Reverse charge mechanism applies to arbitral tribunal services; recipient business in taxable territory must discharge service tax liability.
Services provided by an arbitral tribunal, including its individual arbitrators, are taxable and subject to the reverse charge mechanism where the recipient is a business entity located in the taxable territory with turnover exceeding the small-turnover threshold in the preceding financial year; services to non-business recipients or businesses below that threshold remain exempt under the relevant notification.

Digital reporting requirement: electronic submission of Form No.61 summarising Form No.60 declarations now mandated with adjusted filing timing.
Amendments require electronic furnishing of a statement in Form No.61 containing particulars of declarations in Form No.60, to be submitted by persons required to get accounts audited, within prescribed timelines based on when declarations are received. Due to implementation hardship, completion of all fields in Form No.60 is made mandatory for transactions entered on or after the operative date, and online reporting for the March quarter may be submitted together with the September quarter statement.

Imposition of central excise duty on jewellery prompts constitution of sub-committee and nomination of three trade representatives.
Constitution of a Sub-Committee to address the imposition of Central Excise duty on jewellery is announced, continuing earlier High Level Committee action. Three trade representatives are nominated to the Sub-Committee: Shri Konal Doshi (past Convenor, Jewellery panel, GJEPC), Shri Ashok Minawala (past Chairman, AIGJF), and Shri Fatehchand Ranka (Chairman, All India Action Committee on Jewellery). The circular directs wide publicity and indicates a Hindi version will follow.

Exemption from Azo dye testing extended to include textile imports from Australia Canada Japan and South Korea under FTP.
Testing for Azo Dyes will not be required for textile and textile article imports originating from the European Union, Serbia, Poland, Denmark, China, Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea. The amendment adds Australia, Canada, Japan and South Korea to Appendix 2X, thereby extending the exemption from sample testing for presence of Azo Dyes to imports from those countries under the Foreign Trade Policy authority.

E-payment of refunds: sanctioned rebate amounts to be transferred via RTGS/NEFT to beneficiary bank accounts.
Electronic payment of sanctioned refund, rebate and drawback amounts shall be made through authorized banks via RTGS/NEFT. Claimants must provide a one-time bank-certified authorization; refund authorities will forward a signed statement (Annexure B), a consolidated cheque and an electronic copy to the bank periodically, at least monthly. Banks will credit beneficiary accounts after applicable charges and generate UTRs and periodic scrolls for reconciliation by the PAO with issued cheques; discrepancies are to be verified and reported.

Customs digitalisation: mandated electronic filing and Single Window integration to speed clearance and reduce paperwork.
Measures streamline customs administration by mandating digital signature filing and electronic Delivery Orders, expanding an electronic Single Window for integrated declarations, online clearances and risk management with regulatory agencies, and extending 24x7 clearance at major ports. Procedural reforms include deferred duty payment for select traders, record-based warehousing controls with extended warehousing periods for bonded/manufacturing units, simplified valuation and temporary import rules, fully electronic drawback disbursal and transferability of duty credit scrips. Compliance reforms adopt risk-based and integrated audits, rationalise penalties, set appeal thresholds, and provide protocols for withdrawal or settlement of aged or lower-value prosecutions and appeals.

Digital registration under DVAT and CST enables identity and GPS verification for near-instant TIN issuance upon administrative approval.
Registration under the DVAT and CST Acts is enabled via the DVATMsewa mobile app: applicants submit identity and business details, upload a GPS-tagged image of premises, and the Department verifies Aadhaar and PAN. The Ward VATO checks address against GPS coordinates, and upon matching verifies the record. The dealer then files the registration application online with documents and fee; VAT Inspector verification is not required for app submissions. The VATO may approve or reject the application, and on approval a TIN and Registration Certificate are generated and provided electronically, with a signed copy dispatched by post.

ISPM-15 compliance required: export clearance only if wooden packaging absent or accompanied by a valid phytosanitary certificate.
Export consignments with raw or solid wood packaging must comply with ISPM-15 or be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate; non-compliant consignments shall not be cleared. EDI inspection must record whether wooden material is used and whether an ISPM-15 compliance certificate is produced, and Let Export Order is permitted only if packaging is non-wooden or a valid compliance certificate is presented. Dock officers must verify prescribed particulars and record them in the export clearance system.

Customs clearance facilitation: committee established to expedite import export clearance and resolve trade grievances promptly.
The Customs Clearance Facilitation Committee (CCFC) is instituted at the Customs (Preventive) Commissionerate, Patna, headed by the Commissioner of Customs and including senior representatives of regulatory agencies, airport and railway authorities, trade and industry associations and other stakeholders. Its Terms of Reference are to monitor and ensure expeditious import export clearance within prescribed timelines, identify and resolve bottlenecks, initiate Time Release Studies, recommend best practices and resolve trade grievances. The CCFC will meet quarterly, local members monthly, and stakeholders must submit grievances at least one week in advance.

Coastal carriage exemptions expanded, streamlining manifest, marking and sealing requirements for vessels carrying exclusively coastal goods.
All coastal vessels carrying exclusively coastal goods operating from coastal or EXIM berths are exempted from Sections 92, 93, 94, 95, 97 and sub section (1) of Section 98 of the Customs Act, 1962. When loading or unloading occurs at EXIM berths, Sections 30 and 41 apply and masters or agents must file duplicate coastal arrival and coastal departure manifests (original to the proper officer, duplicate retained), with prescribed marking and tamper proof sealing requirements for containerised and non containerised coastal consignments.

