Special currency basket valuation revised, requiring AD Category I banks to notify constituents and comply with FEMA directions.
The Reserve Bank revised the rupee valuation of the Special Currency Basket under the Deferred Payment Protocols, fixed with effect from April 30, 2015, and directed Authorised Dealer Category I banks to note and communicate the change to their constituents; directions are issued under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Remittance of FCNR(B) funds: A2 form and physical presence are not required; banks should use technology to verify transactions.
A2 form filing is not required for remittance of funds from closure of FCNR (B) deposits because A2 applies to purchase of foreign exchange using rupee funds. Banks must not insist on the account holder's physical presence and should use technological alternatives to verify bonafides and ensure hassle free remittance. Authorised Dealer Category I banks must notify their constituents. Directions issued under Sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999, without prejudice to other legal permissions.

Export declaration requirement waived for EDI port shipments; Shipping Bill now deemed to satisfy export declaration obligations.
The requirement to file the Shipping Bill Declaration Form (SDF) for exports of goods or software is dispensed with where exports take place through EDI ports, because the statutory particulars of the SDF are subsumed in the Shipping Bill format; Authorised Dealers must notify constituents and the directions are issued under the regulator's statutory powers without prejudice to other permissions.

Line of Credit for infrastructure financing requires majority Indian supplies and prescribed export documentation under FEMA directions.
The Export-Import Bank's LOC for Nepal finances specified infrastructure projects on condition that eligible Indian exports supply at least 75% of contract value (50% for civil works), shipments be declared on prescribed export forms, and no agency commission is payable under the LOC though exporters may use own funds or EEFC balances for commission remittances subject to AD Category-I bank approval after realisation; directions issued under FEMA remain subject to other legal permissions.

Response to outstanding tax demand: e filing responses trigger AO verification and rectification or demand adjustment.
Circular prescribes an e filing based procedure for taxpayers to respond to outstanding tax demands by selecting whether the demand is correct, partially correct, or disputed, furnishing specified reasons and documentary particulars (such as CIN, challan details, TDS certificates, appeal or stay orders), and receiving a transaction ID. AOs/CPC must verify submissions and departmental records, prioritize certain categories, and reduce, confirm or remove demands by posting challans or issuing rectification orders; reductions without CIN or for TDS not reflected in system are permitted for Individuals and HUFs subject to documentary evidence, indemnity bond and supervisory approval thresholds. Annexure A provides the indemnity bond format.

Rotation policy for customs appraisers and inspectors mandates fixed tenures and biannual reassignments to ensure balanced exposure and integrity.
The policy consolidates rotation and transfer rules for Appraisers and Inspectors in Mumbai Customs Zone II, emphasizing systematic rotation to promote efficiency and varied experience, fixed tenures, and predictable posting cycles. It prescribes functional tenures across appraising, docks, examination and intelligence units, mandates biannual rotations, restricts sensitive postings to vigilance cleared officers, allows one year intelligence postings with possible extensions for ongoing cases, and requires phased relieving with automatic relief on stipulated compliance dates. Canvassing for postings is misconduct.

Suo-moto payment of customs duty allows exporters to deposit or debit self-calculated duty pending RA regularisation.
Authorisation holders with an acknowledged RA regularisation application may make suo-moto payment of self-calculated duty and interest for bona fide default under Advance/EPCG by cash challan or debit of eligible Chapter 3 duty credit scrips (limited to permitted imports); interest must be paid in cash and challans submitted to Customs for record update. Upon the RA's excess import letter, Customs will confirm actual duty and interest, adjust for prior payments or debits, direct payment of any balance, endorse paid challans, and, after the RA's redemption letter, reconcile and initiate release of the Bond/Bank Guarantee.

Co-location access rules require fair, equal-latency hosting, transparency, security safeguards and mandatory implementation timelines.
Stock exchanges must offer co-location/proximity hosting in a fair, transparent and equitable manner, ensure similar latency for all users, provide sufficient and flexible rack space, decide requests within fifteen working days with written reasons for rejections, allow data feeds and order routing to other recognised exchanges, publish facility descriptions, fees and quarterly latency reports, identify and disseminate statistics on orders/trades from co-located servers, implement security and access controls preventing unauthorized access and prohibiting broker/vendor personnel access to exchange trading platforms and databases, and amend bye-laws and report implementation within three months.

Consolidated FDI Policy: rules for entry routes, sectoral caps, permitted instruments, reporting, and approval requirements for foreign investors into Indian companies.
The Consolidated FDI Policy sets the operative framework for foreign direct investment into Indian entities: definitions of FDI and investor classes; permitted investee entities and instruments; timelines, pricing/valuation and filing obligations for issue and transfer of securities; conditions for conversion of certain liabilities into equity; methodologies to compute direct and indirect foreign investment; entry routes via the Automatic or Government Route with sectoral caps and security/clearance conditions; FIPB composition and approval thresholds; prohibited sectors; and remittance, reporting and compliance requirements administered by RBI and Government.

Minimum Alternate Tax on foreign investors: enforcement and fresh notices stayed pending committee review, except where limitation applies.
The circular directs that, pending review by a Committee on MAT applicability to FIIs, no coercive recovery action should be taken in cases where demands have been raised by invoking Minimum Alternate Tax against foreign companies, and issuance of fresh notices for reopening or completion of assessments should be put on hold unless the matter is about to be barred by limitation.

