Verification checklist for demonetisation cash deposits standardizes AO scrutiny to identify and quantify unexplained cash deposits for assessment.
Standardized verification checklist directs assessing officers to verify depositor information, classify taxpayer type, assess return filing history and income, compute ratio of cash deposits to gross total income, and identify nature of deposits to determine quantum of unaccounted deposits. For businesses it requires comparison with earlier sales profiles, review of stock records and internal controls, month wise analysis of cash sales and bank deposits across pre and peri demonetisation periods, computation of percentage increases, and follow up on atypical cash patterns; completed checklists must be uploaded in prescribed electronic format.

360 profiling of sensitive commodity businesses directed to improve recovery records, entity tracking, and asset monitoring across zones.
360 profiling of companies and other entities engaged in the trade of sensitive goods and services is directed to strengthen recovery administration in cases where recoverable assets or traceable directors may be unavailable. Each zone is to maintain complete and updated information on company profiles, directors, shareholders, and assets of sensitive commodity businesses and related red-flag entities, with the Joint Commissioner (Corporate Circle) designated as the nodal officer for the exercise. The profiling is to be undertaken in a phased manner, beginning with the most sensitive commodity or service in the zone and the largest companies engaged in that trade, and must be completed by 30 October 2019.

Transport and Marketing Assistance online filing enabled; applicants must submit supporting documents and bank mandate within the stipulated period.
Exporters may file TMA claims through the DGFT E COM module on the DGFT website with guidance from the available user manual. For processing, a self certified PDF printout from the online system, prescribed supporting documents and a Bank Mandate Form must be filed manually with the jurisdictional Regional Authority specified in Appendix 7(A)B within the stipulated period after online submission.

All Industry Rates applicability removed - Brand Rate drawback must be determined on actual duties in the post GST regime.
Earlier circulars permitting application of All Industry Rates to Brand Rate fixation were based on a pre GST premise of unrelieved excise duties; post GST subsumption of those duties and availability of input tax credit removes that premise. Therefore those circular provisions do not apply to exports in the post GST era, and any duties not refunded or neutralised may be claimed by exporters on an actual basis under the applicable Drawback Rules.

ITR-6 filing: report passport if no foreign TIN, disclose foreign directorships, and follow Schedule FA/AL/CG rules.
Non-resident taxpayers without a local TIN must report passport number and issuing country. Report foreign directorships and unlisted foreign shareholdings (also in Schedule FA) even if no Indian income arises. Listed overseas shares need not be reported as unlisted equity; delisted companies' PAN may be furnished or default "NNNNN0000N" used. For gifts/mergers/bonus, cost/sale consideration may be zero since entries are for reporting only. Schedule FD covers only foreign-currency payments/receipts for business operations in India. ISIN/scrip-wise LTCG tools in the utility are optional; aggregate LTCG may be entered directly in Schedule CG.

Monetary limits for departmental income-tax appeals increased, restricting appeals to assessment years with tax effects above prescribed thresholds.
The circular raises the monetary thresholds for departmental filing of income tax appeals at successive appellate fora and prescribes that the Assessing Officer must calculate tax effect separately for each assessment year for every assessee; appeals may be filed only for those assessment years where the separately computed tax effect exceeds the prescribed monetary limit, including in cases of composite orders and where multiple assessees are involved.

Disclosure of encumbrance reasons required for promoters, mandating detailed public disclosure and website posting under takeover regulations.
Promoters must disclose detailed reasons for any encumbrance by them and persons acting in concert when combined encumbrance meets specified thresholds, using the prescribed Annexure II format. Disclosures must be filed with each stock exchange and the listed company within two working days of creation or on further increases, and companies must publish the Annexure II contents on their websites. Stock exchanges will maintain and disseminate lists of such companies and report implementation to the regulator; the circular supplements prior Annexure I requirements and is issued to enhance transparency and protect investors.

Product Advisory Committees for commodity derivatives to guide contract design and market disclosures, mandating stakeholder representation and confidentiality.
Requires recognised exchanges with commodity derivatives segments to constitute a Product Advisory Committee for each commodity group to advise on contract design and review, delivery centres, market state, participant feedback, and contract performance. PACs must have balanced stakeholder representation including independent experts and exchange executives, meet at least twice yearly with specified quorum, and operate under confidentiality and conflict-of-interest rules. Exchanges must disclose PAC composition and terms, may publicise agendas, ensure annual Regulatory Oversight Committee review, amend bylaws, notify brokers, publish provisions online, and report implementation status to the regulator.

Bank rate reduction lowers penal interest rates linked to reserve shortfalls and takes effect immediately.
Bank Rate is revised downward by 35 basis points to 5.65 per cent with immediate effect and becomes the reference rate for regulatory purposes. Penal interest rates on shortfalls in reserve requirements linked to the Bank Rate are revised accordingly: Bank Rate plus 3.0 percentage points (8.65 per cent) or Bank Rate plus 5.0 percentage points (10.65 per cent), applied depending on the duration of the shortfalls.

Faceless assessment in customs: virtual group-based, interface-free processing to streamline and standardise Bill of Entry assessments.
A pilot faceless assessment under the Turant Customs scheme will auto-queue and mark Bills of Entry for Chapter 85 (Group 5A) to a Virtual Group; nominated officers will assess on a first-cum-first-served basis without stakeholder interface to reduce dwell time and ensure uniformity. Filing procedures at existing locations, RMS instructions, Dock/CFS examination and sample drawing remain unchanged; Group 5A retains non-assessment functions. Importers and brokers must upload required documents via e-Sanchit to facilitate quick assessment.

