GST compensation base set to include ITC reversals; CST at 2% and projected growth rate fixed at 14%.
The Council fixed components and formulas for GST compensation: include ITC reversals and specified devolved receipts in the 2015-16 revenue base; count State-granted tax exemptions subsumed in GST for eleven Special Category States; calculate CST at 2% for the base year; and adopt a fixed projected growth rate of 14% for the five-year compensation period. The Council presented a provisional four-slab rate structure (6%, 12%, 18%, 26%) and discussed funding compensation by a dedicated cess, but deferred final decisions on compensation mechanism and rate bands for further officer-level examination.

Risk based selection for PGA clearances requires modified RMS and enhanced plant quarantine declaration requirements.
Risk based selection for NOC processing by RMS applies to consignments involving Participating Government Agencies and NOC or waiver status will be printed on the first/out-of-charge copy. For Plant Quarantine, the PLC qualifier must include Info_code plus the prescribed Unit Quantity Code; an inspection date must be provided in the Control Table with the specified control type and result codes, user values in control location, control start date as inspection date, and invoice and item numbers set to zero.

Self-assessment obligation: importers must declare anti-dumping duty liability on online bills of entry or face penal action.
Importers and CHAs must, under the self-assessment regime, correctly declare the leviability of Anti Dumping Duty in online Bills of Entry; failure to declare or pay applicable ADD detected during examination or audit will attract severe penal action, and any implementation difficulties should be reported to the Commissioner.

Authorized Economic Operator programme expanded into a three tier facilitation scheme offering entry, payment and procedural benefits for compliant traders.
Consolidation of ACP and AEO into a three tier AEO programme expands facilitation-including Direct Port Delivery/Entry, deferred duty payment, paperless declarations, acceptance of self certified origin documents, expedited refunds and drawback, and recognition of partner agencies-while broadening eligibility to entities handling 25 annual documents and prescribing migration of existing ACP/AEO holders to specified AEO tiers subject to compliance and application to the AEO Programme Manager.

Simultaneous issuance of Zero Duty EPCG and SHIS now governed by a public notice and amended customs notifications.
Concurrent availment of Zero Duty EPCG and Served From India Scheme (SHIS) under FTP 2009-14 was found inconsistent with policy wording; inter-departmental consultations resulted in a Public Notice directing that pending issues of simultaneous issuance or availing of Zero Duty EPCG/Post Export EPCG and SHIS be decided in terms of that Public Notice. Customs has amended notifications to remove overlapping prohibitions for the subsequent FTP period; stakeholders may report implementation difficulties to the customs office.

Standing counsel engagement rules clarified: drafting and filing bills amended and dispute resolution makes regional fee determination final.
Modifications revise CBDT standing counsel guidelines: require recording diary and ITA numbers for appeals and other petitions; change wording from "For Drafting" and "Bills for drafting" to "For Drafting and Filing" and require bills for drafting and filing of appeals only after defects are removed and ITA number is available; amend proforma fields and academic-record marking; add a Dispute Resolution clause making the Principal Chief Commissioner's regional fee determination final and binding.

Extension of filing deadline: due date for income-tax returns and audit reports in Jammu & Kashmir extended to a later final date.
The tax authority extended the due date for filing income-tax returns and statutory reports of audit for all categories of taxpayers in the State of Jammu & Kashmir, responding to difficulties in meeting the original deadline and providing statewide procedural relief by prescribing a revised final submission date for the relevant assessment period.

Failure to remit TDS/TCS: risk based prosecution selection with mandatory processing, section 278AA consideration, and compounding priority.
Selection for prosecution of failures to remit TDS/TCS will follow a risk based approach reflecting deductor compliance behaviour; DGIT(Systems) will generate periodic lists of defaulters for processing by the TDS/TCS jurisdictional officer. Processing is mandatory in the sense of formal consideration but does not mandate filing; the CIT concerned must apply mind to facts. CIT(TDS) may also select cases from surveys, grievances or searches; defaults for other years may be included. Reasonable cause considerations must be weighed and compounding applications handled on priority.

Fee adjustment for delayed furnishing of certified judgments reduces prosecutor payment when certified copy is supplied late.
Modification to CBDT Instruction No. 6/2016 updates Part B of Proforma 'P4' for Special Public Prosecutor billing by adding entries for Date of Judgment and Date of furnishing the certified copy, and prescribes a deduction from hearing fees where the certified copy is furnished to the Department more than ten days after the judgment (court time excluded). Existing billing heads such as substantial and non effective hearings, conference fees, clerkage, out of pocket expenses and duties outside headquarters remain.

Disposal of confiscated goods: cooperatives may buy eligible lots at a uniform rebate; higher value lots go to e auction without discounts.
Disposal of confiscated goods distinguishes between sale through Army Canteen/CSD, cooperative purchases at a uniform rebate subject to eligibility, verification, direct sale to bonafide consumers and first come first served allocation with departmental scrutiny, and sale of higher value or other goods exclusively by e auction/auction cum tender where no discount is allowed and centralized electronic auction platforms and prior procedural safeguards remain in force.

