Grievance redress mechanism strengthened: centralised routing, top-level monitoring and accountability to improve taxpayer service.
Directions require strengthening the Grievance Redress Mechanism by routing all zone grievances through the Pr. Commissioner/Commissioner for prima facie assessment before referral, initiating action to fix responsibility for delays, defaults or misconduct, and ensuring Chief Commissioners monitor and follow up on a sample of cases. The memo mandates top-level monitoring, monthly performance reviews including telephonic contact with complainants to verify satisfaction, greater use of technology to limit discretion, and adherence to Citizens' Charter standards to improve taxpayer service and officer conduct.

Departmental appeals withdrawal: Chief Commissioners to re-examine appeals and report withdrawal-ready cases by forum immediately for compliance.
The Department raised monetary limits for filing appeals before CESTAT and High Courts and directed withdrawal of appeals below those thresholds; Chief Commissioners must re-examine appeal files, reconcile zone reports with the Board's database, and submit zone-wise counts of appeals fit for withdrawal by forum, withdrawal applications filed, and cases withdrawn under the specified instructions, with an analogous review for appeals affected by Supreme Court identical decisions and an initial report to be sent by return fax.

VAT return deadline extension: third-quarter filing period extended; tax payment obligations remain unchanged.
Extension of the statutory filing deadline for third-quarter VAT returns for 2015-16 in Form DVAT-16, DVAT-17 and DVAT-48 is authorized under Rule 49A, extending the last date for online or hard-copy submission to 05.02.2016, while tax dues must continue to be paid in the usual manner; digitally signed filings need not be accompanied by a hard copy of Form DVAT-56.

Mandatory pre-deposit for customs appeals required; procedure for TR6 certification, refund processing and register maintenance clarified.
The notice requires appellants to make the mandatory pre-deposit of a prescribed percentage of duty or penalty in dispute for appeals filed after the legislative amendment, and designates the AO/Supdt in the Review Cell as the proper officer to certify TR6 challans for such payments. The Review Cell must maintain a monthly register recording party, order details, forum, amounts in dispute (duty and penalty separately), amount paid, TR6 challan number and appellate authority; Commissionerates will process refunds per the Board Circulars.

Custodian appointment under customs law: Bharat Diamond Bourse authorised to handle specified high value cargo subject to compliance and duty liability.
M/s. Bharat Diamond Bourse is appointed as Custodian for specified high value import and export cargo under Sections 45(1) and 141(2) of the Customs Act and Regulation 10 of HCCAR, 2009, subject to compliance with the Customs Act and HCCAR and liable to pay Customs duty on pilfered or unaccounted goods; storage is confined to the designated strong room at the Air Cargo Complex, Sahar, Mumbai.

Customs valuation of second hand machinery: empanelled valuers may inspect goods when no overseas appraisal is procured.
M/s TUV Rheinland India Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Valueguru Chartered Engineers and Valuers Pvt. Ltd. are notified as empanelled agencies in Bangalore to issue Inspection/Appraisement Reports for customs valuation of second hand machinery; if an importer fails to procure an overseas inspection/appraisement report, the goods may be inspected by either notified agency as recognized under DGFT Appendix 2G of the Handbook of Procedures and relevant Aayat Niryat Forms to the FTP.

Hard copy requirement for E-Form 13 removed; port gate verification will rely on CLP and export invoice for container gate-in.
Port gate verification for export container gate-in will be performed on the basis of the Container Load Plan (CLP) or Export Invoice alone; the printout of the E-Form 13 is no longer required, as gate officers have electronic access to E-Form 13 details and the printed form is not endorsed.

Actionable Information Monitoring enables assessing officers to access NMS selected tax cases and exercise compliance actions including notices and closures.
NMS Cycle 4 selections (including closed cases) have been pushed to the Actionable Information Monitoring System (AIMS) and made available to jurisdictional assessing officers. AIMS permits officers to view ITS data, issue system generated letters, update non traceability or non compliance status, propose case closure, and issue reassessment notices; prior Cycle 3 integration and guidance are provided by EFS Instruction No. 49 on i taxnet.

Sale-to-purchase ratio threshold restricts auto-downloading of statutory forms; quarterly cumulative test applies and capital goods excluded.
Auto downloading of statutory forms is disallowed where the sale to purchase ratio, including stock transfers and local transactions, falls below 45%; entitlement is reassessed on a cumulative quarterly basis until the threshold is met. The purchase of capital goods is excluded from the ratio, the facility applies only to eligible dealers, and downloads are further subject to checks that items are allowed on the record certificate, the dealer is not cancelled, and there is no adverse material on record.

Extension of recognition for Pre shipment Inspection Agencies preserves validity for agencies expiring by May deadline.
The Director General of Foreign Trade, under paragraph 2.04 of the Foreign Trade Policy, relaxes Paragraph 2.55(d) of the Handbook of Procedure to extend recognition of Pre shipment Inspection Agencies listed in Appendix 2G whose three year tenure has ended or whose validity would expire on or before 31 May 2016, maintaining their validity up to 31 May 2016.

Diplomatic cargo quarantine referrals now standard, with priority AQCS clearance ensured for diplomatic livestock imports.
Customs must commence standard referral to quarantine authorities for diplomatic cargo and baggage containing livestock and livestock products, with such consignments accorded priority in AQCS clearances. This modifies paragraph 6 of Circular 13/2007-Customs dated 2 March 2007. Diplomatic Missions have been submitting Self Certifications acknowledging applicable import restrictions, and Customs formations should issue Public Notices or Standing Orders and report any implementation difficulties to the Board.

