Extension of import/export permission for terminal operations maintained under existing customs scheme conditions and notifications.
Extension of permission is granted to permit continued import and export of permissible goods through Adani Kandla Bulk Terminal Pvt. Ltd. for a further period of one year, maintaining the same conditions and provisions as Public Notice 26/2015, and applying to operations under the EPCG Scheme, Advance Authorisation Scheme and Duty Free Import Authorisation Scheme as per Notifications No.16/2015, No.18/2015 and No.19/2015.

Advance filing of Bill of Entry mandatory for LCL cargo; permits amendments with shipping line penalties and enhanced facilitation.
Advance filing obligations are extended to LCL cargo by mandating Advance filing of Bills of Entry in the ICES system effective 01.01.2017 to reduce clearance delays and dwell time. Amendments to IGMs/documents are already streamlined and amendments to Advance/Prior Bills of Entry will be processed within two hours upon proper submission. Errors by Shipping Lines may attract penalties recoverable from the Shipping Line, while importers will not be penalised or have consignments withheld for non payment. Advance/Prior Bills of Entry will receive enhanced facilitation.

Import restriction on non-prime CRGO: SEZ units must import only prime CRGO for DTA clearance.
SEZ units are directed to import only prime CRGO Steel for goods to be cleared to the domestic tariff area, and must comply with all conditions of the Steel Products (Quality Control) Second Order in respect of such goods; Development Commissioners are to ensure compliance.

Direct Port Delivery extended to main importers to reduce dwell time and trade costs under existing procedural conditions.
Extension of Direct Port Delivery permission to specified main importers at Nhava Sheva is announced to reduce dwell time and costs; the facility previously available to ACP/AEO clients and 100% EOUs will be extended to importers listed in Annexure A. All operational conditions and compliance requirements of Public Notice No. 161/2016 remain applicable to these importers, and stakeholders are invited to report implementation difficulties to the Commissioner.

National security clearance requirement: SEZ proposals must state need and include company/director self-declaration before approval.
National security clearance from the Ministry of Home Affairs must be assessed and obtained before formal approval for new SEZs. Proposals must be checked for country sensitivity and geographical sensitivity-including sites within fifty kilometres of LoC/LAC/international borders and proximity to nuclear, space, defence or Official Secrets Act installations-and must indicate whether MHA clearance is required. Proposals needing clearance must include a prescribed company and director(s) self-declaration detailing registration, owners/promoters/directors and any preventive detention or criminal proceedings with specified particulars.

Taxpayer information sharing: CBDT directs specified authority to provide high income individual data to ministry under section 138.
Direction under section 138(1)(a) designates the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) as the specified authority to furnish individual high-income taxpayer information to the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, requiring transmission of PAN, date of birth, gender, all addresses in the ITD database, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers. The authority must execute a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ministry detailing mode of data transfer, confidentiality safeguards, secure preservation, data weeding procedures, and timelines, and must forward a copy of the MoU to the CBDT division for records.

Public issue guidelines for REITs impose detailed procedural, disclosure and post-issue compliance obligations for issuers and merchant bankers.
The guidelines establish a detailed framework for the public issue of REIT units, mandating appointment of a lead merchant banker and intermediaries, sequential filing of draft, offer and final offer documents with public hosting and Board observation timelines, prescribed due diligence certifications at multiple stages, allocation rules including anchor investor provisions and lock-in, pricing and book-building procedures with pre-announcements and final cut-off allotment, electronic bidding and ASBA requirements, strict public communication controls, post-issue reporting and lock-in compliance, and continuing merchant banker obligations and record maintenance.

Master Circular consolidates SEBI guidance for stock exchanges and clearing corporations and supersedes the earlier compilation.
Master Circular consolidates SEBI circulars, directions and communications for stock exchanges and clearing corporations issued up to March 31, 2016, superseding the prior master circular of May 26, 2015. It centralises guidance across operational domains-trading, technology, settlement, risk management, derivatives, exchange administration and depository connectivity-to assist compliance and supervisory oversight.

Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures applicability requires systemically important commodity exchanges to comply until clearing is transferred.
Commodity derivatives exchanges that provide in-house clearing and settlement and meet the specified turnover threshold are designated as systemically important FMIs and must comply with the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures applicable to central counterparties until their clearing and settlement functions are transferred to recognised clearing corporations; SEBI may grant transitional timelines and review the quantitative criteria.

Remand Report functionality in ITBA Appeal module lets CIT(A) request, track and close AO remand reports efficiently.
The ITBA Appeal module implements a Remand Report workflow permitting CIT(A) to request remand reports from jurisdictional AOs, which prepare, generate and submit reports for Range Head endorsement; Range Head may forward or send back for modification, after which CIT(A) views, records action taken and closes the remand workitem. The system creates workitems and pendency markers, does not block appeal disposal if remand is delayed, and includes MIS/dashboard integration.

Exchange facility for foreign citizens extended; authorised persons to continue limited weekly currency exchanges under FEMA directions.
Authorization permitting foreign citizens to convert foreign currency into Indian currency notes for limited weekly amounts is extended through December 31, 2016; Authorized Persons may continue exchanges within the previously prescribed weekly ceiling and must inform their constituents. The directions are issued under statutory powers and are stated to be without prejudice to other permissions or approvals required under any other law.

