Payment of Refund/Rebate through e-payment requires bank-certified one-time authorization and NEFT/RTGS transfers.
Electronic payment of sanctioned refund/rebate amounts will be made by NEFT/RTGS to beneficiaries after claim sanction, contingent on a one-time bank-certified authorization (Annexure A) and a cancelled cheque. The sanctioning authority must forward periodic signed statements (Annexure B), a consolidated cheque, and a soft copy to the authorized bank. The bank will credit accounts after deducting NEFT/RTGS charges and generate UTRs and periodic scrolls; monthly UTR reports and cheque details are to be sent to the PAO for reconciliation (Annexure C).

Monitoring of export proceeds: exporters must submit correct BRCs and AD-coded certificates by deadline to avoid recovery action.
Exporters must submit pending BRCs or negative statements for shipping bills with LEO dates within the specified period so entries in the BIRC module of ICES can be updated; many submissions are deficient for incorrect AD Codes, and exporters are directed to resubmit correct certificates or furnish CA/Authorised Dealer six monthly certificates as allowed. Contact nodal officers for assistance; failure to comply will result in recovery action under the Customs Act, 1962 to recoup drawback amounts with interest.

Regular tax collection: intensify assessment completion and arrear recovery to boost year end tax receipts.
The instruction prioritises intensified administrative action to raise and collect net direct tax receipts before year end, identifying negative growth in regular tax due to incomplete scrutiny assessments and inadequate recovery of arrear demand, and directs Commissioners to monitor, raise outstanding demands, complete pending assessments and actively recover current and arrear collectible demand as a departmental priority.

Priority disposal of public grievances required with interim replies and CPGRAMS updates to ensure time bound redressal.
Directives require officers to prioritise public grievances on CPGRAMS and ensure time-bound disposal. Each grievance must be redressed within a maximum period of two months from receipt; if finalisation will exceed that period an interim reply stating reasons for delay must be issued. After redressal the status must be updated on CPGRAMS. An action taken report for grievances pending over six months within each jurisdiction was to be submitted to the Chairperson by 15 February 2016.

CVD flag option enabled in EDI to claim Customs or Excise notification exemptions; manual bill of entry filing disallowed.
The EDI system has been updated with a CVD Flag in ICES, set to "C" or "E" to claim CVD exemptions under Customs or Excise notifications respectively; assessing officers/appraisers may record the exemption since the flag is unavailable during filing, and manual filing of bills of entry to avail both notifications is no longer permitted.

Bank Realisation Certificate submission requirement: exporters must file corrected BRCs/negative statements or face recovery action under Customs Act.
Exporters with drawback shipping bills dated 01.04.2013-31.03.2014 must submit Bank Realisation Certificates or negative statements as mandated by Circular 05/2009 Cus on a six monthly basis; defective submissions due to incorrect AD codes must be rectified and resubmitted to enable entry in the BRC module of ICES. A nodal officer is appointed to receive documents and assist exporters. Failure to comply will lead to recovery action under the Customs Act to recover drawback amounts with interest.

Withdrawal of appeals requires centralised reporting of each withdrawal application to support departmental review and litigation reduction.
Withdrawal of departmental appeals before the appellate tribunal must follow earlier Board directions and be centrally monitored. Principal Commissioners and Chief Commissioners are required to forward a copy of each application for withdrawal of an appeal to the designated appellate record officer to enable departmental review and coordination of withdrawal decisions.

Tax withholding certificate issuance under section 195 expanded online; PAN jurisdiction relaxed and approvals required.
ITD application now issues online withholding tax certificates corresponding to sections 195(2) and 195(3). Authorised international taxation assessing officers must be assigned the AR_INT_TAXATION role via HRMS and specify certificate type. PAN jurisdiction restriction is relaxed, and TAN and Amount are optional for the 195(3) certificate; issuance requires Range Officer approval through the ITD application.

Permission to purchase foreign exchange at post offices allowed via postal or money orders, requiring banks to inform constituents.
A general permission permits any person to buy foreign exchange from post offices in India by means of postal orders or money orders; the Notification supersedes the earlier instrument and is effective from the date of notification. Authorised Dealer Category I banks are to inform their constituents. The directions are issued under statutory foreign exchange powers and are without prejudice to other legal permissions or approvals.

Currency definition expands to include debit and ATM cards and instruments creating financial liability under foreign exchange rules.
The statutory definition of currency is amended to include debit cards, ATM cards and any other instrument capable of creating a financial liability, thereby placing such payment instruments within the scope of foreign exchange regulation; the amendment supersedes the earlier notification and is effective from the notified date.

Possession limits for foreign currency: specified categories may retain currency subject to origin and residency conditions.
The Regulations permit possession without limit of foreign currency and coins by authorised persons within their authority and possession without limit of foreign coins by any person. Residents may retain foreign currency notes, bank notes and travellers' cheques up to US$2000 (or equivalent) in aggregate if acquired abroad while on visit for non business services, received from a non resident visitor as honorarium, gift, payment for services or settlement of lawful obligation, received as honorarium or gift while abroad, or represent unspent travel foreign exchange. Non permanently resident persons may possess without limit foreign currency acquired while resident abroad and brought into India in compliance with FEMA rules.

