Extension of filing deadline for quarterly VAT returns; tax payment obligations unchanged, digital-signature filings exempt hard copy.
Deadline for filing first-quarter VAT returns for 2015-16 in Forms DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 is extended for online or hard-copy submission; tax payment obligations remain unchanged and must be paid as per the applicable VAT payment provision. Dealers filing returns using digital signature are exempted from filing the hard copy of the return/Form DVAT-56.

Extra Duty Deposit e-payment requirement: online challan generation blocks release until deposit paid, with correction option.
Integration of an online Extra Duty Deposit (EDD) module in ICES 1.5 requires the Appraising Officer to generate an invoice wise EDD challan and forward particulars to the bank for e-payment; once EDD particulars are saved for a Bill of Entry, the system blocks issuance of "Out of Charge" until the e-payment is made. Incorrect unpaid challans may be deleted by the Appraiser in ICES 1.5 and re generated, and importers or Customs Brokers must verify challan details before payment and approach the Appraising Officer or Assistant Commissioner (EDI) for issues.

Reward guidelines revised: discretionary caps and procedures for informers and officials in seizure and recovery cases.
Consolidated revised guidelines govern discretionary ex-gratia rewards to informers and Government Servants for seizures, detection of duty/service tax evasion and recovery actions under Customs, Central Excise, NDPS and Service Tax provisions. Eligibility, assessment criteria (specificity of information, risk, investigational contribution, post-investigation work), ceilings by rank and case value, and special per-unit rates for narcotics and bullion are prescribed. Advance/interim payments are permitted in defined categories and final rewards are payable after completion of adjudication/appeal/prosecution, with total payments capped and subject to committee sanction and service-record entries.

Risk Management System in exports requires trade participants and clearing agents to follow notified customs instructions strictly.
Risk Management System in exports is notified for information, guidance and strict compliance by trade participants and clearing agents. The notice circulates the enclosed customs circular concerning the introduction of the export RMS and requires any difficulty in complying with its instructions to be promptly brought to the notice of the customs office.

PAN verification requirement: dealers must correct PAN details online or face DVAT Act cancellation proceedings.
TINs will be replaced with GSTINs based on declared PAN; dealers whose PANs are missing or invalid per the CBDT database are listed on the department website and must furnish correct PAN details online by the deadline, failing which the department will take action under the DVAT Act, including initiation of cancellation proceedings.

Composite foreign investment caps aggregate all foreign holdings and count equity from debt conversions within sectoral limits.
A composite cap aggregates all types of foreign investment-direct and indirect-under the sectoral/statutory ceiling, including holdings across FEMA schedules; FCCBs and DRs constituting debt are excluded, but any equity arising from conversion of debt is counted as foreign investment. Total foreign investment in an entity shall not exceed the sectoral cap, portfolio investments remain subject to specified limits and procedural approvals, and the investee company bears responsibility for compliance. These amendments are effective immediately and read with the Consolidated FDI Policy Circular of 2015.

Unauthorized fee collection is fraudulent; Customs never requests payments to private accounts - verify via official channels.
Fraudsters impersonate Customs officers to extract payments by instructing victims to deposit alleged customs fees into private accounts; Customs officers do not make such calls or authorise deposits into personal accounts. All legitimate Customs dues must be deposited in a Government Account through nominated nationalised banks using Government Challans or prescribed e-payment modes. The public is warned not to pay into private accounts and should verify any demand through the designated Superintendent offices or the Control Room via official contact channels.

Extra Duty Deposit e-payment integration in customs ICES requires generated challans and blocks clearance until payment is completed.
Integration of Extra Duty Deposit (EDD) into ICES 1.5 mandates generation of an EDD challan by the Appraiser for a Bill of Entry, selection of the prescribed EDD rate, forwarding challan particulars to the bank for e-payment, and blocking issuance of Out of Charge until payment is completed; Appraisers may delete and re-enter challans before payment where material errors exist, and importers/brokers must verify challan details prior to e-payment.

Extra Duty Deposit e-payment required in ICES; online challan must be paid before release and manual payment barred.
Integration of Extra Duty Deposit (EDD) into ICES 1.5 requires the Appraising Officer to generate an invoice based EDD challan, select the applicable rate, save entries and forward particulars to the bank for e payment. The system will not permit "Out of Charge" for a Bill of Entry with saved EDD particulars until e payment is made. Brokers/importers must verify challan details before payment, and the Appraiser may delete and re generate an incorrect challan prior to payment.

Extra duty deposit e-payment now required for provisional assessments; system blocks clearance until online payment is completed.
Integration of an online payment mechanism for Extra Duty Deposit in ICES 1.5 requires the Appraising Officer to generate an invoice based EDD challan, forward particulars to the bank for e-payment, and blocks issuance of Out of Charge until the EDD is paid; brokers or importers must verify challan details and may seek deletion and reissuance of incorrect challans prior to payment.

