Charitable purpose registration: exceeding commercial receipts threshold denies exemption for the year but cancellation not mandatory.
Where receipts from commercial activities exceed the proviso threshold in a particular year, the institution's income is not exempt for that year, but temporary excess alone does not mandate cancellation of registration if there is no change in the nature of activities; cancellation must follow statutory grounds and procedures, and unjustified cancellation may attract tax on accreted income under Chapter XII EB.

Single application for EDI exports enables combining shipments from different EDI ports in one MEIS claim.
MEIS filing is simplified to allow a single application to include shipping bills from multiple EDI-enabled ports for the same licensing year (maximum 50 shipping bills), while Non EDI ports continue to require separate applications. Duty Credit Scrips (including splits) will be issued with a single port of registration; for EDI exports this may be any one of the exporting EDI ports, whereas for Non EDI exports the port of export is the port of registration. ANF 3A is revised and applicants must provide specified shipping bill details and statutory declarations.

Drawback scheme: data call for model-wise export and import value details, including assessable imports and duty paid, under deadline.
Requirement to provide model-wise data for motor cars exported under the drawback scheme, including exporter and model details, variant, engine capacity and length, number of cars exported under the scheme, FOB value, assessable import values of components/parts/raw materials imported by the manufacturer and by tier 1 and tier 2 vendors, and totals of Basic Customs Duty and education cess paid on those assessable values.

FATCA and CRS compliance: internet banking self certification, TIN exceptions, custodial valuation and reporting steps clarified for financial institutions.
Financial institutions may obtain self certification via the customer's internet banking account. FIs need not collect a TIN where the jurisdiction does not issue one, nor from persons eligible but not yet assigned a TIN, though they should record and later obtain it. Custodial account valuation for reporting must use values communicated by depositories to participants/brokers. Registration and submission procedures for FATCA and CRS reports are set out in a Notification and a Systems Directorate User Manual covering Form 61B.

Caution listing of exporters tightened under EDPMS integration; banks must report advance remittances and old export data.
AD Category I banks must integrate reporting into the Export Data Processing and Monitoring System (EDPMS) to automate cautioning and de cautioning of exporters, report all inward remittances (including advance and outstanding receipts) and electronic FIRCs, discontinue separate quarterly and half yearly returns by uploading overdue advance particulars and migrating Export Outstanding Statement data into EDPMS, and implement necessary IT and operational changes to process transactions only through revised EDPMS message formats.

Foreign exchange compounding orders to be publicly disclosed and computation guidance for penalties published online.
Reserve Bank will publicly host compounding orders on its website and publish the guidance note used to compute amounts under section 13 of FEMA. The guidance prescribes a fixed-plus-variable computation matrix for categories of contraventions, sets ceilings (including a 300% cap and interest-based limits for small contraventions), provides graded multipliers for certain cases, allows neutralisation of undue gains, trebling in specified guarantee reinvestment situations, and enhancement for repeat contraventions; procedural rounding and office-specific ceilings are explained and illustrative calculations are appended.

Minimum transaction thresholds for ACU dollar and euro accounts reduced, easing funding and repatriation requirements.
The Reserve Bank has revised the minimum amount and multiples for receiving and paying in ACU Dollar and ACU Euro accounts, lowering the thresholds for funding or repatriating excess liquidity via the Asian Clearing Union. Authorised Dealer Category I Banks are directed to notify their constituents. The directions are issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 and are without prejudice to other statutory permissions or approvals.

Mandatory e-filing of appeals: deadline extension permits late electronic submissions to be treated as filed in time.
Mandatory electronic filing of appeals required under Rule 45 encountered implementation problems (awareness gaps, technical issues, phased EVC availability, word limits and jurisdiction mapping). The Board extended the filing window so that e-appeals due by 15 May 2016 may be filed electronically up to 15 June 2016 and will be treated as appeals filed in time; taxpayers who filed paper appeals must file the corresponding e-appeal within the extended period to obtain the same treatment.

Krishi Kalyan Cess accounting codes allocated to record levy, interest, refunds and penalties for taxable services.
Krishi Kalyan Cess is imposed on all taxable services except those fully exempt or otherwise not liable; the Controller General of Accounts has allocated a dedicated Minor Head for the cess and new sub heads to record tax collections, interest receipts, refund deductions, and penalties.

Jurisdiction for income declarations clarified: file declarations with the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner exercising jurisdiction over you.
The circular clarifies that declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 must be made to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner who exercises jurisdiction over the declarant as notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes; the notified territorial Principal Commissioner/Commissioner is the officer to whom such declarations are to be submitted.

