Taxation of government-provided services: service tax applies where payment is consideration; point of taxation is due or payment, whichever is earlier.
Services by Government or a local authority to business entities are taxable where payment is made as consideration, subject to specified exemptions. The point of taxation is the earlier of the date any payment becomes due as per the invoice/bill/challan or the date of payment. Interest on deferred payments is includible in value. CENVAT Credit for one time assignment charges may be availed evenly over three years, while credit for periodic payments is available in the year paid; prescribed documents such as challans evidence credit entitlement.

Mandatory measurement units required in trade documents to ensure legal metrology compliance and consistent customs declarations.
Declaration of measurements in trade documentation is mandatory: weight, volume, length, area and similar measurements must be stated in units approved under the Legal Metrology Act, and these measurements must appear in both the Bill of Entry and the Shipping Bill for all importers, exporters and customs brokers; earlier public notices inconsistent with the Legal Metrology Act are amended accordingly.

Waiver of additional fee for delayed e form filings after system launch, subject to filing by the specified extended deadline.
The Ministry acknowledged V2R2 launch disruptions and, as a one time administrative measure, ordered waiver of additional fees for e forms due during the system disruption period, provided such forms are filed by the specified extended deadline; filings after that final date will not receive the relaxation.

Staff reallocation for post-clearance audit urged to strengthen customs audit and investigative oversight and reduce case pendency.
Directive to competent authorities to review staff distribution and reallocate additional manpower within commissionerates to strengthen Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) and Special Investigation and Intelligence Branch (SIIB) in Customs Houses, in response to PAC observations that staff shortages and non implementation of redeployment have increased pendency and reduced scrutiny of RMS-selected consignments.

Plant quarantine regulation expands to include industrial imports of sand and similar materials, requiring inspection and clearance before import.
Import consignments of sand and various mineral and soil-derived materials for industrial and non agricultural purposes are included within the Plant Quarantine regulatory scope, covering items such as silica sands, clays, rock aggregates, ores, vermiculite, perlite, gypsum and similar materials; such consignments require Plant Quarantine inspection and clearance prior to import, and importers and associated stakeholders must comply with the Plant Quarantine orders when presenting these goods for Customs processing.

Prohibition on importing mobile phones with duplicate or fake IMEIs: GSMA IMEI certificates and Customs ICDR verification required.
Imports of mobile handsets are prohibited if devices bear duplicate, fake, non genuine, or all zero IMEI/ESN/MEID; importers must obtain GSMA/MSAI IMEI certificates following TAC/IMEI allocation and submit consignment wise certificates to Customs. Customs will verify certificates via the ICDR system for genuineness, correct allocation to the Type Allocation Holder, matching make/model/form factor, and absence of prior entry into India, validate consignments on a 100% basis with limited random physical sampling for green channel consignments, and treat ICDR red marked shipments as improper imports subject to penal provisions and confiscation.

Import/export of gifts by courier: follow extant instructions and report refusals to ensure clearance of bona fide gift consignments.
Indian Customs identifies refusals by foreign courier agencies to book bona fide gift consignments for export to India citing non-clearance or embargo, and directs that extant instructions on import of bonafide gift items through Post/Courier be scrupulously followed; any such incidents should be reported to the undersigned for remedial action.

Exercise of Chapter X powers requires report-based audits and forwarding records to local assessing officers for tax assessment.
Officers exercising Chapter X powers (audit, survey/inspection, stopping and detention of goods vehicles) must prepare reports based on information and records examined by them and mandatorily forward those reports and records to the ward/branch officer having jurisdiction over the dealer for assessment of tax and penalty; non-compliance will attract disciplinary action.

Restriction on field collection of VAT: deputed teams must not accept cheque payments during surveys and must refuse voluntary payments.
Officers deputed for field surveys are instructed not to collect VAT by cheque or any other mode during surveys; if a dealer offers payment to address a tax deficiency, the officer must decline receipt and advise the dealer to deposit tax through the prescribed VAT deposit procedure; noncompliance by officers will invite disciplinary action.

Service tax on legal services: stay orders prompt government to seek consolidated review and vacatur through transfer petitions.
Stay orders restraining the levy of service tax on legal services provided by Senior Advocates have been issued by multiple High Courts. The Board has directed engagement of the Attorney General to seek vacatur and aggregation by filing transfer petitions, and requests urgent transmission of all relevant High Court files from Zones to enable filing.

Mandatory full testing of imported limestone at designated laboratory; importers must provide samples and bear testing costs.
Import consignments of limestone must undergo full testing to verify parameters in IS:10345 of 2004 because the prior laboratory could not perform certain determinations; samples shall be forwarded to the designated external testing facility in Kolkata capable of conducting the complete test matrix (items (i)-(vi) of table 1, clauses 5, 6.1.1 and 7). Importers shall bear testing costs, submit the prescribed sample quantity for a full test, and pay fees by Demand Draft at submission.