Risk Management System extended to additional land customs stations, triggering ICES-linked automated risk selection for exports and imports.
The Risk Management System for exports and imports is extended to Kamardwisa (Rangapani) LCS and Darranga LCS and will apply at Moreh LCS and Agartala LCS upon ICES 1.5 activation. Processing and selection procedures in ICES after RMS introduction will follow the protocols set out in Facility No. 03/2019 and Facility No. 04/2019 dated 11.02.2019.

Super 30 movie ticket SGST reimbursement requires theatres to reduce price by SGST and apply for refund after filing returns.
Registered theatres must indicate CGST and SGST on Super 30 tickets, reduce the ticket price by the SGST amount to pass the benefit to consumers, and may claim reimbursement equal to the SGST component by applying after filing the GST return. Theatres must communicate specified details within seven days, display a notice in the premises, make books available for verification, and apply within thirty days of filing; jurisdictional officers will verify compliance and disburse refunds within 30 days of the application.

Applicability of section 56(2)(viib) clarified: DPIIT recognized startups' share premium not scrutinised in limited assessments.
The circular instructs that where a DPIIT recognized startup is selected under limited scrutiny solely on applicability of section 56(2)(viib), Assessing Officers shall not verify that issue and shall accept the startup's contention; where such recognition exists but scrutiny includes other issues, clause (viib) shall not be pursued and other inquiries may proceed only after supervisory approval; for unrecognized startups, verification on clause (viib) or other issues requires supervisory approval and adherence to due procedure under the Income tax Act.

MEK/2-Butanone declaration required in import bills; MSDS and valid test reports may avoid routine departmental testing.
Import consignments under CTH 3215, 3402 and 3814 must state MEK/2 Butanone content or "MEK/2 Butanone free" in the Bill of Entry and upload manufacturer's certificate of analysis, MSDS and valid PTR on e-sanchit. Departmental testing will follow existing instructions and may be conducted randomly. Manufacturer-importers meeting documentary conditions (proof of manufacturer/importer status, supplier as manufacturer, declared PTR and MSDS/certificate of analysis) may receive final assessment on second-check basis without routine testing. PTRs under Standing Order No.17/2009 under six months may be relied upon unless doubt exists.

Coastal cargo exemption requires manifest filing when using berths shared with import/export traffic and permits random checks.
Vessels carrying exclusively coastal goods are exempted from filing Bills of Coastal Goods, obtaining port clearance, filing shipping bills and related formalities, but when operating from berths used by import or export vessels they must file arrival and departure cargo manifests under Section 30 and Section 41. Preventive officers may, with supervisory approval, conduct random checks to ensure no import or export goods are loaded on such coastal vessels; officers are directed to adhere to these requirements.

Lease period flexibility aligned to State/UT policies, removing fixed cap and requiring registered lease deeds.
The Board approved multiple extensions of formal approvals and Letters of Permission/Approval for SEZ developers and units, sanctioned new SEZ and FTWZ proposals, and authorised several entities as co developers subject to SEZ Act and Rules and standard conditions. Changes in developer/co developer names and shareholding were permitted contingent on continuity of SEZ obligations, fulfillment of eligibility and security clearances, compliance with revenue and tax rules and immediate furnishing of full financial details to revenue authorities. The Board removed the uniform administrative lease cap and held lease tenures may follow respective State/UT policies, mandating registered lease deeds.

MEIS additional claim mechanism enables exporters to obtain supplementary scrips for retrospectively enhanced rates after RA verification.
Exporters who obtained MEIS scrips at older rates may apply for differential claims by submitting a letter with a statement of shipping bills and the original file number to the RA. The RA will open a supplementary e com file, verify eligibility, manually enter the differential rate at item level, and after Deputy DGFT approval issue a paperless supplementary scrip which must be recorded and transferred online; no additional documents are required and the scrips will be transmitted to Customs/ICEGATE.

Shore tank receipt quantity governs customs assessment of liquid bulk; Warehouse Bill of Entry must be amended before ex bond clearance.
Shore tank receipt quantity is the basis for customs duty assessment on liquid bulk imports stored in bonded tanks; a joint discharge survey signed by surveyors, custodian and Customs Officer is required. Discrepancies between Manifest/B/L and shore tank receipts are to be assessed on shore tank quantity. For excess, a manual Bill of Entry with approval must be filed; for short quantity, the Warehouse Bill of Entry must be amended before filing the Ex-Bond Bill of Entry following a prescribed five-step administrative procedure culminating in regrant of Out Of Charge and immediate effect as a standing order.

Customs EDI rollout deferment; manual processing continues pending e-payment and bank authorization issues at affected stations.
Implementation of ICES 1.5 at specified Land Customs Stations is deferred because banks have not completed authorizations for e-payment and the e-payment facility is not available; consequently, manual filing and processing of bills of entry and shipping bills will continue at the affected stations and Facility No. 12/2019 is amended to that extent.

Relaxation of time limits allows processing of time barred tax returns with refund claims subject to administrative approval.
Relaxation of the statutory time limit under section 143(1) permits processing of validly filed returns with refund claims up to assessment year 2017 18 that became time barred for reasons not attributable to the assessee; such returns may be processed and intimations issued by 31.12.2019 with prior administrative approval of the Pr.CCIT/CCIT and enablement to the Assessing Officer via Pr.DGIT(Systems), while exclusions apply for scrutiny cases under section 143(1D), returns showing or likely to give rise to demand, and returns delayed for reasons attributable to the assessee.