Duty to repatriate foreign exchange: residents must realise, repatriate and surrender receipts to authorised persons within prescribed periods.
A resident entitled to foreign exchange must realise and repatriate it to India, selling it to an authorised person for rupees, holding it with an authorised dealer as permitted by the Reserve Bank, or using it to discharge foreign currency liabilities as specified. Receipt in rupees from an overseas bank or exchange house account maintained with an authorised dealer is deemed repatriation. Specified surrender periods apply for non individuals, unspent acquired foreign exchange, travel balances, and resident individuals, and currency of Nepal and Bhutan is exempted.

Currency export and import limits govern carrying of Indian notes and declaration requirements for foreign exchange on arrival.
Regulations prescribe per person limits for taking and bringing Indian currency notes and commemorative coins for residents and qualifying non residents, allow unrestricted transmission of foreign exchange into India except for currency notes which require a Currency Declaration Form above specified thresholds, permit authorised persons to export foreign currency acquired in business and persons to export specified lawful foreign exchange and unspent retained foreign exchange, provide special rules for Nepal and Bhutan movements, and prohibit export of coins covered by the Antique and Art Treasure Act.

Foreign currency accounts by residents: regulated account types, eligibility and mandatory conversion and holding conditions.
The Regulations define permissible foreign currency account types that a person resident in India may open or maintain with authorised dealers in India or outside India, specify eligibility categories (including exporters, SEZ units, project offices, ship manning agencies, organisers of international events and persons raising external commercial borrowings), set account forms and permitted credits/debits, prohibit credit facilities against certain balances, and require monthly conversion of accruals into rupees by the end of the succeeding calendar month unless used for approved purposes, with operational duties on Authorised Dealers and provisions for transfer of balances on change of residential status.

Acquisition of immovable property abroad requires prior regulatory approval, subject to specified exceptions and company remittance limits.
Acquisition or transfer of immovable property outside India by a person resident in India requires prior approval of the Reserve Bank, subject to specified exceptions including gifts, inheritance, RFC-account-funded purchases, joint acquisition with a non-resident without outflow of Indian funds, and certain pre-1947 holdings; Indian companies with overseas offices may acquire property within prescribed remittance limits for initial and recurring expenses.

Settlement in beneficiary currency allowed when AD banks confirm customer, invoice, consent, bonafides and high risk jurisdiction checks.
AD Category I banks may permit settlement of export and import transactions in the beneficiary's currency where the contract/invoice is in a freely convertible currency, the exporter/importer is a customer of the AD bank, the beneficiary agrees to receive payment in its currency as full settlement, the AD bank is satisfied of the transaction's bonafides, and the counterparty is not from jurisdictions on the updated high risk/non cooperative list; these transactions exclude the ACU mechanism and are reflected in updated Master Directions on exports and imports.

Special Currency Basket value revised, altering rupee conversion rate effective January 25, 2016 under FEMA directions.
Revision of the Rupee value of the Special Currency Basket has been fixed effective January 25, 2016; AD Category I banks are to implement and notify constituents. The directions are issued under FEMA, relying on sections 10(4) and 11(1) of the Act, and apply to transactions under the Deferred Payment Protocols between India and the erstwhile USSR.

Manufacturer exporter status verification now requires independent proof to the relevant authority under public notice procedures.
The corrigendum removes the additional documentary requirement at S.L. No. 7 of Trade Notice No. 4/AM16 effective immediately to streamline IEC issuance and reduce transaction costs, while stipulating that any person or firm claiming manufacturer exporter status must independently prove that status to the relevant authority as required by sub clause (viii) of Public Notice No. 58.

Export permission for SCOMET items: authorised for stock-and-sale and spare parts subject to EUC and IMWG oversight.
Paragraph 2.79A permits export of SCOMET items from an Indian principal or wholly owned subsidiary to foreign subsidiaries, principal companies or warehouses for stock & sale after IMWG evaluation and on the basis of End User Certificates; further transfers require EUCs and prior submission to the licensing authority, with possible IMWG relaxation after Risk Assessment. Paragraph 2.79B allows IMWG to consider export permission for SCOMET spare parts together with the main equipment application if justified, avoiding a separate application and reducing transaction time and cost.

Electronic communication procedures: designated official emails and PDF attachments govern secure service, response, archiving, and audit trails.
Procedure mandates that the AO send statutory notices and orders from a departmental designation email with signed PDF attachments to the assessee's primary email (as per returns, company records, or furnished to the AO), while the assessee must reply from that primary email with supporting documents in PDF, follow specified subject line and pagination formats, forward any email error messages to the departmental audit mailbox, and ensure all communications are archived in the Department database and reflected on the e filing account.