---
title: "Edition No. 18 | 18 September 2026 | BNPS and Associates LLP"
url: "https://bnpsca.com/insight/edition-no-18-18-september-2026"
description: "Highlights: • EPFO wage ceiling raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 with effect from 17 September 2026 — 51 lakh+ employees newly covered. Quantify the incrementa..."
---

# Edition No. 18 \| 18 September 2026

Topic: **Board Members**

 ![Edition No. 18  |  18 September 2026](https://imageproxy.inlancer.in/pr:sharp/f:webp/rs:fit:1200:0/g:sm/plain/https://bnpsca.com/public/assets/upload/images/original/6aacdd169bc75-480-F-745249754-lG0C.jpg)18-09-2026

Highlights:

 • EPFO wage ceiling raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 with effect from 17 September 2026 — 51 lakh+ employees newly covered. Quantify the incremental employer cost and the Ind AS 19 impact before the 30 September close.

 • CGST Delhi South has arrested a firm partner over ₹15.78 crore of fraudulent ITC routed through ₹87.67 crore of bogus invoices from suppliers already suspended or cancelled — downstream recipients carry section 16(2)(c) exposure regardless of good faith.

 • Ind AS 118 is still awaiting MCA notification, but applies retrospectively from 1 April 2027 — which makes the financial year already running your comparative year. Mapping the chart of accounts is not implementation.

  **—** **CHINTAN'S PERSPECTIVE**

| ![](https://bnpsca.com/public/assets/upload/images/original/6872083e8d605-11.png)  **Chintan N. Patel**  Partner – Financial Reporting & Advisory  *B N P S And Associates LLP* | *Four of this fortnight’s developments share a feature worth noticing — the consequence arrives before the framework does. The EPFO wage ceiling moved on 17 September with gazette amendments still in execution, yet the cost lands inside a quarter closing in under two weeks. A GST arrest under section 69 followed invoices from suppliers whose registrations were already suspended or cancelled; that data was available long before the department used it. Companies are asking for a law on AI liability while autonomous systems are already in production. And Ind AS 118 will apply retrospectively to a comparative year now half elapsed, though it is not yet notified. The discipline this demands is unglamorous: identify the exposure while it is still a judgement, before it becomes a finding.* |
|---|---|

**—** **TOP DEVELOPMENTS**

**01** **PAYROLL & SOCIAL SECURITY**

**EPFO Wage Ceiling Raised from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000, Effective 17 September 2026**

**WHY IT MATTERS** *A statutory cost change landing mid-quarter with no transition window — employer contribution, CTC design and Ind AS 19 measurement all move at once, days before the September close.*

The Union Cabinet on 16 September 2026 approved the Ministry of Labour & Employment’s proposal to raise the wage ceiling for mandatory EPFO coverage from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000 per month, effective 17 September 2026. More than 51 lakh additional employees come within mandatory EPF, EPS and EDLI coverage, with annual Government outgo estimated at approximately ₹11,339 crore. The ceiling stood unchanged from 2004 to 2014 before being raised to ₹15,000 in September 2014. Gazette amendments to the EPF, EPS and EDLI Schemes are under execution.

| **PRACTICAL IMPLICATION** Quantify the incremental employer contribution for the ₹15,001–₹25,000 band before the 30 September close; assess whether it is a current-period expense or triggers remeasurement under Ind AS 19; confirm payroll masters apply the revised ceiling from the correct date. Await the gazette notification before finalising the accounting treatment. |
|---|

**02** **GST & FRAUD**

**CGST Delhi South Arrests Firm Partner Over ₹15.78 Crore Fraudulent ITC Routed Through ₹87.67 Crore of Bogus Invoices**

**WHY IT MATTERS** *The supplier firms were non-existent, suspended or cancelled — a registration-status check the recipient’s own vendor master should have caught well before the department did.*

The Ministry of Finance has stated that the Anti-Evasion Branch of CGST Delhi South Commissionerate arrested a partner of a firm trading in iron and steel goods for fraudulent availment, utilisation and passing on of inadmissible ITC aggregating over ₹15.78 crore through bogus invoices of approximately ₹87.67 crore. Investigation revealed invoices from multiple firms found non-existent, non-functional, suspended or cancelled; field verification established that certain suppliers had no genuine business activity at their declared places of business. ITC was availed without actual receipt of goods and passed on without corresponding supply. The accused was arrested on 14 September 2026 under section 69 of the CGST Act, 2017 and remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody by the Patiala House Court.

