Scheme Code 81 enables simultaneous use of DFIA and brand rate drawback for exported items in EDI filings.
Introduction of Scheme Code 81 permits exporters to claim both Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA) and the brand rate of drawback for the same exported item within a single EDI shipping bill; manual documents are no longer to be accepted for such goods, as the EDI scheme code enables combined entitlement recording.

Customs duty exemption for aircraft fuel available to all Indian airlines, not confined to the former national carrier.
The Board confirmed that the Customs duty exemption for fuel in aircraft tanks under Notification No. 151/94 Cus is not limited to the erstwhile Indian Airlines and is available to any Indian airline; stakeholders may report difficulties to the issuing office.

Investment Policy for clearing corporations prioritizes safety and liquidity; limits mutual fund exposure and prescribes asset eligibility.
The circular mandates an Investment Policy for clearing corporations emphasising safety and low market risk, restricting investments to eligible high-quality fixed deposits, central government securities, and permitted liquid debt mutual funds with a cap on mutual fund exposure; it designates these instruments plus cash and bank balances as Liquid Assets for net worth calculation and prescribes implementation steps for Transfer of Profits into the Core Settlement Guarantee Fund, including refund and shortfall provisions.

Deemed foreign exchange: specified maritime services paid domestically may be treated as foreign receipts and eligible for SEIS rewards.
Appendix 3E notifies that specified maritime and ancillary services rendered in Customs Notified Areas to foreign liners or procured by foreign entities, when paid domestically, shall be treated as deemed to be received in foreign exchange and thus eligible for rewards under the Services Exports from India Scheme in accordance with paragraph 3.08(c) of the Foreign Trade Policy, subject to the exclusion of vessel related charges for coastal and inland vessels and cargo related charges for coastal movements.

MEIS scheme amendment: numerous HS lines assigned new market designations; landing certificate removed and separate applications required.
Amendments to MEIS Table 2 add market designations against numerous ITC(HS) code lines and adjust reward rates by country group; exporters must file separate applications for exports before and after the notice, and Landing Certificate submission is no longer required for lines that previously required proof of landing.

Boarding and rummaging procedures require shipping agents to notify authorities, assist officers, and enable detention of prohibited goods.
Procedure mandates that designated Superintendents depute Preventive Officers as Boarding Officers for specified ports and anchorages; shipping agents must give advance notice, board with the Boarding Officer and Rummaging Team to assist without obstruction, and make logistical arrangements. Boarding Officers perform statutory duties under the Customs Act and manuals; prohibited, restricted or undeclared goods found during rummaging are detained or seized by Panchanama in the presence of two independent witnesses and the Master, with notification to the Superintendent Rummaging & Discipline.

EDI Helpdesk contact update: revised helpdesk number and designated EDI and departmental contact points are provided.
Amendment revises the EDI Helpdesk Number and E-mail ID, provides the toll free helpdesk number and EDI helpdesk email, and lists designated EDI Section officers with board numbers, extensions, and email addresses. It further identifies senior departmental contacts with direct and board numbers, extensions, and email addresses to be contacted if EDI Section queries remain unresolved.

Certification by company secretary authorised for historic restricted securities offers, providing an alternative compliance route under the prescribed procedure.
The circular permits the certificate required under paragraph 7 of the December 31, 2015 circular for cases prior to April 1, 2014 involving offers or allotments to more than forty nine and up to two hundred persons in a financial year to be provided by an independent peer reviewed practicing Company Secretary in addition to an independent peer reviewed practicing Chartered Accountant; stock exchanges must notify listed entities and disseminate the circular on their websites.

Export house recognition requirements expanded: amended ANF 3C mandates online filing, multi year export data and specified declarations.
Amendment updates ANF 3C for online filing of the Grant of Status Certificate to require applicant details, selection of export house category, and detailed multi year schedules of exports, deemed exports and foreign exchange earned by services with prescribed currency conversion, single counting for double weightage shipments, supporting document upload, applicant declarations regarding penal history and realization of proceeds, and an independent CA/ICWA/CS certificate with Formats A-D to verify and compute eligible export values.

ATA Carnet clearance requires centralized register and monitoring; failure to submit re-export proof triggers customs duty recovery measures.
Imports under ATA Carnet, exempt from duty under Notification No. 157/1990-Cus, must be entered in a centralized register at AC/DC (Import Group), ACC, NSCBI, Kolkata with specified fields. Consignments are examined only after register entry; the register serial number must be noted on the Carnet bill of entry copy and forwarded to AC/DC for monitoring closure within the notification's time limit. Failure to submit proof of re-export within the prescribed period will result in recovery of customs duty leviable as on the date of import.