Declaration of intent for MEIS: EDI 'Y' tick suffices to claim scheme rewards; 'N' denotes no claim.
Marking 'Y' in the reward column of EDI shipping bills serves as a declaration of intent to claim MEIS rewards, with 'N' indicating no intent; this tick-box is mandatory for applicable export schemes. Non-EDI shipping bills must carry the explicit written declaration "We intend to claim rewards under Merchandise Exports From India Scheme (MEIS)" to be eligible.

Waiver of additional filing fees extended; e form filing deadline and waiver benefit period prolonged for affected companies.
Extension of the one time waiver of additional fees for e forms under the Companies Act is granted for filings due between 25 March 2016 and 31 May 2016, with the deadline to file and avail the waiver extended to 10 June 2016; the relaxation applies to all e forms with due dates in that window and is issued in response to stakeholder requests under Ministry authority.

Extension of VAT return filing deadline allows later submission; tax payment obligations remain unchanged and digital filers avoid hard copies.
Extension of the filing period for fourth quarter VAT returns permits delayed submission of Forms DVAT 16, DVAT 17 and DVAT 48 with required annexures, while tax payment obligations remain unchanged under the VAT statute; dealers using digital signatures are exempt from filing a hard copy of the return/Form DVAT 56.

Corporate Social Responsibility must not contravene other prevailing laws, including tobacco control, when companies undertake CSR activities.
Companies undertaking Corporate Social Responsibility under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013 must ensure CSR activities do not contravene any other prevailing laws; the Ministry explicitly cites the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act, 2003 as applicable and directs companies to align CSR implementation with existing statutory prohibitions.

Special warehouse licensing: new rules lock notified goods, enable record-based controls and one-time-lock movements.
Amendments to Chapter IX and regulations notified on 14 May 2016 create licensing regimes for public, private and special warehouses, replace prior removal regulations, prescribe new warehousing bonds, and shift certain movement controls from physical escort to serially numbered one-time-locks. Transitional provisions permit migration to record-based controls; special warehouses must be licensed to store specified notified goods and remain under customs lock. Licensee responsibilities include record-keeping, computerisation and recording of regulatory samples, with procedures for clearance, removal and consequences of licence suspension or cancellation.

Duty bond requirement for warehoused imports secures payment obligations and covers movement, storage accounting and recovery mechanisms.
Amendment requires an importer to execute a duty bond at the customs station of import for warehoused goods equal to three times the duty assessed; the bond covers movement to and between warehouses, accounting during storage, continues until clearance for home consumption or export, and may be enforced and recovered by customs officers. The circular prescribes consignment and general bond formats and supersedes the earlier 1978 bond formats.

One-time-lock requirement for customs-to-warehouse removals mandates serial-numbered seals, endorsed records, and inspection before unloading.
Affixation of a serially numbered one-time-lock (OTL) on containers or transport for removal from customs stations to warehouses is mandatory; the OTL number and date/time must be endorsed on the bill of entry and transport document, seals must be inspected at the warehouse before unloading, and customs stations must record OTL numbers alongside vehicle/container identifiers and officer details. Procurement of serially numbered OTLs is to be arranged by Commissionerates; exceptions may be permitted by Commissioners where affixation is impracticable.

Paperless issuance of NSC and KVP: exclusive e mode preferred, pass book alternative retained with pledging and transfer rules enforced.
Issuance of KVP and NSC shifts to two modes: exclusive e mode with non printable online Part A and database Part B accessible only to the investor, and pass book mode where the e mode format is printed or entered in a pass book bearing the issuing officer's signature and designation. Systems must record issue date and mode, pass books may be collected and cancelled if replaced by e mode, pass book instruments are eligible for pledging subject to verification and freezing by the CBS office, transfers require prescribed applications and reissuance/cancellation of pass books, and serial numbers are replaced by unique account/registration numbers.

Uniform interest rate framework: co operative banks must follow board approved, disclosed, non negotiable deposit rates with defined premature withdrawal rules.
RBI prescribes a uniform, board approved interest rate framework for co operative banks: rates must be disclosed, non negotiable, uniform across branches and customers, with daily product calculation for savings, tenor and size based variation for term deposits, prescribed premature withdrawal rules and board approved penalty disclosure. Parallel rules govern NRE/NRO and FCNR(B) deposits including authorised bank acceptance, minimum tenors, LIBOR/SWAP linked ceilings for FCNR(B), conversion treatment for returning NRIs, and prohibitions on incentive based deposit mobilisation.

Establishment of foreign representative offices governs eligibility, UIN issuance, bank account rules and compliance obligations.
Procedural framework for foreign entities establishing Branch, Liaison or Project Offices in India requires submission of Form FNC to a designated AD Category I bank, which conducts due diligence and may grant approval under delegated powers. Certain applicants require prior Reserve Bank approval and all approved offices receive a Unique Identification Number (UIN) from RBI before the approval letter is issued. Compliance includes defined validity periods, Annual Activity Certificates, bank account and foreign currency account rules for POs, documentation for profit remittances and asset transfers, and reporting obligations by the AD bank.