Item 01 · Cost Inflation Index = 384 · Direct Tax · new law · Material
Notification No. 85/2026 (S.O. 3889(E); F.No. 370149/112/2026-TPL) dated 15 July 2026, under
s.72(8)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Notifies the Cost Inflation Index at 384 for FY / Tax Year 2026-27 (AY 2027-28), up from 376 for FY 2025-26 - a rise of about 2.13%.
Apply CII = 384 for the indexed cost of acquisition / improvement when computing long-term capital gains on transfers made on or after 1 April 2026 (FY 2026-27 / AY 2027-28). Indexation now applies only where still permitted - withdrawn for most assets from 23 July 2024 - so confirm the asset qualifies before indexing.
Item 02 · SRVA framework consolidated · RBI / FEMA · new law · Material
Consolidates and rationalises all prior instructions on Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) into a single circular, permitting AD banks to open SRVAs for cross-border trade settlement in Indian Rupees and for permissible current- and capital-account transactions.
The circular supersedes five earlier circulars (2022-2025) - the SRVA framework is now stated in one place.
For clients using INR trade settlement (exporters / importers) and AD banks, re-map the rupee-vostro framework to Circular No. 19 - update FEMA documentation, board / compliance checklists and correspondent-banking arrangements; the five earlier circulars are withdrawn.
Item 03 · Global Networking Guidelines in abeyance · ICAI · deferral · Material
ICAI (Aggregation of CA Firms Committee)
Announcement dated 15 July 2026, concerning the ICAI (Global Networking) Guidelines, 2025 notified vide
Notification No. 3-CACAF/GN-F/2026 dated 11 February 2026, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, dated 17 February 2026.
Keeps further implementation of the ICAI (Global Networking) Guidelines, 2025 in abeyance until further orders.
The Guidelines were framed to regulate the networking arrangements and tie-ups between Indian CA firms and global / international networks. Their operation now stands paused pending further orders from the Institute.
Firms with, or contemplating, global-network affiliations should defer any Guideline-driven restructuring or fresh compliance steps under the 2025 Guidelines and monitor for the revised framework / further orders.
Item 04 · India-Sri Lanka DTAA Protocol · Direct Tax · new law
Notification No. 88/2026 (S.O. 3926(E); F. No. 503/8/2005-FTD-II) dated 16 July 2026, under
s.159(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Gives effect in India to the Protocol amending the India-Sri Lanka Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, signed at New Delhi on 16 December 2024, which entered into force on 19 June 2026.
The amended provisions apply in India to income of fiscal years beginning on or after 1 April 2027 (AY 2028-29).
Update India-Sri Lanka treaty positions, TRC / Form 10F documentation and withholding analysis. Read the Protocol text for the specific articles amended (typically anti-avoidance / PPT-type strengthening and information-exchange updates) before advising on cross-border flows.
Item 05 · Oman Social Protection Fund · Direct Tax · new law
Notification No. 84/2026 (S.O. 3890(E); F.No. 500/PF-15/S10(23FE)/FT&TR-II) dated 15 July 2026, under
s.10(23FE) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
Notifies Oman's Social Protection Fund (SPF) (PAN ABOCS3010J) as a specified pension fund whose eligible Indian investments made up to 31 March 2030 qualify for the s.10(23FE) exemption on dividend, interest and long-term capital gains from eligible infrastructure investments.
Inbound-structuring and withholding relevance - payments to the SPF on eligible investments carry the exemption, subject to the fund satisfying the prescribed conditions (continued Oman regulation, prescribed reporting, no loan / benefit to participants beyond the pension mandate). Verify eligibility of each investment before applying nil / reduced withholding.
Item 06 · TRACES 2.0 OLTAS correction · Direct Tax · portal note
A TRACES (CPC-TDS) portal notice states that OLTAS challan correction for FY / TY 2025-26 and TY 2026-27 will be enabled shortly on TRACES 2.0. The online OLTAS correction request flow (enter challan details for which the correction is sought) is being extended to these tax years.
Follows the migration to TRACES 2.0. OLTAS correction covers changes to challan attributes - assessment year, major / minor head, and amount - previously routed through the assessing officer or the older utility.
Where a deductor needs to correct a challan (wrong AY, head or amount) for FY / TY 2025-26 or TY 2026-27, await the TRACES 2.0 enablement and use the online facility rather than an offline route; monitor the portal for the go-live.
Item 07 · iPIE consultation · MCA · consultation
MCA public consultation - "Invitation of Stakeholder Suggestions on the Integrated Platform for Insolvency Ecosystem (iPIE)", posted 20 July 2026 on the MCA "What's New" / Notices feed.
A proposal and call for suggestions on a unified digital platform for the IBC / insolvency ecosystem - intended to connect IBBI, insolvency professionals, creditors and adjudicating authorities across the insolvency process. A consultation / feedback invitation, not a binding rule; the comment window and mode are specified inside the document.