Insider trading disclosures: companies must publish fair disclosure and conduct codes and confirm them to exchanges.
Companies must adopt and publish a Code of Practices for fair disclosure of Unpublished Price Sensitive Information (UPSI) and a Code of Conduct, confirm both to stock exchanges immediately, maintain disclosure formats under regulation 6 in physical or electronic form, and deal only with intermediaries who have compliant codes; stock exchanges must implement systems, amend bye-laws, and disseminate these requirements.

Widening tax base: directed focused mission-mode drive to add new assessees and deploy officers nationwide.
A directive mandates a mission-mode initiative to widen the tax base, focusing on tier II cities where the gap between potential and actual taxpayers is largest. Officials are instructed to develop region-specific strategies, deploy and activate officers for outreach and compliance, and use assessment and investigation functions as principal mechanisms. Senior officials must present plans at the Annual Conference and submit brief strategy notes by the stated deadline to enable coordinated implementation.

Widening tax base: directive to expand taxpayer registration with a monthly addition target and targeted regional strategies.
Directive to widen the tax base by increasing registered taxpayers, prioritising tier II cities and towns, and treating this as a mission mode objective for the financial year. It requires focused deployment of officers, activation of assessment and investigation resources as core tools, preparation of specific regional and national strategies for discussion at the Annual Conference of senior tax officials, and submission of a brief strategy note by the prescribed deadline.

Widen tax base: directive to add new assessees monthly and mobilize officers to implement strategy.
Directive to widen the tax base by adding at least twenty-five lakh new assesses per month in the current financial year, pursued in mission mode and prioritised at the Annual Conference of senior tax officials. Field formations must deploy and activate officers-with focus on tier II cities and towns-use assessment and investigation as primary tools, prepare specific regional and national strategies, and submit a brief note by 20 May 2015 for discussion at the conference.

Master Circular for Depositories: consolidates KYC rules, BSDA, DIS controls, CAS, BCP/DR and PFMI compliance.
Master Circular compiles SEBI directives to 31 March 2015 and prescribes operational and compliance standards for depositories, DPs, issuers and BOs: PAN as primary ID with listed PoI/PoA, mandatory KYC and account opening controls; eligibility, charges and service rules for BSDA; standardized and monitored DIS issuance, scanning and processing; transmission timelines (7 days for demat), ISIN activation/freeze rules for new issues; Consolidated Account Statement (CAS) processes; T+2 settlement schedule; and institutional requirements for PFMIs, annual System Audit, BCP/DR, IT governance, risk management and DP inspection framework.

SEVOTTAM service standards ensure time bound response and disposal obligations for customs communications and claims at Visakhapatnam.
SEVOTTAM at Visakhapatnam Customs establishes time bound service standards under the Citizens' Charter: acknowledge written communications; convey decisions; dispose of refund claims; remit drawback claims; clear consignments on complete declarations for exports and imports; release seized documents not relied upon in show cause notices; acknowledge and respond to complaints. It requires submission of communications to a centralized Receipt Section with on the spot dated acknowledgments and provides contact details for queries.

Confidential financial intelligence sharing must flow through designated nodal officers, protecting FIU as the source.
Requests for FIU IND information must be routed through designated nodal officers: the Director of Income Tax (Recovery) for recovery matters and the Deputy Secretary/Director (Investigation IV) for investigations and international requests; FIU IND will respond only to these nodal officers. Officers below Joint Commissioner level need prior approval from a Joint Commissioner or higher before seeking FIU information. All information from FIU IND is confidential intelligence, must be protected from unauthorised use and not identified as FIU IND in orders or correspondence except when required by a competent court.

Export time limit imposed for authorized shipments of value added Red Sanders wood, requiring compliance within the prescribed period.
Amendment prescribes a definitive time limit for execution of the export authorization granted to the Government of Andhra Pradesh for value added products of Red Sanders wood; the DGFT, under Paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, amends Public Notice No. 42 (RE-2013)/2009-2014 to impose a cut-off date for completion of the previously time-unlimited authorized export quantity, leaving existing procedural permissions unchanged except for the temporal limitation.

Tariff rate quota allocation for sugar exports: highest FOB bids win, BG and reporting required before shipment.
APEDA will allocate TRQ quota for export of raw sugar to the USA by issuing Registration-cum-Allocation-Certificates (RCAC) after sealed applications; allocations are awarded by highest FOB price in USD per MT, with identical prices allocated pro rata. Applications must include a performance bank guarantee equal to 5% of the FOB value in Indian Rupees and processing charges per MT. RCACs run for 90 days with one 30-day extension possible; exporters must submit export details within 15 days of RCAC expiry and non-shipment may lead to invocation of the bank guarantee and reallocation of surrendered quantities.

Scheme implementation requires cooperative banks to integrate IT modules and finalise insurer tie ups for online enrolment.
Primary Urban Cooperative Banks must integrate scheme-specific modules into their CBS and BC handheld software to enable online enrolment, issue an acknowledgement slip that can serve as the insurance certificate, finalise MOUs with insurers willing to offer the product on prescribed terms, and appoint a Nodal Officer while furnishing bank and contact details to RBI Regional Offices for transmission to the Ministry of Finance.