Daily Newsletter - February 20, 2026

Latest additions to CAalley:

News Update:

Indian News

International News

Exposure Drafts:

Income Tax Draft

SEC Draft

Acts & Regulations:

RBI Master Direction

Tech Zone:

Tech Zone Article

Legal Updates:

GST

MCA

DGFT

News Update:

Indian News:

New I-T Act to enable AI-driven, rule-based tax system from April 2026

Five FTAs to be operational this year, says Piyush Goyal at EPM launch

Fake raid: Janitor duo turns GST officials to extort tobacco trader, lands in soup

GST intelligence sleuths unearth Rs 13k crore illegal online gaming websites syndicate

Govt plans full AI stack, audit trails to boost innovation: Jayant Chaudhary

Govt announces seven measures, credit assistance to help boost exports

Labour codes: Nearly two dozen employer compliances listed

Income tax refund delay scam: As fraudsters target taxpayers with fake tax delay messages, I-T Department issues alert

How powerful 'delete' software feature helped restaurants hide crores from tax net; invoice of Rs 2,784 'altered' to Rs 27

Biryani audit in Hyderabad blows lid off Rs 70,000 crore tax evasion racket

Income Tax Department sends notices to many senior executives earning over Rs 50 lakh for alleged misuse of exemptions

ICAI notifies global networking guidelines for chartered accountant firms

Brokers seek six-month pause on RBI curbs on bank lending, document shows

ICAI to roll out information systems audit standards this month

RBI defers UTI framework for OTC derivative transactions to January 2027

ED issues its biggest attachment order worth over Rs 10,000 cr in PACL case

Sebi forms working group to review ESG Rating Providers regulatory framework

International News:

Agentic AI is handling more finance work — but can CFOs trust it?

AICPA to propose changes to attestation standards

Exposure Drafts:

Income Tax Draft:

Draft Income Tax Forms 2026
[Last date for Comments: February 22, 2026] 

SEC Draft:

Draft Amendments to Small Entity Definitions
[Last date for Comments: March 7, 2026] 

Acts & Regulations:

RBI Master Direction:

Master Direction – Reporting under Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (Updated as on Fsebruary 18, 2026)

Tech Zone:

Tech Zone Article:

A Tuesday in February: Where Technology Quietly Steals 90 Minutes

Legal Updates:

GST:

Update on Advisory on Interest Collection and Related Enhancements in GSTR-3B

MCA:

Amendment to delegation under section 8 and others [S.O. 709(E)]

Amendment to delegation under clause 41 of Section 2 and Section 14 of Companies Act, 2013 [S.O. 708(E)]

Amendment to delegation under section 66 of the Companies Act, 2013 [S.O. 707(E)]

Amendment to delegation under section 208 of the Companies Act, 2013 [S.O. 701(E)]

Amendment to delegation under sections 153 and 154 of the Companies Act, 2013 [S.O. 700(E)]

Amendment to delegation under section 94 of the Companies Act, 2013 [S.O. 699(E)]

Notification under section 154 of the Companies Act, 2013 [S.O. 698(E)]

Amendment to delegation of power under section 17 of LLP Act, 2008 [S.O. 697(E)]

Notification under section 76A of the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008 [S.O. 696(E)]

DGFT:

Guidelines for Facilitating Logistics Interventions for Freight and Transport (LIFT) under Export Promotion Mission (EPM) [Trade Notice No.29]

Guidelines for Facilitating Logistics, Overseas Warehousing and Fulfilment (FLOW) under Export Promotion Mission (EPM) [Trade Notice No.28]

Guidelines for Integrated Support for Trade Intelligence and Facilitation (INSIGHT) under Export Promotion Mission (EPM) [Trade Notice No.27]

Guidelines for Trade Regulations, Accreditation and Compliance Enablement (TRACE) under Export Promotion Mission (EPM) [Trade Notice No.26]

Guidelines for Support for Alternative Trade Instruments under Export Promotion Mission (EPM) [Trade Notice No.25]