Service tax on restaurant services increased; effective tax on abated value rises while abatement for food supply remains unchanged.
The service tax rate for restaurant services was increased effective 1 June 2015; valuation of services for establishments having air conditioning or central air heating is governed by Rule 2C, which prescribes the service portion as a fixed proportion of the total amount charged, and the increased tax rate applies to the abated value. The abatement itself was not changed and exemption continues for establishments without air conditioning or central air heating at any time during the year.

Minimum contract size in equity derivatives revised with new lot size rules and semiannual reviews requiring advance market notice.
The circular raises the minimum contract size in the equity derivatives segment and prescribes a revised lot size framework: set lot sizes so contract value on review day falls within a specified band; stock derivatives to use specified multiples with minimum lot constraints and alternative smaller multiples where the minimum exceeds the band; index derivatives to use specified multiples with a minimum. Exchanges must harmonise lot sizes, review semiannually using one month average prices, give two weeks' notice for changes, apply higher revised sizes only to new contracts, and follow existing rules for corporate action adjustments.

Empanelment of Chartered Engineers for valuation: applications require certification, institute referral and periodic performance appraisal.
Proposal for empanelment of Chartered Engineers for valuation of second hand and used imported/exported machinery, requiring submission of a proforma with qualifications, experience, institutional registrations, PAN and service tax details, and self attested certificates to the Commissioner of Customs (General). Applications will be scrutinised and referred to the Institute of Engineers for eligibility; recommended applicants will be empanelled, published in a public notice for trade use, and required to submit half yearly self appraisal reports for continued inclusion.

Relaxation of additional fees for annual return and financial statement filings extends deadlines and permits CFS filing without penalty.
The Ministry confirms applicability of the Companies Act, 2013 requirements for financial statements and annual returns to specified financial years, announces availability timelines for electronic Forms AOC-4, AOC-4 XBRL, MGT-7 and a new AOC-4 CFS, and relaxes additional fees on AOC-4, AOC-4 XBRL and MGT-7 until 31 October 2015; companies required to file Consolidated Financial Statements but not in XBRL may file using AOC-4 CFS without additional fees until 30 November 2015.

Taxpayer information confidentiality: mandates committees, classification, access controls and incident reporting to protect sensitive tax data.
Confidentiality of taxpayer information is enforced through an Information Security Committee (ISC) and a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO), with mandated Local Information Security Committees (LISCs) at cadre-controlling levels to implement an Information Security Policy and Procedures (ISPP). Information must be classified into prescribed categories and protected by domain-specific controls-physical security, personnel security, identity and access management, and security monitoring and incident management-supported by adoption matrices, reporting, audits, user records, training, and breach investigation and escalation procedures.

Restriction on manual refunds: manual refunds barred for cases processed on AST; exceptions require supervisory approval and system entry.
Manual refunds are prohibited for cases processed on AST and must be routed through the Refund Banker or system workflows; exceptions are limited to specified Online TMS contingencies or where initial orders were passed outside AST, subject to mandatory supervisory approval, recording of reasons, mandatory PAN/AY/bank details on cheques, prohibition where a prior identical manual refund was encashed, and mandatory entry of refund details in the new ITD manual-refund screen for OLTAS matching and monitoring.

Extra Duty Deposit payment option enables invoice-wise e-challan and e-payment with BE recording and cancellation control.
Introduction of three ICES v.1.5 modules: Extra Duty Deposit payment allows appraisers to generate invoice wise e challans with e payment, records EDD on BE and blocks OOC until payment or cancellation; Bond Recredit enables bond recredit for successful sea sea transshipment at gateway ports; SEZ SB Verification lets PREV OFF mark consignments Allowed for Export and enter or modify container and AWB/rotation details.

Amount sought to be evaded clarified as including tax, penalty or interest, affecting compounding fee calculations.
Clarification that the phrase "amount sought to be evaded" for offences under section 276C(1) means the amount of any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under the Act, and that compounding fee calculations and related assessments must be based on that measure.

Cancellation of LUT/BG bonds: selected advance licence exports must undergo document verification to enable security cancellation.
DEEC Monitoring Cell requires selected advance licence holders to submit documents listed in Annexure A of Public Notice No. 11/2011 for verification of exports to enable cancellation of BG/LUT; separate lists identify cases accepted without verification, cases prescribed for DGFT verification, and cases missing additional DGFT sheets, each subject to follow up under the DEEC procedural framework.

Input tax credit reconciliation: mandatory declarations and blocked Annexure entries required before filing current returns.
Matching framework requires that once returns are filed, matched entries between a seller's Annexure 2B and a purchaser's Annexure 2A be blocked and not revisable; dealers must furnish declarations explaining mismatches arising from prior-period sales or purchases before filing current returns, must file revised returns if they accept corrections, and the department may assess a purchasing dealer where the seller disowns reported sales.

Online payment facility for e-IEC enables applicants to pay fees via cards and netbanking, with specified processing charges.
Operationalisation of online payment facility enabling applicants to pay application fees for issuance of online Importer Exporter Code (e-IEC) and other online filings through credit/debit cards and electronic fund transfer from a specified list of banks. The notice frames the measure as trade facilitation and digitalisation to support paperless, round-the-clock online functioning. It prescribes transaction processing charges for credit and debit card payments and a separate net-banking charge structure, with service tax additionally payable, and includes an annexed list of participating banks.

