Withholding tax scope: disallowance under section 40(a)(i) based on the portion chargeable to tax as determined under section 195.
The taxable portion of a remittance, as determined by the Assessing Officer for the purposes of tax deduction at source, shall form the basis for any disallowance under section 40(a)(i); determinations made under the statutory pre determination mechanisms will similarly govern such disallowance.

Line of credit conditions require majority India sourced supplies, specified letter of credit and disbursement timelines and reporting.
Exim Bank's LOC to the Government of the Republic of Gambia finances eligible exports for an electrification project, requiring at least 75 percent of each contract's goods and services to be supplied from India and permitting up to 25 percent foreign procurement. The agreement prescribes distinct timelines for opening Letters of Credit and disbursement, mandates EDF/SDF reporting for shipments, disallows agency commission under the LOC while permitting exporter-funded commission from permitted forex balances subject to AD Category I bank oversight, and is issued under sections 10(4) and 11(1) of FEMA, 1999.

Amendments to All Industry Rates of Duty Drawback update tariff entries, drawback rates, caps and brand-rate eligibility for exports.
Amendments revise the All Industry Rates of duty drawback by adding separate tariff entries for specified items, changing drawback rates and caps for multiple headings, prescribing a defined rate for optical fibre cable, providing composite rates for certain sections, and enabling drawback under the brand rate route for rice exports; administrative guidance and publication of notices are directed, with implementation issues to be reported to the Board.

Extension of filing deadline for cost auditor appointment notices preserves penalty-free filing for Form CRA-2 submissions.
Extension of time is granted for filing the notice of appointment of the cost auditor in Form CRA-2, permitting submission without penalty or late fee until 31st March, 2015, as a continuation of the relief announced in General Circular No. 42/2014 and issued with the approval of the competent authority.

Designated partner eligibility: company secretaries may serve as LLP designated partners for attestation services, with passive partner limits.
Company Secretaries may serve as designated partners of LLPs whose objects include attestation services, regardless of substantial interest, and may act as passive partners in LLPs engaged in other businesses provided they do not hold substantial interest. Attestation services include Secretarial Audit and Certification of Annual Return. A passive partner must not be designated, may contribute capital and share profits, and must not take part in management or act as agent; specific activities (enforcing LLP agreement rights, attending meetings, approving accounts, voting on partner-level transactions) do not constitute management. Substantial interest is defined as entitlement to not less than 25% of profits.

Adjudication jurisdiction revised for intelligence booked tax cases, assigning matters between ADG (Adjudication) and field Commissioners.
Revised instructions allocate adjudication jurisdiction for central excise and service tax investigations conducted by intelligence officers, enabling the Additional Director General (Adjudication) or field Commissioners to adjudicate show cause notices issued by those officers. Allocation criteria direct complex and substantial matters to the ADG (Adjudication), single Commissionerate matters to the respective executive Commissioner, and multi Commissionerate matters to the Commissioner where the noticee with the largest demand falls, with the Director General empowered to assign jurisdiction and deviations to be referred to the Board.

Electronic Importer-Exporter Code: new electronic format issued on online application with system-generated SMS and email notification.
A new electronic format for the Importer-Exporter Code (e-IEC) is introduced as Appendix 18B-1 for IECs issued on the basis of complete online applications, while the existing format remains for physically issued IECs. Regional Authorities will process online applications and notify grant or refusal by system-generated SMS and by sending the e-IEC certificate or rejection letter to the applicant's registered email. The e-IEC is a computer-generated certificate with specified fields and an online verification facility; holders must update changes in name, address or constitution within the prescribed period to retain import/export eligibility.

Interest under Section 234A not chargeable on self-assessment tax paid before the return filing due date.
The Board reviewed levy of interest under Section 234A and, referencing the Supreme Court's view that interest is payable only on tax not deposited before the return due date, directed that no interest is chargeable on self-assessment tax paid before the due date for filing the return of income and instructed officers to comply with this position.

Export under bond: designated export officer accepts bonds from merchant exporters enabling procurement nationwide subject to verification and compliance.
An Assistant/Deputy Commissioner (Tech.) is designated as Assistant/Deputy Commissioner of Central Excise (Export) for the Agra commissionerate to accept bonds for exports without payment of duty under applicable Central Excise Rules, permitting merchant exporters and manufacturer cum merchant exporters (with head office/factory in the commissionerate) to procure goods from anywhere in India; exports under Annual Undertaking (UT I) are excluded. The designated officer must verify credentials and ensure compliance with Ministry/Board instructions.

Air cargo transshipment now processed electronically via ICES 1.5, requiring CTM filing and TP approval with bonded guarantees.
Electronic transshipment in ICES 1.5 requires filing a Cargo Transfer Manifest (CTM) by the importing airline after IGM (and consol if required) and before any Bill of Entry; CTM submission is validated against IGM/Consol, blocks BE filing on specified lines, and upon ACT approval transfers cargo to registered custodians. A Transshipment Agency files a Transshipment Permit (TP) after CTM approval; TP approval requires sufficient bond/BG and PLA balance, debits bond/BG and fee, generates TP number, and makes TP/IGM data available to the destination. Loading is recorded by Preventive Officer; gate in tally at destination controls BE permissibility and re crediting of bond/BG.

