Turnover threshold reduction expands Fast Track Clearance eligibility for EOU, EHTP, STP and BTP schemes.
Revision reduces the turnover threshold for Fast Track Clearance under HBP 2015-2020, thereby broadening eligibility for units under the EOU, EHTP, STP and BTP schemes; this amendment modifies paragraph 7 of Circular No. 17/2006-Cus and the opening paragraph of Circular No. 19/2007-Cus accordingly.

Appointment of common adjudicating authority: delegation to Principal DG, DRI to expedite adjudication under Customs Act provisions.
Power to appoint common adjudicating authority for DRI investigated cases is delegated to the Principal DG, DRI; high value, seizure, over valuation and existing adjudication matters are to be assigned to the Additional Director General (Adjudication), DRI, while other DRI cases will be allocated to jurisdictional Commissioners based on commissionerate or maximum duty evaded. Remand matters stay with original adjudicators, past DRI cases with current jurisdictional Commissioners continue with them, and cases outside these categories remain with the Board. Pending appointments and incomplete adjudications must be disposed of expeditiously, considering hearing stages.

Condonation of delay in tax claims under Section 119(2)(b): delegation, timelines and verification requirements clarified.
Guidelines prescribe conditions and procedure for condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b), delegating authority to income-tax commissioners within specified monetary limits and reserving cases above those limits to the Board. No application is entertainable beyond six years from the end of the relevant assessment year, subject to limited exceptions; applications should be disposed within six months. Delegated authorities must ensure correctness and genuineness of claimed income/loss/refund, may direct inquiries, and apply specified conditions to belated supplementary refund claims including ineligibility for interest and source-based refund origins.

Payment of rebate/refund claims directly to assessee/exporter bank accounts via RTGS/NEFT with bank certified authorisation required.
Facility introduced for direct payment of sanctioned rebate/refund amounts to assessees'/exporters' bank accounts via RTGS/NEFT. Claimants must submit a one time bank certified authorization (Annexure A) with a cancelled cheque; subsequent claims may use a self attested copy. Refund sanctioning authorities forward an Annexure B list, a consolidated cheque, original authorisations and a soft copy to the designated bank, which will credit beneficiary accounts after deducting applicable NEFT/RTGS charges per RBI guidelines.

Preferential handling for status holders: expedited disposal of advance authorisations and amendments for higher-rated exporters under Foreign Trade Policy priority.
Preferential treatment for Status Holders under the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-20 requires Regional Authorities to give priority and expedited, time bound processing of electronic advance authorisation applications and related amendments, including revalidation and invalidation, in accordance with Para 3.24(g) and the Handbook of Procedure Para 9.10; RAs must follow the prescribed shortened timelines scrupulously when disposing applications from Status Holders.

VAT objections for Annexure 2A/2B mismatches designated to Ward Assistant Commissioners for special hearings through DVAT system.
Every Ward In Charge who is an Assistant Commissioner/VATO is designated as the Special Objection Hearing Authority (SOHA) to dispose objections filed u/s 74 of the DVAT Act, 2004 for Annexure 2A/2B mismatch cases (AY 2012 13); hearings to be held on working days with on line notices via the DVAT System; link officer arrangements apply where the incumbent is an AVATO and transfers to link officers or HR referral are mandated where conflicts or unavailability arise.

STR dissemination via a second Finnet user id instituted to clear backlog; users must access both accounts and accept STRs.
A second Finnet User Id has been created for dissemination of recent Suspicious Transaction Reports to registered investigation office users to address a backlog. Users must log into Citrix with existing credentials, access both the primary and the suffixed secondary Finnet mail IDs, enter the four digit OTP sent to their registered mobile, and accept STRs on Finnet. Users are required to act on disseminated STRs per the applicable SOP.

Suspension time-limit: suspension cannot exceed three months absent service of chargesheet; extensions require reasoned orders.
Suspension time-limit is capped at three months if no Memorandum of Charges/chargesheet is served; if a chargesheet is served, any extension of suspension must be supported by a reasoned order. The direction to hold departmental proceedings in abeyance during criminal investigation is displaced. The Government may transfer an officer to sever contacts and may prohibit the officer from contacting persons or handling records until required to prepare his defence. Authorities must communicate the principles, review pending cases, and reference the judgment in post-revocation transfer orders.

Rectification under section 154: directives require prompt disposal, register maintenance and SOP-based demand verification.
Mandate to promptly dispose of applications for rectification under section 154, requiring disposal of applications received up to 31 March 2015 by 15 May 2015 and submission of feedback on disposal targets to Zonal Members with intimation to Member (IT) by 20 June 2015. Supervisory authorities must ensure Assessing Officers maintain Rectification Registers and follow the SOP in Instruction No. 3/2015. Assessing Officers are to apply the SOP in Circular No. 8/2015 for verification and correction of demand to settle disputed demands and mitigate taxpayer grievances.

