Exchange of Information proforma revised and a separate Transfer Pricing proforma proposed to standardise international tax information requests.
Requests for foreign tax information under mutual agreements must follow prescribed checklists channelled through the FT&TR Division of the CBDT; a separate Transfer Pricing proforma is to be developed alongside improvements to the general Exchange of Information proforma. Submission rules require Commissioner/Director to address requests to designated Joint Secretaries by geographic allocation, with separate proformas for each taxpayer and each country, and duplicate checklists where multiple countries are involved. Annexures specify required data elements for general information and detailed banking information.

Negative list taxation for services: defines taxable economic activities and sectoral carve-outs pending place-of-supply rules.
Proposal shifts service taxation to a Negative List, retaining the broad definition of "service" but confining levy to transactions by persons independently carrying out economic activities for consideration. It excludes employees acting under employment contracts and non commercial or gratuitous activities, preserves Central power to declare services, and specifies a revised Negative List across government services, social welfare, finance, transport, construction, education and health. Implementation requires Place of Taxation/Supply Rules and allows targeted exemptions and notified exceptions for operational clarity.

Increase in FII debt limit enables additional investment via competitive bidding with entity caps and bidding rules.
Increase in FII investment ceilings for government securities and listed corporate bonds will be allocated through a BSE competitive bidding process, subject to SEBI bidding rules with specified modifications: per-entity allocation caps for incremental limits and for unutilized long-term government debt, a minimum bid amount, custodians' obligation to remit bidding fees within a short period after the auction, and adherence to the existing utilization timeframe for allotted limits.

Set-off of export receivables against import payables: AD Category I banks may allow set offs under prescribed documentary and reporting safeguards.
AD Category - I banks are delegated authority to allow set-off of export receivables against import payables only where imports comply with the Foreign Trade Policy, invoices/bills of lading/airway bills and exchange control copies of Bills of Entry for home consumption are submitted, import payments remain outstanding, consent for set-off exists from the same overseas buyer/supplier, transactions are reported in 'R' Returns, GR forms are released only after full adjustment/receipt of export proceeds, and ACU country transactions are excluded.

Prohibition on overseas forex remittances: unauthorized internet forex trading payments are not permitted and banks must block facilitation.
Remittance or deposit of funds by residents for overseas foreign exchange trading through internet portals is not permitted under the Foreign Exchange Management Act. Authorised Dealer Category-I banks must exercise heightened vigilance over margin payments and accounts used to collect such monies, publicise the restriction, and ensure compliance with KYC and AML obligations; residents remitting funds for such trading may be proceeded against for contravention of foreign exchange law.

Foreign Direct Investment: issue or transfer of participating interest in oil fields to non-residents treated as FDI and must be reported.
Issue or transfer of participating interest/rights in oil fields to non-residents is to be treated as Foreign Direct Investment under the FEMA Regulations; transfers must be reported as 'other' under Para 7 of Form FC-TRS and issuances as 'other' under Para 4 of Form FC-GPR, with implementing amendments to the Regulations to be notified separately.

Single IEC per PAN: additional IECs must be surrendered or will be blocked if not surrendered within the specified period.
Directive requiring surrender of additional Importer-Exporter Codes issued against a single PAN, reaffirming that only one IEC is permitted per PAN under Para 2.9 of the Handbook of Procedures 2009-14, and directing firms to surrender extra IECs within the specified period or have those IECs blocked.

Single premises registration requires online ST-1 filing with supporting premises, identity, PAN and bank proofs within seven days.
A uniform procedure requires online submission of ST-1 via ACES and filing the signed ST-1 printout with the jurisdictional Registration Cell within seven days together with specified proofs for the premises, identity, PAN and bank accounts; upon grant an ST-2 printout signed by the Superintendent is issued. Transfers or address changes require Annexure-II disclosures and submission to both old and new jurisdictions; duplicate PAN/director proofs are not required if unchanged. After new registration, the earlier registration must be surrendered and the new jurisdiction informed within two months.

All-in-cost ceiling for trade credit increased, effective immediately, as a temporary measure subject to subsequent review.
Revision of the all-in-cost ceiling for trade credits into India increases permissible margins over the relevant benchmark for defined maturities; the ceilings include arranger, upfront and management fees, handling/processing charges, out-of-pocket expenses and legal costs. The change is effective immediately, communicated to Category I Authorised Dealer banks for onward notice to constituents, is temporary and subject to review, and issued under powers conferred by the foreign exchange statute while other trade credit policy aspects remain unchanged.

PAN based registration requirement - temporary service-tax registrations must be converted and temporary numbers will be deactivated.
The notice directs conversion of temporary service-tax registrations into PAN based registration under Section 69 and Rule 4: applicants must apply in Form ST-1 and, after verification, receive Form ST-2; those without PAN were earlier issued temporary numbers but must now obtain PAN, submit a xerox copy and apply to convert within one month; holders of both PAN-based and temporary registrations must surrender the temporary registration; temporary registrations will be deactivated in the ACES system after the compliance period.