Export advance compliance: banks must ensure timely shipment, report overdue advances and refer suspicious cases for enforcement.
An exporter receiving an advance must complete shipment within the stipulated period; AD Category I banks must monitor overdue advances, exercise KYC and AML due diligence to ensure bona fide flows, refer doubtful or chronic defaulters to the Directorate of Enforcement, and submit a quarterly statement of overdue export advances as per the Annex within 21 days from quarter end, under powers conferred by the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Appointment of Special OHAs authorises alternate Assistant Commissioners to hear 2A-2B mismatch objections replacing prior appointee.
The circular authorises specified Assistant Commissioners as Special OHAs to hear objections relating to the 2A-2B mismatch for 2012-13 in place of the earlier appointee, sets ward-wise reassignment of those objections, and provides that dates outside the earlier circular will be notified through Public Notices while leaving other provisions unchanged.

Transshipment EDI processing: Air-to-Air and Air-to-ICD movements moved to ICES requiring gate-in verification before BE filing.
The ICES 1.5 Transshipment EDI Module mandates electronic processing of Air-to-Air and Air-to-ICD transshipment. Destination Gate-In Officers must record cargo arrival using the Transshipment Permit and cargo loading details entered at the gateway; they accept or disallow linewise packet counts and condition, enabling BE filing and bond/BG re-credit only when line counts fully tally, with damaged but matched lines requiring 100% pre-checking and mismatched lines preventing BE filing.

Exchange of Information procedures: seek field feedback to revise the manual and report cases yielding additional tax.
Solicitation of stakeholder input on the Manual on Exchange of Information by a committee led by the Principal CCIT (IT & TP), New Delhi, requesting field formations to report operational difficulties and to submit case examples where information obtained from foreign tax authorities resulted in additional tax or penalty effects, including case description, information exchanged, and tax impact, to the undersigned in sealed cover by the stated deadline.

Minimum residual maturity requirement for FPI debt investments mandates long-term maturities, excluding CPs and short-optional instruments.
FPIs must make all new investments in Indian debt instruments with a minimum residual maturity of three years; fresh investments in commercial paper and in instruments with optionality exercisable within three years are prohibited. Investment in amortised instruments is permitted only where the instrument's duration is three years or longer. Arrangements that negate these maturity or optionality constraints do not conform with the prescribed directions, and authorised dealer banks must communicate and enforce these requirements under the stated regulatory powers.

Investment of coupons in government securities permitted outside the FPI government debt limit, with a five day reinvestment window.
FPIs may reinvest coupons received on Government securities into additional Government securities, with such coupon investments classified as a separate investment category and kept outside the applicable FPI government debt limit. FPIs have five working days from receipt of the coupon to invest and a five working day re-investment facility applies to securities purchased using coupons; coupons from those securities receive the same facility. Depositories must enable daily custodial reporting and disseminate coupon investment data with daily debt utilisation data.

Reinvestment of coupons in government securities permitted outside FPI investment limits, with reporting and operational guidance required.
FPIs may reinvest coupons received on existing government securities into government securities on a repatriation basis, and such reinvestments shall be kept outside the applicable FPI limit for government securities; AD Category I banks must report these investments as prescribed and SEBI will issue further operational guidelines.

Service delivery SEVOTTAM rollout establishes nodal officer, dak counter, helpdesk and CPGRAMS grievance channel for citizens.
Rollout of SEVOTTAM establishes a quality management framework by nominating a Nodal Officer, creating a Dak and Acknowledgement Counter to receive and distribute citizen correspondence with staff issuing acknowledgements, and setting up a Help Desk to assist trade and the public. A customer grievance redressal and feedback mechanism is provided, including feedback forms at the Help Desk and submission of grievances through the CPGRAMS online portal.

FPI maturity requirement: future corporate debt investments must have a minimum three-year residual maturity; sales to domestic investors permitted.
Future FPI investments within the corporate debt limit must be made in corporate bonds with a minimum residual maturity of three years; FPIs are not permitted to invest in liquid and money market mutual fund schemes; there is no lock-in period and FPIs are free to sell securities, including those presently held with less than three years residual maturity, to domestic investors; custodians must notify their FPI clients.

Minimum maturity requirement: FPIs must place future debt investments with minimum three year residual maturity and avoid money market funds.
All future FPI debt investments must have a minimum residual maturity of three years, applying to government securities and corporate bond investments and to limits vacated on sale or redemption, which must be reused for corporate bonds meeting the same maturity requirement. FPIs are prohibited from making further investments in liquid and money market mutual fund schemes. There is no lock in; FPIs may sell existing holdings, including those with less than three years' residual maturity, to domestic investors, and the directions take immediate effect.