Tax & Regulatory
Digest

GST Appellate Tribunal - the last date to file appeals under s.112 CGST is extended to 31 July 2026. A GSTAT due-date notification dated 30 June 2026 extends the window for filing appeals before the GSTAT. For orders communicated before 1 May 2026, the last date (earlier 30 June) is now 31 July 2026; orders communicated on or after 1 May 2026 follow the normal three-month limitation, and departmental applications for orders passed before 1 Feb 2026 also get 31 July 2026. Every client with a pre-1-May-2026 appellate or revisional order still un-appealed now has a hard 31 July window (with the 20% pre-deposit - 10% CGST + 10% SGST). Diarise and file this month. Source

AATO amendment window for FY 2025-26 is open on the GST portal from 1 to 31 July 2026. A GSTN advisory dated 1 July 2026 deploys an upgraded Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) functionality that auto-updates the AATO as subsequent returns are filed, and revises the amendment timeline: taxpayers may amend their FY 2025-26 AATO from 1 to 31 July 2026, with jurisdictional officers reviewing amended figures from 1 to 15 August. This replaces the earlier "amend in May" facility. Since AATO drives QRMP eligibility, HSN-digit reporting in GSTR-1 Table 12, e-invoicing applicability and the GSTR-9 / 9C thresholds, verify and correct each client's system-computed AATO this month. Source

Mandatory Ship-to GSTIN capture and voluntary e-Way Bill closure - FAQs issued (2 Jul); API changes go live 1 August 2026. GSTN issued FAQs on 2 July 2026 on the mandatory capture of the "Ship-to" GSTIN field in the e-Invoice and e-Way Bill (IRN) APIs and the new voluntary e-Way Bill closure functionality. These API and portal changes go live on 1 August 2026 (a sandbox is available now). Businesses and their ERP / ASP / GSP teams must update integrations to capture Ship-to GSTIN and support voluntary e-Way Bill closure, and complete sandbox testing before 1 August. Source

No TDS on lease rentals paid to IFSC ship-leasing units - Notification No. 75/2026 (3 July 2026). Under s.400(1) read with s.147 and s.393(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, no tax is to be deducted under s.393(1) [Table Sl. No. 2] on lease rent or supplemental lease rent paid by a lessee to a Unit of an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC / GIFT City) for the lease of a ship, provided the IFSC lessor furnishes a statement-cum-declaration in Form No. 1(N) covering the 20 consecutive tax years for which it opts for the s.147 deduction. Advise IFSC ship lessors to file Form 1(N); lessees to stop deducting on receipt of the declaration. Source

No TDS on lease rentals paid to IFSC aircraft-leasing units - Notification No. 74/2026 (3 July 2026). An identical mechanism applies to aircraft - no TDS under s.393(1) on aircraft lease rent or supplemental lease rent paid to an IFSC Unit lessor, subject to the same Form No. 1(N) / s.147 conditions. This is the new-Act re-issuance of the earlier IFSC aircraft-leasing TDS exemption, relevant to GIFT-City aviation-leasing structures. Source

CBDT condones delay in filing Form 10AB for 80G(5) final approval - Circular No. 6/2026. Under s.119(2)(b) of the 1961 Act read with s.536(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the CBDT condones the delay in filing Form No. 10AB (for final approval under clause (ii) of the first proviso to s.80G(5)) where the application was furnished electronically between 1 Oct 2025 and 31 Mar 2026; the jurisdictional PCIT / CIT is to dispose such applications on merits by 31 Dec 2026. Applications rejected solely on the ground of late filing (beyond 30 Sep 2025) are deemed condoned. Flag charitable-trust clients whose 80G Form 10AB was filed late in that window or rejected only for delay. Source

Section 10(46) exemption for the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority - Notification No. 73/2026 (2 July 2026). A s.10(46) exemption (issued under the 1961 Act via the savings clause s.536(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025) notifies the specified income - Uttarakhand Government grants, statutory fees and charges, income from disposal of lands / buildings, lease / rent, and bank interest - of the Mussoorie Dehradun Development Authority (PAN AAAAM4651Q). It is retrospective, deemed to apply for AY 2022-23 and AY 2023-24; a routine, entity-specific exemption of limited general impact. Source

Second set of statutory forms under the Income-tax Rules, 2026 rolled out on the e-Filing portal (30 June 2026). The Income-tax Department rolled out the second set of statutory forms under the new Income-tax Rules, 2026 - Quarterly Forms 121, 138, 140, 143, 144, 147 and 148 are now live on the e-Filing portal. (Separately, the ITR Common Offline Utility v1.2.1 for ITR-1 / 2 / 3 / 4, AY 2026-27, was released on 1 July 2026 as a bug-fix patch over v1.2.0.) Check which forms are live before filing under the new Rules. Source

FEMA (Deposit) (Sixth Amendment) Regulations, 2026 - Special Non-Resident Rupee (SNRR) account provisions widened. Notification No. FEMA 5(R)(6)/2026-RB (gazetted 18 June 2026, published on the RBI website on 29 June 2026) amends the FEMA Deposit Regulations to widen the SNRR account framework - permitting SNRR operation within IFSCs, allowing SNRR holders to receive transfers from NRO accounts and to transact with other non-residents, and easing certain earlier operating and transfer restrictions. Advise NRI / non-resident clients and AD banks on the expanded SNRR use-cases and update FEMA compliance checklists and SNRR account-opening / KYC notes. Source

Peer Review Board launches the PRB Web Portal - new Form 1 applications processed exclusively online from 2 July 2026. ICAI's Peer Review Board has launched a fully integrated PRB Web Portal (prb.icai.org) covering the peer-review lifecycle from application to certificate. With effect from 2 July 2026, all new peer review applications (Form 1) are processed exclusively through the portal; physical or email applications will not be accepted. Practice Units and reviewers must route new applications and reports only through the portal from the effective date. Source

ICAI Council: abnormally low tender fees may be referred to the Director (Discipline). An ICAI announcement (Professional Development Committee) dated 2 July 2026 records the Council's decision that wherever the fee quoted by a member or firm is extremely low and not commensurate with the size, value, volume, manpower requirement and nature of the work, the matter can be referred to the Director (Discipline) for appropriate action - whether or not the tender is in an area of service exclusively reserved for chartered accountants. Members and firms should ensure tender bids are commensurate with the work; "lowball" bids now carry a disciplinary risk. Source