MCA V3 per-item PDFs have no stable shareable URL - retrieve the consultation from the MCA "What's New" / Notices listing dated 20 July 2026. No MCA General Circular, GSR / SO notification or rule-making public notice was issued in the 15 - 20 July window.
IBC-facing practices may submit suggestions to shape the platform. Other in-window MCA "What's New" items (SFIO prosecutor / IICA Shillong vacancies, a legal-research EoI, and the "Corporate Mitra" course registration open 15 - 31 July) are administrative / skilling items with no compliance effect.
Item 08 · IDTC GST Sectoral Guide · ICAI · publication · Flagged
A final sectoral guide on the GST treatment of charitable trusts and not-for-profit organisations - registration, exemption analysis and returns - useful in advisory and audit engagements for the sector.
Apart from Item 03 (Global Networking Guidelines) and this guide, no other final Technical Guide, Guidance Note, Standard, Code of Ethics revision or UDIN / Peer-Review change surfaced between 11 and 20 July. The Direct Taxes Committee's Guidance Note on Tax Audit u/s 44AB (AY 2026-27) remains an exposure draft (9 July) - excluded.
Because the edition reads "June 2026" though it appeared on the IDTC page in mid-July, this item is borderline in-window - included pending your call on whether to feature it as a W30 item.
Item 09 · Notifications 82 - 91/2026 · Direct Tax · record only
Notification Nos.
82/2026 (S.O. 3798(E)) &
83/2026 (S.O. 3799(E)), 13 July 2026, F.No. 300196/45/2025-ITA-I
Notification Nos.
86/2026 (S.O. 3919(E)) &
87/2026 (S.O. 3920(E)), 16 July 2026, F.No. 300196/75/2024-ITA-I
Notification No.
89/2026 (S.O. 3936(E)), 17 July 2026, F. No. 164/1/2026-ITA-1
Notification No.
90/2026 (S.O. 3934(E)), 17 July 2026, F. No. 203/23/2025-ITA-II
Notification No.
91/2026 (S.O. 3935(E)), 17 July 2026, F. No. 225/139/2025-ITA.II
82-83/2026: notify the Baddi Barotiwala Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA), HP (PAN AAALB0528J) for exemption of specified income - No. 82 under s.10(46), 1961 Act (back-years); No. 83 continuing it into the 2025-Act regime
86-87/2026: notify the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) - No. 86 under s.10(46), 1961 Act (AY 2024-25 to 2026-27); No. 87 under Schedule III r/w s.11, 2025 Act (TY 2026-27, 2027-28)
89/2026: specifies the Ten-Year Zero Coupon Bond of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) as a zero-coupon bond under s.2(112), Income-tax Act 2025 r/w rule 7 - ₹20,000 cr payable on maturity, discount ₹10,296.12 cr, 20 lakh bonds, to be issued by 31 March 2028
90/2026: approves the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Dharwad (PAN AAAAI9526L) for Scientific Research under s.45(4)(b) r/w s.45(3)(a)(i), 2025 Act, for tax years 2026-27 to 2030-31 - donors may claim the research deduction, subject to the institute's Form 15 / Form 16 reporting under rules 31 and 34
91/2026: notifies the transfer of a capital asset from NPCIL (Mahi Banswara Rajasthan Atomic Power Project) to the NPCIL-NTPC JV ASHVINI (Anushakti Vidyut Nigam Ltd) as a transfer not regarded as a "transfer" - no capital-gains charge; transferee inherits cost / holding period
Entity / instrument-specific; no general applicability. Relevant to the notified authorities and parties - and, for 90/2026, donors funding IIIT Dharwad research; for 89/2026, investors in the NaBFID zero-coupon bond; for 91/2026, the power / PSU space.
Item 10 · quiet & peripheral · GST · RBI / FEMA · SEBI · period context
No CBIC notification, circular, instruction or Order (swept across Central Tax, Rate, IGST, UTGST, Compensation Cess, Circulars, Instructions and Orders) and no GSTN advisory in the window; no GST Council meeting. Confirmed via the CBIC portal, the GSTN feed and two independent trackers - the most recent GST item on record is dated 2 July 2026.
Beyond the SRVA consolidation (Item 02): RBI issued prudential directions on the acquisition of specified non-financial assets by Regulated Entities (16 July) - a banking-supervision measure for banks / NBFCs with no direct CA / FEMA-advisory angle - and continued its Internal Ombudsman / grievance-redress outreach.
CBIC publicised an EMI (Eligible Manufacturer Importer) Duty-Deferment Scheme (17 July) - a Customs facilitation outside the five core domains, noted for completeness.
The SEBI circulars in / near the window - the SWP-STP standing-instruction facility (17 July) and mutual-fund intraday borrowing - are pure capital-markets / mutual-fund items with no LODR audit-committee, SQM or auditor-practice implication. Excluded per scope.