Mandatory goods description and item codes required in specified VAT returns; consolidated list published online for compliance.
The circular mandates standardized descriptions of goods and accompanying item codes for use in DVAT-30, DVAT-31 and DVAT return Form 16 and its annexures, requiring all registered dealers to adopt the department's consolidated list (including items not in existing schedules) published online after stakeholder consultation, and making such use compulsory for the applicable tax periods.

Discontinuation of reporting requirement: authorised dealer banks need not submit invocation reports for service-import bank guarantees but must retain records.
Authorised Dealer Category-I banks are directed to discontinue submitting reports of invocation of bank guarantees issued for service imports; they must, however, maintain records of such invocations and furnish details to the Reserve Bank when requested. The Master Direction on reporting under the Foreign Exchange Management Act will be updated to reflect this change, and the circular is issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Act.

Indirect tax dispute resolution: file declaration and pay tax, interest and reduced penalty to obtain disposal and immunity under the scheme.
The Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 permits appellants with matters pending before the Commissioner (Appeals) as on 1 March 2016 to file a declaration in Form I by 31 December 2016; acknowledgement suspends appellate proceedings for sixty days. The declarant must, within fifteen days of acknowledgement, pay tax, interest as provided by law, and a penalty equal to twenty five percent of the penalty in the impugned order and notify payment in Form 3. On proof of payment the designated authority shall issue a discharge in Form 4 and the Commissioner will remove the appeal from pendency; such discharge is conclusive for reopening but is not an order on merits and is non refundable.

Drawback claims processing: special administrative drive to remove irrelevant queries and resolve zero zero cases promptly.
Zones and Commissioners shall ensure timely disbursement of processable drawback claims, use the electronic BRC module to avoid routine bank realization certificates for covered exports, address EGM mismatches via Trade Facilitation Committees, and launch a focused drive (1-7-2016 to 30-9-2016) to (a) remove generalized or irrelevant queries from the query database and resolve those cases and (b) redress zero-zero drawback determinations where exporters have produced documents or replied to queries.

Suspension of ACU Euro operations permits Euro trade settlements outside ACU until further notice under FEMA directions.
The circular temporarily suspends ACU Euro operations while the Euro payment channel is reviewed; accordingly, eligible current account and trade transactions in Euro may be settled outside the ACU mechanism until further notice. Authorised Dealer Category I Banks must notify constituents. The direction is issued under FEMA and is without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

External Commercial Borrowings approval route: referrals to Empowered Committee, with RBI retaining final decision authority.
ECB proposals under the approval route above a prescribed referral threshold will be placed before an Empowered Committee for consideration, and the Reserve Bank will take a final decision after considering the Committee's recommendation; all other ECB policy aspects remain unchanged and the Master Direction will be updated.

Special Currency Basket value revised under FEMA, affecting deferred payment protocols and notified to authorized banks in June.
The circular notifies Authorized Dealer Category I banks of a revised rupee valuation of the Special Currency Basket to be used for settlements under the Deferred Payment Protocols with effect from a specified date in June 2016, directs banks to inform constituents, and states that the Directions are issued under FEMA sections 10(4) and 11(1) without prejudice to other statutory permissions.

Indian Customs EDI system (ICES 1.5) at Tuna Port enables electronic filing and automated processing of import/export declarations.
ICES 1.5 at Tuna Port implements end to end electronic filing and processing of import Bills of Entry and export Shipping Bills. It mandates registration of IE codes, Customs Brokers, Shipping Lines, DGFT licences and ICEGATE remote filing, prescribes digital signature use, service centre charges, and coding standards. Electronic submission and generation of a Bill/Shipping Bill number constitutes self assessment; the system performs automated validation, valuation, duty calculation, appraiser assignment, RMS risk routing, bond and licence debits, concurrent audit, and produces assessed copies and TR 6 challans for payment and out of charge.

Tax Declaration Scheme enables regularisation of undisclosed income with prescribed levy and limited statutory immunity.
The Income Declaration Scheme, 2016 permits taxpayers to declare past undisclosed income and regularise it by paying the prescribed tax, surcharge and penalty; TDS credit is allowed if not earlier claimed. Declarations will not be shared with other agencies and will not trigger departmental investigation where valid. Immunity is available only under the Income-tax Act, Wealth-tax Act and, subject to transfer by a specified date, the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act. Fair market value for immovable property is the higher of acquisition cost and open-market price as on 1 June 2016; declared rents must be reported where property was let.

Indirect tax dispute resolution: declaration with designated authority suspends appeal and prescribes deposit and discharge procedure.
The Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2016 allows a party who was in appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) on 1 March 2016 to file a declaration with a Designated Authority. The rules prescribe Forms 1-4: Form 1 for declaration; Form 2 for acknowledgement that suspends appeal proceedings for sixty days; Form 3 to report deposits to be made within a fortnight and reported within seven days; and Form 4 for the Designated Authority's discharge order. On matching Form 4, the Commissioner removes the appeal as disposed without deciding the substantive issues, yielding no binding precedent.

