Monitoring of Corporate Social Responsibility compliance: High Level Committee to recommend methodologies and mechanisms for companies and government oversight.
A High Level Committee has been constituted to recommend methodologies for monitoring company compliance with Section 135 on Corporate Social Responsibility, to suggest measures for companies' internal monitoring and evaluation of CSR initiatives, to identify strategies for external evaluation by expert agencies to inform Government on efficacy and compliance quality, and to examine whether separate monitoring mechanisms are warranted for Government companies; the Committee must submit its report within six months and will be supported by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs.

TDS/TCS prosecution procedures: central identification, show cause process, sanctioning authority and compounding pathway clarified.
Prosecution for TDS/TCS defaults is governed by CPC-TDS identification of two case categories, mandatory referral of higher-value defaults and discretionary referral of lower-value defaults; AO(TDS) must collect evidence, issue show cause notices, prepare assessment-year-specific proposals and forward them to CIT(TDS) who must apply mind, may obtain counsel opinion in complex cases, and grant or refuse sanction for prosecution. Compounding applications halt prosecution processing while pending and all authorities must record each procedural step in prosecution registers or the TRACES utility.

Revenue collection review: mandatory monthly reports and projections required to diagnose shortfalls and support augmentation efforts.
The circular mandates zones to conduct a detailed comparative analysis of revenue collections up to December against the prior year with sectoral breakdowns, causes for shortfall or gain, and projections incorporating yields from Administrative Revenue Measures, and to submit standardized monthly reports for December-March to the central coordinating email by specified deadlines to enable regular Board reviews.

Foreign direct investment carve-out for medical devices establishes distinct FDI treatment separate from pharmaceuticals.
Foreign direct investment policy for pharmaceuticals has been amended to carve out medical devices as a separate category with immediate effect, changing the regulatory treatment previously applied to medical devices and prompting amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Regulations; Authorised Dealer Category I banks are to notify customers and the directions operate without prejudice to other statutory approvals.

Line of Credit for export finance enables majority-India sourcing, EDF/SDF compliance and restricted agency commission payment.
A Line of Credit from the Export-Import Bank of India to the Government of the Republic of Senegal finances a Rice Self-Sufficiency Programme, funding eligible goods, machinery, equipment and consultancy services eligible under India's Foreign Trade Policy; at least three quarters of each contract price must be supplied from India with up to one quarter procured outside India. Shipments must be declared on EDF/SDF forms; no agency commission is payable under the Line of Credit though exporters may use own resources or EEFC balances for commission after realization, subject to remittance rules.

Extension of filing deadline for DVAT returns: deadline extended, tax obligations unchanged; digital filers need not file hard copy.
The Commissioner extends the last date for online or hard-copy filing of third-quarter returns in Forms DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 with required annexures to 02/02/2015; dealers filing with digital signature need not submit a hard copy of Form DVAT-56, while tax payment obligations remain to be discharged in the usual manner under the VAT statute.

Online IEC applications are to be processed via notified net banking banks; manual filing remains available for others.
Operationalisation of mandatory online applications for Importer Exporter Code (IEC) is notified; applicants with net banking access through ten specified banks must apply online in the prescribed format, while applicants without such access may continue submitting manual IEC applications in physical form using the existing ANF 2A format and procedure until further notice.

IEC application verification requires documentary and online PAN/DIN checks; all positive checks generate e-IEC, negatives prompt rejection.
Regional Authorities must verify applicant signatory and entity details against uploaded identity and PAN documents and cross-check PAN and corporate data with Income Tax and Ministry of Corporate Affairs online services; address and bank particulars must be validated by recent utility/registration documents and cancelled cheque/bank certificate. Applications with all checklist items affirmed result in e-IEC generation and notification; any negative checklist item results in rejection with an emailed reasoned rejection, and rejected applicants may reapply upon payment of fees.

Permitted carriage of Indian currency notes raised for travellers, with airport only rules and specified nationality exclusions.
Regulation raises the permissible per person amount of Government of India and Reserve Bank of India currency notes that residents may take out of or bring into India (excluding travel to and from Nepal and Bhutan). It also permits certain foreign visitors to carry or bring in Indian currency notes when exiting from or entering only through airports, subject to nationality and travel route exclusions; the notice references the administrative circulars effectuating the change.

Re-export procedure under Section 69: streamlined permissions, bond register entries, export assessment, examination and bond cancellation steps.
The re-export procedure under Section 69 requires the bonder-exporter to obtain Bond Section permission after physical verification and satisfaction of conditions including foreign exchange realisation and FTP compliance; the Bond Section records a provisional Bond Register entry and forwards permission to the Export AC/DC and warehouse Bond Officer. The exporter files a Shipping Bill for assessment, removal is authorized by the Bond Officer with register entries and supervised movement, goods are examined at export port and a Let Export Order issued, and final documents are returned to Bond Section for bond cancellation or debit.

