Voluntary disclosure scheme requires specified tax, surcharge, penalty and a locked deposit to regularise undisclosed income.
The circular explains a voluntary disclosure scheme permitting declaration of undisclosed cash or bank/post office account income chargeable to tax up to assessment years commencing on or before 1 April 2017. No deductions or set-offs are allowed against declared income. Declared taxpayers must pay tax at thirty per cent, a surcharge called Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Cess calculated at thirty-three per cent of that tax, penalty at ten per cent, and deposit at least twenty-five per cent into the PMGKY Deposit Scheme (no interest, four-year lock-in); payments and deposit must accompany the declaration.

Foreign Portfolio Investor access to non-convertible debentures permitted; direct transactions allowed under FEMA regulatory framework.
Eligible overseas investors may acquire non-convertible debentures/bonds either directly or in accordance with prevailing market practice on a repatriation basis, subject to existing regulatory terms and any specifications issued by the financial regulator and securities regulator. Category I authorised dealers must inform constituents, and the directions are issued under the foreign exchange statute without prejudice to other required permissions.

Empanelment of chartered engineers for valuation of imported second-hand machinery; advisory reports, one-year panel, applicant certification required.
Empanelment of Chartered Engineers for valuation of imported second-hand machinery and equipment requires affiliation to the Institution of Engineers (India), documented specialization and experience, submission of supporting certificates, and adherence to CBEC Circular No. 25/2015; empanelled engineers provide advisory certificates, bear service charges by importers, serve on a one-year reviewable panel, must submit periodic self-appraisals, and face removal or penalties for false information.

Disclosure of financial information requires REITs to include audited historical financials, interim updates, projections, NDCF and auditor certification.
Offer documents must present audited REIT financials for the last three completed years and, if required, interim statements not older than six months, prepared under Indian Accounting Standards and including balance sheet, profit and loss/income and expenditure, changes in unit holders' equity, cash flows, net assets at fair value, total returns at fair value and notes. Disclosures must cover property-wise rental income, earnings per unit, contingent liabilities, commitments, related party transactions, capitalisation statement, debt payment history, adjustments for errors or policy changes, and material-item disclosure under manager-determined materiality.

Removal of company names: e Form STK unavailable on portal, deployment pending and stakeholders notified of delay
The removal provisions of the Companies Act have been commenced and relevant rules notified to permit applications to the Registrar for striking off company names. The prescribed electronic filing medium, e Form STK 2, required for such applications is currently under development and not yet available on the MCA-21 portal; deployment is pending and stakeholders are asked to bear the inconvenience.

Private placement filing requirement: companies must submit PAS-4 and PAS-5 to SEBI as PDF on compact disc.
Companies issuing debt securities on private placement must use Form PAS-4 for the offer letter and maintain records in Form PAS-5; where listed, a copy of PAS-5 together with PAS-4 must be filed with the securities regulator within thirty days of circulation. Forms PAS-4 and PAS-5 shall be filed in PDF format only, submitted on a compact disc, pursuant to the regulator's powers under securities law and applicable issue-and-listing regulations.

Import FCL container clearance: warehouse option and No Use Bond allow out-of-charge pending PGA NOC.
Importers may file a Warehouse Bill of Entry for FCL consignments requiring PGA NOCs or convert an unpaid Home Consumption BE under section 46(5); PGAs may sample in CFS or after warehousing. Docks Officer may grant out-of-charge for physical warehousing without PGA NOC if the importer furnishes an accepted No Use Bond, customs seal is recorded and preserved, storage location is notified, and importer produces PGA NOC at ex-bonding. Non-compliance, tampering, unauthorised dealing, or failure to produce NOC exposes the importer to legal and penal action and possible return, re-export, or destruction of goods.

