WEEKEND WRAP · POLICY · Sectors

This Week in Indian Business: Tariffs, Tech, and Tax

A crisp digest on trade duties, digital rules, and tax tweaks—plus markets, flows, and what to watch next week.
By bataSutra Editorial · September 27, 2025

The short

  • Tariffs: Import duties stayed in focus across electronics and critical inputs; watch-notice windows keep buyers cautious.
  • Tech: Data/AI compliance checklists matured—enterprises are budgeting for model governance and storage residency.
  • Tax: GST and direct-tax clarifications helped reduce interpretive risk for SaaS exports and marketplace fees.
  • Markets: Banks and capital goods led rotation; microcap froth continued to cool on breadth checks.

Trade & tariffs

  • Electronics duty chatter tilted buyers to staggered POs; value-add localization clauses firming up state incentives.
  • Chemicals/metals: watch for anti-dumping renewals hitting speciality grades; import-parity spreads remain volatile.

Tech & policy

  • AI + data: enterprises moving from pilots to policy—track model documentation, auditability, and retention norms.
  • Cloud/colo: RTC renewables + BESS language now common in RFPs; latency SLAs tightening in BFSI and gaming.

Tax & compliance

  • Export-of-services: payments/settlement wording clarified in several advisories; reconcile with FEMA and STPI norms.
  • Marketplaces: TCS/TDS thresholds revisited by large platforms; seller communication templates updated.

Markets & flows

BucketThis weekBiasNote
Nifty sectorsBanks, capital goodsPositiveOrderbooks + credit growth narrative intact
ITMixedNeutralDeal ramp lumpy; earnings watch
SME/microcapsSoftCautiousLiquidity pockets thinning post-listing
FX & oilRangeboundBalancedCrude-rupee matrix still manageable for OMCs

Playbooks for Monday

Operators & buyers

  • Stage imports in tranches; add alternate suppliers in RFQs.
  • Build RTC green-power language into data contracts; add BCP clauses for latency.

Investors

  • Stay overweight banks/cap goods while breadth is supportive; trim crowded microcap trades.
  • Use earnings revisions + RS to confirm sector stance; set exit rules.

What to watch next week

  • Any tariff notices/consultations in electronics, chemicals, or EV supply chain.
  • Data/AI guidance drop-ins affecting storage residency and model audits.
  • Earnings pre-announcements for festive build in autos and discretionary.