Share premium classified as capital, not income, and not subject to transfer pricing adjustment; adherence required.
Share premium on issue of shares is a capital account transaction and does not give rise to income for transfer pricing purposes. The Board has accepted this ratio and directs field officers to follow it in all cases where the issue arises, and to communicate the position to appellate and dispute-resolution bodies to ensure consistent application.

Bench constitution allocates jurisdiction and membership for company law matters, including reserved sections, effective from 29 January.
Bench constitution under section 10E(4B) and Regulation 4 reallocates pending matters to specified benches and members; the Principal Bench handles sections 250, 269 and 388B of the Companies Act, 1956, while New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai Benches (with designated judicial and technical members) deal with other sections of the Companies Act, 1956 and the Companies Act, 2013; the order prescribes single-member combinations for disposal and is effective 29 January 2015.

SEZ cargo integration with Customs EDI enables electronic filing and transshipment approvals for imports and exports.
Pilot integration of SEZ online with ICES 1.5 at Chennai requires IGMs to carry correct SEZ codes and "TI" marking; Bills of Entry and Shipping Bills are to be filed in SEZ online, which auto tags IGM/ICES entries and transmits removal, transshipment approvals and re warehousing messages via ICEGATE; preventive officers verify LCL marks and seals before release; manual endorsements and ITSA/ETSA registers continue during the pilot until full electronic implementation.

Re-export under bona fide mistake requires trade participants and clearing agents to follow circulated Customs instructions strictly.
Re-export of goods under bona fide mistake is addressed through a public notice circulating Customs instructions for information, guidance and necessary action. Trade participants and clearing agents are required to ensure strict compliance with the circulated instructions. Any difficulty in complying with those instructions is to be promptly brought to the attention of the Customs office.

Manual filing for Bill of Entry permitted when the electronic system cannot process simultaneous notification claims for coal imports.
Paper Bill of Entry filings are authorized for coal imports when the importer claims benefits under two notifications simultaneously and the EDI system cannot accept dual-notification claims; such manual filing is permitted only where the declared country of origin is listed as eligible under the specified notification and accompanying circular.

AML/CFT guidance for money changers requires enhanced risk measures and compliance while permitting legitimate transactions.
Authorised persons in money changing activities must consider FATF updates on jurisdictions with AML/CFT deficiencies and apply enhanced risk sensitive measures while legitimate transactions remain permissible; franchisors must ensure agents and franchisees comply. The circular mandates incorporation of the FATF information into risk assessments, communication to constituents, record maintenance, and adherence to customer due diligence, transaction monitoring and reporting obligations under applicable foreign exchange and anti money laundering frameworks.

Anti Money Laundering standards: Indian agents under MTSS must apply FATF guidance to cross border inward remittances.
Authorised Persons (Indian Agents) under the Money Transfer Service Scheme must apply FATF guidance on AML/CFT for cross border inward remittances, consider FATF's updated statement on high risk jurisdictions, and ensure that Sub Agents comply with these guidelines; legitimate transactions are not barred and the directions are issued under statutory powers.

Anti-dumping duty validity limited to statutory term unless a sunset review is initiated before expiry.
Definitive anti-dumping duty can be collected only for the prescribed statutory period from the date of imposition; where no sunset review is initiated before the expiry of that period, no anti-dumping duty may be collected beyond the period, and collection beyond validity is therefore impermissible.

Line of Credit for Nigerian power projects mandates majority India-sourced supplies, defined LC/disbursement timelines and FEMA compliance.
Exim Bank's Line of Credit to Nigeria finances eligible Indian exports for specified power projects, requiring a substantial majority of contract value to be supplied from India while allowing a minority portion to be procured abroad; the agreement fixes distinct timelines for opening Letters of Credit and disbursement for project exports and supply contracts, mandates GR/SDF shipment declarations, prohibits agency commission payment under the LOC (permitting exporter-funded commission in free foreign exchange subject to AD bank rules), and is issued under FEMA powers.

Line of Credit requires majority India sourced supplies and EDF/SDF compliance, with commission remittance from exporter resources.
Exim Bank extended a Line of Credit to the Government of the Republic of Gambia to finance eligible Indian exports for replacement of asbestos water pipes; eligible supplies must be majority India-sourced, with differing time-limits for Letters of Credit and disbursement for project versus supply contracts. Shipments must be declared on EDF/SDF forms. No agency commission is payable under the LOC, though exporters may remit commission from their own resources or Exchange Earners' Foreign Currency Account balances after realization, subject to prevailing instructions. Directions issued under FEMA do not affect other required approvals.