Time-barring under section 143: centralised lists provided for identifying pending assessments and ensuring completion on the system.
Directorate extracted AST data to identify cases pending scrutiny and processing that are approaching time bar and placed detailed lists on itaxnet and ITD/AST MIS Reports. Supervisors and Assessing Officers are instructed to use these centralised lists to ensure assessments are completed on the system, upload order details to correct discrepancies, and lodge Helpdesk complaints for system issues so that AST/ITBA reflects the accurate position.

Benchmark-based lending: internal MCLR and Base Rate frameworks require banks to price loans by benchmark plus spread.
Banks must adopt a Board approved interest rate policy and price rupee advances (subject to specified exemptions) by reference to an internal or external benchmark plus a bank defined spread. The internal benchmarks are the Base Rate and the Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate (MCLR), the latter comprising marginal cost of funds, negative carry on CRR, operating costs and a tenor premium; MCLR is tenor linked and published at specified maturities, reviewed monthly (or quarterly where permitted), and governs reset mechanics of floating rate loans.

Interest Rate Regulation: banks must follow board approved, uniform, transparent deposit interest policies with benchmark linkage.
These Directions require scheduled commercial banks to adopt board approved, publicly disclosed and uniform interest rate policies for domestic and specified non resident deposit accounts, mandate non negotiability and transparency of rates, prescribe interest calculation conventions (including daily product for savings and benchmark linkage for floating term deposits), set rules for tenor and size based rate differentiation, govern premature withdrawal interest and penalty disclosure, allow limited additional interest schemes for staff and senior citizens, regulate conversion and treatment of non resident deposits on return to India, and prohibit incentive based deposit mobilisation except narrow permitted exceptions.

EDF waiver for free-of-cost exports: status holders' entitlement now capped by revised annual limit, banks to consider requests.
Status Holders' entitlement to export freely exportable items free of cost for export promotion is limited by an annual monetary cap and a percentage based cap on average annual export realization, with the revised rule applying the lower of the two limits; AD Category I banks may consider requests for EDF waiver from Status Holder exporters under this revised norm, and banks should inform constituents of the change under FEMA authority.

Public grievance mobile app enables lodging, reminders and tracking of complaints on CPGRAMS via Android smartphones.
A mobile application for the CPGRAMS portal is available for Android devices via the portal QR code or link; after installation users can lodge grievances, send reminders or clarifications, and track the status of redressal directly from their smartphones.

Custom Broker Licence renewal requires prescribed documentation, timely submission and formal payment before endorsement.
Renewal under Reg.9(2) of CBLR, 2013 requires application at least 90 days before licence expiry, with supporting documents: licence copy; list of approved employees and identity card expiries; PAN of proprietor/firm; association membership; three-year filing and duty/export data; details of suspensions, inquiries, fines, show cause notices; and security particulars. A declaration must confirm no change in constitution/address, no government dues, maintenance of accounts and KYC, and surrender of invalid employee ID cards. Processing is targeted within 30 working days after a complete application; approved renewals are posted publicly. On intimation, the broker must pay the renewal fee via TR-6 challan and submit the endorsed receipt for endorsement of renewal.

Infrastructure cess implementation restores Bill of Entry filing with system entries enabling exemption claims under the budget amendment.
ICES 1.5 has been updated to incorporate Budget changes and is available for filing Bills of Entry; the system implements a new Infrastructure Cess automatically on goods under CTH 8703, while eligible importers may claim exemption under Notification 001/2016 by following specified Service Center or RES entry procedures (marking duties, selecting notification and serial number, or populating SBEDUTY with Notification No., Sl. No., Duty type 'E' and Addl. Duty Flag 'I').

Finalization of Provisionally Assessed Bills of Entry: ICES module mandates e-payment integration for differential duty and bond closure.
Finalisation of Provisionally Assessed Bills of Entry in ICES 1.5 requires importers/brokers to obtain finalisation from the Assessing Officer who forwards the BE to Group AC/DC; specific system roles handle these steps. If finalisation increases duty, the system issues a challan with calculated duty and interest, sends the duty message to banks via ICEGATE for e-payment, and upon payment integration allows bond credit/closure. If duty is unchanged or reduced, bond credit/closure may follow directly and refund procedures remain unchanged. Finally assessed BE copies are generated in Customs and Importer sets.

Central Excise registration requirement for EOUs procuring from or supplying to domestic market and mandatory ER 2 monthly returns.
EOUs (including STP, EHTP and BTP units) must obtain Central Excise registration when procuring excisable goods from the Domestic Tariff Area or removing excisable goods to the Domestic Tariff Area, in addition to any Private Bonded licence. These units must file the ER 2 monthly return within ten days of month end, reporting manufacture of excisable goods, duty free inputs and capital goods (indigenous or imported), quantities cleared, and inter unit transfers.

Shipping agency registration: documentary, bank security and guarantee bond conditions set; renewals required every three years.
Registration and renewal of Steamer Agents/Shipping Agency at Tuticorin require Annexure A application, firm registration documents, notarized power of attorney, banker particulars and confirmation, local office lease, three years of income tax and service tax returns, appointment letter from principal, copies of other port registrations, names and PANs of authorised signatories, and provision of a Fixed Deposit Receipt and Solvency Certificate as security plus execution of a Standard Guarantee bond under Sec.41, 42 & 97(2) of the Customs Act, 1962. Initial registration is valid for three years; renewals require existing FDR, solvency certificate and fresh bond filed at least one month before expiry.