Master Circular for Depositories: consolidates KYC, BSDA, DIS, CAS, cybersecurity and FMIs operational requirements.
Prescribes SEBI's consolidated operational requirements for depositories, DPs and BO accounts: PAN as primary identifier; accepted PoI/PoA list; voluntary Aadhaar e KYC with biometric/OTP flows; SARAL simplified account opening; BSDA eligibility, charge caps and statement/SMS rules; standardized DIS issuance, serialisation, scanning and validation; timelines for T+2 activities, transmission and ISIN activation; annual system audits, BCP/DR standards and board approved cyber security and resilience framework; central DN database and Consolidated Account Statement implementation.

Pre Shipment Inspection recognition: seven agencies added to Appendix 2G authorising issuance of PSICs under HBP provisions.
Seven foreign inspection agencies are included in Appendix 2G as recognized Pre Shipment Inspection Agencies authorised to issue Pre Shipment Inspection Certificates under the Handbook provision governing PSIA recognition. Inclusion takes immediate effect for a fixed statutory term from the notice date and is subject to documentary and procedural conditions. An annexure lists approved spectrometers and survey meters for each agency with calibration, purchase invoice and photographic evidence recorded to confirm technical compliance for PSIC issuance.

Let Export Order requirement: customs clearance must precede terminal entry, with document processing prioritised for reefers and perishables.
A Standard Operating Procedure mandates issuance of a Let Export Order before export containers enter port terminals, with documentation to be completed at a new Document Processing Area in the Parking Plaza. This replaces checklist based gate approvals, reduces duplicate submissions, aligns Customs processing with Gate Automation and RFID systems, directs factory stuffed and self sealed containers away from Buffer Yard to the Document Processing Area or designated CFSs, and prioritises out of turn processing for refrigerated and perishable consignments marked on shipping bills.

Export warehousing extension: Ahmedabad district added as an authorised location for storage of excisable goods for export.
The Board amended paragraph 2(2) of Circular No. 581/18/2001-CX to include the district of Ahmedabad in Gujarat among places where warehouses may be established and registered for storage of excisable goods for the purpose of export. Field formations are directed to inform stakeholders and acknowledge receipt so that Ahmedabad is treated as an authorised location for export warehousing under the Central Excise Rules, 2002.

GST migration credentials issued: complete provisional pre registration with OTP verification and document upload to activate GST registration.
Provision of provisional login credentials to VAT-registered dealers for pre registration on the GST Portal, requiring entry of the provided username and password, Mobile Number and Email of the Authorized Signatory, OTP verification sent separately to mobile and email, and upload of required information and scanned annexures; submissions are subject to verification under the Proposed Model Goods and Services Tax Act and misleading information may lead to cancellation.

Grievance Management enhancements streamline officer workflows and enable electronic resolution, automated email dispatch and external systems integration.
Enhancements to the e Nivaran module add supervisory visibility via an improved Control Register with Case History/Notings, export capability and enhanced search; worklist and work item upgrades allowing in item updates to category, status and resolution remarks; automatic removal of resolved items when resolution letters are generated and automated email dispatch to taxpayers; system checks to assist processing; integration with CPC TDS and NSDL for transfers; planned future integrations with UTITSL, Refund Banker and CP GRAMS; and a requirement to scan and upload grievance documents, with helpdesk support available.

Deletion of Kuth Root from MEIS schedule removes its ITC-HS entry and takes immediate effect under Foreign Trade Policy.
The Director General of Foreign Trade has deleted Kuth Root (ITC-HS Code 12119046) from Appendix 3B of the MEIS schedule (Sl. No. 506) under powers conferred by the Foreign Trade Policy; the deletion is effective immediately and the specified entry no longer appears in Appendix 3B for MEIS purposes.

GST Council approved model law sections with changes on input-credit reversal, refunds, record-keeping, provisional assessment, and arrest thresholds.
The Council adopted amendments to earlier minutes and approved Sections 47-99 of the draft Model GST law subject to specified changes: replace 'Tax Return Preparer' with 'GST Practitioner'; reduce unjust-enrichment self-certification refund threshold to Rs. 2 lakh or Council-determined amount; apply a six-month payment rule for reversal of input tax credit to goods and services; expand record-keeping to include transporters and godown operators; increase retention of accounts to six years; clarify aggregators as electronic commerce operators for TCS; limit Commissioner's provisional-assessment extension to four years; delete CAG information-power provision; increase appellate pre-deposit to 20%; and redraft arrest provisions with specified monetary thresholds and safeguards.

Prosecution for TDS/TCS defaults: CIT(TDS) sanction and TRACES based Form T filing required within prescribed timelines.
SOP mandates submission of prosecution proposals for TDS/TCS defaults in the prescribed Form 'T' with prior sanction from CIT(TDS). AOs must issue TRACES-generated show cause notices, collect and preserve specified prosecution documents, reconcile contested defaults, and forward complete proposals through the Range Head. CIT(TDS) examines material and explanations, may seek counsel opinion, issues speaking orders granting or dropping sanction, and entries at each stage must be recorded on TRACES; compounding applications may be processed while prosecution proposals remain pending.