Cost audit independence: cost auditors barred from serving as internal auditors and must attend audit committee discussions without voting.
Master circular mandates that cost auditors must not serve as internal auditors for the same period to protect cost auditor independence, and that the statutory ceiling on appointments for a financial year counts consents and overdue reports. Appointment concludes on submission of the cost audit report to the Central Government; auditors remain subject to queries but may accept new appointments if the ceiling is not exceeded. Reports must fully disclose cost accounts, include prior-year data (with management-certified figures where applicable), and, where a firm is appointed, be signed by the responsible partner with membership number. Cost auditors must attend audit committee or board discussions on internal controls and cost-audit observations but are not members and have no vote.

Repo participation by mutual funds subject to exposure caps, AAA-only credit, six-month tenor and mandated disclosure.
Mutual funds may undertake repos in corporate debt securities subject to RBI directions and SEBI approval, with each scheme's gross exposure to such repos capped at 10% of net assets and cumulative exposure (repos plus equity, debt and derivatives) not exceeding 100% of net assets. Repos are restricted to AAA-rated corporate debt securities and repo borrowing tenors cannot exceed six months. Trustees and AMCs must adopt guidelines on counterparty category and rating, collateral tenor and haircuts, comply with the Seventh Schedule where applicable, and disclose repo transaction details in half-yearly portfolio statements, trustee reports and the Scheme Information Document.

Mandatory Applicant Identification Data updated for IEC applications requiring PAN, contact details and banker email for record verification.
Amendments to ANF2A require mandatory PAN details, telephone numbers, email IDs and the mobile number of the signatory on Part A; alternate email and website remain optional. Part B's bank certificate must state the banker's email ID and the issuing official's email to facilitate verification. The form mandates full individual names in the order First Name, Middle Name, Last Name without abbreviations, and provides an illustrative example; unstarred fields are mandatory.

Classification of TV tuners based on principal function: both internal and external tuners treated as television reception apparatus.
External TV tuners operate independently and receive and convert broadcast signals into audio/video and, though internal PCI tuner cards rely on ADP connection and software, their principal function remains reception and conversion of television broadcast signals; consequently, applying the principal function rule, General Interpretative Rules, and chapter notes, both internal and external TV tuners are classifiable as reception apparatus for television rather than as ADP parts or mere high-frequency signal isolating parts.

Location of Foreign Exchange: arrival desks only buy foreign currency and sell rupees; departure desks must be before customs.
Arrival hall counters should be after Customs or, if between Immigration and Customs, limited to purchasing foreign currency, selling Indian Rupees and issuing encashment certificates; departure hall counters must be before the first of Customs or Immigration and display notices advising non-residents about possession of Indian Rupees. Non-conforming authorised dealers and money changers are required to relocate and airport commissioners must ensure compliance and publicity.

Empanelment of chartered engineers for valuation of second hand imports-applications invited with documentation and interview; deadline specified.
Applications are invited from chartered engineers (individuals or companies represented by individuals) for empanelment for valuation of imported second hand machinery and related goods for customs purposes; candidates must submit the prescribed proforma with certificates and testimonials, undergo a formal interview by a panel of experts, and deliver applications in a sealed cover to the Joint Commissioner at Custom House by the stated deadline.

Duty credit scrips usable for bonded warehouse clearance under DEPB procedure, subject to Foreign Trade Policy conditions.
Duty credit scrips issued under Chapter 3 FTP schemes (SFIS, VKGUY, FMS, FPS, SHIS) may be used for clearance of goods from Customs bonded warehouses by following the same procedure as DEPB scrips and subject to the conditions and limitations of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Foreign direct investment in pharmaceuticals: greenfield allowed under automatic route; brownfield subject to government approval.
Amendment to the consolidated FDI policy inserts paragraph 6.2.25: greenfield pharmaceutical projects are permitted FDI under the automatic route, while existing (brownfield) pharmaceutical companies are permitted FDI only under the government approval route; the change takes immediate effect and will be reviewed after six months.

DEPB eligibility clarified for exports under free shipping bills; procedure for RA verification and issuance specified.
Procedure for granting DEPB on exports filed as "Free Shipping Bills": exporters must manually enter shipping bill details in the online application and submit an exporter attested hard copy to the Regional Authority. The RA will assess entitlement by comparing the shipping bill description with the relevant DEPB entry, and if satisfied will issue DEPB based on the FOB value of the shipping bill or the Bank Realisation Certificate.

Physical production requirement: non-integrated DGFT authorizations must be presented in hard copy for customs registration.
On-line verification via message exchange is available only for Advance Authorization, Export Promotion Capital Goods authorization, Duty Free Import Authorization and DEPB; all other authorizations, including Annual Advance Authorization, Annual EPCG, SHIS, restricted/SCOMET authorizations and Chapter 3 Reward Scheme instruments, must be registered or operated by customs only upon production of the physical authorization document with no on-line verification.