Corporate governance compliance strengthened through listing amendments on independent directors, committee composition, disclosures and related party transaction controls.
Amendments to Clause 49 revise corporate governance standards for equity listed companies: limited exemptions and a six month compliance window for companies newly subject to Clause 49; deferred applicability of the woman director provision; clarified tests and tenure rules for independent directors; mandatory disclosure of appointment terms and familiarisation programmes; prescribed composition and chairing rules for the Nomination and Remuneration and Risk Management Committees; tightened related party transaction policy with omnibus approval conditions and abstention rules; defined material subsidiary thresholds and shareholder approval requirements for loss of control or major asset disposals.

XBRL reporting requirement mandates authorised dealer banks to submit gold import statements electronically, replacing manual filings.
Authorised Dealer Category I banks must transition import of gold statement submissions to the XBRL system beginning with the half year end in September 2014. Banks must obtain portal access credentials by submitting the prescribed form by the stated deadline; for the transition period they must file both XBRL soft copies and manual MS Excel statements, after which manual monthly and half yearly filings are dispensed with. These directions are issued under the statutory scheme and do not affect other permissions or approvals under applicable law.

Indirect tax revenue collections provisional growth reported for April-August, showing mixed performance across customs, excise and service tax.
Provisional indirect tax collections for April-August 2014 are presented by tax head with monthly growth rates and year to date comparisons to the prior year, and the percentage of Budget Estimates achieved; monthly growth across Customs, Central Excise and Service Tax was around 8-10%, year to date growth was marginal for Customs and Excise but substantially higher for Service Tax, and BE achievement ranged around the high twenties to mid thirties percent.

Special Currency Basket valuation revised under deferred payment protocols; authorised banks must apply the notified rupee value and notify constituents.
The Reserve Bank revises the rupee valuation of the Special Currency Basket under the Deferred Payment Protocols and directs Authorised Dealer Category I banks to apply the newly notified rupee value from the operative date and to inform their constituents; the directions are issued under FEMA and without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Nomination criteria for SEZ Authority membership prioritize compliant operational units via a performance-based weightage system.
Nomination to the SEZ Authority requires nominees to be senior representatives of the unit, with the unit meeting operational, compliance, and no-dues conditions and nominees available to participate in Authority meetings. Where multiple units qualify, a seven-factor weightage scheme-covering exports, investment, employment, their percentage increases, and the exports-to-investment ratio-ranks units and awards marks; the unit with the highest aggregate marks is given the opportunity to nominate its representative.

Anchor investor allocation change clarifies when revised rules apply to filings and preferential issue notices.
Amendments raise the anchor investor allocation and revise preferential issue rules. The revised anchor investor sub regulation applies to issuers filing offer documents with the Registrar of Companies on or after the amendment notification date. New and revised Chapter VII preferential issue regulations apply where the general meeting notice for the special resolution on preferential allotment is issued on or after the amendment notification date. The circular clarifies these temporal applicability rules to resolve interpretive difficulties.

Amnesty Scheme relief: penalty waived where tax and interest under assessment are paid, otherwise ineligible.
Waiver of penalty under the Amnesty Scheme is available where false or misleading records caused a tax deficiency and an assessment for tax and interest was made; if the dealer opts for the Amnesty Scheme and pays the tax and interest stated in the assessment notice (Form DVAT-24), the penalty for preparation of false or misleading accounts shall be waived. If no tax deficiency resulted and only a penalty was imposed for false records, the dealer is ineligible for waiver under the scheme.

Exemption of SEZ vessels from rule restrictions allows oil spill response and exercises under Coast Guard direction.
Vessels authorised for use within Special Economic Zones are exempted from the application of Rule 34 of the SEZ Rules, 2006 when required to respond to oil spill emergencies or to participate in scheduled oil spill response exercises under the direction of the designated maritime authority pursuant to the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan.

Hedging facilities for FPIs expanded to permit coupon-receipt hedging for debt investments, subject to rebooking restrictions.
FPIs may hedge currency risk on the market value of their entire Indian equity and debt investments through AD Category I banks, and may hedge coupon receipts on debt securities due within the next twelve months, subject to a prohibition on rebooking cancelled hedge contracts while permitting rollovers on maturity if the coupon remains unpaid.

Reversal of Input Tax Credit required where credit or debit notes adjust trade discounts, returns, or invoice variations.
Purchasing dealers must reverse Input Tax Credit in the tax period when credit/debit notes are issued for trade discounts, returns/rejections, or rate/quantity variations arising from sales within the territory. Credit notes relating to cash discounts, reimbursements, rent/lease or other non supply considerations are not eligible for seller output tax adjustment and need not be reported in the return annexures; buyers therefore need not reverse ITC for those items. Sellers may adjust output tax for eligible post sale trade discounts under the output adjustment mechanism, but buyer reversal is independent and may be examined on scrutiny.