Distinctive number database requirement ensures centralised share records and reconciled issued capital across market participants in real time.
Creation of a Distinctive Number (DN) database is mandated to centralise records of all equity shares, physical and dematerialised, issued by listed companies and to facilitate reconciliation of total issued and listed capital. Depositories must build and maintain the DN database and provide online interfaces; stock exchanges must supply and validate company share totals and update DN entries upon listing approvals; issuers/RTAs must continuously update DN data and reconcile mismatches; depository participants must verify DNs during dematerialisation. Non-compliance attracts action under extant laws.

Pre-shipment inspection agency recognition: extended application deadline with provisional filing allowed; bank guarantee required before notification.
Amendments require existing and new applicants for recognition as Pre-shipment Inspection Agencies to apply in ANF 2L by the prescribed cutoff, with late applications taken up after the subsequent month. Applicants may initially submit applications without the ANF-2L bank guarantee; however, the requisite bank guarantee or equivalent financial instrument must be submitted before they are notified as PSIA under the Foreign Trade Policy and Handbook of Procedures.

Companies Law Committee constituted to recommend reforms implementing the Companies Act and review related committee recommendations.
Constitution of a Companies Law Committee with the Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs as Chair and specified official and non-official members; the Committee may invite or co-opt subject-matter experts and officials from other agencies. Its terms of reference are to recommend to the Government on implementation issues of the Companies Act and to examine recommendations from other committees and agencies. Non-official members may receive travel and related allowances if sponsors do not fund them, secretarial support will be provided by the Ministry, and the Committee must submit recommendations within six months of its first meeting.

Free of cost exports cap for status holders limited, imposing the lower of a fixed ceiling or percentage of average exports.
Amendment limits the entitlement of Status holders to export freely exportable items on a free of cost basis for export promotion by prescribing that such exports are allowed subject to an annual ceiling equal to the lower of a fixed monetary limit or a percentage of average annual export realisation during the preceding three licensing years; the amendment is effected under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy and is effective immediately.

Online filing requirement for export applications: electronic processing mandated, with temporary manual filing exceptions for specified certificates.
Mandates online filing and electronic processing of export-related applications, with DGFT issuing deficiency letters and communications only in electronic mode. As a transitional arrangement, limited manual filing is permitted until the EDI online module is ready for specific applications: Status Holder Certificate, bond waiver, and Nominated Agency Certificate. Status Certificates issued under the prior policy remain valid for the transition or until reissuance under the current policy.

Foreign trade procedure amendments: revised duty free import entitlements, clubbing rules and export obligation extension conditions.
Notification amends the Handbook of Procedures of the Foreign Trade Policy 2015-2020 effective 1 April 2015, revising duty free import entitlements for R&D and agro chemicals, authorising use of listed Inspection and Certification Agencies for capital goods certification, and tightening issuance of non preferential Certificates of Origin. It revises clubbing rules for Advance Authorisation (eligibility windows, restricted categories, composition fee regimes for exports outside EO periods, and value addition requirements) and limits export obligation extensions to defined conditions and maximum aggregate duration.

Postal import assessment governs duty treatment and adjudication for personal use, gifts, online purchases and restricted items.
Assessment of postal imports depends on declared use and value: personal-use consignments under the postal tariff receive concessional assessment within the low-value threshold, while consignments exceeding thresholds or falling in restricted categories must be classified under the relevant tariff heading and adjudicated for Foreign Trade Policy violations with merit rates of duty; gifts and commercial samples have specified concessions subject to limits and otherwise are chargeable and adjudicable.

NRI definition expanded to include OCI/PIO cardholders and NRI investments under Schedule 4 FEMA treated as domestic investments.
The FDI policy now defines 'Non Resident Indian' to include Indian citizens resident abroad and Overseas Citizen of India cardholders, with Persons of Indian Origin cardholders deemed OCI cardholders, and provides that investments by NRIs under Schedule 4 of FEMA will be treated as domestic investment at par with resident investments.

Foreign investment approval threshold raised, shifting larger proposals from board review to cabinet-level consideration under revised FDI guidelines.
Revision increases the investment threshold determining which foreign equity proposals require Cabinet-level consideration; the Minister of Finance (in charge of FIPB) will consider FIPB recommendations up to the revised threshold, and recommendations above it are to be placed for consideration by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, with the FIPB Secretariat processing recommendations to obtain Minister of Finance and CCEA approvals.

Service tax on restaurant services: increased rate now applies to abated value, raising the effective tax on total bill.
Valuation of services for serving food or beverages at restaurants with air conditioning or central air heating follows the existing rule treating a defined portion of the total amount charged as the taxable service value after an abatement; the revised central service tax rate applies to that abated value, increasing the effective tax on the total amount charged. Establishments without air conditioning or central air heating continue to fall within the exemption.

Border haat trade arrangements permit specified locally produced goods to be traded under MOU operational guidelines, subject to vendor residency.
Permits regulated cross-border trade at Kamalasagar and Tarapur Kasba Border Haats under the MOU and Foreign Trade Policy, specifying allowed categories of locally produced goods (vegetables, fruits, spices, minor forest produce excluding timber, cottage industry products, small agricultural implements, processed foods) and defining "locally produced" as originating in the concerned border districts; delegates commodity classification and approval of immediate-consumption items to the Haat Management Committee and limits vendors to residents within a five-kilometre radius of the Haats.