Legal Metrology labelling and measurement rules require supplier contact details on packages and approved unit declarations in trade filings.
The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 amendments redefine industrial consumer and institutional consumer and adopt the Food Safety Act definition for retail food package; require every package to display the name, address, telephone number and e mail of a contact for consumer complaints effective 1 January 2016; and mandate that importers, exporters and customs brokers declare all measurements in Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills only in units approved under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, with earlier related public notices amended as applicable.

Deeming of manufacture for lubricating oils can trigger Central Excise duty when marketability processes are performed.
Processing of waste oil into products fit for use as lubricating oil does not automatically constitute manufacture, but chapter note creating a deeming fiction provides that labelling, re-labelling, re-packing from bulk to retail, or any other treatment to render lubricating oils marketable shall be treated as manufacture for lubricating oils and lubricating preparations; where such processes are carried out, Central Excise duty is leviable, demands should be raised within normal limitation and SSI benefits extended where admissible.

Applicability of Section 234B(2A): CBDT issued administrative clarification on whether it applies to pending or newly filed cases.
The Board received representations about whether the Finance Act, 2015 insertion of Section 234B(2A) (effective 01.06.2015) applies to cases pending before the Settlement Commission as on that date or only to applications filed after it. CBDT has enclosed a communication from its TPL division clarifying the applicability issue and has directed principal chief commissioners and other concerned officers to note the clarification and ensure necessary compliance.

Customs exemption availability clarified as applicable to all Indian airlines, prompting public notices and administrative dissemination.
The customs exemption under Notification No. 151/94-Cus (Serial No. 1) is clarified to apply to any Indian airline, not limited to the former Indian Airlines, and public notices or standing orders should be issued to inform stakeholders and departmental officers; implementation difficulties are to be reported to the Board.

Audit objections: issue SCNs when department admits; contestation, coordination meetings, and strict reply timetables govern adjudication.
The circular prescribes a consolidated procedure for handling CERA/CRA audit objections, including defined lifecycle stages and timeliness for replies (Half Margin, LAR, SoF, DAP, Audit Paragraphs), mandates quarterly coordination meetings to reconcile objections, requires immediate issuance of SCNs where the department admits objections and prohibits transfer of such SCNs to the call-book, and directs that adjudication occur only after departmental or Ministry replies are on record with independent consideration of legal provisions, case law and Board circulars; past objections must be matched against pending ATNs before adjudication.

Pre-shipment inspection recognition: new agencies added to FTP appendix granted limited-term certification under HBP provisions.
Nine Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies have been added to the Foreign Trade Policy list of recognised PSIAs and authorised to issue Pre Shipment Inspection Certificates under the Policy framework. Recognition is granted for a three year period from the date of the Public Notice pursuant to the Handbook of Procedures provision. An annexure specifies approved models of spectrometers and survey meters, with make, model, serial numbers and calibration/purchase dates, linked to the recognised agencies for technical compliance in issuing inspection certificates.

E-payment of refunds: direct bank credit to assessee accounts to expedite refund realisation and reduce cheque-related delays.
The Board has directed that all refunds and rebates of Central Excise and Service Tax be paid by direct electronic transfer into the assessee's bank account, replacing cheque issuance and physical collection; this measure aims to eliminate delays, returned cheques due to address or clerical errors, and the paperwork and manpower burdens on claimants.

Liquid glucose classification as sugar renders it ineligible for Focus Market Scheme duty credit benefits.
Liquid glucose is classified within the Harmonized System sugar heading and is therefore treated as "Sugar"; consequently, exports of liquid glucose are not eligible for Duty Credit Scrip benefits under the Focus Market Scheme of the Foreign Trade Policy. This clarification excludes all items falling under that HS sugar heading from FMS benefits.

Ease of Doing Business measures streamline customs and indirect tax procedures, enhancing trade facilitation and electronic compliance.
Measures comprise tariff revisions, targeted exemptions and anti dumping/safeguard duties to correct duty inversion and support domestic manufacturing, coupled with procedural trade facilitation: 24x7 customs clearance, a Single Window electronic message exchange for regulatory agencies, mandatory Digital Signature filings, reduced mandatory documentation, Customs Clearance Facilitation Committees, and an upgraded CBEC website. Central Excise and Service Tax reforms include expedited registration, electronic records and invoicing, extended CENVAT credit timelines, e refunds, instalment payments of arrears, simplification of reverse charge taxation and expansion of Advance Ruling eligibility.