Forward contract liberalisation permits residents to book forex forwards and options without documentation, subject to declaration and S&A norms.
Resident individuals, firms and companies are permitted to book foreign exchange forward and FCY INR option contracts up to USD 1,000,000 on the basis of a simple self declaration without production of underlying documents; contracts will normally be deliverable, cancellation and rebooking are allowed, and AD Category I banks may require underlying documents at rebooking based on track record. Suitability and appropriateness norms, AML/KYC certification by the bank, and reporting in prescribed Annex formats apply.

Appeal effect monitoring requires prompt implementation of appellate orders and mandatory reporting of delays for escalation.
Assessing Officers must give prompt appeal effect to appellate orders while range heads monitor correctness and timeliness; any pendency beyond one month must be reported to the CIT in the monthly DO report. A prescribed scrutiny report format is to be used to inform filing decisions at the next appellate level, with Part I of the pro forma recording receipt of the appellate order and date of appeal effect and full pro forma completion where required. Principal commissioners must ensure reporting, inquiry into delays, and expedited compliance.

Service centre digitisation charges revised, with new vendor and prescribed maximum fees effective from the specified start date.
A new vendor, M/s XEAM Ventures Pvt. Ltd., was contracted to operate specified Customs Service Centres from 01.10.2015, and the notice prescribes maximum service charges for digitisation of documents. Rates are set separately for manual document processing (Bills of Entry/Shipping Bills, IGM, EGM, other documents, amendments, query handling) and for remotely filed ('RES') documents via ICEGATE (printing, query printing, amendment fees). Some printings and checklists attract no charge. Vendors must collect and remit applicable service tax to the government. Discrepancies are to be reported to the Additional Commissioner (Systems).

Electronic Verification Code expansion allows electronic income-tax returns filed without digital signatures to be validated under specified conditions.
Validation of electronic returns is expanded to permit use of the Electronic Verification Code (EVC) for returns filed electronically without a digital signature. Returns filed on or after 01.04.2015, returns filed in response to statutory notices, and returns filed consequent to condonation of delay under section 119 may be validated through EVC, extending earlier EVC coverage and facilitating compliance.

FPI investment limits in government securities increased, with a security-wise cap restricting fresh purchases and new maturity requirements.
Revised FPI caps in government debt are set in rupee terms with additional SDL capacity and a long term sub limit; incremental amounts will be made available by auction and on tap, while coupon reinvestment remains outside limits. A security wise cap on aggregate FPI holdings will place over limit securities in a negative investment category barring fresh purchases until holdings fall below the cap, with depositories publishing daily security wise holdings and the negative list. Long Term FPIs and reallocated long term capacity must invest only in central government securities and SDLs with a minimum residual maturity of three years.

FPI investment limits in government securities expanded under a phased rupee denominated framework, with maturity and security caps.
A phased rupee denominated Medium Term Framework increases aggregate FPI limits in Central Government securities and establishes a separate phased limit for SDLs, while preserving the requirement that FPIs invest only in securities with a minimum residual maturity of three years. Aggregate FPI holdings in any Central Government security are capped at 20%; securities exceeding that threshold will be placed on a negative investment list and barred from fresh FPI purchases until holdings decline. Operational monitoring is day end based and further guidelines will be issued by the securities regulator.

Measurement of distance: shortest road distance governs pre-amendment cases, aerial measurement applies prospectively; appeals not to be pursued.
For purposes of section 2(14)(iii)(b), the Finance Act 2013's aerial measurement rule applies prospectively; for periods before that amendment the Nagpur Bench held distance is to be measured by the shortest road distance between municipal limit and agricultural land. The CBDT has accepted this position and directed that no appeals be filed, and existing appeals on this issue be withdrawn or not pressed.

Abandoned feature film costs treated as revenue expenditure under Section 37 rather than under Rule 9A, permitting deduction.
Rule 9A does not apply to abandoned feature films; production expenditure on such abandoned films is not capital expenditure but is to be treated as revenue expenditure and allowed under Section 37 of the Income-tax Act. The department accepts the judicial position and directs that no appeals be filed or pursued on this ground.

Goods Transport Agency service classification clarifies composite-service treatment and abatement applicability for road transportation services.
Service tax applies to services of a Goods Transport Agency, defined by provision of road transport services and issuance of a consignment note. A GTA's supply is a single composite service encompassing ancillary activities (loading, unloading, packing, transshipment, temporary storage) if charged in the GTA's invoice, and such ancillary services form part of the GTA service for purposes of abatement. Time-bound delivery commitments do not exclude the activity from GTA service provided the entire transport is by road and a consignment note is issued.

SEZ port code correction enables integration with customs EDI systems by substituting updated SEZ port codes in annexure.
Corrigendum substitutes correct SEZ port codes in the Annexure to Public Notice No. 13/2015 to align Special Economic Zone entries with DG System-allocated port codes for integration of SEZ online with Customs EDI Systems (ICES), replacing previously published port code values for the listed SEZs to ensure accurate electronic customs mapping.

