Information security committee constitution updated: adds a member and reallocates the chief information security officer role accordingly.
Constitution of the Information Security Committee of the Central Board of Direct Taxes is modified: membership adjusted to add Joint Secretary (FT & TR-II) and to replace CIT (M & TP) with CIT (International Taxation-3), New Delhi, who will perform the role of Chief Information Security Officer; committee remains chaired by Member (IT).

Timely issuance of appellate orders required; non-compliance will be viewed adversely and strict compliance is mandated.
CBDT requires that appellate orders by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) be issued within 15 days of the last hearing and that any lapse will be viewed adversely; this timing requirement also applies to orders by CIT (Administration) and CCIT, including matters under specified income tax provisions and orders under Rule 86 of the Second Schedule, and Principal Chief Commissioners are to ensure strict compliance.

Authorization of Commissioners requires personal signing of counter affidavits and prohibits delegation of representation in High Court matters.
The Board directs that an authorised Commissioner must personally sign the vakalatnama and file the counter affidavit for the Union or Ministry/Board officers in High Court matters; delegation to subordinates is not permitted. For petitions naming multiple Ministries/Departments, the petition must be forwarded to the concerned Ministry/Department to file its counter. If no jurisdictional officer is joined, the nodal Commissioner for the bench must be authorised and must obtain and incorporate comments from concerned officers. Where policy input is needed, the authorised Commissioner will obtain comments from the policy wing, inform the legal section, and then vet and file the counter affidavit.

Settlement of cases: issue a follow-up notice informing noticees of Settlement Commission options and encourage voluntary application.
Directs officers to send a follow-up letter immediately after issuance of a Show Cause Notice informing the noticee about the Settlement Commission scheme, advising eligible persons to apply to the Settlement Commission according to the prescribed procedure and to notify the Adjudicating Authority; annexed model letters are provided for Central Excise, Customs and Service Tax matters and the instruction is to be circulated among officers.

Customs area designation expanded to include additional WINC plot under Section 8, subject to existing public-notice conditions.
Declaration under Section 8 of the Customs Act designates an additional 8,586 square metres of the WINC (Wadala Incinerator Plot) as a Customs Area, to be added to the existing notified area. The added area is subject to the same conditions mandated by Public Notice No. 48 dated 23-5-1990, and that Public Notice is amended with immediate effect to reflect the enlargement.

Publication of service charges requirement: customs cargo providers must publicly display schedules of charges or face regulatory action.
All Customs Cargo Service Providers, including consol agents and freight forwarders, must obtain approval to operate and must publish and display a schedule of charges for services related to imported and export goods at prominent places and on their websites, including disclosure of load port and transit expenses in the Master Bill of Lading and any additional discharge port charges; failure to comply or complaints of overcharging will invite investigation and regulatory action.

Line of credit for export finance: government-backed LOC sets sourcing, reporting and remittance compliance for exporters.
Government-supported Line of Credit for procurement of defence vessels requires eligible exports under the Foreign Trade Policy, mandates that at least seventy-five percent of contract value (including consultancy) be supplied from India with limited foreign procurement for non-consultancy goods, prescribes distinct deadlines for opening letters of credit and disbursement depending on contract type, requires declaration of shipments on prescribed export forms, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter-funded commission under prevailing remittance rules, and directs authorised dealers to inform exporters and obtain LOC details; directions issued under the foreign exchange management statute.

BEF reporting in XBRL requires online bank wise submission with single-format disclosure of large defaulted import remittances.
Move of BEF reporting to an electronic XBRL platform mandates online, bank wise submission for the half yearly periods ending June and December in a single prescribed format (Annex I) listing remittances for imports that lack supporting evidence after six months from remittance; AD banks must obtain portal credentials via the prescribed fill in form (Annex II).

Online MEIS applications now permit digital submission and uploading of supporting documents, eliminating most physical copy requirements.
MEIS claims must be filed through the DGFT Kolkata online portal with supporting documents uploaded and authenticated by digital signatures; physical copies are no longer required except for proof of landing and shipping bills for exports from non EDI ports. Two processing streams-MEIS I (A-M) and MEIS II (N-Z)-have been established to facilitate handling.

Repayment of deposits: companies may repay pre-commencement deposits per original terms and registrars may prosecute for defaults.
Depositors may apply to the adjudicatory body exercising tribunal powers for non-repayment, and companies may seek time extensions; companies may repay deposits accepted before commencement in accordance with the original terms and conditions, subject to conditions in the Acceptance of Deposits Rules, and registrars may initiate prosecution for failures to repay.

