What changed since 2025
The brochure’s timeline of changes for financial services, in date order.
| Date | Change | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 Sep 2025 | Payment aggregator rules | RBI issued directions covering physical, online and cross-border payment aggregators, with net-worth and escrow requirements. Non-bank aggregators need authorisation, with net worth of ₹15 crore at application and ₹25 crore over the next three years; banks need none. | RBI directions, 15 Sep 2025 (Medianama, Sep 2025, secondary) |
| 28 Nov 2025 | NBFC directions consolidated | RBI issued the NBFC Registration, Exemptions and Framework for Scale Based Regulation Directions, 2025. | RBI, 28 Nov 2025 |
| 20 Dec 2025 | Insurance laws amended | The Sabka Bima Sabki Raksha (Amendment of Insurance Laws) Act, 2025 raised the insurance FDI limit from 74% to 100% and cut the net owned funds required of foreign reinsurers from ₹5,000 crore to ₹1,000 crore. | PIB, 23 Apr 2026; Skadden, Feb 2026 (secondary) |
| 9 Feb 2026 | Press Note 1 (2026) | Insurers and intermediaries moved to 100% automatic, subject to IRDAI verification; LIC stays at 20%. In legal effect from the FEMA rules amendment of 2 May 2026. | DPIIT Press Note 1 (2026) |
| 1 Apr 2026 | IFSC deduction extended | IFSC units’ 100% deduction now runs for 20 consecutive years out of 25, from tax year 2026-27 (previously 10 of 15). | Finance Act 2026 |
| 17 Aug 2026 | Fund and FII tax changes | Act 21 of 2026 exempted FIIs’ income on government securities and reset the offshore-fund safe harbour, deemed effective from 1 April 2026. | Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Act 2026 |
Other dated changes stated in the sources
These changes appear elsewhere in the brochure and affect the same investors.
| Date | Change | Effect | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Sep 2025 | GST rates restructured | Two main rates, 5% (merit) and 18% (standard), plus 40% for a select few goods and services, as approved by the 56th GST Council on 3 September 2025. | PIB, 56th GST Council, 3 Sep 2025 |
| 13 Nov 2025 | DPDP Rules 2025 notified | 18-month phase-in; consent notices and processing must be ready by 13 May 2027. | PIB, 17 Nov 2025 |
| Jan 2026 | Tiger Global decision | Supreme Court denied India–Mauritius treaty benefit and rejected grandfathering protection under GAAR; treaty exemptions on capital gains are open to challenge. | Khaitan & Co, 16 Jan 2026; KPMG, 20 Jan 2026 (secondary) |
| 1 Feb 2026 | Budget 2026-27 | Proposed a 15% rate on IFSC business income after the deduction period (not in the Finance Act 2026); proposed notified-jurisdiction conditions for treasury-centre deemed-dividend relief; announced a corporate bond market-making framework, a municipal bond incentive, a High Level Committee on Banking for Viksit Bharat and a review of the FEMA (Non-debt Instruments) Rules. | Budget speech and memorandum, 1 Feb 2026 |
| 15 Mar 2026 | Press Note 2 (2026) | Government route where the investor, or a beneficial owner with more than 10% or control, is from a land-border country; indirect ownership up to 10% without control is automatic with prior reporting. | DPIIT Press Note 2 (2026) |
| 1 Apr 2026 | Income-tax Act 2025 in force | Replaced the 1961 Act. MAT cut to 14% of book profit as a final tax in the old regime; IFSC units with income solely in convertible foreign exchange pay MAT or AMT at 9%. Share buy-backs taxed as capital gains, no longer as dividend. | Finance Act 2026; Income-tax Act 2025, s.206 |
| 4 May 2026 | DPIIT SOP for FDI proposals | SOP for processing proposals on the FIF portal; land-border investors taking up to 49% in a fast-track sector, where resident Indians keep majority ownership and control, have a 60-day decision target. | DPIIT SOP, 4 May 2026 |
| 12 Jun 2026 | Non-resident individuals in listed shares | Any non-resident individual may buy listed shares through a designated bank branch, each below 10% and all such individuals together up to 24%. | FEMA Non-debt Instruments Rules; RBI Master Direction, updated 15 Jun 2026 |
Note: Budget items are announcements until notified. For changes across all sectors, see the updates feed.