Unit Quantity Code declaration required - accurate UQC and full goods description now central to export compliance and valuation.
Exporters and customs brokers must declare the correct Unit Quantity Code (UQC) for each tariff item and provide complete, specific descriptions of export goods, including valuation-relevant parameters such as composition, grade, configuration, size, type, and whether machine-made or handmade; inconsistent UQC usage and vague descriptions degrade data quality and may trigger delayed clearance, cancellation, scrutiny, investigation, and penal action.

Line of Credit terms require 75% Indian sourcing and specified disbursement timelines for financed exports to Mauritius.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit finances eligible goods, machinery, equipment and services (including consultancy) from India for Mauritius' acquisition of Waterjet Fast Attack Craft; at least 75% of contract value must be supplied from India and up to 25% may be procured outside India. The Credit Agreement (executed May 5, 2014; effective July 28, 2014) sets disbursement/LC opening deadlines-48 months from scheduled completion for project exports and 72 months from execution for supply contracts-and requires GR/SDF declaration of shipments. No agency commission is payable under the LOC; exporters may use own resources or EEFC balances for commission after realisation, subject to AD bank compliance. Directions issued under FEMA sections 10(4) and 11(1).

Line of credit conditions: India-sourced content requirement enforced for export financing, with shipment declarations and commission rules.
A Line of Credit was made available to finance eligible goods, machinery, equipment and consultancy services for agriculture and irrigation development, requiring at least 75 percent of contract value to be supplied from India and up to 25 percent to be procured outside India. The Credit Agreement prescribes distinct LC and disbursement timelines for project and other supply contracts. Shipments must be declared on GR/SDF forms. No agency commission is payable under the LOC; exporters may use own funds or Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency balances for commission payments after realization, subject to prevailing remittance rules.

Comptroller and Auditor-General appointment power affirmed for auditors in government-controlled companies under companies law, directing audit manner.
The Order clarifies that the Comptroller and Auditor-General shall appoint the auditor under the auditor-appointment provision and direct the manner in which the accounts of Government companies and companies owned or controlled by the Central and/or State Governments are required to be audited.

External commercial borrowings in Indian rupees permitted via rupee swaps with authorised dealer banks, subject to route and cost conditions.
Recognised non resident lenders may extend external commercial borrowings in Indian rupees provided the lender mobilises rupees through swaps with an Authorised Dealer Category I bank; the ECB contract complies with conditions applicable to the automatic or approval routes; and the all in cost is commensurate with prevailing market conditions. Hedging arrangements for rupee ECBs from non resident equity holders continue to be governed by existing provisions. Lenders may set up representative offices in India to execute such swaps.

Pre-deposit requirement may be directed before entertaining objections for tax periods after the amendment, subject to a hearing.
The third proviso to section 74(1) grants the Commissioner discretion, after giving the dealer an opportunity of being heard, to direct the dealer to deposit a reasonable amount from the disputed tax before the objection is entertained; this pre-deposit requirement applies only to objections concerning tax periods after the amendment made effective from 01/10/2011.

Retrospective indirect-transfer scrutiny: prior committee approval now required before assessing action, with taxpayer opportunity and directions.
A High Level Committee constituted by the Board will pre-screen all fresh cases invoking the 2012 retrospective amendments on indirect transfer where income is said to arise before 1 April 2012; Assessing Officers must seek the Committee's prior approval, the taxpayer will be afforded an opportunity, the Committee will issue time-bound directions, and will submit periodic reports to the Board.

Manual scrutiny selection criteria require specified categories of tax returns to undergo detailed scrutiny under prescribed procedures.
Instruction No. 06/2014 mandates compulsory manual selection of specified categories of income-tax returns for scrutiny, including cases with confirmed or pending large additions on recurring legal or factual issues, substantial transfer pricing additions, survey-based assessments with disclosures or impounded records, search and seizure related assessments, returns filed after reopening notices, and cases where exemption registrations or approvals are denied yet claimed. It requires parallel CASS selection, completion of all scrutiny assessments through the AST system, and monitoring by senior authorities who must report quality assessment orders for review.

Line of Credit terms: Exim Bank's export finance to Congo mandates 75% Indian supply, timelines and GR/SDF compliance.
Exim Bank extended a Line of Credit of USD 89.90 million to the Government of the Republic of Congo for financing eligible Indian goods, machinery, equipment and services for transportation development; at least 75% of each contract's value must be supplied from India with up to 25% procureable abroad. The Credit Agreement (executed March 9, 2014; effective August 8, 2014) sets disbursement deadlines-48 months from project completion for project exports and 72 months from execution for other supplies-and requires shipments to be declared on GR/SDF Forms; agency commission is not payable under the LOC except from exporter's own or EEFC funds subject to compliance.

Foreign exchange reporting: divisions relocated; AD Category I banks must submit monthly and transaction reports to FED CO Cell New Delhi
Three divisions of the Foreign Investment Division have been relocated to the FED CO Cell, New Delhi; AD Category I banks must send all related cases and the monthly NRO remittance statements and reports on extension or closure of liaison/branch/project offices to the FED CO Cell address, while NRFAD email reporting remains unchanged.