related Matters - UCBs'. This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI, conferred under the provisions of section 47A(1)(c) read with sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
The statutory inspection of the bank was conducted by RBI with reference to its financial position as on March 31, 2022. Based on supervisory findings of non-compliance with RBI directions and related correspondence in that regard, a notice was issued to the bank advising it to show cause as to why penalty should not be imposed on it for its failure to comply with the said directions.
After considering the bank's reply to the notice made by it, RBI found, inter alia, that the charge of not classifying certain loan accounts as non-performing in accordance with the IRAC norms was sustained, warranting imposition of monetary penalty.
This action is based on deficiencies in regulatory compliance and is not intended to pronounce upon the validity of any transaction or agreement entered into by the bank with its customers. Further, imposition of this monetary penalty is without prejudice to any other action that may be initiated by RBI against the bank.
Tags : Penalty Imposition Non-compliance
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Ministry of Environment and Forests
16.04.2024
Environment
Registered Recyclers on the E-Waste EPR Portal Under E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022
MANU/ENVT/0035/2024
MoEF&CC has notified E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, vide notification No. GSR 801(E) dated November 02, 2022. The rules are effective from April 01, 2023, and have superseded E- Waste (M) Rules 2016. The E-Waste (M) Rules, 2022, aim to take all steps required to ensure the management of E-Waste in a scientific and Environmentally Sound Manner (ESM).
As per the provisions in Rule 13 of the above-said Rules, all Producers are required to fulfil their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) obligations assigned to them through the purchase of an equivalent quantity of EPR Certificates from registered Recyclers only.
In the said context, all recyclers are hereby required to generate EPR certificates, for the quantity of e-waste recycled (production of end products) till March 31, 2024 in FY 2023-24, by April 30, 2024. EPR Certificate generated after April 30, 2024 will not be considered and Environmental Compensation (EC) Charges shall be imposed.
Tags : Registered Recyclers E-Waste EPR Portal
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Ministry of Commerce and Industry
15.04.2024
Commercial
Imposition of port restrictions on supply of Prohibited/Restricted essential commodities to the Republic of Maldives during 2024-2025
MANU/DGFT/0062/2024
In exercise of the powers conferred by Section 3 read with Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992 (No.22 of 1992), as amended, read with paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP), 2023, the Central Government hereby incorporates following conditions in Notification No. 03/2023 dated 05.04.2024 for exporting of essential commodities to Maldives under bilateral trade agreement between Government of India and Government of Maldives: -
Export of essential commodities under Prohibited/restricted category to the Republic of Maldives during 2024-25 shall be permitted only through the following 4 Customs Stations: -
i. Mundra Sea Port
ii. Tuticorin Sea Port
iii. NhavaSheva Sea Port (JNPT)
iv. ICDTughlakabad
2. Effect of this notification:
Imposition of Port restrictions for exporting of essential commodities under Prohibited/restricted category to the Republic of Maldives during 2024-25, as per the quota notified under DGFT Notification No. 03/2023 dt.05.04.2023, has been notified.
Tags : Imposition Port restrictions Prohibited essential commodities
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Reserve Bank of India
15.04.2024
Banking
Notification regarding Key Facts Statement (KFS) for Loans & Advances
MANU/RMIC/0055/2024
1. Please refer to instructions on Key Facts Statement (KFS) and disclosure of Annual Percentage Rate (APR) as contained in paragraph 2 of 'Circular on Display of 'information by banks dated January 22, 2015 ; paragraph 6 of Master Direction on ''Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans dated March 14, 2022 ; and paragraph 5 of ''Guidelines on Digital Lending dated September 2, 2022.
2. As announced in the Statement on Developmental and Regulatory Policies dated February 8, 2024 , it has been decided to harmonize the instructions on the subject. This is being done in order to enhance transparency and reduce information asymmetry on financial products being offered by different regulated entities, thereby empowering borrowers for making an informed financial decision. The harmonised instructions shall be applicable in cases of all retail and MSME term loan products extended by all regulated entities (REs).
3. For the purpose of this circular, following terms have been defined:
(a) Key Facts of a loan agreement between an RE/a group of REs and a borrower are legally significant and deterministic facts that satisfy basic information required to assist the borrower in taking an informed financial decision.
(b) Key Facts Statement (KFS) is a statement of key facts of a loan agreement, in simple and easier to understand language, provided to the borrower in a standardised format.
(c) Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the annual cost of credit to the borrower which includes interest rate and all other charges associated with the credit facility.
(d) Equated Periodic Instalment (EPI) is an equated or fixed amount of repayments, consisting of both the principal and interest components, to be paid by a borrower towards repayment of a loan at periodic intervals for a fixed number of such intervals; and which result in complete amortisation of the loan. EPIs at monthly intervals are called EMIs.
Other words and expressions not defined above, but used in this circular, shall have the same meaning as assigned to them under the Master Direction on Interest Rate on Advances (2016) as updated from time to time or any other relevant regulation issued by the Reserve Bank.
4. REs shall provide a KFS to all prospective borrowers to help them take an informed view before executing the loan contract, as per the standardised format given in the Annex A. The KFS shall be written in a language understood by such borrowers. Contents of KFS shall be explained to the borrower and an acknowledgement shall be obtained that he/she has understood the same.
5. Further, the KFS shall be provided with a unique proposal number and shall have a validity period of at least three working days for loans having tenor of seven days or more, and a validity period of one working day for loans having tenor of less than seven days.
Explanation
Validity period refers to the period available to the borrower, after being provided the KFS by the RE, to agree to the terms of the loan. The RE shall be bound by the terms of the loan indicated in the KFS, if agreed to by the borrower during the validity period.
6. The KFS shall also include a computation sheet of annual percentage rate (APR), and the amortisation schedule of the loan over the loan tenor. APR will include all charges which are levied by the RE. Illustrative examples of calculation of APR and disclosure of repayment schedule for a hypothetical loan are given in Annex B and C respectively.
7. Charges recovered from the borrowers by the REs on behalf of third-party service providers on actual basis, such as insurance charges, legal charges etc., shall also form part of the APR and shall be disclosed separately. In all cases wherever the RE is involved in recovering such charges, the receipts and related documents shall be provided to the borrower for each payment, within a reasonable time.
8. Any fees, charges, etc. which are not mentioned in the KFS, cannot be charged by the REs to the borrower at any stage during the term of the loan, without explicit consent of the borrower.
9. The KFS shall also be included as a summary box to be exhibited as part of the loan agreement.
Exemptions
10. Credit card receivables are exempted from the provisions contained under this circular.
Applicability and Commencement
11. REs shall put in place the necessary systems and processes to implement the above guidelines at the earliest. In any case, all new retail and MSME term loans sanctioned on or after October 1, 2024, including fresh loans to existing customers, shall comply with the above guidelines in letter and spirit without any exception. During the interregnum, the relevant provisions on 'KFS/Factsheet' under the extant guidelines shall continue to remain applicable, including the 'Guidelines on Digital 'Lending , the ''Master Direction on Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans , and the ''circular on Display of Information by Banks .
Legal Provisions
12. The above instructions are issued under sections 21, 35A and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, sections 45JA, 45L and 45M of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, and sections 30A and 32 of the National Housing Bank Act, 1987.
Tags : KFS Loans APR
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