PAN allotment in arrear demand cases: routed procedure requiring AO certification and RCC forwarding to PAN service provider.
PAN allotment in arrear demand cases will be facilitated through the PAN service provider on receipt of AO-submitted PAN application forms with certification that the assessee has not obtained PAN and that arrear demand has been recovered. Applications must include status, sex and AO code, the AO's official address, and be routed via JCIT/Addl. CIT, CIT/PCIT and the RCC, which will scrutinize and forward complete applications with contact details to the Directorate for PAN allotment. Direct requests to the Directorate from field formations will not be processed.

Timely bond cancellation required: exporters must provide EODC and export documents to enable bond and guarantee release.
Timely cancellation of bonds and bank guarantees in advance authorization and EPCG licence cases requires exporters to submit evidence of export obligation-principally the EODC issued by DGFT with supporting shipping bills and BRCs-before licence expiry so Customs can initiate cancellation and return of guarantees; bonds may be closed only after receipt of the EODC and exporters must approach DGFT in advance for redemption certificates.

Selection of Special Public Prosecutors: transparent committee-based appointments, fixed initial term, and mandated annual performance appraisal.
Procedure prescribes a zonal needs assessment by Chief Commissioners, public notice-based recruitment of advocates meeting CrPC eligibility, and evaluation by a three-member Committee (concerned Commissioner, a Commissioner nominated by the Chief Commissioner, and the Zonal Addl. Director General of Revenue/Excise Intelligence). Initial engagement is normally 18 months with renewal after a 12-month appraisal; recommendations and consolidated proposals are forwarded to the Board for appointment/extension. Annual performance appraisals and equitable workload distribution are mandated, and existing terms on fees remain until further revision.

Stay of tax demand: prescribed lump sum payment allows stay pending first appeal; exceptions permit higher or lower pre deposits.
Default rule: where a demand is disputed before the first appellate authority, the assessing officer shall grant stay of demand until disposal of the first appeal upon payment of 15% of the disputed demand. If the assessing officer considers the nature of the addition warrants a different lump sum, the matter must be referred to the administrative Pr. CIT/CIT to determine the quantum. An assessee dissatisfied with the assessing officer's decision may seek review by the jurisdictional Pr. CIT/CIT.

Promotion of digital payments: incentivising card and electronic transactions while mandating cashless collections and stronger consumer protections.
Guidelines promoting non cash payments mandate strengthening acceptance infrastructure, rationalising Merchant Discount Rate and authentication rules, introducing tiered KYC and identity based eKYC, equipping government collection points with POS/mobile POS and a unified payments portal, mandating digital/cashless payments beyond set thresholds, and implementing consumer protection, fraud assurance and awareness measures to incentivise migration from cash to digital transactions.

Krishi Kalyan Cess introduced on taxable services, altering credit and compliance obligations for service providers and recipients.
Krishi Kalyan Cess is proposed to be levied on taxable services with effect from 1 June 2016 and input service credit of the cess may be used to discharge the cess on output services. The Finance Bill, 2016 amends Chapter V of the Finance Act to omit certain Negative List entries (notably stage carriage and specified international carriage), relocates specified educational exemptions into the general exemption notification, declares assignment and transfers of radio frequency spectrum as a declared service, and strengthens rule making powers for Point of Taxation. Significant revisions to Cenvat Credit Rules simplify reversal mechanics, broaden capital goods and input definitions, allow certain shipping and spectrum credit treatments, and provide distribution and warehouse mechanisms for input service credit.

Excise and customs rate changes introduce optional brand based levies on garments and jewellery and new vehicle and environment cesses.
Specified Finance Bill, 2016 proposals are implemented immediately for many items by notifications and provisional declaration, altering customs and central excise rates, creating an optional brand based excise levy on readymade garments (2% without CENVAT / 12.5% with CENVAT on branded RSP threshold goods with tariff value increased to 60%) and an optional jewellery levy (1% without CENVAT / 12.5% with CENVAT) with revised SSI thresholds and simplified registration; numerous targeted BCD, export duty and concessional exemptions or restrictions are introduced across multiple chapters, and legislative and rule changes revise warehousing, limitation periods, CENVAT credit use, RSP assessment and administrative procedures.

Customs and Excise duty changes introduce immediate tariff revisions, new optional levies on garments and jewellery, and procedural simplifications.
Finance Bill, 2016 notifications effective 1 March 2016 and provisional declarations introduce immediate Customs and Central Excise duty changes, targeted exemptions subject to actual user conditions, and procedural simplifications. Central Excise adds optional RSP linked levies on branded readymade garments (2% without CENVAT or 12.5% with CENVAT) and on specified articles of jewellery (1% without CENVAT or 12.5% with CENVAT) with revised tariff value, SSI thresholds and simplified registration/return rules. Customs changes rationalise BCD/CVD/SAD across many chapters, amend export duties, and prescribe industry specific exemptions and conditional concessions.

Characterisation of share sale proceeds: capital gain or business income depends on holding and taxpayer election.
For listed shares and securities, where an assessee elects to treat holdings as stock-in-trade, transfers will be treated as business income regardless of holding period; where such listed shares and securities are held for more than twelve months and the assessee elects capital treatment, the Assessing Officer shall accept capital gains and the election must be consistently applied in subsequent years. Other cases remain fact-specific under existing CBDT guidance, and transactions of questionable genuineness are excluded.

Tax Deduction at Source clarifies media payments to advertising agencies for booking ads are not subject to TDS.
Relying on judicial decisions that the media-agency relationship is principal to principal, the Board clarifies that amounts retained by advertising agencies for booking, procuring or canvassing advertisements do not attract TDS as commission; the Circular further distinguishes such media booking margins from commissions payable for engagement of models, artists and similar services.