Official information restrictions: unauthorized sharing of official documents on social media is prohibited; only designated officers may post.
Government servants must not communicate or circulate official documents, minutes of in camera meetings or classified information on social media except under a general or special order or in performance of duties in good faith; only designated officers are authorised to post on behalf of the Income Tax Department and heads of charge must notify all officers to refrain from unauthorised dissemination.

GST framework approved with revised arrest thresholds, tribunal appeal pre-deposits, ITC limits, anti-profiteering and compensation funding.
The Council approved the draft GST, IGST and Compensation Laws with specified revisions: arrest/prosecution provisions narrowed with arrest thresholds and repeat-offence coverage; Tribunal structure refined with joint selection of State vice chairpersons and pre-deposit fixed at 10% (first appeal) and 20% (Tribunal); deletion of Section 95(2); advance ruling and compliance rating procedures adjusted; ITC benefit excluded for pipelines and telecom towers; anti-profiteering retained by notification; GST on land/buildings deferred; Compensation Fund to comprise cess and other revenues and bi-monthly payments to States.

Retrospective amendment validation bars constitutional challenges after opting for the scheme and defines settlement eligibility.
The Scheme treats taxes validated by retrospective amendment as specified tax, enabling settlement if the dispute was pending on 29.02.2016. Declarants must withdraw writs, pending appeals, or arbitration/conciliation/mediation notices as required before declaration; payments must follow section 204 with no instalments. Ineligible matters include taxes determined after 29.02.2016, penalty orders not linked to assessment proceedings (e.g., section 271C/271CA), and search-case assessments under section 143(3) read with 153B. Failure to satisfy section 203(5) conditions results in the declaration being treated as never made and prior proceedings revived.

Import clearance facilitation: sealed FCLs may be warehoused pending PGA NOC subject to a No Use Bond and sampling requirements.
Procedure allows importers to file Warehouse or Home Consumption Bills of Entry for FCLs requiring PGA NOCs; sampling may occur after physical warehousing or at CFS, and out-of-charge for warehousing may be granted pending PGA NOC where sampling/examination is done or where the importer furnishes a No Use Bond. Home Consumption entries may be converted to Warehouse entries prior to duty payment; Docks Officers may permit out-of-charge on an accepted bond and customs sealing, with importer obligations to produce PGA NOC at ex-bonding and to notify storage locations.

Amount sought to be evaded clarifies that tax, penalty or interest determine punishment under section 276C.
The phrase "amount sought to be evaded" in section 276C(1) denotes the amount of any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under the Income Tax Act, and that quantum determines which threshold-based custodial range and fine prescribed by the provision applies for the offence of willful tax evasion.

System-driven disclosures: Depositories must send daily promoter transaction data directly to stock exchanges for public dissemination.
Depositories shall provide daily transaction data of promoters/promoter group directly to stock exchanges, which will disseminate disclosures of all transactions in dematerialised securities beyond the applicable threshold limits, replacing the earlier data flow through registrars and share transfer agents; other procedural requirements from the prior circular remain in force.

Indirect transfer provisions may tax investors in foreign funds whose value derives substantially from Indian assets, with limited carve-outs.
Explanation 5 to section 9(1)(i) applies to investors in foreign funds whose shares or interests derive substantially from assets located in India, subject to the small investor carve out of Explanation 7 when investors lack management or control and hold below the participation threshold. Master feeder, nominee/distributor, listed fund and sub fund structures are addressed: investors with no control may be excluded, whereas fund level holdings that meet the substantial value test render investor interests taxable. Rule 11UB/11UC govern valuation and apportionment and reporting and withholding obligations remain operative.

Enhanced supervision timelines revised; enforcement deferred and phased implementation announced for broker and depository participant measures.
The Circular postpones implementation of enhanced supervision measures for stock brokers and depository participants, setting April 1, 2017 as the overall effective date and providing a revised schedule in the Annexure that assigns staggered commencement dates and periodicities to specific provisions of the earlier circular, thereby creating phased compliance obligations for market intermediaries.

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.