Sector exposure limits for mutual fund debt schemes allow increased additional exposure to housing finance companies with conditions.
Total sector exposure for debt schemes remains capped at 25% of net assets with an additional 10% permitted for Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) provided such HFC securities are rated AA and above, HFCs are registered with the National Housing Bank, and total investment in HFCs does not exceed 25% of scheme net assets; appropriate disclosures must be made in the Scheme Information Document and Key Information Memorandum.

Removal of mandatory warehousing requirements enables direct clearance to EOUs and similar units subject to procurement certificate and reconciliation.
Removal of mandatory warehousing requirements for 100% EOUs, STPIs and EHTPs is effective from 13th August 2016; re-warehousing certificates and related forwarding to Central Excise are dispensed with. In lieu, units must furnish Procurement Certificates at import or pre-authenticated Procurement Certificates, provide a copy of the Bill of Entry to the jurisdictional office on receipt of goods, and the jurisdictional office will reconcile imports with Procurement Certificates. Gate Officers may allow clearance after proper OOC.

Ind AS implementation: listed issuers receive transitional relaxations and must file Ind AS compliant comparative disclosures and reconciliations.
Listed entities with listed debt or non cumulative redeemable preference shares must publish half yearly and annual financial results in the Schedule III formats for periods ending after December 31, 2016, except as otherwise required for banking and insurance. Entities adopting Ind AS must file Ind AS compliant comparative financials, are granted specified transitional relaxations for the first half year of adoption, and must provide reconciliations of equity and net profit/loss as required by Ind AS 101.

Excise duty on articles of jewellery: procedural and compliance changes implemented via new notifications and clarifying circulars.
The CBEC accepted the Sub-Committee report and issued Notifications and Circulars implementing excise-duty measures on articles and parts of jewellery: prescribing a duty rate and classification criteria, providing specified partial exemptions for reconversion and mounting with customer-supplied items, revising SSI exemption and eligibility limits, excluding certain handicrafts, notifying tariff values and Collection of Duty rules, and amending Central Excise, CENVAT and registration/returns requirements; Circulars clarify SSI computation, audit guidelines, export procedures, general compliance procedures and enforcement measures.

Shore tank receipt quantity used as basis for customs duty on bulk liquid imports, except clearances using ship's ullage survey.
Customs duty on imported bulk liquid cargo shall be levied on the shore tank receipt quantity-the dip measurement in onshore tanks into which cargo is pumped-regardless of specific or ad valorem rates and including tariff value fixation; where cargo is cleared directly without pumping into shore tanks, assessment may be made using the ship's ullage survey report.

Accredited Client Programme facilitation: a nodal Cell appointed to assist trade with ACP/AEO implementation and queries.
A dedicated facilitation Cell has been formed to administer the Accredited Client Programme and Authorized Economic Operator programme for Bengaluru City and Air Customs Commissionerates. The Cell is headed by the Deputy Commissioner (Technical) and assisted by a Superintendent (Technical) and an Inspector (Technical) to interact with trade, receive queries and assist implementation of the Board and CBEC circulars governing ACP/AEO. Trade facing difficulties are to notify the Principal Commissioner via the Cell, which serves as the operational contact point.

Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme allows appellants to settle disputed duties by declaration, payment and obtain immunity.
The Scheme allows appellants pending before the Commissioner (Appeals) as on 1 March 2016 to file a declaration to a designated authority by 31 December 2016, pay tax, interest and 25% of the penalty within prescribed timeframes, and obtain an order of discharge. Receipt of payment leads to disposal of the appeal and immunity from further proceedings in respect of the declared dispute; payments are non refundable and discharge orders are not orders on merits. The Scheme lists specified exclusions and authorises rules and forms for implementation.

Drawback pendency clearance drive urges exporters to reply to EDI queries and submit documents or have claims processed on available information.
A special Drawback Pendency Clearance Drive requires exporters to check shipping bill status on the ICEGATE portal, reply to raised EDI queries, submit hard copy documents and Bank Realisation Certificates where applicable, and notify any difficulties to the Commissioner; unresponded claims will be settled on the basis of available information.

Closure of Customs Division shifts warehousing and ex-bond ICES processing to the customs station of import.
All tasks related to warehousing and ex-bond bill of entry on ICES will be handled at the respective customs station of import, and the standalone Customs Division office is discontinued; importers, warehouse licence-holders, customs brokers and trade members must now approach the Warehousing Section at the customs station of import for facilitation, with operational difficulties to be reported to the Deputy Commissioner (Technical) at the City Customs Commissionerate headquarters.

Voluntary dispute resolution: declaration plus payment secures closure of indirect tax appeals and immunity from prosecution.
The Scheme allows assessees with specified pending appeals to file a declaration under Form 1, pay outstanding duty and interest and a penalty equal to 25% of the penalty in the impugned order within the prescribed period, and notify the Designated Authority with proof. On receipt of payment proof the Designated Authority shall issue an order of discharge in Form 4 under the Finance Act, 2016, rendering the declaration conclusive and providing immunity from prosecution; amounts paid under the Scheme are non refundable.