| **PRACTICAL IMPLICATION** Recipients downstream of such chains carry section 16(2)(c) exposure irrespective of good faith. Periodic GSTIN status monitoring across the vendor master, independent verification of place of business for new or high-value vendors, and a documented chain linking invoice, e-way bill, goods receipt and payment remain the only defensible position. |
|---|

**03** **CORPORATE GOVERNANCE**

**SFIO Reportedly Recommends Investigation into Xiaomi’s India Entities Over Fund Flows and Investment Approvals**

**WHY IT MATTERS** *Reported, not confirmed — but the subject matter, beneficial ownership and investment approvals, sits squarely within the scope of routine statutory and internal audit.*

Per a Reuters report of 10 September 2026 based on a government document it reviewed, the Serious Fraud Investigation Office has recommended an investigation into Xiaomi Technology India and related entities over alleged irregularities in the business model and compliance with foreign-investment rules. The memorandum, drafted in May 2026, is reported to be pending approval by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and to seek scrutiny of fund movement, whether mandatory approvals were obtained after India tightened rules on investments from certain jurisdictions, and verification of direct or indirect ownership, control and changes in control. Xiaomi stated it had not received any notice from SFIO. No investigation has been ordered on the public record.

| **PRACTICAL IMPLICATION** Where a group carries foreign investment, the ownership-and-control chain, the approval trail for each tranche and the significant beneficial ownership position under section 90 of the Companies Act, 2013 should sit in one reviewable file — assembled in advance, not reconstructed under notice. |
|---|

**04** **AI & RISK MANAGEMENT**

**Indian Companies Press for Legal Clarity on AI Liability as Autonomous Systems Move into Production**

**WHY IT MATTERS** *Indian law does not recognise an AI system as a legal person, so responsibility falls back on the developer or deploying company — and, absent a statute, on whatever the contract happens to say.*

Reporting on 15 September 2026 records Indian companies seeking clearer legal ground on responsibility for harm caused by autonomous AI systems. India has no standalone AI liability statute. Liability is worked out through negligence, product liability and contract, with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 offering only fragmented coverage; none allocates responsibility between developer, deployer and end user where a system acts autonomously.

| **PRACTICAL IMPLICATION** Until a framework exists, the allocation is contractual. Boards should call for a register of AI systems in production, the decisions each may take without human sign-off, the indemnity and limitation-of-liability position in every vendor contract, and evidence that the human reviewer of AI output is named in the process documentation. |
|---|

| **— THIS MATTERS MORE THAN IT APPEARS**  *Ind AS 118 is not yet notified — and that is precisely why the work begins now. NFRA recommended full convergence with IFRS 18 to the Central Government in January 2026; MCA notification remains awaited. The recommended effective date is 1 April 2027, with early adoption from 1 January 2027 for calendar-year reporters. Because the standard applies retrospectively, the comparative year is the financial year already running. The temptation is to treat implementation as a mapping exercise — chart of accounts to five categories. It is not. An account titled ‘Interest Income’ cannot be assigned by its name: interest on surplus cash equivalents typically falls in Investing, while the same income inside a financing business is Operating. The defensible route runs Transaction → Facts → Technical Analysis → Classification → Review → Presentation → Disclosure. Companies that wait for notification will be reconstructing judgements for a year that has already closed.* |
|---|

**—** **AI WATCH**

| On 3 September 2026, NFRA constituted an Advisory Committee on Audit Quality, Assurance and Technology under Rules 15 and 16 of the NFRA Rules 2018. Its terms of reference extend to data analytics, automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning in the conduct of audits, alongside cybersecurity and cloud risks, ERP systems, APIs and system logs. Members are drawn from professionals, CFOs, Audit Committees, Independent Directors, technology experts, regulators and industry. Read against the liability gap in Development 04, the direction is visible: responsibility for AI-assisted work will be expected to rest with a named human, evidenced in the file. |
|---|

**—** **QUOTE OF THE DAY**

| *“Don’t cut costs, make every rupee work harder.”*  — JITENDRA ATTRA, CFO, SBI GENERAL |
|---|

**ABOUT BNPS**

B N P S And Associates LLP is a firm of Chartered Accountants having offices at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Raichur, Rajkot. The firm provides professional services in the areas of audit, assurance, financial reporting, taxation, risk advisory, due diligence and related professional services. For details refer, [www.bnpsca.com](http://www.bnpsca.com).

**Disclaimer:** This publication is intended solely for informational purposes and should not be construed as professional advice. Readers should seek professional guidance before acting on any information contained herein.

- Tags:
- [Audit Committee](#)
- [Board](#)
- [NFRA](#)
- [Ind AS](#)
- [Governance](#)
- [Risk](#)

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