Licensing of Special Warehouses: new regulatory regime and strict transitional timelines for duty free and store warehouses.
Insertion of Section 58A establishes a licensing regime for special warehouses where dutiable goods may be stored under customs lock; the Board has specified eligible classes of goods and issued related regulations. Existing warehouses storing goods for duty free shops, ship stores, airline stores and diplomatic stores must apply within prescribed timelines to continue operations beyond a three month transitional period, with expedited processing obligations on Commissioners and post application compliance steps prior to issuing licenses.

E-payment of customs refunds via RTGS/NEFT to beneficiary bank accounts with UTR-based reconciliation.
Framework requiring electronic payment of sanctioned customs refunds and rebates through RTGS/NEFT via a designated bank (RBI Kolkata for INCCU4). Claimants must provide a one-time bank-certified authorization (Annexure A). Refund authorities will forward a signed statement of sanctioned orders, a consolidated cheque and a soft copy (Annexure B) periodically; the bank credits beneficiary accounts after deducting RTGS/NEFT charges. Reconciliation uses UTRs and a periodic bank scroll sent to the PAO for reconciliation and discrepancy reporting.

Amendment to Foreign Trade Policy appendices adds a Special Economic Zone to jurisdictional listings under FTP.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020, amended Appendices and Aayat Niryat Forms to include the Indore Special Economic Zone in Appendix 1A and Appendix 6J, designating territorial jurisdiction over units situated in the SEZ and Export Oriented/SEZ units in the state and specifying the Development Commissioner office as the administrative contact.

Jurisdictional amendment expands CQCTD oversight to include regional offices, enabling local handling of quality complaints and trade disputes.
The Directorate General of Foreign Trade amended Para 8.01 of the Hand Book of Procedures to include Regional Authority Raipur under the jurisdiction of Joint DGFT Bhopal and to establish a Committee on Quality Complaint & Trade Dispute (CQCTD) in the office of Joint DGFT Rajkot; a revised table sets out CQCTD locations, chairperson designations and the specific regional jurisdictions within the Western Zone.

ISPM-15 compliance required for wood packaging; customs clearances limited to certified packaging after inspection for export consignments.
Export consignments packed with wooden packaging materials must conform to ISPM-15 standards and are to be inspected by Customs; clearance is permitted only if packaging meets ISPM-15. Exporters must specify packaging details in the Shipping Bill. Phytosanitary certification is issued by accredited treatment providers after approved treatments such as methyl bromide or forced hot air, and the list of accredited providers is published by the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine & Storage.

Timely bond cancellation: streamlined by periodic selection, verifiable records, and exporter email/document readiness to prevent delays.
Timely cancellation of bonds in advance authorization cases is to be expedited by conducting reduced-rate random verifications during the authorization validity, not delaying cancellations for non-receipt of Central Excise confirmation, and requiring exporters to keep documents ready and provide email addresses. A verifiable record of cancellation applications and documents must be maintained, and selections for checks will be made periodically (every third day or earlier) with intimation to exporters to ensure transparent, timely processing.

Fair market value determination for indirect transfers requires prescribed valuation and reporting by Indian concerns, triggering disclosure and certification.
The draft rules prescribe computation of fair market value of Indian and global assets for indirect transfer provisions using observable market prices or valuation reports by merchant bankers/accountants with internationally accepted methodologies, add back liabilities, and require exchange conversion at telegraphic transfer buying rates. An apportionment formula attributes transfer income to Indian assets by the ratio of FMV of Indian assets to total FMV; failure to furnish necessary information results in full attribution to Indian assets. Transferors must furnish a certified apportionment report (Form 3CT) and Indian concerns must file detailed information electronically in Form 49D and retain supporting records for eight years.

Liability transfer allows IEC PAN changes on firm conversion while preserving prior liabilities and updating official records.
DGFT permits modification of IEC to replace the PAN when a change in constitution or legal form produces a new PAN, on the basis that liabilities of the transferor entity vest in the transferee entity by operation of law. Regional Authorities must ensure transfer of liabilities, update and circulate the modified IEC showing the new PAN, and accept applications digitally signed by authorised signatories or power of attorney holders.

Unique identification number requirement relaxed for Form 15G/15H in quarterly TDS statements for specified quarters.
The CBDT relaxes the obligation to furnish the Unique identification number allotted by the deductor for Form 15G/15H in quarterly TDS statements for the quarters ending 31.12.2015 and 31.3.2016 due to operational constraints, while reiterating that amended Rule 29C provides for online filing, UID allotment, and the general requirement to include such UIDs in quarterly statements under prescribed procedures.

Extension of filing deadline for VAT returns granted; tax payment obligations remain unchanged and digital filers exempted from hard copy.
Extension of the last date for filing specified VAT returns for the fourth quarter is granted for online or hard-copy submission of the prescribed return forms with required annexures; payment obligations remain unchanged and must be paid in the usual manner while dealers filing with digital signature are not required to submit a hard copy.