Valuation of second hand machinery: require independent appraisal to determine assessable import value under customs valuation rules.
Imports of used second hand machinery are to be valued on transaction value when sale meets CVR requirements, but post-sale reconditioning and buyer-incurred costs must be included in assessable value and may preclude application of transaction value. Where transaction value and other CVR methods cannot be applied due to lack of comparable data, the proper officer may apply the Residual Method to account for condition, depreciation, refurbishment and related charges. Importations should ordinarily be accompanied by an overseas inspection/appraisement report by a Chartered Engineer or equivalent in the prescribed form; domestic notified agencies may prepare Form-B reports if needed.

Limit on Indian currency use at duty free shops aligned with RBI export/import permissions, requiring INR pricing and exchange disclosure.
The previous ceiling on payments in Indian rupees at duty free shops has been revised to align with RBI permission on carrying Indian currency across borders; DFS operators must permit purchases in Indian currency up to the RBI-prescribed limit, display prices in Indian rupees alongside foreign currencies, publish the CBEC-notified fortnightly exchange rate, update websites and notices about the facility and limit, and follow prescribed duty-free procurement procedures for excisable goods.

Issuance of statutory forms: designation replaced with Commissioner (Policy) in prior circular; remaining provisions unchanged.
The Department substitutes the designation Commissioner (Policy) for the term Special Commissioner-II as used in point iv of the earlier circular on issuance of statutory forms; all other provisions of that circular remain unchanged and continue to govern issuance and compliance.

ER-8 return requirement for jewellery manufacturers: register under jewellery category and seek amendment to enable filing.
Jewellery manufacturers must file a modified ER-8 return available in ACES; a ticker will alert assesses not registered under the Business category "Jewellery -- 7113" to submit registration amendments. Jurisdictional officers should prioritise processing these amendment requests to permit ER-8 filing. Physical verification is not required at original registration or amendment. Trade associations should inform concerned members.

Export transshipment module enables ETP-based ICES processing, gate-to-gateway movement, and automatic routing for export benefits.
The Export Transshipment Module in ICES 1.5 requires Transhippers to register a Transshipment Bond and BG, file an Export Transshipment Permit (ETP) via the Port/ICD Service Centre, obtain Preventive Superintendent approval and printed ETP, and ensure bond/BG debit on approval. On arrival at the Gateway Air site preventive checks precede an "Allowed for Shipment" entry; thereafter the airline files EGM and the SB moves to Drawback processing.

Factory Stuffing Permission amendments tighten eligibility, documentation and officer-designation requirements for exporters.
Amendments to the Factory/Warehouse Stuffing Permission procedure modify paragraph 11(vii) by replacing the word "three" with "two", substituting "Exporter" with "Merchant Exporter", and adding a new sub paragraph requiring proof of previous imports by the exporting entity in the last three years; paragraph 13 is amended to read "Additional Commissioner / Joint Commissioner" as the competent officer. Stakeholders are asked to report implementation difficulties to the Principal Commissioner.

Combined corporate debt limit governs foreign investment in rupee denominated overseas bonds, with reporting and issuance criteria mandated.
Foreign investment in Rupee denominated bonds issued overseas by Indian corporates shall be reckoned against a Combined Corporate debt limit of INR 244,323 crore covering onshore and overseas corporate debt; such overseas Rupee investments will not be treated as FPI investments under SEBI FPI regulations, though other extant FPI terms for corporate debt apply, RBI will define issuance criteria, and depositories must receive and process periodic RBI data on these investments.

Indian Accounting Standards implementation requires AIFIs to prepare proforma Ind AS statements and disclose ECL methodologies for regulatory review.
Select All India Term Lending and Refinancing Institutions must adopt Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS) on the prescribed transition timeline for both standalone and consolidated financial statements; early adoption is prohibited. Boards must oversee implementation with a Steering Committee and quarterly Audit Committee reporting. AIFIs must prepare and submit proforma Ind AS financial statements and detailed reconciliations and disclosures to the Reserve Bank, including comprehensive Ind AS 109 expected credit loss methodologies, while assessing impacts on capital adequacy. Directions issued under Section 45L require strict compliance.

Digital recordkeeping requirement for duty free warehouses mandates SKU level electronic records, audit trails and integrated passenger sales reporting.
Licensees of Duty Free Shop special warehouses must maintain electronic records of receipt, handling, storage and removal of goods at SKU level using mandatory data elements in Form A, with software that provides a secure audit trail. Monthly returns of warehouse transactions are filed with the bond officer within ten days after month end (Form A); expiring warehousing periods require information in Form B. Sales to international passengers must be recorded digitally in Form C and integrated into warehouse records every 24 hours; bond officers shall escort removals to points of sale and supervise compliance.

Central excise duty on jewellery: clarified compliance measures and simplified eligibility, audit, export and procedural norms.
Six government circulars supplementing the imposition of Central Excise duty on jewellery set out simplified measures: rules for computing SSI exemption eligibility and limits for manufacturers/principal manufacturers; a desk-focused excise audit regime with moratoria and limits on physical stock verification; trade-friendly export procedures and return filing; acceptability of state VAT/private records and eased rules for trading, invoicing, job work and repairs; departmental thresholds for enforcement actions to protect trade; and guidance on taxability of stock as on 29 February 2016.