Public Grievance Committee constituted for the Commissionerate with nominated members, two year term, and quarterly meetings.
Constitution of a Public Grievance Committee for 2015-16 and 2016-17 names the Principal Commissioner as ex officio Chairperson and the Additional/Joint Commissioner as Secretary, fixes a two year term, limits meeting attendance to nominated members (with provision for special invitees), restricts representation from one association to one of two nominees, and prescribes ordinary quarterly meetings with advance notification; an annexure lists members and trade interests.

Authorisation to appear before appellate tribunal; corrigendum deletes text following clause a in prior instruction
Authorisation for officers of the Zone to appear before the appellate tribunal is modified by a corrigendum which directs that the subsequent text in paragraph 2 after clause (a) of the prior instruction is deleted, altering the prior procedural direction on representation before the tribunal and requiring dissemination to relevant commissioners and directorates.

Withdrawal of appeals under higher court precedent accepted by the Department directs departmental committees to seek withdrawal and report progress.
Instruction requires zonal Committees of Principal Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners to review appeals in High Courts and the Appellate Tribunal and, where appeals are covered by an accepted higher court precedent, direct Commissioners to apply for withdrawal; exclusions apply where multiple issues exist or substantial questions of law remain undecided. Monthly reports on reviews and withdrawals must be submitted to the Board and the instruction is effective immediately.

Audit lapse accountability: officers must face responsibility and disciplinary action for failures to detect or act on audit objections.
The Ministry directs that officers responsible for serious lapses in furnishing remedial Action Taken Notes must be identified and subject to disciplinary action; internal auditors must follow the Audit Manual and assessing officers must adhere to Ministry and DG(System) instructions in scrutiny of Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills. Jurisdictional Commissioners must examine audit objections when submitting ATNs and, where serious lapses are found, fix responsibility and initiate action under CCS(CCA) conduct rules.

Extension of return filing deadline for Central Excise forms for Puducherry assessees following natural calamity, permitting delayed submissions.
The Board, invoking sub rule (6) of rule 12 and the proviso to sub rule (3) of rule 17 of the Central Excise Rules, 2002, extended submission deadlines for Forms ER 1, ER 2, ER 6 (monthly clearance returns) and ER 4 (Annual Financial Information Statement) for assessees in the Union Territory of Puducherry (excluding Yanam and Mahe) as procedural relief due to rains and floods.

Link officer arrangement ensures impartial review committee membership and resolves jurisdictional conflicts in administrative tax reviews
The Board extended the existing Link Officer arrangement to Review Committees considering appeals under the provisos to Section 35B(2), Section 86(2A) and Section 129A(2), to mitigate jurisdictional conflicts where Principal Commissioners holding charge as Chief Commissioners also serve as committee members due to unavailability of Commissioners.

Monetary limits for government appeals restrict departmental filing of appeals below prescribed appellate thresholds.
The Board prescribes monetary limits below which the Department shall not file appeals at successive appellate forums to reduce government litigation. It fixes separate thresholds for appeals to the appellate tribunal, higher courts and the apex court. The instruction, issued under the statutory delegation applicable to excise, service tax and customs, partially modifies the earlier instruction by adding a sub clause allowing appeals on classification and refund issues that are of legal and/or recurring nature; all other terms of the prior instruction remain.

Designation of income-tax authority for declarations under the Black Money Act appoints an officer to receive overseas asset disclosures.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes, exercising powers under the Income-tax Act and the Black Money Act, designates Shri Rahul Navin, CIT (TP)-1, New Delhi, as the designated income-tax authority for receiving and handling declarations of undisclosed foreign income and assets under the Act, effective from 18th December, 2015 until further orders.

Rescission of border trade notices ends the special Indo Myanmar tradable items regime and restores normal cross border trade.
Rescission withdraws the prior notified special list of tradable items for Indo-Myanmar border trade at Moreh and rescinds all prior Public Notices on Indo-Myanmar border trade, effectuating transition from the special border-trade framework to normal cross-border trade under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy.

Standard Input Output Norms amended: specified import quantity added for rubber product exports alongside existing value limit.
Amendment to Standard Input Output Norms A1663 replaces the 'NIL' entry for Miscellaneous Chemicals at S. No. 10 with a prescribed import quantity of 6.6425 Kg for inputs used in exporting All Types Steel Truck Radial Tyres (Tube Type) per 100 kgs, and specifies that this quantified import requirement applies in addition to the value-wise limit already prescribed in General Notes S. No. 8.

Government-supported line of credit requires majority Indian content and prescribes shipment declarations, disbursement timelines, and commission rules.
Government-supported Line of Credit finances eligible goods, machinery, equipment and services for a power project, requiring suppliers to source a majority of contract value from India while permitting limited external procurement for non-consultancy items. The agreement fixes effective and disbursement timelines with separate windows for project exports and other supplies. Shipments must be declared on prescribed EDF/SDF forms. Agency commission is not payable under the LOC, though exporters may use their own funds or Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency Account balances for commissions subject to AD Category I bank approval and prevailing remittance instructions. Directions derive from foreign exchange statutory powers.