Deemed foreign exchange receipts: specified rupee paid maritime services now count toward EPCG export obligation discharge.
Payments received in Indian Rupees for specified maritime and port services rendered in customs notified areas to foreign liners or their agents, or payments that would otherwise have been received in foreign exchange but paid in rupees out of amounts remittable to overseas principals or buyers, are deemed to be received in foreign exchange and shall be counted towards discharge of export obligation under the EPCG scheme from 1 April 2015; coastal/inland vessel charges and coastal cargo related charges are excluded.

Monitoring of informer reward pendency ensures timely disbursal via mandatory registers, certified abstracts and consolidated reporting.
A mandatory monitoring framework requires each Commissionerate and Zone to maintain a prescribed Register of Rewards-Informers for pending informer reward cases, with all pending cases entered and certified by the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner. Monthly abstracts must be prepared and certified, registers reviewed by Principal Commissioners semi annually, and six monthly numerical reports submitted by Chief Commissioners to the respective Directors General, who consolidate zonal information; reports must omit case details and preserve informer confidentiality.

Twitter Taxpayer Engagement enables filing of local service suggestions and grievances through a dedicated government handle.
A dedicated Twitter account has been established for trade and taxpayer use to register suggestions, queries and grievances concerning local operational matters and taxpayer services, excluding matters directly related to policy; trade associations and industry stakeholders are requested to circulate this information widely so stakeholders can use the handle for local issue redressal and engagement with the excise office.

Disclosure requirements for exempt acquisitions require three year Chapter V compliance and timelines for stock exchange and SEBI filings.
Revised formats require acquirers relying on takeover exemptions to demonstrate three year Chapter V compliance and to provide standardized intimation and reporting templates that specify parties, relationship, rationale, pre and post transaction shareholdings, market based pricing (VWAP or prescribed valuation), declaration that acquisition price does not exceed the computed price by more than twenty five percent, and timelines for filings with stock exchanges and the regulator.

Capital gain classification for transfers of unlisted shares ensures uniform tax treatment regardless of holding period.
Income arising from transfer of unlisted shares for which no formal market exists shall be considered under the head Capital Gain irrespective of holding period to reduce disputes and maintain uniformity; exceptions apply where transaction genuineness is questionable, where lifting the corporate veil is implicated, or where transfer includes control and management of the underlying business, in which cases the Assessing Officer may take an appropriate view.

Tax administration simplification improves electronic procedures and credit flows, easing compliance and export facilitation.
Measures to simplify tax administration emphasise publicising reforms to trade, standardising procedures and electronic facilitation. Export measures include electronic and provisional drawback payments, transferability of duty credit scrips, exemption from certain excise payments against advance authorisations, eased temporary import procedures for exhibitions, reduced documentary verification of export realisation, and allowance of private chartered engineer certificates. Central Excise and Service Tax reforms include acceptance of electronic records and digitally signed invoices, expanded CENVAT credit and simplified apportionment, extended time for credit claims, consolidation and revision of returns, simplified input-output ratio fixation, and reduced interest on late payments.

Excise duty on jewellery: registration deadline extended and staged payment permitted to align past months' liabilities.
Imposition of Central Excise duty on jewellery requires jewellers to obtain Central Excise registration, with the registration time limit extended to 01.07.2016. Although liability to pay duty is effective from 1 March 2016, assessees may make payments for March, April and May together with the excise duty payment for June 2016. Trade associations and chambers are requested to notify their members.

Infrastructure Cess levy on specified goods: new accounting minor head and subheads established for collection and refunds.
Opening of a new minor head Infrastructure Cess under Major Head 0038-Union Excise Duties to record the levy introduced by the Finance Act, 2016, leviable from 1 March 2016 on goods in the Eleventh Schedule subject to notified exemptions. Four sub-heads-cess collection, other receipts, deduct refunds, and penalties-are established under minor head 0038-03-506 with specified Head of Accounts and SCCD codes as allocated by the Controller General of Accounts.

Tax data release makes time series, PAN allotment and return statistics available online for policy analysis and forecasting.
Release of comprehensive tax datasets by the Income Tax Department, comprising Time Series Data for financial years 2000-01 to 2014-15, PAN allotment statistics for financial year 2013-14, and Income Tax Return statistics for assessment year 2012-13, drawn from internal MIS, Controller General of Accounts reports, and other government publications and published on the Department's official website for public viewing.

Submission of reports: principal commissioners must sign and submit ITSC reports, noncompliance will be viewed seriously.
Reports to the Income Tax Settlement Commission must be submitted under the name and signature of the jurisdictional Chief Commissioner/Principal Chief Commissioner; the ITSC (Procedure) Rules, 1997 prescribe submission by the CIT concerned, and recurring direct submissions by Assessing Officers or junior officers are to cease as non compliance will be viewed seriously.