FDI in White Label ATM Operations: full foreign ownership under automatic route, subject to net worth requirement and RBI conditions.
Permits 100% FDI in White Labelled ATM Operations under the automatic route, subject to a minimum net worth of Rs. 100 crore to be maintained at all times, compliance with NBFC minimum capitalization norms where the entity carries out other NBFC activities, and adherence to RBI criteria and guidelines issued by the specified RBI circular; decision effective immediately.

Import General Manifest amendments require specified documentary proof; shipping lines bear filing responsibility and penalty liability.
Amendments to the Import General Manifest are classified as Major or Minor and require specified documents submitted initially to Import Noting-request/explanation letters, original or attested previous and revised Bills of Lading, consignee IEC or declaration, invoices/packing lists, overseas manifest correctors where needed, and NOCs or revenue group reports for certain amendments. Change-of-consignee and BL-number changes have targeted evidentiary safeguards. Filing responsibility and any penalties rest solely with the Shipping Line/Agent that filed the IGM. Special procedures apply for High-Seas Sales, transshipment to SEZs/FTWZs, and LCL HUB SMTP.

Extension of filing deadline: income tax returns and statutory audit reports may be e filed by 31 October 2015.
The revenue authority ordered that income tax returns and statutory audit reports due for e filing on 30 September 2015 may be filed by 31 October 2015, superseding an earlier instruction of 30 September 2015 and applying nationwide to the relevant filing obligations.

Settlement Commission jurisdiction barred for smuggled goods under Customs Act; admissions should be challenged in the High Court.
Settlement Commission has no jurisdiction to entertain matters relating to goods specified under the Customs Act, including gold, in smuggling cases; if the Settlement Commission admits any such matter, the jurisdictional field formation should challenge the admission in the High Court by way of writ at the admission stage.

Overseas investment limits for alternative funds increased, with prior SEBI approval and compliance with RBI/FEMA requirements.
SEBI permits VCFs and AIFs to invest in foreign companies with an Indian connection subject to quantitative overseas limits, prohibition on using joint ventures or wholly owned subsidiaries for such investments, and mandatory compliance with FEMA and RBI guidelines; proposals for overseas investments must be submitted to SEBI for prior approval and allocations will be managed on a first come, first served basis.

Risk management framework standardises margining, collateral and capital safeguards for national commodity derivatives exchanges.
The circular mandates a harmonised risk management framework for national commodity derivatives exchanges requiring specified categories of liquid assets with haircut and concentration limits, and real time valuation and liquidation arrangements. It prescribes a uniform margining regime: VaR based Initial Margin computed at client portfolio level, an Extreme Loss Margin on gross open positions, additional and pre expiry/delivery margins, daily cash mark to market settlement, upfront collection of IM and ELM from clients, and online real time deduction from clearing members' liquid assets.

Certificate of Origin authorization: ISSME permitted to issue non-preferential certificates under the Foreign Trade Policy.
Authorization under the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 adds the specified agency to Appendix 2E as an authorized issuer of Certificate of Origin (Non-Preferential), enabling the agency to sign and issue non-preferential Certificates of Origin in accordance with the policy framework and procedural requirements.

Export promotion responsibility shifted for sesame and niger seed to IOPEPC, updating appendices under the foreign trade policy.
The Directorate amends Appendix - 2T to reassign sesame seed and niger seed from the Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council to the Indian Oilseeds and Produce Export Promotion Council, updating the Appendices and Aayat Niryat forms so the oilseeds council assumes export promotion responsibility for those commodities.

PAN module migration centralizes automated allotment and updates while maintaining RCC duplicate-resolution and approval workflows.
Migration to the ITBA-PAN module centralizes automated intake and scheduling for PAN allotment and core updates while preserving RCC responsibility for duplicate PAN resolution and certain transactional approvals. Key functionalities include automated PAN Allotment and Update workflows with system duplicity detection and RCC-driven resolution, View PAN Details, Deletion and Restoration subject to higher-authority approval and intimation, Event Marking, Transfer with approval/NOC and bulk transfer options, and MIS/Dashboard reporting. Users require departmental email IDs, RSA tokens, role mapping by RCC, and must reset ITD passwords before ITBA access.

Extension of e filing deadline permits delayed electronic filing for specified regional assessees following judicial direction.
The Board, exercising its administrative power in compliance with a judicial direction, authorized that taxpayers in the regional jurisdictions identified in the order who were required to e file by the original due date may file by a subsequently specified later date; this relief applies only to those regional assessees and is stated to be subject to any further appeal or special leave proceedings the Board may pursue, with the instruction thereafter noted as withdrawn or superseded in the document history.