Welcome to the Corporate Law Newsletter of SS Rana & Co., CorpConnect. We are dedicated to providing you with insightful updates on the ever-evolving landscape of corporate law. In this edition, we highlight important legal developments shaping the corporate world, ensuring you stay informed and ahead in your professional endeavors. Dive into our curated selection of articles, analyses, and expert insights, tailored to equip you with the knowledge needed to navigate complex legal challenges with confidence.
GPF Payouts Above INR 5,000: Supreme Court Gives Primacy to a Valid Nomination
Provident fund savings are built over years of service and are often one of the most important amounts payable after a government employee’s death. A nomination is meant to tell the department who should receive the money without avoidable delay. In practice, however, claims can become complicated when relatives object, old statutory language is applied literally or the authorities insist on court documents even though the nominee is clearly recorded in the service documents. This was the issue before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in The Union of India & Anr. v. Paresh Chandra Mondal, decided on 7 January 2026. The Union of India argued that a nominee could not receive a General Provident Fund (“GPF”) balance exceeding INR 5,000 without a succession certificate, probate or letters of administration. The Supreme Court rejected that approach and explained how the Provident Funds Act, 1925 must be read with the General Provident Fund (Central Services) Rules, 1960. The ruling removes an unnecessary procedural barrier, but it does not make the nominee the final owner of the money or automatically apply to every kind of provident-fund account.
India Resets Its Startup Definition: Deep Tech Ventures and Cooperative Societies Enter the Framework
India’s startup definition has long been tied to two basic limits: the age of the business and its annual turnover. The test was easy to apply, but it did not always reflect the reality of ventures whose growth does not follow a conventional timeline. Deep tech businesses may spend years on scientific research, product testing and technology development before earning meaningful revenue. Cooperative enterprises may also build innovative and scalable solutions, even though their ownership structure differs from that of a company or an LLP. As India’s startup ecosystem became more diverse, the earlier framework began to leave some genuine innovators outside its scope. Through Notification G.S.R. 108(E), dated 4 February 2026, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”) replaced the 2019 framework and introduced a wider system of startup recognition. The new rules raise the turnover ceiling for regular startups, formally recognise “Deep Tech Startups and allow cooperative societies to seek recognition.
Khan Market’s Fire NOC Dispute: How the Delhi High Court Balanced Safety and Structural Limits
Behind Khan Market’s busy cafés and restaurants lies a less visible problem: many of the market’s older buildings were never designed to meet modern fire-safety standards. Several restaurants operate from the first and second floors, which are reached through narrow staircases and, in some cases, only one practical entry and exit route. This structural limitation became a legal issue when the New Delhi Municipal Council (“NDMC”) linked the renewal of restaurant permissions to obtaining a fire no-objection certificate (“Fire NOC”). The dispute reached the Delhi High Court through a batch of petitions decided on 10 April 2026. What appeared to be a licensing dispute raised a broader question: how should modern safety rules apply to an old commercial market where major structural changes may not be practical? The Hon’ble High Court did not resolve every technical issue. Instead, it adopted a limited and conditional arrangement based on occupancy control, continuing fire-safety measures and supervision by the authorities.
Mobile Phone Manufacturing Scheme (MPMS): India’s Next Leap in Electronics Manufacturing
On 31 July 1995, India heard its first mobile ring, when the then Union Minister of Communications spoke from Delhi to the then Chief Minister of West Bengal in Kolkata. For most of the two decades that followed, India consumed mobile phones without making them. In 2014, the country had only two mobile phone manufacturing units and was approximately 78% import dependent, with roughly 75% of domestic demand in 2014-15 being met through imports. Today, India has over 300 mobile manufacturing units and imports account for about 0.02% of domestic demand. The turnaround followed a sequenced policy design. As the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has explained in Parliament, the Government built the ecosystem in stages, beginning with finished products, followed by sub-assemblies, then components, and eventually machinery and tools. Make in India was launched in 2014, the Phased Manufacturing Programme followed in 2017, the National Policy on Electronics came in 2019 and the Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing (PLI-LSEM) was rolled out in April 2020, supported by schemes for components, semiconductors and manufacturing clusters, the Electronics Component Manufacturing Scheme approved in April 2025 with an outlay of Rs 22,919 crore, and the permission of 100% foreign direct investment in the sector.
DGFT Operationalises the Inventory-Based Cross-Border E-Commerce Facilitation Framework: Exporters-On Record, Sellers-On-Record and E-Commerce Platforms Take Note
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (“DGFT”), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has issued Public Notice No. 25/2026-27 dated August 5, 2026 (the “Public Notice”) [1], notifying the operational procedures for the Inventory-Based Cross-Border E-Commerce Facilitation Framework (the “Framework”) under Chapter 9 of the Handbook of Procedures, 2023. The Public Notice has been issued in exercise of powers conferred under Paragraph 1.03 and Paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023. and takes immediate effect. Alongside the procedural framework, DGFT has introduced Aayaat Niryaat Form (ANF) 9A for registration of “Exporters-on-Record” (“EOR”), placed at Annexure-I to the Public Notice. The Framework is directly relevant to exporters acting as Exporters-on Record, to sellers supplying goods for cross-border e-commerce exports (“Sellers-on-Record”), and to the e-commerce platforms through which such exports are undertaken.
DGFT Notifies Substantive Framework and Definitions for Inventory-Based Cross-Border E-Commerce Exports
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (“DGFT”), Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has issued Notification No. 27/2026-27 dated August 5, 2026 (the “Notification”), amending the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023 (“FTP”) to introduce the Inventory-based Cross-border E-Commerce Facilitation Framework (the “Framework”). The Notification has been issued under Section 5 of the Foreign Trade (Development & Regulation) Act, 1992, read with Paragraph 1.02 of the FTP, with immediate effect, and has the approval of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. This Notification inserts the substantive provisions of the Framework Paragraphs 9.13 to 9.19 of the FTP comprising definitions, the objective of the Framework, eligibility conditions for holding Export Inventory, inventory management and segregation requirements, payment and Export Rebates and Refunds mechanics, reverse logistics obligations, and utilisation of E-Commerce Export Hubs.
DPIIT Liberalises FDI Policy to Permit Inventory-Based E-Commerce Exclusively for Exports: The Foundational Change Behind DGFT’s New Framework
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (“DPIIT”), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has issued Press Note No. 3 (2026 Series) dated July 23, 2026 (the “Press Note”), reviewing the Foreign Direct Investment (“FDI”) policy on the e-commerce sector to permit the inventory-based model of e-commerce, on a restricted basis, for exports of domestically manufactured and/or produced goods. The Press Note was issued by Dr. Jai Prakash Shivahare, Joint Secretary to the Government of India, under DPIIT F. No. P-15015/9/2025-FDI Policy dated July 23, 2026. This Press Note is the foundational policy change underpinning the DGFT’s subsequent rollout of the Inventory-based Cross-border E Commerce Facilitation Framework – namely, Notification No. 27/2026-27 and Public Notice No. 25/2026-27, both dated August 5, 2026, covered in Parts II and I respectively of this series. Notification No. 27/2026-27 expressly cross-refers to “Para 5.2.15.2.5 of Consolidated FDI Policy as amended vide Press Note No. 3 (2026 Series) dated 23.07.2026” as the source of the FDI liberalisation that enables e-commerce entities to undertake export only inventory operations under the DGFT Framework.