Management Information System implementation: Commissionerates must upload and Zonal CCs validate Monthly Performance Reports via the web portal.
Centralized MIS requires Commissionerates and designated ADGs to upload Monthly Performance Reports via the DDM web-based utility using assigned user-ids; Zonal Chief Commissionerates or relevant Functional Owners must validate uploads before MPRs enter the MIS database. Role-based access controls limit insertion, submission, correction and validation rights; originating users may correct submitted MPRs until validation, while post-validation corrections need formal approval from Functional Owners. The system automates aggregation, reporting and dashboards for Functional Owners and Board users and replaces manual/email transmission of MPRs.

Decision not to file appeals: jurisdictional CCIT's choice will not be referred to a CCsIT panel under the procedure.
Where a jurisdictional CCIT proposes or decides not to file an appeal before the High Court, the case will not be referred to the panel of CCsIT constituted for decisions on filing appeals; the panel and referral procedure therefore applies to decisions to file appeals but does not apply to decisions not to file, and this clarification is to be communicated to all concerned.

Examination without Delivery Order permitted to expedite inspections, while release remains conditional on subsequent production of the order.
Customs will permit examination/inspection of imported goods without insistence on the Delivery Order: docks/CFSs shall present goods for Customs inspection upon registration even if the Delivery Order is not yet produced, but release of cargo from docks/CFSs will occur only after production of the Delivery Order.

Manual filing for Status Holder Certificate allowed until EDI operational; file as per ANF requirements.
Exporters may submit applications for a Status Holder Certificate manually in ANF 3C of the Handbook of Procedures of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 until the EDI online module is operational or until the deadline in Public Notice No. 17/2015-20; filings must follow the ANF 3C format and the procedural requirements specified in the Handbook.

Declaration of foreign exchange compliance must be included in the Shipping Bill, replacing the separate SDF requirement.
The SDF requirement for exports at EDI ports has been removed and replaced by a prescribed FEMA declaration to be included within the Shipping Bill; exporters must undertake to abide by FEMA provisions, including realization and repatriation of foreign exchange, and furnish that declaration as part of the Shipping Bill pursuant to the Customs Notification implementing the change.

CIT(A) module implementation requires uploading pending appeals data and completing infrastructure prerequisites for system rollout.
Implementation of the CIT(A) module in ITBA requires uploading data for all pending appeals using the Appeal Excel Utility, enabling the module's MIS and appellate workload controls; offices must also ensure infrastructure readiness including network nodes, PCs and RSA tokens and confirm jurisdiction orders so compliance reports and suggestions can be submitted to the Directorate for module rollout.

Share based employee benefits compliance requires detailed trust, committee, disclosure and filing protocols to protect beneficiaries.
SEBI's requirements for share based employee benefit schemes mandate that trust deeds specify trust particulars, trustee duties, beneficiaries, funding and dissolution; the Compensation Committee set detailed terms on quantum, eligibility, vesting, exercise, corporate action adjustments and long leave treatment; shareholder explanatory statements and stock exchange filings must disclose scheme description, total entitlements, pricing, vesting/exercise terms, implementation route, loan and accounting details; and annual and trust disclosures must report granular ESOS/ESPS/SAR/GEBS data, valuation method and risks.

Transshipment container verification: authorised representatives and customs officers must use ICES printouts, stamps and EIR checks for gate release.
Verification for transshipment containers to ICDs/SEZs requires an authorised shipping representative to present a computer generated container statement to Import Noting; the Noting Section verifies in ICES 1.5, signs and stamps, after which the Gate Officer tallies EIR details with the printout, stamps and seals the EIR for gate release and signs the transshipment approval. On weekends and holidays, Customs Officers in the Boarding Office will perform verification and stamping of the computer generated printouts for online transshipments.

Nodal officer change for registration restoration: new Assistant Commissioner appointed to handle restoration of dealer certificates in Zone I.
Sh. Pankaj Sood, Assistant Commissioner (Ward 02 & 07), is nominated as nodal officer in place of Sh. Parveen Kumar Sinha, AC (Ward 04), for restoration of dealers' Registration Certificates in respect of Zone I, as a partial modification of Circular No.15 of 2014-15, with directions for departmental circulation and web uploading for implementation.

Paperless submission of MEIS claims permitted through online ANF 3A; uploaded documents replace most physical copies.
An online beta ANF 3A permits electronic filing and upload of supporting documents with applicant digital signatures for MEIS claims; uploaded documents will obviate the need for physical copies except that 'Proof of Landing' must be submitted as per HBP para 3.03 and shipping bills are required physically for exports from non EDI ports. RAs shall not insist on physical copies of documents submitted online.