Single Window risk-based selectivity: PGA NOC waived for low-risk consignments, with procedural exception and reporting requirements.
Single Window integration places PGAs on EDI and applies risk based selectivity so low-risk consignments receive an automatic NOC waiver on the Bill of Entry and need no manual PGA reference; exceptions require Commissioner approval and weekly reporting of referred cases to the Commissioner (Single Window), while importers and brokers must accurately declare end-use and product details in the integrated declaration.

Bullion collateral limits updated: exchanges may accept increased commodities collateral with non-bullion sub-limits and liquidation safeguards.
Regulation permits a higher share of a clearing member's liquid assets to be accepted as commodities collateral while maintaining a distinct cap on non-bullion collateral; exchanges must ensure timely liquidation mechanisms, may set concentration limits based on risk perception and liquidation capability, and must notify members and publish the change.

EPCG export obligation verification streamlined: EODCs accepted generally, subject to limited random and intelligence-driven checks.
Verification under the EPCG Scheme is to be streamlined: Customs shall normally accept EODCs issued by Regional Authorities without further re-verification, while restricting its own detailed checks and installation-certificate verifications to a limited random proportion of cases. Detailed Customs verification is required when indicated by specific intelligence, upon Regional Authority endorsement, or where EODCs are based on non-EDI shipping bills; field formations must use transparent senior-level selection criteria and promptly notify exporters selected for checks.

TDS on lease premium: lump-sum non-adjustable upfront charges for long-term leases are not treated as rent for deduction.
Lump sum lease premiums or one-time upfront lease charges paid for acquisition of long-term leasehold rights, where not adjustable against periodic rent, are not payments in the nature of rent under section 194-I and therefore are not subject to TDS under that provision; the Department has accepted High Court rulings treating such payments as capital or akin to deemed sale and has not filed further appeals.

Adjudication jurisdiction clarified: allocation of import and export adjudication to specified sections and a Centralised Adjudication Cell.
A Centralised Adjudication Cell will handle adjudication of cases at Commissioner and Additional/Joint Commissioner competency levels, while Sections/Assessment Groups will issue Show Cause Notices, adjudicate matters within their assigned scope, and carry out recovery and enforcement; import cases follow document filing and classification/value rules for allocation, and export cases are allocated to specified sections by export scheme with the highest duty/incentive determining jurisdiction when multiple schemes are involved.

Electronic service of Form-2 permitted; search or seizure after June 1 bars eligibility to declare for affected assessment years.
Electronic communication of Form-2 by email to the address given in Form-1 is authorized as valid service for electronically filed declarations under the Income Declaration Scheme, 2016. An assessee is ineligible to file a declaration where a search and seizure operation has been conducted on or after 01.06.2016 but before the declaration, for assessment years for which notices enabling assessment can be issued; the year of search is already excluded as declarations are allowed only up to A.Y.2016-17.

Exit mechanism for exclusively listed companies requires promoter-funded buyback or preferential capital raise to secure investor exit.
ELCs on the Dissemination Board must either list on a nationwide exchange by raising capital through preferential allotment under ICDR-with designated exchanges granting in-principle approval and monitoring compliance and certain SAST thresholds exempted subject to promoter holding caps-or provide investor exit per Annexure-A, which mandates an independent valuer, valuer-determined acquisition at fair value, escrow-funded consideration, public announcement, specified offer and payment timelines, certification of compliance and removal from the DB upon satisfaction.

Duty-free import of containers: yearly continuity bonds may be kept alive by written request absent material changes, else fresh bond required.
Temporary duty-free importation of durable containers is permitted on execution of a Continuity Bond covering the duty element, valid for one year and extendable; container numbers must be debited on import and credited on re-export without exceeding the bond limit, with additional bonds required for excess imports. Yearly bonds may be kept alive on written request before expiry provided no material changes occurred during the bond currency; absence of such request requires filing a fresh bond, and the renewal facility is not retrospective.

Amount of insurance for CCSPs now based on ten day average storage under HCCAR, easing bond and compliance burdens.
The amount of insurance to be provided by CCSPs under HCCAR shall equal the average value of goods likely to be stored in the customs area for ten days based on projected capacity, with the Commissioner of Customs empowered to specify the amount having regard to goods already insured by importers or exporters; a notification has reduced the bond requirement commensurately from the prior thirty-day basis.

Preventive supervision of container stuffing required; verified container, seal and package details must be recorded before shipment.
Export container stuffing and loading must occur under Preventive Supervision; the exporter or agent will present the printed Exporter's copy of the Shipping Bill to the Superintendent (Docks). Preventive staff must supervise stuffing, record container and seal numbers and package counts, feed the stuffing report into the EDI system, and endorse particulars on the Exporter's copy. Discrepancies require amendment in the EDI and bar sanctioning of drawback or DEEC logging until corrected; the Preventive Officer will then grant the prescribed "allowed for shipment" endorsement.