Government-backed line of credit imposes India-origin supply requirements and RBI reporting for project exports and supplies.
Exim Bank's Government-supported Line of Credit to Djibouti for the Ali Sabieh Cement Project conditions financing on exports eligible under India's Foreign Trade Policy, requiring at least 75% India supplied value for goods and services (including consultancy) and permitting up to 25% of goods and services (other than consultancy) from outside India. The agreement (executed March 9, 2015; effective June 5, 2015) sets final dates for letters of credit and disbursement, mandates EDF/SDF shipment declarations, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter-funded commission subject to AD Category I bank controls, and is issued under FEMA directions.

Reverse charge liability: notified service recipients must register and pay service tax when specified services are notified for recipient-side payment.
Payment of service tax on a reverse charge basis places liability on notified recipients who must register, file returns and pay tax; a specified list of services is subject to full or partial reverse charge with percentages allocated between provider and recipient. Applicability is subject to conditions (recipient categories, nature of provider, and place of provision), specified exemptions for small providers and certain recipients, prohibition on using CENVAT credit for reverse charge payments, independent liabilities under partial reverse charge, and separate valuation options for works contracts. Non-compliance attracts interest and penalties.

Tariff Rate Quota allocation adds raw sugar export quantity to USA under FTP, subject to certification and reporting.
An additional quantity of raw cane sugar from the non-levy (Free Sale) quota has been allocated for export to the USA under the Tariff Rate Quota for the US fiscal year 2015, supplementing the previously notified quantity; such exports are classified as 'Free' subject to the Nature of Restrictions, reporting requirements, and certification conditions, with Certificate of Origin for preferential exports to be issued by the Additional Director General of Foreign Trade, Mumbai, and other specified compliance obligations to be observed.

Digital signature authentication enables verifiable electronic records and a specified PDF-based verification process for signed invoices and documents.
Prescribed procedures allow assessees to maintain electronic records and authenticate invoices by digital signatures issued by recognized certifying authorities, subject to prior notification of signer and certificate details to the jurisdictional officer and separate records for each registration; officers may require and verify printouts during enquiries and may verify digitally signed documents via PDF signature panels, modification history, and signer certificate details, adding validated certificates to trusted identities upon satisfaction.

Digital signature verification procedures enable authentication and integrity checks of electronically maintained tax records for compliance verification.
Assessees may maintain electronic records and authenticate records and invoices using Class 2 or Class 3 Digital Signature Certificate from an Indian certifying authority, must intimate authorised signatory details to the jurisdictional officer, and maintain separate electronic records for each factory or registration. A Central Excise Officer may requisition printouts of electronic records for verification and the procedure for validating digitally signed documents requires internet-enabled access to stored files, inspection of signature properties and modification history, and the option to add verified signers to a list of trusted certificates.

Cyber security and cyber resilience obligations: market infrastructure institutions must implement controls to manage operational cyber risk and reporting.
Imposes a mandatory Cyber Security and Cyber Resilience framework on Stock Exchanges, Clearing Corporations and Depositories requiring Board approved policies to identify critical assets, assess cyber risks, apply protection/detection/response/recovery processes, designate a CISO, adopt recognised standards, conduct vulnerability assessments and penetration testing, implement access controls, encryption and monitoring, perform incident drills and forensic investigations, submit quarterly reports to the regulator, and ensure vendor and staff security, training and audit coverage.

Certificate of Origin (Non Preferential) authorisation expanded to three additional agencies for export documentation compliance.
Authorisation under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020 enlists three agencies-Federation of Kutch Industries Associations (Gujarat), Indian Merchants' Chamber (Delhi) and National Chamber of Industries & Commerce (Uttar Pradesh/Uttarakhand)-in Appendix 2E, thereby authorizing them to issue Certificate of Origin (Non Preferential) and updating the Appendices & Aayaat Niryaat Forms of the FTP 2015-2020 with their serial placements.

Undisclosed foreign assets declaration: voluntary compliance permits tax and specified statutory immunity subject to eligibility and disclosure conditions.
Voluntary tax compliance under Chapter VI permits declaration of undisclosed foreign assets acquired from income chargeable to tax in India prior to assessment year 2016-17, subject to eligibility limits where assessment notices, searches, surveys, or government information (including DTAA disclosures) pre-date specified cut-offs. Tax and penalty are payable on fair market value as per the Rules; the declared value becomes the cost for future capital gains and declared assets are granted immunity only under specified Acts, with other laws and bad faith declarations remaining actionable.

Refund of pre-deposit: file claim with group AC/DC with appellate order and payment proof, then obtain cheque.
Claimants must file a refund claim with the concerned group AC/DC attaching the original/attested appellate order and proof of pre-deposit payment; after the refund order, they must approach DC/Drawback with a bank attested mandate form for cheque issuance, and Drawback Section will keep separate records of refund cheques issued.