Bank eligibility change: requirement amended to scheduled commercial bank for shipping agent registration documents.
Amendment replaces the requirement of nationalised bank with scheduled commercial bank for Fixed Deposit and solvency certificates submitted for registration and renewal of Shipping Agents/Steamer Agents, as specified in Para 3A(v), 3A(vi) and Para 3B(i) of Public Notice No. 05/2016; trade is invited to report any difficulties.

Integrated Declaration determines ADC referral; declared end use and product grade govern single window clearance procedures.
SWIFT clearance procedures reduce routine ADC referrals by using a published PEC list for tariff mapped chemical items and by exempting dual use items or excipients from ADC NOC when declared in the Integrated Declaration as not pharmaceutical grade, free of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients, and not intended for human or veterinary medicinal use. Sampling will be risk based, repeat sampling of an already tested batch for NOC is avoided, digitally signed declarations within the Integrated Declaration replace hardcopy guarantees, and ADC routing is limited to notified ports with IT upgrades to enable necessary data access.

Bonded warehouse licensing requires a prescribed application, 30-day processing, centralized verification, and licences valid until surrender.
Prescribes a standardized Form for new bonded warehouse licences requiring corporate, site, security, financial and goods details and specified declarations; bond officers must inspect and report within 15 days and Principal Commissioner/Commissioner decide within the next 15 days, completing licensing within 30 days. Centralized antecedent verification to DRI/DGCEI is to be used and post-verification permitted for certain declarations. Licences remain valid until surrender or cancellation with annual submission of insurance and solvency evidence required.

Solvency certificate requirement: bank solvency must match maximum duty exposure for private warehouse licensing, with specified exemptions.
Applicants for private bonded warehouse licences must furnish a solvency certificate from a scheduled bank equal to the maximum customs duty exposure on goods stored; applicants must indicate that maximum duty when applying, and Principal Commissioners/Commissioners of Customs will require a solvency certificate matching that amount. Exemptions apply to Central/State/UT administrations and undertakings, EOU/EHTP/STPI units under Foreign Trade Policy rules, and AEO/ACP holders governed by their circulars.

Ex-bond bill of entry filing now mandated on ICES, with import station assessment and ICEGATE verification before warehouse clearance.
Section 68 clearance requires filing the ex-bond bill of entry on ICES and assessment by the customs station of import. The importer must present the assessed bill and the proper officer's clearance order to the warehouse bond officer, who shall verify particulars via ICEGATE and permit removal by affixing a dated signature. On any mismatch, the bond officer shall withhold removal and inform the Deputy or Assistant Commissioner to resolve the issue with the customs station of import.

Security under section 59(3) Customs Act: exemptions, transit insurance and staged bank guarantee requirements for warehoused imports.
Security under section 59(3) requires an importer who executes a warehousing bond to furnish security; specified public bodies, power and project imports, petroleum, shipbuilding inputs, manufacture-in-bond units, diplomatic and duty free consignments, and ship/airline stores are exempt. Transit requires comprehensive transit risk insurance in favour of the President of India, subject to narrow operational exceptions. For storage, no security is needed for the first year, with progressive bank guarantee requirements for extensions; sensitive goods attract higher guarantees and private bonded warehouse storage requires a bank guarantee equivalent to duty at import.

Licensing of Special Warehouses: transitional license requirement for warehouses storing duty free, ship, airline and diplomatic stores.
Section 58A mandates licensing of Special Warehouses for goods destined for duty free shops, ship stores, airline stores and diplomatic stores, with the Board specifying eligible end uses and issuing related licensing and custody regulations. Existing warehouses may operate under Customs lock during the transitional period but must apply for Section 58A licences within the prescribed application window; Commissioners will streamline processing for existing licensees and licences must be obtained to continue storage beyond the transition. Duty free shops in customs areas are point-of-sale, not warehouses.

Bond requirement for warehousing: importers must execute triple duty bonds covering movement and accounting of goods.
Importers must execute a triple duty bond at the customs station of import for goods deposited in a warehouse; the bond remains valid until goods are cleared for home consumption or export and covers movement from import station to warehouse, inter-warehouse transfers, and proper accounting while stored. The prescribed bond formats, finalized with the Ministry of Law & Justice, supersede earlier bond formats and are to be followed as per the Board circular.

One-time-lock requirement for removal of goods to warehouse: affix serially numbered seal and record details to ensure custody.
Removal of goods from a customs station to a warehouse requires affixation of a one-time-lock (serially numbered bottle seal) by the proper officer, with the OTL number and date/time endorsed on the bill of entry and transport document; customs stations must record the OTL number, bill of entry, truck/container number, date/time and officer details, and warehouse or bond officers must inspect seals and permit unloading only if intact.

Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme permits declarants to halt appeals by declaring liabilities and paying prescribed tax, interest and penalty.
The Indirect Tax Dispute Resolution Scheme allows declarants with specified pending appeals to file a declaration in prescribed form with the Designated Authority, whose acknowledgement stays appellate proceedings. Declarants must pay tax, interest and a prescribed penalty, report payments in the prescribed form, and upon proof of payment the Designated Authority must issue a discharge order in the prescribed form. The scheme excludes matters arising from search and seizure, pre scheme prosecutions, narcotics or prohibited goods, specified criminal offences, and certain detention orders.