Due date for wealth-tax return extended to align with income-tax return extension for specified assesses.
The due date for filing Wealth-tax returns is governed by the corresponding Income-tax filing date; therefore, an administrative extension of the Income-tax filing deadline for a specified class of assesses results in an identical extension of the Wealth-tax filing deadline for those assesses, and the circular directs departmental dissemination of this clarification.

Filing of online return: quarter-one VAT returns extended to 04/08/2015; tax payments remain due and digital filers need no hard copy.
The last date for filing first-quarter 2015-16 returns in Form DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 (with annexures) is extended to 04/08/2015; tax liability must still be paid in accordance with existing statutory payment provisions, and dealers filing with a digital signature need not submit a hard copy of the return/Form DVAT-56.

Post-shipment amendments must be supported by documentary evidence at export and follow prescribed procedural review and escalation.
Post-shipment amendments are allowed only on the basis of documentary evidence existing at the time of export under Section 149. Exporters or customs brokers must submit certified supporting documents; the Inspector conducts preliminary scrutiny and the Superintendent records whether Section 149 conditions and any negligence are present before forwarding to AC/DC. Minor amendments without revenue impact are delegated to ACs/DCs; major amendments (quantity/value, exporter/consignee name, duty rate/schedule, licence number) require prior ADC/JC approval. Requests should ordinarily be disposed of within thirty days, with escalation to JC/ADC for delays.

Extra Duty Deposit e-payment requirement: mandatory online ICES challans, clearance blocked until payment is completed.
Online payment of Extra Duty Deposit (EDD) is now mandatory via the ICES 1.5 e-payment module; Appraisers must generate invoice-level EDD challans, forward particulars to the bank, and select the applicable rate. The system blocks issuance of "Out of Charge" until EDD is paid. Incorrect unpaid challans may be deleted and reissued by the Appraiser. Manual payment of EDD is no longer accepted and the procedure is effective immediately.

Valuation practice for iron ore exports: Customs to use load and discharge test reports to determine assessable value.
A standardized procedure requires Customs to draw Bureau of Indian Standards samples and provisionally assess shipping bills under Section 14 and the Customs Valuation (Determination of Value of Export Goods) Rules, 2007, comparing declared value with invoices and contracts. Where load port and discharge port test reports are within contractual tolerances the provisional assessment may be finalized; if variations affect price the officer shall re determine assessable value and may accept an average of the two test reports. Related party transactions are subject to specialized investigation and separate finalization timelines; Bank Realisation Certificates will be monitored for value verification.

Online lighthouse dues collection introduces a compliance system for trade participants, clearing agents and liners.
Online e-collection of lighthouse dues was introduced through a new system notified for the guidance and compliance of trade participants, clearing agents and liners. The notice circulates communications concerning implementation of the online collection mechanism and requires stakeholders facing compliance or implementation difficulties to promptly inform the customs office.

Jurisdiction for STR investigations clarified: residence or principal place of business determines the investigating directorate and transfer protocol.
Jurisdiction for investigation into Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) is determined by the main subject: for individuals, jurisdiction is the place of residence; for companies, firms or other entities, jurisdiction is the principal place of business activity. Directorates receiving STRs outside their jurisdiction must forward them to the correct Directorate within a fortnight and inform the Nodal Officer, DS, Inv. IV, CBDT. Disputes over jurisdiction should be resolved between PDIT (Inv.)/DGIT (Inv.), and if unresolved the DGsIT (Inv.) shall escalate to the Board.

Extension of filing deadline for online VAT returns allows submission of Forms EC II and EC III until late September.
The Commissioner, under Rule 49A of the Delhi VAT Rules, extends the last date for filing online returns for the first quarter of 2015-16 in Forms EC-II and EC-III to a later date in September, permitting additional time for submission and directing departmental dissemination and website publication of the circular.

Shorter notice for general meetings permits circulating financial statements; unaudited foreign subsidiary accounts may be filed with translation.
Where a company convenes a general meeting on shorter notice under section 101, it may circulate the financial statements to be considered at that meeting on the same shorter notice. For foreign subsidiaries not required by local law to be audited, the Indian holding company may place or file such unaudited accounts; accounts must be translated into English if necessary and, as far as possible, follow Companies Act, 2013 format, with a statement explaining any deviations.

Excise exemption scope clarified: concessions apply to manufacturers, preventing importers from claiming concessional CVD benefits.
The revenue administration amended relevant notifications to clarify that the conditioned non availment requirement and concessionary treatment apply to manufacturers, not buyers or importers, and inserted an explanation that the term appropriate duty includes nil or concessional duty or tax; these changes preserve existing exemption or concessional excise treatment for domestically manufactured goods and address competitive disadvantage arising from prior judicial interpretation.