US Court Strikes Down Trump's $100,000 H-1B Levy, Says It Was A Tax, Not Visa Fee

A federal court in Massachusetts has struck down President Donald Trump's $100,000 payment requirement for new H-1B visa petitions. The Court granted summary judgment to a coalition of 20 states led by California and vacated the federal policy implementing the measure. Judge Leo T. Sorokin of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts held that the payment requirement functioned as a tax. The Court further held that the Executive lacked authority under the provisions relied upon by...

NCLT Issues Circular Mandating Filing Of Vakalatnama Or Memoranda Before Counsel Can Be Heard

On 5 June, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) directed strict compliance with filing requirements relating to vakalatnamas and memoranda of appearance, holding that advocates, legal practitioners and authorised representatives cannot ordinarily appear before the Tribunal without proper authorisation on record. The Tribunal issued a circular directing Registrars across all Benches to ensure compliance and clarified that counsel who do not file a duly executed vakalatnama or memorandum of...

Registered Valuer Organisations Must Maintain ₹25 Lakh Paid-Up Capital Under Amended Rules

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs has amended the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017, introducing a minimum paid-up share capital requirement of ₹25 lakh for companies seeking recognition as Registered Valuer Organisations (RVOs). The change was brought in through a 2026 amendment to the rules notified on June 1. At the heart of the amendment is a revision to Rule 12(1)(i), which sets out the eligibility criteria for companies applying to be recognised as RVOs. Under the...

ED Probe Against Myntra Closed After RBI Compounds FEMA Contraventions

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has compounded alleged violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) by fashion e-commerce company Myntra Designs Private Limited, bringing an Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation against the company to an end. The ED said it had launched the probe based on credible information about two alleged FEMA contraventions. One related to delays in filing Annual Performance Reports (APRs) in respect of overseas investments worth ₹42.85 crore. The other...

FIIs, BIS Get Income Tax Exemption On Government Securities Under New Income Tax Ordinance

Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) will be exempt from income tax on interest earned from government securities and capital gains arising from their sale, exchange, or transfer under amendments introduced by the Centre through the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026. The ordinance, published in the Gazette on June 5, amends Schedule IV of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and is deemed to have come into force from April 1, 2026. The exemption is...

CBIC Directs Customs Formations Not To Link Entry Inward And Sail-Out Clearance With Vessel Boarding

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has directed customs formations across the country not to link the grant of Entry Inward or Vessel Sail-out Clearance with the physical boarding of vessels by customs officers, noting that such practices cause avoidable delays in cargo operations at ports. In Circular No. 26/2026-Customs dated 15 May 2026, the Board noted that at certain ports customs officers grant Entry Inward only after they physically board vessels post-berthing, and...

CCPA Imposes ₹5 Lakh Penalty On PhysicsWallah For Employing Dark Patterns On Its Platform

Holding that PhysicsWallah employed dark patterns in violation of consumer protection norms, the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has imposed a ₹5 lakh penalty on the ed-tech platform over its donation and data-collection practices. A coram of Chief Commissioner Nidhi Khare and Commissioner Anupam Mishra passed the order in a suo motu case against PhysicsWallah over alleged unfair trade practices, misleading advertisements, and violations of consumer rights on its website and mobile...

Centre Mandates DGFT Import Authorisation For Specified Silver Imports

The Central Government has tightened import policy conditions for specified silver products by mandating that imports of such items be backed by a valid Import Authorisation issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). The change was notified by the DGFT on June 2 and takes effect immediately. The revised conditions apply to silver powder, silver grains, silver containing 99.9 per cent or more by weight, and certain other forms of unwrought silver classified under Chapter 71 of...

Centre Temporarily Waives Customs Duty On Cotton Imports Till October 31

The Centre on Saturday temporarily waived customs duty and Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC) on cotton imports for a five-month period beginning June 1, 2026. A notification issued by the Department of Revenue said cotton falling under tariff heading 5201 of the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975, will be exempt from the whole of the customs duty leviable under the tariff schedule as well as the whole of the AIDC. The exemption will take effect from June 1,...

RBI Imposes ₹3.1 Lakh Penalty on CreditAccess Grameen Over KYC Violations

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday imposed a penalty of ₹3.10 lakh on CreditAccess Grameen Limited for violating certain Know Your Customer (KYC) norms. RBI found that the company had not put in place a robust software system that could automatically flag transactions that were inconsistent with customers' risk profiles and updated records, a key requirement for identifying and reporting suspicious transactions. The regulator clarified that the penalty relates only to shortcomings in...

MCA Amends Rules To Allow Companies To Undertake CSR Through Social Stock Exchange Instruments

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) has notified amendments to the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Rules allowing companies to carry out CSR activities through zero-coupon, zero-principal instruments issued by not-for-profit organisations registered with the Social Stock Exchange segment of a recognised stock exchange. Under the Companies (Corporate Social Responsibility Policy) Amendment Rules, 2026, which came into force on May 27, expenditure incurred on such instruments cannot...

Singapore Court Sentences Byju Raveendran To Six Months In Jail For Contempt

A Singapore court has sentenced Byju Raveendran, founder of insolvent edtech firm Byju's, to six months' imprisonment for contempt of court over alleged non-compliance with directions concerning disclosure and handling of assets linked to Beeaar Investco and other group entities, Bloomberg reported.The court also directed Raveendran to surrender to the authorities, pay costs of S$90,000 (about US$70,500), and produce documents establishing his legal ownership of Beeaar Investco, an entity said...