Line of Credit for project financing requires majority of contract value be sourced from India and EDF/SDF declarations.
Exim Bank's Government of India supported Line of Credit to the Democratic Republic of Congo for a Bandundu Province power distribution project is effective from November 27, 2015. Under the LOC, goods, machinery, equipment and services eligible under India's Foreign Trade Policy must be supplied so that at least 75% of the contract price is sourced from India while the remaining 25% (other than consultancy services) may be procured from outside India. Shipments must be declared on EDF/SDF forms and AD Category I banks shall apply prevailing rules on agency commission remittances.

Line of Credit requires majority sourcing from India and EDF/SDF declaration for export finance compliance.
A Government-supported Line of Credit from Exim Bank to Fiji Sugar Corporation finances eligible exports for sugar industry upgradation, requiring at least 75% of contract value of goods and services to be supplied from India and allowing up to 25% non consultancy inputs from abroad. Shipments must be declared on EDF/SDF forms; no agency commission is payable under the LOC but exporters may use their own funds or EEFC balances to pay commission subject to realisation and AD bank compliance. Directions issued under FEMA.

Employer contributions to employee welfare funds deductible if deposited by the return-filing due date, limiting disallowances.
Employer contributions to provident, superannuation, gratuity or other employee welfare funds are deductible if deposited on or before the due date for furnishing the return of income; the judicially recognized retrospective application of the payment-basis regime treats such contributions like tax or cess payments for this purpose, and departmental officers are directed not to disallow or to withdraw appeals based solely on post-due deposit. This circular excludes employee contributions governed by a separate deduction provision.

Indirect Tax Ombudsman complaints process enables conciliation or binding awards, streamlining grievance resolution for taxpayers.
The Indirect Tax Ombudsman at Lucknow, covering four states, accepts complaints after departmental representation is made and unresolved within one month or rejected; grounds include delays in refunds, adjudication, registration, enforcement of appellate orders, release of seized assets, procedural non-compliance, and misconduct. The Ombudsman may settle disputes by conciliation/mediation or issue a binding speaking award under prescribed conditions; proceedings are summary and not bound by formal rules of evidence. Complaints must be written or filed electronically (with a signed printout) and include facts and relief sought; confidentiality is maintained except as needed for fair process.

Look Out Circular procedures centralized, requiring designated agencies to route LOC requests and maintain real time databases.
Issuance of Look Out Circulars is centralized: LOC requests for Customs Act contraventions must be routed through DRI (Headquarters) and requests for cognizable offences under the Central Excise Act and service tax provisions through DGCEI. DRI and DGCEI shall maintain and update a reliable real time database of all LOC requests and issuances. An operational exception permits immediate short duration LOCs at airports on specific intelligence. The instruction recalls MHA guidelines that LOCs may be used in cognizable offences where an accused is evading arrest and that searches or interrogations may occur in non cognizable matters without detention.

Fixing responsibility for audit lapses: officers must follow Audit Manual and face disciplinary action where serious failures occur.
A directive requires strict adherence to the Audit Manual 2015 and existing scrutiny instructions for returns, and mandates that Jurisdictional Commissioners review audit objections when preparing Action Taken Notes; where serious lapses or noncompliance with instructions are found, Commissioners must initiate proceedings to fix responsibility and take disciplinary action under the CCS (CCA) conduct rules, with all field formations being sensitised to these requirements.

Laboratory enlistment procedure expanded: applications for laboratory authorisation now processed under applicable FTP enlistment provisions.
Amendment revises paragraph 4.76 so that, based on an Inspection Report and recommendations, a concerned laboratory may be considered for inclusion in either paragraph 4.42 or 4.43 of the Foreign Trade Policy. Consequently, paragraph 4.76 will cover the procedure for processing applications for enlistment or authorisation of laboratories stated in paragraph 4.42 of the Foreign Trade Policy.

Sample testing validity for imported crude oil: prior accredited reports may replace consignment sampling under conditions.
Conditional acceptance of a test report for a particular crude type as valid for six months where supplier is same, provided each consignment has an accredited country-of-loading test report confirmed by CRCL at first import, and the importer files an in-house accredited laboratory report within 15 days of Bill of Entry, subject to up to five random samplings and customs' power to sample on doubt or intelligence.

Average Export Obligation relief where sector exports decline, obliging regional authorities to re fix EPCG authorisation obligations.
Para 5.19 of HBP (FTP 2015 20) allows re fixation of Annual Average Export Obligation where sector/product exports decline by more than five percent; Regional Authorities must re fix EO for EPCG authorisations for 2014 15, endorse reductions in licence files and amendment sheets, and apply prior policy circulars (under Para 5.11.2 HBP 2009 14) when considering discharge or shortfall before issuing demand notices, including this stipulation in the EODC check sheet.