SEZ cargo clearance procedure requires EDI filing with transhipment code, gateway port designation, and permit endorsement for release.
Procedure mandates EDI/ICES processing for SEZ imports: file IGM as transhipment with SEZ destination code; SEZ officer assess BE with Krishnapatnam as gateway port and transmit data to ICES; after PO grants entry inward, AC Transhipment records SEZ approval in ICES using destination code, BE number and date; Preventive Officer issues release via GAT role by approving request and printing Permit Order, endorsing container and seal numbers (or attaching them) since they are not printed, and then allows movement to the SEZ.

Taxpayer Service Centre established as a single window for receiving and tracking taxpayer grievances with on the spot acknowledgments.
The Taxpayer Service Centre at the Central Excise Commissionerate, Ludhiana functions as a Single Window System to receive taxpayer queries, complaints and grievances, generate unique on the spot acknowledgment numbers, record matters in a register maintained by the Junior Tax Facilitator under Senior Tax Facilitator supervision, route dak to the Principal Commissioner and the appropriate section for report and disposal, and ensure monitoring of disposal by the Additional Commissioner and Principal Commissioner, with periodic activity reports prepared by the Senior Tax Facilitator for the Directorate of Taxpayer Services.

Board composition restrictions bar trading or clearing members and associates from exchange boards, with limited public-bank exemptions.
Amendment replaces Para 14.1 to bar trading members, clearing members, their associates and agents from the governing boards of recognised stock exchanges and clearing corporations; deems directors of entities that are trading/clearing members or have such associates to be trading/clearing members for this purpose, with a proviso excluding directors of public financial institutions or public sector banks (or where ultimate promoter is public or shareholding is well diversified) and certain independent directors. Appointments remain subject to other eligibility requirements and regulatory satisfaction, and exchanges must continuously monitor compliance and update bye-laws, notify members and report implementation.

Electronic delivery orders to replace paper orders, enabling e-invoicing and e-payments for import cargo release.
Issuance of Electronic Delivery Orders will replace paper delivery orders for import cargo release and facilitate electronic invoicing and e-payment of Delivery Order charges, allowing importers and customs brokers to avoid personal visits to carriers or agents. All existing Custodian procedures - verification of Delivery Orders, obtaining Out of Charge from Customs and issuance of Gate Passes - remain unchanged. Manual delivery orders may be retained for unaccompanied baggage, Direct Delivery, one-time importers, or during temporary technical failures. Implementation date will be notified and stakeholders should report implementation difficulties.

Aadhaar e-KYC: voluntary biometric or OTP verification allowed for client onboarding, with PAN verification and KRA upload required.
Aadhaar e-KYC is voluntary; intermediaries using KYC Service Agencies must register as KYC User Agencies. Clients may provide name, Aadhaar number and PAN electronically; intermediaries shall validate Aadhaar via biometric authentication (or OTP for certain mutual fund cases) and verify PAN from the income tax website. UIDAI-supplied KYC data is sufficient for KYC verification and must be uploaded to the KRA. Discrepancies in name or unclear Aadhaar photographs trigger additional due diligence and documentary records. AML, PMLA and SEBI KYC obligations continue to apply.

Duty Free Import Authorisation post-export rule: DFIA limited to post-export with basic customs duty exemption and defined transfer rules.
DFIA eligibility has been confined to a post-export scheme under FTP 2015-20 with exemption limited to basic customs duty and the AU condition removed; pending online DFIA applications filed before 1.04.2015 may be issued by RAs on post-export basis as admissible, while DFIA entitlement for raw sugar is withdrawn w.e.f. 01.05.2015 and is only allowable for consignments with LEOs up to 2400 hrs on 30.04.2015; pending transfer requests for DFIAs issued under FTP 2009-14 (not involving raw sugar) may be processed under the original terms if documents are in order, and exporters may convert shipping bills to drawback where DFIA benefit is not available.

Swachh Bharat Cess applied on taxable services, levied separately with distinct accounting and no input credit allowed.
Swachh Bharat Cess is a distinct cess levied on the value of taxable services from the appointed commencement date, applicable to all taxable services except those wholly exempt or in the negative list. It is computed on the same taxable value and valuation rules as service tax (including abatements and special valuation rules), charged and shown separately on invoices, accounted under notified separate codes, subject to reverse charge where applicable, and is not available as Cenvat credit.

In-person visits restricted; meetings allowed only by PRO screening and Joint DGFT approval, with email preferred for queries.
Access to the office is restricted and in-person visits are discouraged, allowed only in exceptional circumstances after screening by the PRO and approval by the Joint DGFT, with Gate Pass issued by the PRO. Hand-delivery of licences and scrips is discontinued and generally discouraged; exceptional hand-delivery for arrived goods requires a written request with documentary proof and will be considered by the Joint DGFT and, if authorised, effected through the PRO based on urgency. Trade must use email for pending-case queries addressed to the Joint DGFT.

Streamlining public issue processing: enhanced bid validation, coordinated fund blocking and fixed timelines for publishing basis of allotment.
Clarification directs stock exchanges to validate electronic bids with depository records during the bidding period and notify intermediaries of inconsistencies for correction. Syndicate members, brokers, DPs and registrars may forward daily physical applications to designated SCSB branches for fund blocking for small value applications, following the November 10, 2015 schedule. Exchanges will share electronic bid files for small applications with registrars and SCSBs to enable daily blocking, and SCSBs must block funds based on the final electronic bid file provided by the registrar. Working days exclude Sundays and bank holidays; timelines for basis of allotment publication are prescribed.